“Sunday was nice—later. Sorta—I mean it was, but later in the day. Not first thing. That was…” I wasn’t sure I wanted to talk about the stuff with my mom. I’d told Archie because it was about his dad, too. But the rest?
“I’m glad,” he continued, then tugged my wet hair gently. “If you ever need to talk, you know you can talk to me, right? About anything? Even—even the other guys.”
“You punched Archie when I talked to you about what happened, even when I said I was fine with it.”
He met my gaze unflinchingly. “He deserved that hit, and he’d be the first one to tell you he did.”
“So if I tell you about Jake or Coop, are you going to hit them, too?”
“If they’re dumber than a box of rocks, probably.” He blew out a breath. “But I will try to restrain it to those times when they really deserve it. And before you get started winding yourself up about that, I fully expect Jake or Archie or Coop to knock me on my ass if I’m stupid where you’re concerned.”
“So… when do I knock you guys on your ass when you’re stupid? Or who knocks me on mine?” Because I was genuinely curious.
Ian chuckled. “You’re the smart one, Frankie. You can very effectively knock us on our ass. As I recall—you flat out told us to get out. You said there were boundaries. And you said you wanted to date.” He coiled a lock of hair around his finger and tugged. “And no one is knocking you on your ass.” Then he reeled me closer and nuzzled a kiss. “Because anyone who tries to knock you down is going to have to get past us.”
I sighed as he teased kisses down my throat.
“Now,” he murmured against my throat. “We better get out of the pool, and I need to order the pizza.”
Laughter eddied through the shivers of his breath whispering against my skin. “We have a lot of homework to do.”
“Hmm-hmm…and I want to play you the new song and see what you think.”
“I love it,” I told him, and he lifted his head.
“You haven’t heard it yet.”
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. You have an amazing voice, and I love listening to you.”
Arms wrapped around me, he chuckled. “You’re good for my ego. I may have to keep you.”
“Oh, the horror,” I mock groaned.
“The horror, huh?” Then he had me up and I eyed him.
“Ian!”
“Oh, but it’s the horror…” And he tossed me into the water, and it was even chillier against my sun-warmed skin. When I resurfaced, he was standing on the side, hands on his hips—lookingdamngood. “So—pineapple?”
A delightful shiver went through my whole body at the look in his eyes. “Yes please.”
And it was my turn to do laps. Because all I wanted to do was climb him like a pole. When I finally abandoned the pool, he hauled me out and handed me a towel.
The next hour we actually spent on homework, but he kept my feet in his lap and would occasionally put a warm hand on my ankle while we worked through the calculus problems. The only break we took was for pizza, and then he dragged my feet back to rest against his thigh.
“Want to grab a shower and change before we head up to my room?”
I’d like a lot of things, but I’d settle for a shower. “Meet in your room when I’m done?”
“Hmm-hmm… unless you want to use my shower,” he offered.
“With you?”
He squeezed my ankle. “I’m not in a rush.”
Surprise flickered through me.
“Don’t get me wrong—Ilikemaking out with you, and Ilikehaving you here and I want to do more, but I’m not rushing anything. You’re important enough for me to take my time. You’re worth more than a rush.”