Free Tackling Summer by Kayla Dawn Thomas Page B

water over him.
    He held up the empty bottle like a trophy as her dog bounced out of nowhere into the water, barking her head off.
    “You jerk!” Chanel bent to scoop up more water.
    It was on. Forgetting his bruised body, Maddox tugged off his dirty sneakers and rammed his pant legs up above his knees. He charged into the water and paused only a moment to cringe at the bitter cold. And to think he’d considered sitting down in it to wash the grunge and soreness from his muscles. He would’ve frozen his balls right off.
    Chanel yelped in surprise when he hit the water and skittered backward a couple of steps. He reached out and hooked her with one arm dragging her close. Then he swept her off her feet. They were nose to nose.
    “Put me down,” she squealed, kicking her legs.
    “Okay.” Maddox released her and she plunged fully clothed into the water.
    She spluttered and fought her way back to her feet. “That’s not what I meant!”
    Maddox laughed. It was nice to see her unhinged for a change. They stood face-to-face the sound of the creek filling the air.  
    “You were amazing out there today.” The dorky words were out before he had a chance to censor them. He sounded like a dude from a lame chick flick.
    Chanel let out a sharp laugh and took a step away from him.
    “No, seriously. I’ve never seen a chick do things like that.”  
    “Yeah, well, most chicks can’t do things like that,” Chanel said.  
    A loud splash and barking broke the tension. They both turned to see Mitch’s dogs crashing into the creek to join Chanel’s four-legged friend. Taking advantage of the distraction, Chanel slipped away from him and headed toward shore.
    An unfamiliar pang of guilt twinged in his gut, and Maddox caught her by the elbow. “You okay?”
    “You drank my beer.” Her words were accusing, but when she looked over her shoulder, there was a twinkle in her eyes he hadn’t seen before.
      “There you are,” Mitch called to them when he emerged from the trees at the creek’s edge.
    “Just rinsing off some of the grime,” Chanel said slogging over to her father and taking a seat on the rock next to her boots.
    “Looks like you fell in.” Mitch nodded at his daughter’s soaked clothes.
    “I might have had some help.” Chanel sent a pointed look at Maddox who widened his eyes in innocence and went about scrubbing his arms. The icy water felt good on his scorched skin. After that water fight, his whole body needed submerged to cool off. If Mitch hadn’t appeared, where would things have gone? The look she’d just given him had him burning up.
    Mitch chuckled, and Maddox saw him say something to her that he couldn’t hear. Whatever it was made Chanel arch a brow at her father before returning to tugging on her boots. Maddox reminded himself what a brat she was, and that she had zero interest in him or anything fun. He’d just caught her off guard, that’s all. To drive the thought home, he took a deep breath and dunked his head in the cold water.

    ***
     
    The sun was down, and the edge of the sky glowed pink and orange. Chanel took a deep breath as she scooped dog food into Soda’s bowl. She was going to have to get a hold of herself when it came to Maddox. There was a lot of summer left. His cocky demeanor made her nuts, but over the last few weeks, she’d seen cracks in it, which made room for other feelings to creep in. He’s still a jock. He’ll go right back to his usual self the minute he puts one toe on that campus . Convinced for the moment, Chanel rubbed Soda’s head and made her way across the campsite to the large canvas tent that had been erected to serve as a kitchen. Christine would have stored any dinner leftovers in a cooler.
    A soft giggle stopped her as she reached for the door flap. Pulling back her hand, Chanel leaned forward directing an ear to the tent wall.
    “Mmm, it’s going to be hard to sleep knowing you’re right outside my tent,” she heard Christine murmur. It