Chapter 15
The anticipation had my stomach doing little flips as Hunter jogged toward the start line. With ten more minutes until the beginning of the race, I returned to Lolita.
She had both our towels laid out and was busy rubbing suntan lotion over her legs. “Find him?”
“Yes. He’s so pumped.”
“Oh, good. Let’s go over and watch the start.”
I was so glad she’d said that. We left our towels but grabbed our bags, and together, we raced back to the starting line. At least forty men were lined up, and they were a united bunch, fidgeting as they jiggled from one foot to the next and shook out their arms.
We lined up along the edge of the race track, muscling in between a couple of young guys.
“Which one is he?” Lolly asked.
I pointed him out. “He’s in the red swimming trunks, about . . .” I counted the men, “twenty-fifth from the left.”
“The one between the guy in the blue and the guy in the black swimmers?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Lolly cupped her hands around her lips. “Go, Hunter,” she screamed.
Hunter looked our way, and both Lolly and I waved madly at him. He gave us the thumbs up.
“He saw us,” I squealed, and I jiggled up and down on the sand.
“On your marks,” a voice boomed over a loudspeaker, and I jumped when the starter gun exploded.
“Go, Hunter!” we yelled in unison as smoking-hot bodies ran past us.
The entire group hit the water in a large splash and continued running until it was too deep. Once they started swimming, it was impossible to see Hunter anymore, yet I couldn’t stop looking for him.
Lolly and I stayed in position as the pack of swimmers glided past one buoy after the next. My stomach was a tangle of knots as they skirted around the last marker. Four men were neck and neck at the front of the pack. It was impossible to see if Hunter was amongst them. I danced from foot to foot. I held my breath. I clapped my hands. The excitement was excruciating.
Lolly let out the loudest wolf whistle I’d ever heard, and several men around us turned toward her, and by their expressions, I’d say they admired her talent.
The contestants hit the beach together, running. My eyes nearly burst from their sockets as I saw one of them had red swimmers on. “Go, Hunter,” I screamed, although I still couldn’t be sure it was him. He had his head down as he dug his toes into the sand and pumped his arms and legs like crazy.
The four of them were so close. Side by side.
“Go, Hunter,” Lolly screamed.
Finally, he looked up, and it was him.
“Go. Go. Go.” My heart was set to explode as he and another guy hit the lead. A blaze of arms and legs as they raced up the sand.
“Go!” I screamed.
Lolly screamed. The whole crowd screamed.
Hunter’s clenched jaw and steely gaze proved his determination. His stride was as fierce as the look on his face. The two of them raced past us, but it was impossible to tell who was winning.
“Go, Hunter,” Lolly and I screamed together.
The race was over, but we had no idea who won. Lolly grabbed my arm, and we raced to the front. “Did he win?” I yelled over the crowd noise.
“I don’t know.”
We raced to his side. He was bent over, heaving in ragged breaths, and we wrapped our arms around him. “Did you win?”
He looked up at us and smiled. “Don’t know. Photo finish,” he said between breaths.
“I’m sure you did,” I said with confidence.
As more and more runners crossed the finish line, the spot where we stood grew crowded.
The officials waited until all the racers had returned before they brought the first three contestants to cross under the finish line up to a staging area.
Hunter was the tallest out of the three competitors, but that wasn’t the only thing that set him apart from the other two. He was the only one smiling. After what he’d just done, I’d have trouble standing, let alone looking like that.
A short man stepped onto the stage, stood beside the contestants, and raised a microphone to his mouth. “I’m sorry about this delay, folks, but for the first time in the history of this race, we had a photo finish.”
My heart pounded in my ears as I prayed he’d announce Hunter as the winner.
“Okay, we have a decision. Congratulations, men—that was a magnificent race. I’m proud to announce the winner of the one-mile open-water race is Andrew Winstanley.”
The wind punched out of me, and my body deflated. I was completely gutted. My mouth fell open, and I covered it as I glanced at Lolly, who matched my disappointment with her bulging eyes. I turned back to Hunter to watch him shake hands and clap the winner on the back.
“That means second place goes to Hunter McCall.”
Lolly released another one of her ear-piercing wolf whistles as I cheered.
“And third place goes to Todd Williamson.”
Hunter and the other two finalists posed for photos, and I was impressed with how he handled coming second. He seemed genuinely pleased for the man who’d beat him.
It was an eternity before they stepped down from the stage, and when he glanced about the crowd, I waved my hand over my head in the hope it was me he was looking for.
He waved back, and the three of us walked toward each other. “I thought you’d won,” I said as soon as we reached him. “I’m so sorry.”
“No need to be sorry. Andrew was better than me.”
“It was so close.”
Lolly nudged me with her elbow. She was an impatient woman.
“Hunter, this is my friend Lolita.”
“Hi. Nice to meet you.”
“You were incredible.” She smiled up at him.
Being this close to Hunter made it impossible to know where to look, and my eyes flitted from his chiseled torso, to his dazzling eyes that were still wired with excitement, to his plum-colored perfectly kissable lips.
A trickle of water glided from his shoulder and headed toward his nipple. I couldn’t tear my gaze away as the droplet crawled down Hunter’s tanned skin. It stopped at the tiny little lumps around the dark part of his nipple, and it took all my might not to lean over and lick it away.
“Memphis.” Lolly playfully slapped my arm, snapping me from my fantasizing.
“Sorry, what did you say?”
She rolled her eyes. “Hunter was just asking what our plans were.”
“Oh. We thought we’d be here for a while, so we’ve set up our gear over there.” I pointed off to the left of the finish line.
