The whole experience of skinny dipping with Collin was new… and different. Bre had done it with men before—more than once, if she was being honest—but none of those times could compare. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she was still trying to fuck those men when she’d done it with them. But she wasn’t worried about getting Collin into the sack. She’d already had him a number of times and she was certain there was a lot more where that came from. It’s not that she wasn’t attracted to him. It was just… different.

Maybe it was because she could be naked around him and not have sex?

That thought worried her. This wasn’t the way she normally acted around men. For years, men had only served one role in her life: sexual gratification. Aside from that, she’d never had an interest in keeping them around.

Not that any of them would have ever wanted to stay…

The men she hooked up with weren’t exactly beating her door down to see her again. They had known what was going on, just like her. It was a sign of maturity that she never tried to make something more than what it was.

With Collin, though, she was in whole new territory. Collin was the first guy she’d ever been so forward with about just wanting a casual fling and nothing more. Sure, if a guy ever asked, she’d tell them she didn’t want anything serious—but that rarely ever happened. She and Collin had been on the same page since the beginning.

Except for that whole thing about his ‘rules’, of course…

She couldn’t really fault him for that. The rational part of her totally understood why his rules were important. Of course, the rebellious side of her—the side of her that almost always got its way—really wanted to test the limits.

Bre didn’t know how she was supposed to feel about Collin. She shouldn’t be feeling anything at all. But she couldn’t deny that he was somehow different. And different made her curious.

Collin was a fortress when it came to sharing anything about himself—or at least that’s what he was trying to be. But maybe it was time to let her rebellious side come out and have some fun…

“You did a good job back in there,” Bre said.

They were floating in the middle of the pool after racing around, splashing each other.

“I told you I could get you off whenever I wanted,” he said, flashing her a devious grin.

Her core tightened. There was no denying Collin was… talented. She pushed through and gave him a flat stare, trying to keep him in his place.

“I meant the way you won the bet.”

“No thanks to your little distractions… I might go so far as to say you were unsportsmanlike.”

“It was your fault for assuming I was going to play fair.”

Her lip turned up into a coy smile while he bobbed his head in understanding.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind going forward…”

“That would be wise.”

He cocked an eyebrow.

“Are you planning more bets?”

“Well, I am very competitive. And I hate losing.”

“Bring it. Anytime, anywhere.”

Collin’s eyes sparkled with confidence. In that moment, he looked like he could take on the world. The confidence looked good on him. Very good.

“Where did you learn to bat like that? You looked like a natural.”

He shrugged.

“I played ball in high school. I’ve always had a knack for it.”

“Just high school? You looked like you should be playing for the Mets.”

His eyes widened in surprise.

“A Mets girl, eh?”

“Hell yeah. The Yankees can go fuck themselves. I’ll take an underdog any day of the week.” She flashed him a fierce smile. “You’re not going to tell me those Yankee pinstripes do it for you, are you?”

Collin shook his head, vehemently.

“Hell no. BoSox, until the day I die.”

Bre swam up to him and draped her arms around his neck. Feeling his solid frame against her made her mind run wild with all of the things she could be doing to him right now.

“I can live with a Sox fan,” she said. She ran a finger through his wet blond hair while pursing her lips in consideration. Finally, she said, “If I had to guess, I would say that you played baseball in college, somewhere.”

“You caught me,” he said, smiling modestly. “I was even an All American.”

Bre’s eyes flashed in excitement. She’d heard that term used before but honestly had no idea what it meant.

“So, why is a gifted college athlete like you working on Wall Street?”

The smile on Collin’s face receded.

“We shouldn’t be talking about this,” he said, his tone suddenly getting serious. “We’re breaking the rules.”

“And yet, here we are…”

His features hardened.

“The rules are there for a reason.”

Bre didn’t even try to hide the scowl on her face. He really was dead set on these stupid fucking rules.

“I don’t see why it’s so bad that I get to know you a bit. It’s not like I’m asking you to marry me or anything…”

Collin shook his head and unwrapped Bre’s arms from around his neck.

“You’re not getting it,” he said. He studied her for a moment longer before adding, “Maybe this was a mistake.”

He pushed off towards the side of the pool without waiting for a response. Bre watched with a shocked look on her face as he used his hands to press and lift himself out of the water. He grabbed a towel from a nearby rack and started drying himself off.

“So that’s it?” she said, incredulous. “You’re just going to call it quits because I asked you some harmless questions?”

“I’m not walking away,” he said. “I just thought we were on the same page and we’re obviously not.”

“Your page is stupid.”

He gave her a hard look and, for a moment, Bre was hoping he would actually get into an argument with her. Instead, he shook his head with a loud sigh and went back to toweling off.

“You’ve got nothing to say about it?” she said.

“Arguing isn’t going to help the situation,” Collin said. “It’s been a long day. Let’s just go take a shower and take a few breaths.”

Bre couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was really doing this.

“Yeah, sure.”