I must have dozed off because suddenly I hear whistling and jerk up, startled. It's Manny, there to clean the pool. For Christ sake, can't he come any other day but Sunday??
He gives me a curt nod and gets on with his work, mixing chemicals.
I turn around and sit up, shading my already shaded eyes with my hand. Manny looks pretty hot today, I must admit. He's wearing another tank, a light blue one this time and his jean cut off shorts. For the first time I notice he has a tattoo on one bicep, some writing, but I can't tell what it says.
He catches me staring and smirks at me. "Enjoying the view?"
I snort. "As if!" I get up gingerly from my chair and take my towel over to the patio table, grateful for the shade from the umbrella. Sitting down I scroll my phone, or pretend to anyway. I really want to know what Manny's tattoo says.
Manny goes back to whistling and finishes mixing the chemicals. He's doing various tests with little bottles and tubes before adding them to the pool. I watch him for a bit longer and then get up and wander over to where he's crouching by the pool. He looks up, his brow slightly furrowed.
"Can I help you?"
"No." Okay this is weird. I feel like flirting with Manny. I don't know why really. I don't like Manny, he's a jerk who never has anything nice to say to me. But still...ugh, am I seriously crushing on Manny now too? Cripes! I need therapy!
"So." He stands up, looking me up and down. "Nice party at Jason's last night, huh? I see you got plastered."
I flush, grateful that my shades are hiding my eyes. "I didn't see you. And I didn't get that plastered!"
He laughs. "Seriously? You didn't get that plastered? Then you don't need these." He reaches up and slides the sunglasses from my face before I can stop him.
The light from the sun pierces my eyes and I yell and put my hands to my face while Manny laughs.
"Give them back!" I snatch the glasses back and push them on.
"That's what I thought." He keeps chuckling and turns to get back to work.
"Mi Vida Loca." I read the tattoo aloud. "My Crazy Life."
He pauses, looking back at me, then down at his tattoo. "Yeah. Got it a couple years ago. My old man was pissed."
"I like it," I tell him. "I wish I could get a tattoo. Mom would never let me though."
"You always do what your mom says?" Manny raises one eyebrow at me, his mouth curled slightly at the sides.
I flush. Manny is better at flirting than I am. "Not always."
His eyes slide from my face and settle on my chest, my scar.
"What's that from?"
I cover my surgery scar with my hand. "I had heart surgery when I was five." I'm embarrassed and look away from Manny's curious eyes.
"Wow, heart surgery. I didn't know that."
"Well it's not something I generally share." I snap.
"You're okay now though, right?"
I'm shocked that he even cares. Venturing a glance back at him I see that his eyes are not mocking or mean at all. He looks concerned.
"Yeah, it's all fixed now. The doctors said I should be fine as long I stay fit."
Manny's eyes slide down my bare skin with appreciation. "I'd definitely say you're fit."
Sheesh! I'm getting realllly warm now!
"Would you like some lemonade?" I ask, fanning my face. "I was just going to get some. You can take a little break, right? I won't tell." I give him a little smile.
He hesitates, then smiles back. "Yeah, okay. Lemonade would be nice."
"Okay, I'll be right back!"
◆◆◆
What just happened? I'm not sure. I just spent over thirty minutes having a pleasant and flirty conversation with Manny over lemonade. He finally said he had to get back to work and I escaped to my room because I was blushing and all a flutter. Now I'm pacing in my bedroom and trying to resist the temptation to peek out my curtains and watch him while he cleans the pool. I don't like Manny! I barely tolerate him, so why do I feel all crushey over him?? Ugh, I really am boy crazy. Manny is NOT boyfriend material. He's rough and he's sarcastic and snarky and ...he has this awesome body with really nice dark eyes and a sexy smile...
I head for the bathroom for a cold shower before things get even hotter inside my nutty brain.
◆◆◆
My head feels better by the time Ryan comes over later that night. We're lounging downstairs in our basement rec room and he's playing my X-box. I can't play at the moment because it makes me feel slightly nauseous.
Ryan is so into playing Star Wars Jedi that he is practically ignoring me. Which I guess is okay because I keep staring at my phone, trying to decide between texting Mr. Hayes - Michael, or Manny. Both feel like dangerous choices.
"OH man!" Ryan throws his controller down. "I suck at this game!" He looks at me, his brow furrowing. "You feeling okay? Want me to get you some Ibuprofen or something?"
I shake my head and give him a lazy smile. "No, I think I've taken too much. It's making me feel icky."
Ryan leans closer to me so our heads are touching, giving me his cute smile. "Aww, you poor thing. What can I do to make you feel better?"
Jesus, he's flirting and I feel like shit, plus I'm thinking of texting two other guys...but right now I just want his mouth on mine. Before I can stop myself, I pull Ryan's face closer and press my mouth to his.
He kisses me back softly, his hand on the side of my neck, his thumb caressing my cheek. I'm
