"Oh, yes I am" I say, sitting down to take off my shoes, then shirt and shorts.
Ryan grabs a pair of life jackets.
"Would you like to ride with me?"
"Like behind you?"
His face breaks out in a giant grin. "Yeah."
My brows pull together. "You won't go too fast will you?"
"You'll be safe with me."
I gulp, feeling warm all over and watch him. He walks down the steps and over to a ski, tugging it back over to the dock. Once he's on, he holds out his hand to help me get on. I ease myself into position, deliberately moving my hands to the back of my seat. When Ryan turns it to idle, it bounces, causing me to jump and wrap my arms around his waist. There is still some space between us, so Ryan tugs on my legs to eliminate it. The life jacket stops just short of his waist so my arms are on his bare skin. I feel dizzy, sure that it's being this close to Ryan that's making my heart pound. As he makes his way over to the ride zone, I lean against him, my cheek on his shoulder blade.
"Hold tight," is all the warning he gives me once we enter the ride zone.
He isn’t going as fast as some of the other riders but fast enough that if he takes a sharp turn, I'd probably fall off. I tense my legs, pressing them tightly to Ryan's. He drops one hand down to my thigh and rests it there. He may mean the gesture to be calming, but it has the opposite effect. His hand seems to burn, and I'm certain he can hear my heart thumping wildly. When he moves his hand to steer, I feel the loss of its presence on my leg. He turns back to look at me in that moment. He sees how sad I look and stops the ski in the middle of the ride zone with skis still going wildly about us.
"Are you okay? Was I going too fast?"
The jet ski bounces up and down in the surf created by multiple wakes. "I'm fine." I turn my face away from his eyes. "You don’t need to stop. I like it"
"Are you sure?"
I tighten my arms around him, pressing my cheek to his shoulder blade again and nod. After a beat, we're off again. It’s thrilling, soaring over the water as I cling to him, feeling the heat of his skin against my cheek. I wonder if he ever takes anyone else out. The idea of another girl with him…I don’t even want to think about it. Ryan stops the ski and asks if I want to try driving it.
"Sure."
He turns, snakes his arm around my waist, and pulls me into his lap. I gasp, putting my hand on his thigh to steady myself. I am settled between his legs, my hand still on his thigh. My back is pressed up against his chest. His hands have not moved from my waist, and his face hovers over my shoulder. My face is turned towards him. If I move an inch I can kiss his cheek. If he turns to look at me, we will almost be nose to nose. He moves his hands to circle my waist as he removes the kill key from his wrist. He takes one of my hands, placed the kill key on it, and lifts my hand to the throttle to clip it back in.
He lifts my other hand from his leg and places both of them on the grips. My back arches as he leans over me, his hands still on mine. I close my eyes and try to catch my breath. It’s so hard to concentrate on what he is saying when he seems to be everywhere. The ski rocks us as he shows me how to start it and give it gas. He slowly has me turn the throttle, and I feel the engine jump to life beneath me. Ryan shows me how to steer then wraps his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder. I go much slower than he had and make a wide loop inside the ride area. After that, Ryan has me switch it to idle and we head back to the dock.
"Your hair smells heavenly," he whispers into my ear.
I shiver, making the jet ski jerk, and he chuckles behind me, running the tip of his nose up and down my earlobe. He