I laugh, wiping at my mouth in an attempt to hide it, and Cap’s grin doesn’t fall until Zoey is running around the corner to go show Victoria.

He hops up and punches my shoulder.

I laugh. “Hey, Madman’s playin’ dirty. Had to show him up. I’m her favorite.”

He chuckles. “All right, but no more animals. Pretty soon we won’t be able to find her in her bed, she’ll be so covered.”

“Fine, fine.” I grin. “I’m gonna put this away.” I lift the small gift box at my side.

Cap’s grin widens and he slips closer. “What’s in there?”

The fucker knows it’s for the soon to be here baby Bray.

“Nuh, uh. That’s for me to know. I’m the special one.” I grin and he laughs.

I leave his ass there laughing.

The second I’ve got the box stuffed in my closet, my phone rings.

“What up, MacMoney?” I answer.

“Your girl’s in the pool.”

I freeze, squeezing my phone. “I don’t have a girl.”

“All right.” I hear his punk-ass smile. “Brielle hopped the fence, she’s in the pool.”

“At the school?”

“Yup. The sensors went off, that’s how I know.”

“How the fuck did she of all people manage to make her way up that fence, it’s three times the size of her.”

Mac laughs. “Right. You want me to go get her out?”

I’m already down the stairs and out the front door. “I got this.”

“Yeah... figured you did.”

“Fuck off. But, aye, keep your phone on you in case I need backup.”

“Oh, for sure man, five-foot silver-haired girls can be dangerous.” He laughs. “Make sure you turn off the cameras if the need presents itself.”

I groan and hang up.

He jokes, but for real though... she might be.

For me.

I went off half-cocked last night.

I text Captain to let him know I left so Zoey doesn’t go looking for me and let Maddoc know I’ll be missing the first part of the movie he wanted to watch tonight.

I’m turning into the school lot minutes later. I could easily pull up on the property, drive around to the back and avoid a walk, get there sooner.

I think I’ll sneak up on her instead.

Brielle

I push off the siding, gliding from one end to the other before coming up for a breath. I walk out as deep as I can reach, dropping my head back.

I smile at the stars, zoning in on the Little Dipper, but I don’t short myself the rest of the night sky.

The stars, they’re bright and shining, lighting up the dark sky and giving hope to those of us reaching for more, searching for a sign it’s out there.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath, choking on it a second later when my peacefulness is interrupted.

“Fuck you doing?”

I gasp and whip around, searching the night for the one and only Royce Brayshaw.

He slips through the gate, sliding up in a pair of black jeans and a sleeveless gray T-shirt, tattoos proudly displayed, not that he thinks about that.

His art of choice isn’t for the sake of others, but himself.

One day he’ll be decked out, looking the part of a polo player and the next, be center stage at a sold-out hip-hop concert. He could even hop on a Harley and fit into the roughest of biker clubs. He’s universal perfection.

He tips his head and I remember he asked a question.

What am I doing?

“Swimming.” I dip down until the water is just beneath my lips. “You gonna tell?”

He scoffs and slips closer, his face now half illuminated by the light. “Tell who, me?” he mocks. “Ain’t nobody else gonna get you in trouble.”

I roll my eyes and spin around, smiling at the resistance of my widespread fingers under the water. I face him again. “So am I?”

“Are you what?”

“In trouble.”

He studies me a long moment, and then he’s kicking his shoes off, tugging his shirt over his head and dropping his jeans.

He steps toward the water, the gleam of the moon catching and radiating off the chain that he leaves draped around his neck, allowing me to see it for the first time. Not that he realizes it.

It’s not too thick, reaches just below his pecs, and from it hangs a perfect circle, a crest-like charm that I can’t make out.

His hand comes up, rubbing along his stomach and my eyes fly to the spot, to the clean, tan satin of his skin that disappears into the silk of his boxers.

I swallow. “Your cocks are on.”

He smirks.

“Socks!” I shout. Oh my god, what is wrong with me?! “Your socks. They’re on.”

He ignores me and makes his way over to the diving boards. He climbs all the way up to the highest platform, and with ease and precision, dives straight in.

An exhilarating jolt shoots through me and I laugh, tracing the empty air back up to the top and then dunking under, searching for him deep in the dark water.

He swims right for me, and when he begins to rise, I do too.

My smile slowly fades as I stare at him, his eyes bouncing between mine.

“You like to swim.” He decides.

“I love the water.” I slide backward a few steps and he swims in. “We didn’t go outside during summer when we were little, so I never actually learned the whole swimming part. Sad for a Cancer, right? Water is supposed to be my element.”

A shadow slips over his eyes. “Is that supposed to magically save you from drowning?”

I laugh. “No.”

“So why’d you hop in the pool, in the dark, alone, if you can’t swim?”

“I don’t leave the shallow end. I just push off the side where I can reach, and glide from one corner to the other.”

“You can’t swim.”

I turn, kick off the edge and begin doggy paddling, but my body begins to sink so I let my feet fall back to the bottom. Laughing, I turn to him.

“I can doggy paddle, Playboy. Kind of.”

A grin pulls at his lips and he stands now in the shallow end with me. “That’s pathetic, even my niece’s doggy paddle game is stronger than that.”

I smile.

Royce’s face goes slack, realizing he’s, once again, slid out from behind the armor he’s built so strong around him, and this time, what slipped out was about something, someone, far more precious in his life.

He whips around, disappearing under the water.

A niece. He has a niece.

I want to ask more, but when Royce comes up, it’s right in front of me. He towers over me, a heavy warning in his shaky glare. “Forget what I said, do you understand? Mention her and I’ll—”

“I get it,” I cut him off in a whisper, and his face hardens, his nostrils flaring as he stares at me.

I give a small smile.

“You don’t have to do all that, threaten and warn me every time we have a conversation. It will only lead to me not wanting to have any more.”

“What makes you think I care?”

I can feel that you do, even if you don’t want to...

I don’t say that.

I shrug and glide back in the water. “I mean, you’re in the water with me right now. Kinda seems like you might not hate being around me, even if you do get mad at least once every time we’re around each other.”