“Sure, but we should probably take this upstairs first.” He held up the gallon of ice cream that had been sitting in the backseat.
They quickly headed up to the apartment to shove the ice cream in the freezer, then went outside again, rounding the side of the building and emerging onto the manicured grass in the back. The rectangular pool sat in the center of the sprawling lawn, surrounded by a concrete deck offering white lounge chairs and tables topped with red-and-blue umbrellas. Despite the great weather, the pool was devoid of swimmers, and Jen and Cash had the area to themselves as they approached the deck.
“You look relieved not to be going inside,” she remarked.
His midnight blue eyes became veiled. “I like the outdoors. And it’s a nice day.”
She fought laughter. “Know what I think? I think you’re worried that if we’re inside, in close quarters, your trusty discipline might fail you.”
He mumbled something unintelligible.
When they reached the deck, she kicked off her flip-flops and rolled up the bottom of her jeans, then sat by the ladder next to the deep end and shoved her bare feet in the water. Cash did the same, leaving his sneakers on the grass as he joined her.
“Why don’t you have any platonic female friends?” she asked, tilting her head toward him.
“I’ve always been more of a guy’s guy.” He shrugged in a seriously adorable way. “Talking to women isn’t my strong suit.”
She grinned. “So you can hit on women but you can’t talk to them?”
Adorable shrug number two. “Everything leading up to sex is easy. During sex is a piece of cake too. Everything after sex? It’s like walking through a minefield. I mean, why can’t I just tell you that a certain outfit looks trashy? Or that Grey’s Anatomy sucks? Why do I have to recite a whole bunch of little white lies and play all those games?”
“I hate games,” she agreed. “Say what you mean, mean what you say. That’s how I roll.”
“Good to know, homie.”
Jen laughed. “Look at you, you’re doing just fine talking to me. Honest, cute, joking.” She raised her eyebrows. “Or is it easy for you because this is all leading up to sex?”
He scowled. “We’re not going to have sex.”
“Right, because you took an oath. Hey, did Carson make you sign the oath in blood?” When his scowl deepened, she simply laughed again. “Fine, I’ll stop. Let’s keep doing the friend thing.” She paused in thought. “So what’s up with the name Cash?”
He narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, what made your parents decide to name you after money?”
“Can we change the subject?”
She furrowed her brows. “Wait, you mean there’s actually a story behind your name? I was just passive-aggressively making fun of you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Her curiosity piqued. “I want to hear the story.”
“No.”
“Please?”
“Don’t bat your eyelashes at me like that. That move might work on other guys, but—oh, Jesus, are you crying? Damn it. Fine, I’ll tell you. Just stop crying.”
She blinked rapidly to clear the moisture in her eyes and offered a broad smile. “Great, can’t wait to hear it.”
Cash looked betrayed. “Those were fake tears?”
“I can cry on command,” she confessed. “Used to work wonders when I was a kid, but once my family caught on, the trick ended up backfiring. Like when I was fourteen, I took gymnastics—yet another pointless activity I absolutely sucked at—and I broke my arm falling off the uneven bars during a meet. My parents saw the tears and thought I was faking. It took thirty minutes, while I was in excruciating pain, mind you, to convince them I was truly injured.”
Cash threw his head back and laughed. “I’m not sure I even feel bad for you. It’s not cool, manipulating people like that.”
“Duh. That’s why I don’t do it anymore.”
“You just did,” he shot back.
Crap, right. “Because you were being difficult,” she said defensively. “I want to know about your name.”
“Fine, but no passive-aggressive commentary.”
“Deal.”
He leaned on his elbows and tipped his head up to the sky. The pose was casual, but hot as hell. His biceps bulged in the most delectable way. The tilt of his head revealed the strong tendons of his throat and the stubble shadowing his square jaw. Why hadn’t she noticed he had a tiny cleft in his chin? Gosh, she wanted to lick that spot with her tongue. And then lick the masculine curve of his jaw. And that hard chest and mouthwatering six-pack. And—okay, she pretty much wanted to lick every inch of Cash McCoy’s body.
Dragging her mind out of the gutter, she mimicked his pose and fell back on her elbows. “I’m waiting…”
He shifted his gaze to her face. “Short version? My parents found out they won the lottery five minutes before my mom was about to have an abortion.”
Jen’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”