“You could have at least shaved.”
He grinned. “Look at you, already planning on losing. Should we just skip the actual bet and get right down to it?” His words caused the slightest roll in my stomach, just a little dip, before I shook it off like a champ. He was so good at flirting that it was sometimes hard to remember that it was second nature to him. He was in no condition to want any of this touching to actually happen.
I folded my arms, making sure to look him directly in the eyes. “Alright, when I win, you have to yank off your shirt and go back over to those girls and help them again. And the shirt stays off until we get back to the ranch.”
A ruddiness appeared on his cheeks that delighted me. “No.”
“Yes.”
“Why are you so obsessed with me?”
A laugh bubbled at his obvious distress. “That’s what I want.”
“Pick something else. They’ll eat me alive.” Both of our eyes flicked in their direction, only to see the three of them startle and turn away.
“I think I’d like to see this play out,” I said, grinning.
“You’re the worst safety net I’ve ever had.”
“You seem nervous. Already getting your pole ready?”
His fingers stopped moving. “Actually, this is your pole.” He flung his head down toward the bank. “That’s mine.”
“Thanks.” I gave him an endearing smile. “Thirty minutes?”
“Yup. Spit on it?” he asked.
“No thanks.”
We shook on it—sans spit. His warm hand engulfed mine, and a familiar competitive edge settled between us as he held my hand a little longer than necessary.
“I call this spot!” he said, suddenly breaking away before thrusting the pole into my hands. He jumped down onto a rock below and plunged into the water.
“Thanks for scaring all the fish my way!” I yelled as I ran down the riverbank until I found an area I liked, entering the water in a much gentler manner. I attempted to fling my line into the river when I noticed the massive knot at the end of my line.
Untying it took five minutes, but I wasted no time yelling after Jake, beyond sending a large rock flying his way to land in the water beside him, splashing up on his leg perfectly. His sly grin, while ignoring me, did nothing but make me fish faster, if that were possible.
10
SHELBY
“Hey, Jake!”I called out across the river sometime later. “Samantha could use a little more help with her hand placement. Would you mind?”
A broad smile crossed my lips as a red-faced and shirtless Jake Evans made his way toward us. The victory had been beautiful. Neither of us had caught a thing until the twenty-eight-minute mark, when my line had a tug. At twenty-nine minutes, I reeled in a beautiful trout, which I promptly flung back into the water, but not before I proudly showed it off to Jake.
I wasn’t sure why I got tingles in my stomach as his eyes burrowed into mine as he approached our group. I motioned to the tall brunette who was absolutely pretending to need help. If the whispers and sly filming of said ‘help’ meant anything, I’d guess there was a bet going between the three women as well.
But then, Samantha’s eyes moved up and down Jake’s body in a way that made my stomach tighten. I couldn’t imagine what it did to Jake. I almost felt bad about making him strip off his shirt.
“Sorry,” she said, laughing casually as she ran her fingers through her hair. She held her pole out in front of her. “Everybody else seems to be doing better than me. I wondered if you could show me again.”
“Sure,” Jake said. He flashed me another glance, flushing slightly before he masked himself with a charming grin. He stepped up behind her, showing her how to hold the pole, emphasizing the exact flick of his wrist. Samantha scooted backward just enough that her back was touching the smooth contours of Jake’s bare chest before she placed her hand on the outside of his.
A bolt of annoyance coursed through my body.
If I ever had to pretend to need a guy’s help, it sure wouldn’t be acting like I didn’t understand how to cast a fishing line. I was embarrassed for her.
But when she snuck a glance back at her two cousins and sent them both a triumphant look while they hid smiles behind their hands, I’d had enough. Jake would have appreciated a prank like this in high school, but this Jake seemed uncharacteristically uncomfortable and, honestly, kind of…stuck.