Chapter 34
CHAPTER 34
ABIGAIL
I t was uncanny how fast Simon and I fell into an easy, regular rhythm as soon as we hit the mall together. He’d never liked shopping, but he’d often tagged along with me anyhow and it’d always been a blast.
Surprisingly, it still was. As much as he didn’t like doing it, Simon was an excellent shopping partner and he was endlessly patient as I browsed through a small boutique. I pulled an olive-green dress to try on and he snatched the hanger out of my hand, immediately putting it back on the rail it’d come from.
“Nope, that’s awful.” He made a face at me. “Why would anyone want to wear the color of baby vomit?”
“It’s called olive green,” I argued laughingly, but he wasn’t entirely wrong about this particular shade.
He shook his head and pointed at the shirt a couple aisles over. “Nope, that’s olive green. That dress is baby vomit.”
Under the bright lights in the store, his eyes shone with enthusiasm and determination, and I glanced between the two garments before I shrugged. “Fine. It’s not the best color I’ve ever seen. Moving on.”
“Actually, I’ve had a thought about that.” He wrapped his fingers around my arm and marched me to the far end of the exclusive store—to where the swimwear was. “What do you think of this?”
He plucked a string bikini from the display and I snorted. Loudly. I couldn’t help myself. “What even is that?”
“It’s a bikini,” he said slowly, eyes crinkling at the corners as he held it out to me. “You should wear it when we get to our private pool.”
“We’re going to have a private pool?” I asked, frowning as I wondered how he knew that. “I haven’t been told which hotel we’re staying in just yet.”
“Doesn’t matter.” His lips curved into a sexy, confident smirk. “When we get there, I’ll get us a suite with a private pool. Or a hot tub. Or even just a big tub. Either way, you can wear this when we get there.”
“Not a dang chance.” I pushed the hanger away, wondering when three patches of fabric no bigger than a few inches altogether had started being considered a swimsuit. “That’s not a bikini. It’s a slingshot.”
“That’s perfect for you, then,” he replied without skipping a beat. “Small, but dangerous. I like it. Please try it on.”
As I chuckled, my gaze landed on a bin nearby labeled “Novelty” and right on top, as if it had been sent there for this exact moment, was a Speedo printed to make it look like the wearer had a sandy crack. Laughter bubbled out of me as I darted over and plucked it out of the bin, holding it out toward him after I’d turned.
“Well, this is fitting,” I joked. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll buy the slingshot if you’ll wear this.”
He pretended to go all straight-faced, but I could see the laughter in his eyes and the set of his shoulders. “Hey, I’m still not over you leaving me on the beach like that. The guys are never going to let me live it down.”
“At least they came to your rescue,” I said, shaking with silent laughter that I was doing my best to suppress.
Simon’s eyebrows rose slightly. “How did you know that?”
“I may have kept an eye on you from inside,” I admitted, my teeth sinking into my lower lip as I tried to fight another smile. “At the time, I thought it served you right to be abandoned like that, but I wouldn’t have let you get arrested or anything. I knew your friends were still at the party, and if they hadn’t helped you yet by the time we left or if police showed up or something, I would’ve given your clothes back.”
“At the time?” he asked, gaze locked on mine. “What about now? Do you think it served me right?”
“Yes.” I smiled sweetly. “No matter what, you still broke up with me in a letter. Besides, you don’t look bad naked. It couldn’t have been that humiliating. You have nothing to be ashamed about.”
To my surprise, he laughed and slowly nodded his agreement. Or maybe it was acceptance. Whichever one it was, however, he didn’t seem to be angry or hurt by what I’d done anymore. “I know I don’t have anything to be ashamed about, but it’s nice to know you agree.”
When he pumped his eyebrows at me before he turned—slingshot masquerading as a bikini still in hand—I flushed beet red. I had just casually complimented him on the size of his penis. Accidentally.
Damn it.
What I’d said was true, but still.
Simon strode away from me with a new pep in his step, obviously having just received a massive boost of big dick energy, and I groaned but followed him away from the swimwear. Back at the actual clothes, I plucked a few outfits from their rails and went to try them on, but didn’t do the cliched thing where I modeled them for him—much to his chagrin.
After choosing what I wanted, I paid and finished up at the store. Simon offered his hand for my shopping bags as we left and I arched my eyebrows at him. “Are you sure? I can carry them myself.”
“Yeah, I know, but should you?” Taking them without complaint, he took me to a grocery store next.
