Chapter 117

I went and fetched one of the paperbacks I’d brought along from my bags. It was actually a little surprising that I hadn’t touched either of the books so far - I liked reading, almost more than watching tv shows or movies - and had brought three paperbacks just in case the trip ended up being a flop for me and I didn’t like hanging out with many of the girls.

Obviously, that hadn’t happened.

Book in hand, I crossed back over to the Singles Boat since I didn’t see Ami in ours, and found her on the couch. She’d changed into baggy sweatpants that were high on her waist along with her bikini top. She also still had on Cassidy’s hat.

“Hey,” she grinned, shifting on the couch to make room for me.

“Hi,” I said and leaned down to kiss her on the cheek before plopping down onto the couch next to her.

“What are you reading?” she asked me.

“I went to this used bookstore that was having a ‘Box o’ Books’ sale on paperbacks a while back. I think this one is a spy book - not my usual bag, but if it’s crap I only paid about fifty cents per book.”

“Ooh, that sounds awesome,” Ami grinned. “I need to find a place that does that. I just like the feel of a book over a tablet or e-reader.”

“Same,” I said.

I settled in, cracking open the first page. I didn’t know how long we were there, but I did know we both shifted every once in a while. Eventually Ami went and got us a couple of water bottles from the fridge, and when she sat back down I pulled her feet up into my lap and started massaging them with one hand while I held my book with the other. She didn’t say anything about it, though I knew she was watching me for a bit before going back to her book, a soft smile on her face.

It must have been over an hour, and Ami had shifted again. She’d lain down on her back with her head on the armrest, which pushed her feet further out so it didn’t make sense for me to be massaging them, and now her thighs were resting across my lap and acting as a little table for me. She was squirming every once in a while though, and she eventually sat up and tugged on her bikini top. “Do you mind?” she asked.

“Mind what?” I asked.

“The knot is bugging me,” she said. “Mind if I take off my top?”

I laughed and shook my head. “Ami, I promise you I’ll never mind if you want to go topless around me.”

“OK,” she smiled, and quickly reached back and undid one of the knots and pulled it off, setting it on the floor in front of the couch before leaning back, her enhanced breasts free to point her little brown nipples to the sky. “I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t making you uncomfortable or anything.”

I reached over with one hand and tickled her bare stomach softly around her belly button. “You couldn’t if you tried,” I said.

She smiled again and put one hand on mine, flattening it against her warm stomach and holding it there as she lifted her book with her other hand and started reading again.

We sat like that for a while, casually touching as she was draped across me.

And God was it nice.

The music outside was loud, but not loud enough to disturb or distract. There were occasional loud bouts of laughter, but no shouting. The thrum of the speed boat was almost rhythmic in the back of my mind as I got lost in the pulpy spy fiction.