“Okay. I’ll have a swim, and I’ll meet you back there.”
“You just had a swim.” I giggled.
“Nah . . . that was a race. It’s not the same.” He touched my shoulder. “I’ll be back soon.”
He jogged down the beach, and with his stunning physique centered amongst the equally stunning backdrop, it was like being on a movie set as he wove in and around the dozens of buff, nearly naked men on his journey to the ocean.
Lolly burst out laughing. “Holy shit, woman, you’re drooling.”
“No, I’m not.” I wiped my chin just to be sure.
“It’s okay, ’cause I agree with you—he’s fucking gorgeous.”
I chewed my bottom lip. “You think so?”
“I know so. You like him.”
“Yeah, I do.”
Once we’d lost him in the crowd, we headed toward our towels. The sand was hot under my feet, and the sun was equally intense on my flesh.
We sat down, and Lolly reached for a water bottle from her bag. “Are you going to fuck him later?”
My god, she was loud. I cringed as I gazed at the dozens of people around us and wondered just how many had heard her. “Shhh.”
“What? No one’s listening; just answer the question.”
I glanced around, and incredibly, it didn’t appear that anyone had heard. “Maybe.”
“I would. He’s yummy. I bet he tastes yummy with all that chocolate he’s eating.” She wriggled her eyebrows, and I scrunched up my face, cringing not only at how loud she was but at her question.
“Oh, you don’t like the taste?”
Holy shit.
I turned to the ocean and prayed for Hunter to save me right now.
“Pineapple,” she said.
I turned back to her. “What?”
“Yeah, feed him pineapple. It’ll make his cum taste better.”
I leaned in closer in the hope that she’d dial down her voice. “Really?”
“Sure. Why do you think I cook Hawaiian pizza and sweet and sour chicken every week?”
I burst out laughing. “Are you serious?”
“Cross my heart. And whatever you do, don’t give him asparagus.”
The sincerity on her face made me laugh until tears flowed down my cheeks. “Oh my god, Lolly, you’re a hoot.”
“Just imparting my vast wisdom on my young protégé.”
I rolled my eyes. “Not so young.”
“Oh yeah, you’re really old now.”
“Gee, thanks.”
We were silent long enough for me to feel the penetration of the sun despite my enormous, broad-brimmed hat. A trickle of sweat rolled from under my boobs and down my belly. Worst of all, the damn wig made my brain feel like it was frying. I needed to cool down before I passed out.
I stood, plucked my bikini bottom out of my butt, unwrapped my sarong, and placed it over my bag. “I’m going to watch Hunter. Want to come?”
“Sure.” Lolly launched to her feet, and as we strolled toward the water, I swear every man on the beach turned to watch her. Lolly could stop a nation in that sexy bikini.
It seemed like hundreds of people were crammed into the safe zone between the red and yellow lifesaver flags. We waded into the cool water, up to our knees in the tumbling waves, and tried to find Hunter amongst the crowd.
The waves were random in size; one would barely touch our ankles, and the next would crash halfway up our thighs. Crazy kids on bodyboards dodged around us as the water pummeled them into shore. Even smaller children played in the shallows with protective parents watching their every move. I was close to giving up on searching for Hunter when a man waved at us from barely ten feet away.
“Oh, there he is.” I pointed at him and waved, and his smile lit up his face. He turned, took a few high-knee steps over the water, and then dived through a wave. He made it look elegant as he waded back out to deeper water.
It was difficult to keep my eyes on him as he went under and over waves and continued farther and farther out. But soon, he seemed to just float on top, rolling up and over the swell before they became a barrel of white water.
He started swimming, and the next second he was on top of a wave, his right arm pointed forward and his body rigid as he impersonated a surfboard. Hunter rode the wave like an expert, dodging people who got in his way and letting it carry him all the way to the beach. He only stopped when the water was so shallow that when he stood up, it was barely knee-deep.
I clapped at the spectacle. Hunter had made it look so easy, even though I was sure it wasn’t. He waded toward us, water glistening off his chiseled abs, the sun shining on his golden hair as he flicked it out of his eyes, his tiny briefs barely containing what I knew was concealed beneath. I could hardly breathe as I watched the scene unfold before me as if it were in slow motion.
“That was fun.” His sexy baritone had my knees buckling.
A little piece of me fell in love with him right then. And it wasn’t just his voice. He looked relaxed, fit, and oh-so contented. Some of the men I’d met this year had been desperate, needy, eager to be accepted, but Hunter seemed truly comfortable with who he was.
“Do you get to the beach often?” Lolly smiled up at him.
He cocked his head. “As often as I can. I live down at Byron, so I try to surf at least twice a week. Do either of you surf?”
“I used to,” Lolly said.
I wasn’t surprised. She’d done absolutely every sport imaginable.
I shook my head. “I don’t.”
“Maybe I could teach you.” He touched my shoulder again, and I was certain the earth moved this time.
As much as I loved the idea of him teaching me anything, the thought of being in the tumbling ocean terrified me. “Maybe.” I didn’t feel the need to elaborate on my fear right then.
“Would you like an ice cream? My treat,” he said.
“Oh, I’d love one.”
Lolly shook her head. “I’ll meet you back at the towels.”
“I’ll just grab my bag.” Hunter and I strolled toward the race marshaling tent and it was heavenly being at his side.
Our conversation flowed so easily, I was fooled into thinking we’d known each other for years.
The truth, however, was that he didn’t know me at all.
He didn’t even know my real name.
My heart squeezed at the terrible web of lies I’d created.