Page 178 of Hat Trick
Meet me at the rooftop pool?
Riley
Is that a goddamn string bikini?
Me
Get up here and find out.
* * *
The hotel’soutdoor pool is warm when I dunk my head beneath the surface. My muscles unwind in the heated water, and my body is grateful for the moment of relaxation after an early morning and a long travel day. When I reemerge, Riley is standing on the pool deck in a hoodie and gym shorts.
“Hey.” I smile and wipe the water from my eyes. “That was quick.”
“You sent me a picture of your ass in a bathing suit. I haven’t moved that fast since the playoffs last year.”
I laugh and swim over to him. The water gets shallower, and I walk across the bottom until I reach the stairs. I shiver at the change in temperature, the cool night air making goosebumps pop up on my skin. “We should cross another item off your Life List.”
“Yeah? And which one is that?”
“Skinny dipping.” I pull the tie around my neck, the triangle piece falling into the water. Riley tips his head back and stares at the sky, and I throw the top of my bikini at him. “What do you think?”
“I think one of my teammates could see you naked, and then I’d have to kill them.”
“Coach put tape on their doors. No one is going to risk sneaking out the night before one of the most important games of the season. They’d be benched for the playoffs.”
Riley lowers his chin and rubs a hand over his jaw. He’s staring at my chest and my pointed nipples, and when he drops his gaze to my stomach, I reach down to my waist and pull on the strings at my hips.
“Jesus,” he mumbles. “You make me want to be reckless.”
“Strip, Mitchell,” I say, and his eyes dance with glee. “Let’s live a little.”
“I have to take off my prosthetic.”
“We have all the time in the world.”
“I might drown.”
“I was a lifeguard one summer.”
He laughs and pulls off his sweatshirt. I’m glad to see he’s not wearing anything underneath it, and he drops it in a heap on the concrete. His glasses go next, landing beside the pile of clothes, and he puts his hands on his hips. “You drive a hard bargain, Armstrong.”
“Come on in, Ri.” I toss my bikini bottoms at his head. “The water is fine.”
“Hang on.” Riley drags a pool chair over to the door, blocking the entrance and keeping anyone from getting up here and finding us. He scans the deck, eyes gleaming when he finds what he’s looking for. With a quick flick of his wrist, he flips a switch and the lights around us extinguish. “There. I’m sure this place has security cameras, and the last thing I need is our asses ending up on TMZ’s website.”
“You’re so resourceful. What else can you do?”
“Give me a second and I’ll show you.”
Riley hooks his fingers in the waistband of his shorts and yanks them over his legs to reveal no underwear and his hard cock. He wraps a hand around his length and gives himself two jerks before he slowly lowers himself to the deck in a sitting position. There’s no grimace on his face as he takes off his prosthetic, and when he slips into the water and grabs me by my waist, I can’t help but giggle.
I’ve seen Riley naked dozens of times, but there’s something about the way his body looks under the night sky that’s intoxicating. It’s beautiful, a testament to his perseverance and all the hard work he’s put into his physical journey the last eight months.
But under all of that is his kind soul and his soft heart, and out of everything I’ve learned about him, those are the most magical parts that make me so wonderfully happy.
I wrap my legs around his waist and he rests his back against the pool ledge, staying in the shallow water so he can keep one foot on the ground.
