“See? I’m not invincible. I get worn out, too. Anyway, I think a quick swim and bedtime are in order."
"As good a plan as any." I followed him down to the water, moonlight bouncing off the water and giving everything a soft, silver glow, and we stripped down. I tried hard to keep my eyes to myself and not look at his body, but I couldn’t stop my gaze from darting to him the second before he jumped in. His body was strong and muscular, his ass rounded and firm, thick thighs, a layer of dark hair on his legs. He looked nothing like the women I’d dated before. He was masculine, a stereotypical construction worker. I frowned and shook my head, realizing I was giving Mason’s bodywaytoo much thought.
In a blink, I dove in behind him. A few seconds after I submerged myself, I popped up not far from the dock, to find Mason treading water several yards away. I grinned and shook my head fondly.
"Hey," he said. "Tell me something."
"Tell you what?"
He swam a little closer before splashing me with one hand. "I don’t know. Tell me something interesting about yourself."
"Mase, we’ve known each other for thirty-something years and we’ve been best friends for twenty of those years. You know everything about me."
"No, I don’t. You don’t know everything about me, so it’s not possible that I know everything about you."
"I know your middle name, your favorite food, and your favorite movie. I know you’ve never broken a bone. I know you prefer cats to dogs. What else do you want from me?"
"Whataremy middle name, favorite food, and favorite movie, then?" His tone was clearly a challenge.
I resisted the urge to give him a smart-ass answer. "Victor, instant noodles,Halloween. Your turn."
He dipped below the water for a second before popping up even closer. "Fine. James, fries, andLove Actually, even though you recognize that it’s problematic these days."
I snorted and shook my head, impressed that he got them right. "See? We know everything about each other."
Mason splashed me again. "Tell me about your first kiss."
I frowned. "Why?”
"I don’t know. Just making conversation."
"Fine," I sighed, swimming a few feet past him, until I was deep enough that my feet didn’t touch and I was treading water. I needed something to expend my energy on while I had this conversation. "Do you remember Bridget? In our third grade class?"
"God," he muttered. "That doesn’t count. Third grade doesnotcount."
"You said kiss," I protested.
He pointed at me. "First tongue kiss. Go."
"Sophia. Sixth grade. I took her to see a zombie movie that was also a love story. We sat in the very back row. After the lights came up, we kept sitting there. After the whole crowd was gone, we werestillsitting there. Finally, Sophia turned to me andasked if I was going to kiss her or not. Ididkiss her, and literally just as it was starting, the door opened and an usher came in to clean the theater. And that was my first tongue kiss."
Mason cackled. He legitimately threw back his head and cackled to the stars. When he calmed down, he looked at me. "That is the greatest first kiss story I’ve ever heard."
"Fine, Romeo. Your turn."
"Mine was when we were in sixth grade, too. But with Olivia Martin, two years ahead of us."
I raised my eyebrows. "Really?"
He stood, water streaming down his chest. "Really."
Shaking my head, I laughed again. "I still don’t know how you do it."
"Natural talent."
I couldn’t stop the snort that escaped me.
That wasn’t the end of it, though. “Now the first guy I kissed… that’s a whole different story."
