I'm Bad. You're Worse.

Twenty Five: Soaking Wet

~~~~~~~~~~~~25~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Jacob, come on," I grumble in exasperation, grabbing and latching onto his wrist. 

Jake turns to me and raises a questioning eyebrow. I immediately release my grip on him and turn away, rolling my eyes. 

"I need a break," Jake whines once more, and thumps the back of my head. I yowl in indignation and turn back to the task at hand. 

We'd just remembered earlier today that our English assignment was due this week, and we've barely got anything prepared. 

Jake and I (well, mostly I) have been working our asses off for the past few hours, scrambling to get everything done. 

"Fine. Fail," I growl, returning to the research paper. Before I can react, Jake loops his arms around me and scoops me smoothly out of the chair, bridal style. 

"Hey!" I object, dropping the papers to the floor in shock. "Pick those up," I snap, slamming my hands against his muscled chest. 

Jake simply smirks and pulls me closer to him, murmuring, "You need to cool off, Gorgeous," my eyes widen suspiciously at his mischievous tone, and I struggle even more to escape. 

Jake laughs at my futile attempts and carries me all the way down the stairs, out the side door in the kitchen. 

We emerge onto a large garden which I hadn't seen before. In the center of the neatly trimmed bushes and well-mown grass is a large pool, going about ten feet deep somewhere near the center. 

"Jake." I warn, gritting my teeth. 

He'd better not. 

Jake simply keeps silent and strides over to the pool, with me still struggling madly against his hold. 

"You'll have to forgive me for this, Gorgeous," he says with a wink. I struggle even more, and Jake suddenly lets go, catching me by surprise. 

I scream bloody murder as I plummet into the water, hearing Jake's taunting laugh from above. 

I'm about to storm out of the water and yell at him when I feel it.  

The freedom. The coolness of the water against my skin. The cool calmness that accompanies the sensation of floating. 

I'd almost forgotten how much I loved being in the water. 

Jake was right. 

I did need to cool off. 

And so does he. 

I smile maliciously to myself, finally surfacing from the water and stripping off my shirt and shorts, doing a few laps around the pool. 

I look up after awhile to see Jake with an amused smirk on his face, watching my every move. 

I grin and pull myself out of the pool, walking leisurely toward my clothes and pulling on only my t-shirt. 

Jake's eyes never leave me as I walk slowly toward him, and his smirk grows wider when I stop and wrap my arms around his neck, our faces so close that our noses are touching. 

"Like what you see?" I taunt. "Oh, definitely," he replies smoothly, pressing his hands to my waist. 

I ignore the rapid beating of my heart and start to move forward slowly. Jake follows, taking a small step back for each of mine. 

"So what are you going to do about it?" I breathe seductively. "This," Jake says, moving in to press his lips to mine. I pull back at the last minute, and Jake busies himself with placing little kisses on my neck instead. 

"Ah, ah, ah," I tease, pushing him back further. "Why do you always have to be so difficult?" He growls sexily.  

It takes all I have not to leap onto him and let my primal side take over. Instead, I smirk and push him back even further. 

"Because," I breathe, leaning in to kiss him. Jake smirks and leans in as well, his grip on my waist tightening. 

I let his lips touch mine for a brief moment, then push against his chest with all my might, taking him by surprise. 

His eyes widen in shock and he flaps his arms around frantically as he falls into the pool. 

I cackle evilly and dive in after him, plunging under and re-surfacing a few moments later. 

Eventually, my eyes land on Jake, who's floating relaxedly in the water. And he's taken his shirt off. 

Dear God. 

I make my way over to him, laughing and splashing his face. His arms immediately wrap around me when I reach him, trapping me protectively against his sculpted chest. 

"That wasn't very nice, Gorgeous," he growls. I bite my lip, trying to stifle my laugh. 

"What can I do to make it up to you?" I tease, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing myself closer. 

"Kiss me," he murmurs, already leaning in. "We'll drown," I murmur, pressing my lips to his. 

My head spins and dizziness takes over. The heat spreads rapidly as the kiss grows stronger, and my heart picks up, beginning to flutter frantically. 

I tangle hands in Jake's hair and press myself closer, hearing him groan with desire. I gently bite on his bottom lip and we practically meld into each other as we continue. 

When we both pull away for air, Jake doesn't stop, busying himself with planting small little kisses down my jawline and neck, biting playfully.  

I bite my lip to keep from being too loud, and gasp when his lips re-capture mine. 

When we finally pull away from each other, Jake smiles and pecks me gently one last time on the lips. 

He gets out of the pool first, reaching down and pulling me up after him. My heart almost stops when I see that grin. 

So carefree. So genuine. It lights me up. If only Jake could be this way all the time. I sigh, walking over to retrieve my shorts. 

I grab them and begin to slip them on, stopping in confusion when Jake's hand lands on top of mine firmly. 

"Leave them off," he says with a smirk. I roll my eyes and stick my tongue out at him, putting them on anyway, knowing it will drive him crazy. 

Before we can head back upstairs, Jake stops me in the kitchen and pins me against the counter. 

I flush at our close proximity, my heartbeat picking up once more. 

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" He asks with a smirk. I roll my eyes and cross my arms, looking away. "Only because-"  

I stop myself. I'd been about to say "only because you kissed me," but Jake has a big enough ego already. I know exactly how he'd react to that. And boy, would he react. 

"Because I kissed you?" He asks playfully with a boyish smile. My heart skips a beat as he reaches out and tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear. 

"Would you like me to do it again?" He murmurs, leaning closer. I don't answer, although YES PLEASE is probably plastered on my forehead at the moment. 

I lean forward, wrapping my arms around his neck. He cups my chin, bringing his lips to mine, tantalizingly slowly- 

"What is this?!" A high-pitched voice shrieks from the kitchen doorway. Jake and I wince, immediately springing apart. 

"Miranda-" I splutter in shock.