But I easily burned around him and tapped the ball into the side of the shed. “Score one for Delyla Denson. The crowd goes wild.”
“I let you get that one, had to warm up you know.” He gave me a crooked grin.
“Then let’s see what you got.” I backed up giving him some room.
He attempted to dribble the ball, but I bumped into him and stole it. Hefting my dress up, I flipped the ball into the air with my feet, and juggled it on my knees.
“Show off.” He lunged for me, but was too late as I dribbled down the yard again.
I sent another ball into the shed. “Woot-woot, that’s right. Another score. Hey, Trey,” I called over my shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“You’re not a very good keeper.”
“Oh, is that so?” He rushed at me and caught me around the waist, knocking me to the ground. We rolled around in a flurry of limbs, bodies, and grass. “Not too quick now are you?”
I laughed as he pinned me down and tickled my side. “You’re a cheater.”
He held my wrists above my head, his eyes sparkled as he stared at me. My belly did a somersault. He was so close. His grip loosened, but still he hovered over me. Neither of us moved. In that moment, my heart sped up, racing as if it was a car on a track.
“Trey,” I whispered.
“Yeah?”
“I … ”
All of a sudden we heard several hisses, before cold water rained down on us. “Oh crap, the sprinklers are on.” He leapt up, dragging me after him.
Giggling, I let him lead me across the yard. We slipped in the wet grass. Wet dirt, sprayed my legs and dress. My hair dripped into my face. We raced toward the deck door, only to find that it was now locked.
“Great, we’re stuck out here,” I said, wringing my hair out.
His white dress shirt clung to his chest, while droplets ran down his face and head. “We can’t go back inside like this.”
“What are we supposed to do?” My teeth chattered as I reached down to grab my shoes I’d kicked off.
“Look for a different way out.” Trey grinned. “What’s wrong, I thought you liked playing in sprinklers?”
My face burned. “Oh. My. Gosh. I can’t believe you brought that up.” I covered my face. “We were like two years old when that happened.”
He laughed. “My mom still has pictures of me, you and Drake running through the sprinkler naked.”
“Remind me to take the photos and burn them when we get out of here.” I peered around the yard for another exit or entrance. My gaze landed on the fence. “We could try to jump the fence. Then we can call Rex or Portia to let them know what happened.”
“Okay, I’m game.” We ran through the sprinklers again, until we got to the gate. “How about, I give you a leg up, then I’ll jump over after you?”
“All right, are you sure I won’t weigh too much?”
“You’re fine.” He put his hands on my waist. “Step on my knee, then hike your leg over the fence.”
Heat coursed through me where his fingers splayed across me. “Don’t you dare look up my dress or I’ll so kick your ass.”
He chuckled. “Why? Are you wearing the Jimbo torn thong?”
I blushed, turned to face him, and slugged him in the arm. “Funny—that thong ain’t going anywhere near my lady parts. Besides, how come you’re so interested in my underpants?”
He stared at me. “I’m not, just wanted to make sure you weren’t going to moon me on the way over.” This time, he hefted me up and I grabbed hold of the gate.
A second later, Trey jumped down beside me.
“Um—do you think I could borrow your jacket?”
Trey noticed the tear. “Yeah, here.” He threw his suit coat around my waist, tying the arms so it looked like a skirt. He rested a hand at the small of my back. The warmth of his touch sent electric shocks from my toes to the tips of my hair.
What was happening to us? The more time I spent with him, the crazier about him I felt. Not that I was about to admit that to anyone. But I felt the connection, just below the surface.
“Do you have your phone on you?” I said as we came around the front of the house.
“No, it’s in my car.” He caught my hand in his. “C’mon, we’re parked over here.” When we got to his vehicle, he opened the door and fumbled for his cell. First he attempted to text Portia. When she didn’t answer, I gave him Rex’s number. After several tries, we couldn’t reach either of them.
“I guess we can just leave and explain things to them later,” I said. “I doubt they want to have us rush back into the fundraiser, wet and covered in mud.”
“Then your chariot awaits, my lady.” Trey opened the truck door and helped me into the passenger side seat.
Once we had our seatbelts on, we drove down toward the security gate. When we got down there, a guard gestured for us to stop.
“I’m sorry, I’ll have to ask you two to step out of the vehicle,” the guard said.
“Wait, what’s going on?” I said.
“We caught you on our surveillance cameras jumping a fence. Trespassers aren’t tolerated in this neighborhood. We’ve already got a call into the cops.”
