She quirked a brow.
A few minutes later we pulled into the lot. She stared up at the sign, her eyes narrowing as she scanned the place. Did I make a mistake taking her here?
“I’ve heard of this place. Don’t they do those things with the water balloons?”
“That they do.”
A squeak escaped from her lips and she patted her thighs. “I saw it in a movie once and always wanted to try it.” My stomach eased at the fact she didn’t freak out.
“Me too.”
Before I said anything else, she opened the car door and shot out of the seat. “Hurry up!”
I shook my head and stared at her as she rushed toward the entrance. Who was this girl? I took this as a win in the date choice category. Maybe I’d moved up a few notches in that spreadsheet of hers. How was this girl single? Hot, smart, and fun to be around. There had to be some catch. But for right now, with her blond hair swinging from side to side as she bounded toward the entrance, I didn’t give a shit if there was something wrong.
After paying admission, we were directed toward the paint balloon course. Large boulders bordered the arena, along with fake plants and randomly placed walls, smattered in paint, that came up to my shoulders. Swirls of unnatural neon colors coated every available surface.
Jules stood there, hands on her hips, surveying the place with a smile that lit up the entire room. Her hair was in two braided pigtails that draped over her shoulders right down to her tank top that put the swell of her breasts on display. The perfect balance of innocent and sexy. I tugged on one of her braids and said, “Ready for this?”
She smiled. “I was the water balloon champion at Brittany Reynolds’s tenth birthday party. I have the battle scars to prove it.” She shoved a pair of safety goggles over her eyes, positioning them on her face. The goggles dwarfed her face, but somehow made her look even cuter.
“I’m shaking in my boots.”
“You should be. You’re going down.”
“As I recall, wasn’t that your specialty?”
Her face flushed and she gnawed on her bottom lip. Top that, Peach.
She gave a sly smile and walked over to the crate full of balloons filled past capacity. This was going to be so messy. More so than paintballing. But it’d be worth digging paint out of my ears for the next three weeks just to see that smile on her face.
“You should only be so lucky.”
She was right. I’d give up the last bit of my tortured soul to have her lips on me. On any part of me. She could be kissing my elbow, and I’d be a happy man.
While fantasizing about Jules and that mouth of hers, a balloon sailed through the air and pegged me square in the chest. Blood-red paint slithered down my shirt and I looked up at Jules, that infuriating brow arched, waiting for me to make the next move.
“You’ve done it now. I was going to be nice, but all bets are off.”
She squealed as I took off toward the bucket of balloons and ran to one of the barriers set up in the middle of the room, a kids’ playhouse on steroids. She pushed past the green swinging door full force, which I’d noticed was how Jules operated. Bulldoze first, ask question later. I smiled at her. Damn, she was something.
How did I go from hating everyone with two X chromosomes at the beginning of the summer to laughing and chucking water balloons at a giggling girl?
I shook my head. Too deep, too much to process. Keep it light, dipshit. Light wouldn’t destroy my out-of-commission heart. Zeroing in on the play structure, I barreled through seconds later, balancing an armload of balloons in my arms.
She wasn’t anywhere in the small playhouse when I rushed in. I looked left and right. The only way out was the door I came in. Where the hell did she go? Before I could leave, balloons rained down rapid-fire from above. Blue and purple paint splattered my goggles, running down my face. I swiped at the plastic, trying to get a better view of where the assault came from. She sat perched atop the wall. How the hell did she get up there so fast? Shit, she was like some ninja warrior.
“I told you. Water balloon champion. Surrender yet?” She tossed a balloon nonchalantly in her hand.
I chucked a red balloon at her legs, green paint smattering her thighs and her black shorts. “I haven’t even begun.”
She swiveled and jumped off the wall, landing somewhere outside the structure, out of sight. I barreled through the door and started chucking balloons at her retreating figure, pegging her in the ass with pink paint. She let out a little squeak and ran to a mound of fake plants, ducking behind them.
“You can run, but you can’t hide.” I caught myself laughing, feeling more at ease than I ever had been around a girl. Maybe this date thing wasn’t such a bad idea.
Chapter Nineteen
Jules