We picked up the toothpaste he’d claimed to have needed, but on our way out, I spotted a gelato stand and I took the lead from him then by marching over to it. I felt him hot on my heels, though, and I smiled, liking the feeling of having him follow me around again.
“I’m getting mint-choc-chip,” I said as I stopped in front of the counter. “Pistachio for you?”
He came up next to me, and even though I didn’t even glance his way, I felt his presence like a hug. A sexy hug that was about to lead to more, but it was still a hug, which meant it was still comforting and warm even if it wasn’t your average hug.
Shaking my head at my thoughts, I finally decided to just look at him. “Simon?”
“I think I’ll have peanut butter and fudge, actually.” A slow grin spread across his face when he lifted his gaze to mine. “I’m all about the sweet surprises lately.”
“What about the spicy ones?” I grinned. “You sure seem to be enjoying those as well.”
Simon didn’t skip a beat. “Maybe I should try the salted caramel with chili. You’re right. I have been enjoying some heat with my sweet.”
I groaned through my answering laughter. “That was so corny.”
“Yet so true.” He turned to the confused-looking salesperson and placed our order, then grinned at me once we walked away with cups of gelato in hand. “So, is there anything you want to do in Florida during our free time? All joking aside, I’m sure we’re going to have enough downtime that we can plan a few fun things to see.”
“There are only two things I want to do,” I said, having already thought this through and done some research. “First, I need to go to the beach. It’s a need, not a want. Second, I’m definitely going to the aquarium.”
He seemed a little surprised about that second thing before those green suddenly sharpened on mine. “For the seahorses? That’s why you want to go to the aquarium, isn’t it? You still love them.”
“Yes, I do, and you probably never did read up on how cool they are.” I sent a mock-pout his way. “How about this? You take me to the aquarium and I’ll share everything I know about them with you.”
“Enticing.” He laughed. “I thought I was the one who couldn’t get enough of you . Now suddenly, you’re offering me bribes to spend all my free time with you? I like this turn of events.”
“You know, on second thought, I’ll keep all my knowledge about one of the most interesting creatures on the planet to myself and you can keep Ashley company while I’m at the aquarium. Should we make a detour to go pick up a pink mankini for you? I’m sure we’d find one in that novelty bin.”
“One of the most interesting creatures on the planet, huh?” he mused out loud, lips quirking into a grin as he let out a deep sigh. “I suppose you’d be saving me the effort of reading up on them. You’ve got yourself a deal, little lady.”
“Little lady?” I laughed and made my eyes bulge as I shook my head. “Nope. Call me that again and I’ll push into the shark tank when we get there.”
Simon flinched. “Cage diving with sharks is on my bucket list, but I’m going to need you to push in the cage before you push me in with them. I have zero interest in swimming with them without a steel barrier.”
“Then I’d be very careful about who you call a little lady.” I flashed him a grin and went back to my gelato, finishing it before we got to his car.
As we drove back to my house, we talked a little more about what he wanted to do once we got to Florida, but then my phone buzzed and I glanced down to see an email from Fit Gal’s Charlene. I frowned, swiping it up from my lap and clearing my throat.
“Right, so it looks like they’re sending out their plans for the week after the expo before we take off.” I clicked into the email so I could read it to him. “There’s going to be another team competition when we get back from Florida. Teams will be chosen at random again and each team will be responsible for an event.”
“Okay,” he said slowly, and I could practically see it when his mind started to race. “Any word on what those events will be?”
“Yeah, it looks like one of us will be hosting a charity ball and the other will be putting on a community outreach fundraiser. Both teams will only have forty-eight hours to fully plan and book the events.”
“Shit, that’s a really quick turnaround.”
I put my phone down and shifted in my seat to face him, seeing the concentration on his features in the dim light of the interior of his car. One hand was wrapped around the steering wheel, the fingers of the other resting on the leather padded side of it, his elbow on the windowsill.
While his posture was relatively relaxed, his lips were pursed and his eyes were wider than they had been before. I smiled, even if I was suddenly feeling a little nervous myself.
“Well, we were together on the last competition, so there’s no way we’re together on this one. I hope you’re ready to get your butt kicked by a girl.”
Slowly, the corners of his lips inched into a cocky smirk and he glanced at me. “I’m going to make sure you miss our flight home from Florida. Good luck trying to plan an event from there.”
I laughed, but the thrill of the challenge wound around my insides, the drive to win again coursing through me. I turned to face the road. The only thing that would make another victory even sweeter was to have Simon take it with me again, but I knew the odds of that happening were next to nothing—and while I would have liked to have him by my side, I wouldn’t let his absence there make me take it any easier.