“Do you like Finley?” she asked, startling me.
“Yeah, she’s a fine girl.”
Her head bobbed up and down as she stared at the stars.
“She’s quite beautiful,” she said.
“I suppose so, yes.”
“Was she interesting to you?” she asked.
I wasn’t sure where she was going with her line of questioning.
“Cricket?” I asked.
“Yeah?” she said, running her hands over the top of the water.
“Are you jealous I talked to Finley all night?”
Her head whipped my direction. “No!”
“Then why are you so curious?”
She cleared her throat and looked back up at the night sky. “I don’t know.” She sighed.
I ran my hands through my wet hair.
“Thank you for taking care of Eugie for me,” she said, changing the subject.
“He’s been helping me through some stuff.”
“He’s good at that.” She smiled.
I smiled back. “I know.”
She stood up and the water reached just below her breasts, which made me laugh because it met my waist.
“Come here,” she said, walking to the opposite edge of the pool.
I followed her and we peered over the precipice.
“Wow,” I said simply.
Cascading down the mountains, in a stairstep pattern, were dozens of little hot springs reflecting the night sky. They were breathtaking.
“I can’t believe how beautiful this is,” she whispered. “I never tire of it.”
“Agreed,” I said as I looked upon her profile.
Our arms touched briefly but instead of jerking away as I’d expected, she let our skin linger together and the warmth drove me insane. Without looking at her, I pressed my arm deeper into hers. The reflection in the water showed me she pressed her eyes closed and encouraged me. I raised my hand a little and rested it beside hers, the sides of our palms barely touching, before wrapping my pinky finger around hers.
Her breathing deepened, her chest rose and fell faster with each finger I moved over her hand.
“Spencer,” she exhaled, and I could no longer think.
I yanked her away from the edge and pressed her back into the larger rock in the pool. She gasped, and it did things to my stomach. I slowly inched my way closer to her and with each inch, she panted harder.
“Don’t move,” I sighed into her neck.