His amusement shone brighter than the sun in the sky. “I'm not wearing a thing, and you know it.”
“Hmm. Must be your disgusting natural odour, then.”
He brought a finger up to the corner of his mouth. “That why you're drooling here a little every time you get close to me, darling?”
“That's not drool. It's vomit.”
“Wondered what that stink was coming from your side of the court.”
“Screw you.”
“You wish.”
“Like hell I do.”
“Can't fight what you can't hide.”
“You're such an egotistical piece of?—”
“What are you two muttering over there? Come on. We've got a game to finish!” Andy called out, cutting me off, and it was only then that I realised Henry and I had leaned in towards each other, both of us glaring into each other's eyes as though this wasn't just a battle that had to be won at all costs, but a war.
“Cohen was just telling me how he wishes he could smash his balls as well as I can,” I called out to Andy. “Wait. Sorry.Theball. What was I thinking?”
A huff of laughter fell from Henry as though it was the most natural thing in the world for him to do. “Sounds like you're thinking about me more intimately than you care to admit, Phoebe Turner.”
My usual tricks weren’t working on him today, and I didn't know what the hell to do with this new version of him after being so used to his grumpy caveman form. Though I also couldn't deny I preferred this version of Henry to all the others I'd met so far.
When Rhea served the next ball, I wasted no time in pulling out my best moves, and something about my and Henry's exchange seemed to fuel something extra between us until it became a game of who could smash the ball onto the other's court the hardest. My muscles ached like hell, and my breathing became embarrassingly laboured every time I retook my position to stand back in front of him again.
It didn’t take long for Bailey to lose interest, and even Rhea grew whinier than usual.
Me? I had a point to prove. What it was, I couldn’t be sure, but every time I stared into those brown eyes, it stoked a dangerous fire within me, and the second the next ball was served, each of us jumped into action. When the ball went over into their side, the three of them did what they had to do, and I could see Henry about to deliver his signature smash of the ball down by my side.
That's when I jumped higher than I'd ever jumped in my life, and some way, somehow, when Henry hit the ball to bring it down onto our side of the net, I managed to block it with all my might, catching him by surprise, sending the ball sailing back down to the sand on his side of the court. I didn’t have time to celebrate before gravity had me landing on my arse in the sand with an almighty thud.
Rhea and Bailey ran over to me, pulling me up on shaky feet and cheering for all their worth like we'd won some kind of championship. I let them shake and push me around while my eyes met Henry's through the net, and my smile grew impossibly wide.
I expected him to glare at me as he placed his hands on his hips, or to at least look annoyed with himself for the loss. Instead, his blank expression morphed in to a smile that should have been painted for all of history to remember forever.
“Hey, Phoebe?” he called out.
“Yeah?”
He chucked his chin. “Great play.”
Chapter Fourteen
Henry
Paradise Beach should have been renamed Nightmare Sands from the moment Phoebe removed that sheer shirt of hers, dropped it to her feet, pulled up the edges of her bikini bottoms, and glanced out at the ocean as though she didn’t have a care in the world.
She had a body to die for, and I was about willing to throw myself at her feet and tell her to behead me already. But then she'd started to play, andmybody had never had such a strong reaction to another's like it.
She fucking glowed. So much so, I had a hard time pretending like she didn't hold my attention in front of Andy and Jace. When it was just Phoebe and me staring into each other's eyes, bantering back and forth, I almost forgot the other four were present. Truth be told, I wished they'd fuck off already.
While the girls sat around drinking their bottles of water, it took all my efforts to stay focused on Andy, who was kicking the volleyball between Jace and me. He didn't look pissed off, and he hadn’t given me any death glares recently, which had to be a good thing… but at what point did you stop breaking yourself intwo to please those who were supposed to love you just as you were?
“Andy?” Bailey called out, making him trap the ball under his foot to look up at her.
