Luke’s chest rises and falls a little deeper than normal, and then he gets to his feet, taking my hand and bringing me up with him. Water drips from us both, down the backs of our bare legs, and for me, in places that make me cringe inwardly, thinking about needing a shower. Stat.
Seth rubs the palm of his hand across the back of his shaved head. “Sorry to barge in on yah like this,” he says. A dark gray T-shirt hugs his muscular form, partially tucked behind a belt holding up a pair of black cargo shorts.
“It’s all right,” Luke says as we’re ascending the back steps. “What’s goin’ on?”
I get the feeling right away that Luke might have something more harsh to say to Seth if I weren’t standing among them. “I thought you were going to hang back for a while?”
“Yeah I know; sorry, man. I had to come over and get some of my gear.” Seth looks us over with curious dark brown eyes, finally taking stock of our drenched and mud-stained clothes. “I’m not even gonna say it.” He shakes his head, laughing under his breath.
“Yeah, please don’t,” Luke warns.
Wringing the water from my shirt and as much as I can manage from my shorts, I do my best not to seem as though I’m interested in their conversation. I’m not, really, but I feel kind of trapped, not wanting to go inside Luke’s house and leave a trail of water and mud across his clean floors in my wake.
“Come on in,” Luke tells me, holding open the screen door. “Don’t worry about all that. I’ll clean it up.”
Our eyes meet in passing, reflecting the moment we just had, and then I go ahead and walk past him into the house. Luke peels off his T-shirt before he comes in and tosses it over the lanai railing. I try not to look at his tanned, muscled upper body as he walks through the kitchen toward me, but that’s not such an easy thing to avoid, I realize quickly. His shorts, weighted down by all the water, reveal a sculpted V-shape between his rigid hips. Oh my God …
Finally I avert my eyes.
Seth stands in the kitchen, leaning against the counter with his big arms crossed. It’s apparent to me that he probably came here for more than his gear, and the fact that he’s not saying much tells me they might need some time alone.
“Mind if I get a shower?” I ask Luke.
As if he feels bad for not offering it to me right away, Luke completely ignores Seth and says, “Yeah, babe. Let me show you where the towels are.”
Babe? I’m not going to have a working heart left by the time I leave this island.
I notice from the corner of my eye that Seth seems as surprised to hear something like that coming from Luke as I am.
I grab some clean clothes from my suitcase in his room, and then Luke leads me down the hall to the bathroom after getting a clean towel and washcloth from a hall closet.
“Thanks.”
He smiles, and for a brief moment it seems like he might want to kiss me again, but he doesn’t, and I shut the door and start stripping off my wet clothes. A moment later, I can faintly hear their voices through the thin walls and it seems like they’ve moved into the living room.
“This seems serious, bro,” I hear Seth say, but at first I don’t think he’s talking about me. “You sure about her?”
Is he talking about me?