More Than Friends Read Free Page A

woman quite like her.
              He felt like a caveman ogling a prize.
              “Hey,” he said, breaking his stupor and walking up to help her.  “It’s a scorcher today, ain’t it?”
              She spared him a glance.  “Yeah.  Not too bad now that it’s getting on in the evening.  I like to work out here around this time the best.”
              Jake peeled off his shirt and wiped his forehead and chest off.  She noticed and stopped to stare at him a brief moment before continuing on with her task.  He smiled.  Brent wasn’t the only one who could take off his shirt.
              He grabbed the water hose and started watering the beans along the fence.  He pulled the hose, watching her from different angles as she squatted and tended the garden.  A fine sheen of perspiration coated her warm, brown skin, making her gleam in the sunlight.
              Impulsively, he squirted water at her, splashing her chest to watch droplets rivulet down the valley of her breasts.
              “Stop that!” she said.  “I’m not ready for a bath yet.”
              “Why?  You look hot,” he said, squirting her legs when she stood up to glare at him with her beautifully framed brown eyes.
              “I’m gonna kill you.  That’s freezing.”
              He laughed.  “All right.  I’ll quit.  I’ve about got everything watered anyway.”
              “You missed these over here,” she said, motioning to the row she was working on.
              “Well, I tried to get them, but you’re in the way.”
              “Believe me, I’ll move,” she said with a smile, leaning on the fence to watch him water the last row.
              He swiped a hand across his forehead and looked at her.  “Me and Brent were talking about a game we used to play with you when we were kids.”
              “We played a lot of games.  Which one?”
              “Catch and kiss.  Do you remember it?”
              Lizzy laughed.  “Yeah.  Y’all never did get me.  You were both too slow.”
              Jake finished and turned off the water, rolling up the hose.  “I’m not that slow anymore.  I’m sure I could outrun you now.”
              “Hmph.  I’d like to see you try,” she said, smiling.  “I’m still pretty fast.  I run every morning.  I haven’t seen you getting out of bed early to exercise.”
              He looked insulted and frowned at her.  “All right then.  Tell you what, I’ll even let you get a twenty second head start instead of ten.”
              Lizzy shook her head.  “I don’t need it.  I’m confident you won’t catch me.  You never could and never will.”
              “Get ready then, ‘cause it’s on!”
              Lizzy yelped and took off, dashing through the fence and heading down the beach.  Jake counted to ten then went after her.  He might not work out around their home, but he did almost every day on the school track.  Just because they were on summer break didn’t mean he’d suddenly fallen out of shape.
              From behind, he could see the play of her dark skin over her muscles, entrancing him, the sway of her hips as she ran, her ass jump as her feet hit the sandy beach.  He was determined to win this time.
              He was taller than her, and his legs ate the ground at a faster pace.  After a few seconds, he’d caught up with her and snatched an arm around her waist, taking her to the sand and rolling on top of her.
              She giggled and panted when he landed above her.  Her chest heaved from the exertion.  She smiled up at him, her brown eyes twinkling beneath thick black lashes.  “First time ever you managed to get me.  I guess I couldn’t hold my record forever.  I forgot you were a runningback in high