"Luck? But you won't need it." She smiles and winks.
I'm taking that as a good sign, as she knows her brother better than anyone, and if he was through with me, I figured she'd know, right?
"Catch you later," I tell her. Then, I turn to walk back to the elevator.
"You're still coming to dinner tonight, right?" she asks, half-stepping out into the hallway.
I turn back to her, slowly walking backward. "I guess that depends on your brother."
"Ari, you're my friend. You'd be coming even if he didn't want you there, which he totally does because the stubborn ass is crazy about you."
Another shot of hope.
"Then, I'll see you tonight," I tell her on a smile.
I turn forward and walk over to the elevator. It opens as soon as I press the button. Guess it never went back down. I get in and press the button for the twelfth floor.
I exit the elevator and see the signs on the wall outside. Apparently, the gym and steam room are to the left. Pool to the right.
I follow the sign, coming to a door, and I push it open. It leads me straight into the pool area. There's an Olympic-sized swimming pool in here. Glass windows are on either side, giving a beautiful view of the city.
And Ares is the only one in here, currently swimming a length away from me.
I kick off my heels and walk over to the pool where I wait for him to finish.
He hits the other end of the pool and stops, hand on the ledge, clearly taking a break.
I stand here, waiting for him to see me.
His head turns as he moves to return to his swim, and he finally sees me.
We hold eyes for a long beat.
I wonder if he's going to swim over to me, but he doesn't. He just stays there, the stubborn bastard. So, I swallow my pride and walk around the length of the pool to where he is.
I stop before him and stare down. Water droplets are clinging to his lashes and running down his face. His dark hair is slicked back with water.
God, he's beautiful.
"Hi," I say softly.
Hands holding the ledge, he looks up at me. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at work?"
Nice to see you, too.
"My dad gave me the rest of the day off." I crouch down before him, putting us at eye-level. "And I'm here because you told me to call you when I'd sorted my shit out. Well, I've sorted my shit out. But I thought I'd come see you in person rather than call."
"Mmhmm. Right." He nods. "And just exactly how have you sorted your shit out?"
"I told my dad about us."
I don't miss the surprise that quickly flickers through his eyes. He doubted I would. But then I can't blame him. I didn't exactly give him a reason to have confidence in me.
There's a long pause before he says anything. And, when he does, it's, "Okay."
"Okay?" I frown.
"That's what I said."
"And what does okay mean?"
"I'm pretty sure it has a few definitions in the dictionary-"
"You're hilarious."
"I do try."
"God, you're an ass."
"Well, what exactly do you want me to say?"
"Oh, I don't know!" I throw a hand in the air. "Maybe, That's great, Ari! I know how hard that must have been for you!"
"I'm more interested in knowing why you didn't want to tell him in the first place-and don't give me the bullshit about him coming between us because, if you had any faith in me … in us, then you would never have thought that in the first place."
He's right. But it's not that I don't have faith in him. I don't have faith in myself.
"I … " I blow out a breath. "After the first conversation with my dad, about me getting a lift to work with you and how he wasn't happy at the thought of you and me … and I interpreted it to be because of you-that I would bring negative press your way-I was afraid … "
I feel tears stinging my eyes, and I bite the inside of my cheek to stop them from coming.
But it doesn't work, and they spill anyway.
A shaky breath escapes me. "But that was my own negative thoughts about myself coming through. It wasn't actually my dad saying it. It was me drawing the worst conclusion because that's what I already think about myself. That I'm not good enough for you. That I'm a mess. That you'd remember all of this and all the reasons you didn't want to be with me in the first place, and you'd … leave me." I press my palms to my cheeks, wiping away the tears.
"You're not a mess, Ari."
I finally lift my eyes to him. He's staring at me with an unnamed emotion.
"I kind of am at the moment."
"That's true." He purses his lips and bobs his head in agreement.
"Ass." I chuckle tearfully.
"Also true." He reaches out and takes my hand. His skin is wet and cool on mine. "What did your dad say when you told him?"
"He was pretty good about it. He told me that his concern was for me. With you being high-profile and me being his daughter, the press will be interested, especially because of what happened earlier this year. And he was worried about how the press getting into my personal life again might affect me."
"That makes sense." He nods. "But there are ways to protect you from that."
"He's going to speak to PR."
"Good." He runs his thumb over my wrist.
"I missed you," I tell him softly.
"I missed you, too." He slides his hand up my arm. "I hate sleeping without you."
"I didn't sleep," I confess.
"Me either." He chuckles quietly.
"So … what now?"
"You could kiss me," he says, a smile lifting the corner of his lip.
"That I can do." I rest on my knees, not caring about the water getting on my legs or the hem of my skirt, and I lean down and kiss him.
He takes my face in his hands, his tongue sliding into my mouth, sending a shiver running through my body.
"So, we're okay then?" I murmur against his lips.
"We're more than okay."
The next thing I know, his arms are hooking underneath my arms, and I'm being pulled forward.
Into the pool.
Fully clothed.
"Ah!" I scream as my body collides with his when I hit the water. "What the hell?" I yell at him.
He's grinning at me-the ass.
"I wanted you close."
"And you couldn't have gotten out of the pool?"
"This seemed like more fun."
"Yeah, for you." I slap a hand to his chest, but I'm smiling.
"It'll be fun for you, too."
Then, he takes my mouth in a deep kiss and pushes his body forward, thrusting me backward until my back hits the pool wall.
"Hold on." He lifts my hands up and puts them on the pool edge.
Then, he's gone under the water, and I'm wondering what the hell he's doing. I quickly realize when he yanks the zip on my skirt down and starts to pull it down my legs.
I wriggle, trying to stop him because, you know, we're kind of in a public place. There might not be anyone here aside from us at the moment, but that doesn't mean someone couldn't walk in at any moment.
He gives my ass a hard squeeze, stopping me from moving, and he takes the advantage and pulls my skirt off.
"What the hell are you doing?" I hiss when he breaks the surface.
He cleans his face of water with one hand and then throws my skirt on the poolside with the other. "I thought that was obvious."
He moves in close to me, grabbing my hips with his hands and yanking me close. My hands go to his chest.
"Anyone could come in."
"So?"
"So!" My eyes nearly bug out of my head. "I don't want a stranger seeing me naked."
"You're not naked. Yet."
"Have you lost your mind?"
"Over you? Seems so. And relax, babe." He presses a kiss to my neck. "No one comes in here during the day. The pool hardly gets used during the week, except by me." His hands come around to my ass, hitching me up higher, just where he wants me. "I want to make up with you."
He pushes his hips into me, his hard cock pressing right against that sweet spot, and I have to bite back a moan.
"I thought we'd already made up." Despite my vocal reservations, I still wrap my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.
"I want to make up properly," he says and then kisses me.
A deep, hot, sexy kiss has me moaning into his mouth.
"Fuck, I missed you," he groans.
It was only one night, but I missed him, too. It scares me just how much.
His hand moves down my ass, cupping me from behind. He shoves my panties aside and pushes a finger inside me.
I sigh in pleasure, my head falling back against the edge of the pool.
He hoists me higher, so my chest is out of the water. Then, he pushes my top up, yanking down the cup of my bra, and wraps his lips around my nipple, sucking hard.