Excerpt of The Opportunist by Tarryn Fisher

“I’m not getting in the pool! It is freezing!”

“It’s November in Florida, Olivia. It’s seventy degrees out. Besides, it’s a heated pool. Man up.” Caleb waded around in his boxers in the turquoise water of the campus swimming pool. I tried to avoid looking at his muscles.

“You can’t manipulate me into the pool by making a sexist comment,” I said, leaning down to splash him in the face. He grabbed my wrist before I had time to withdraw.

Our eyes locked.

“Don’t,” I warned. For a second, I didn’t think he’d have the guts. Next thing I knew, I tumbled headfirst into the freezing water.

I came up gasping for air, my hair wrapped unbecomingly around my face. Caleb peeled it away, laughing.

“I can’t believe you did that!” I gasped, shoving him on the chest. It felt like I was pushing on hot rocks.

“You look good wet,” he said. “It would probably be easier to swim if you took off some of your clothes.”

Shooting him a searing look, I started a breaststroke toward the side of the pool.

“Ahh, not one for fun I see.” His voice was light when he said it but there was a definite challenge in his tone.

“Screw it,” I mumbled, stopping a foot away from the ladder. I was the type of girl that would ‘jump off of a bridge’ to spite my friends. I was wearing my good underwear anyway. I ducked under the water and shed my polyester skin like a snake. I resurfaced seconds later with just my skivvies on.

Caleb unconsciously mouthed ‘wow.’

“To your fun,” I toasted him with my sopping wet clothes and then threw them at his head. He dodged and circled around to where I was treading water.

“Nice lace,” he smirked, eyeing me without shame.

“Can you not make it so obvious that you’re looking?” I felt violated. I submerged myself under the water until only my head was visible.

“I thought our relationship was about honesty,” he smiled.

“Pffffff,” I snickered, “our ‘relationship’ is based on dares and blackmail.”

His eyes were twinkling. He had such expressive eyes. I wanted to crush that twinkle and kick him where it hurt.

“Blackmail is such a harsh word,” he said, as he swam closer.

“You threatened to tell the school newspaper that I was the reason you missed the shot, Drake.”

He was way too close for comfort now. I began peddling backwards. There was a scar at the corner of his right eye that I had never noticed before. It was just a faint crescent moon, but somehow it made him look dangerous— in a sexy way. I shook my head. These thoughts were not mine… they were Cammie’s— damn her.

“How did you get that scar?” I asked.

I shuffled along the bottom of the pool on my tiptoes to get away from him. He absently reached a finger out to touch it.

“I stole a pound note from my grandfather’s wallet and when he caught me, he decided to punish me with his walking stick.”

I felt one of those, ‘this is why he’s messed up,’ moments coming on and I prepared myself to understand him.

“Really?”

“No.”

I felt myself color red. I punched him on the arm as hard as I could.

“I fell off my bike when I was twelve,” he laughed, rubbing the spot where I hit him. “A very boring story.”

“At least it’s the truth,” I said, exasperated. “Someone like you doesn’t need to lie to be interesting.”

“Someone like me?” he asked. “You find me interesting, Libby?”

“No, I don’t, and don’t call me Libby. You know, you’re really quite simple and boring,” I sniffed.

He was looking away from me into the water.

“Did you drop a piece of your jewelry?”

“What?” His attention had shifted so suddenly, I felt offended.

“There’s something down there at the bottom of the pool.” He was pointing to a spot between our feet. I narrowed my eyes, trying to see what he was staring at.

“I’m not wearing any jewelry,” I said impatiently, “it’s probably just a penny or something.”

I nudged it with my toe. It was bigger than a penny. Before he could say anything else, I ducked my head under the water to retrieve it. When my head broke the surface of the water, Caleb automatically scooted closer.

“What is it?” he was staring at my clenched fist.

“Let’s see,” I said theatrically, pulling my fingers slowly away from my palm. It was not jewelry. It was an old penny, flattened, and stamped with a message that entitled its bearer one free shot of affection, a kiss. Before I realized what I was doing, I dropped the souvenir into his palm.

“You’re full of tricks tonight, aren’t you?” He was laughing… always laughing.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Before I could retort with something clever, Caleb reached out and scooped me around my waist. Even in the cold water, his touch felt scorching hot. He pulled me toward him and our bodies were pressed together, belly-to-belly, chest-to-chest. I was so shocked, that at first I made no protest. I hadn’t been this spatially close to another human being since I was an infant. He grinned, his eyes turning smoky with what I perceived as lust.

I gave up fighting and allowed my lips to be steered toward his. This is for Cammie, I told myself. There was no ‘nice and easy’ with this boy. He grazed his tongue along the inside of my bottom lip. He was gentle at first, trying to coax my stubborn lips into some form of cooperation. I responded with the only thing I knew: frigid prudery. Caleb, undaunted by my lack of enthusiasm, pulled away from me. His hands were wrapped around my waist, his fingers positioned right beneath my panty line. Our foreheads were touching and my breath was coming out in little gasps. It was embarrassing.

“Kiss me back, Olivia.” His voice was commanding, and for a second, I felt a flare of rebellion like I did when he instructed me to put on my seat belt. I swallowed hard and closed my eyes. I didn’t win that fight. I probably wouldn’t win this one either. I might not even want to win it.

I could do it. Kissing was a no-brainer, like eating or walking. His lips came back a second time and I bent my head toward him, tilted like in the movies. I was ready this time, willing even. I jumped when we connected and his lips, which were pressed against mine, stretched into an amused smile. He laughed into my mouth. It was infuriating and incredibly sexy. I tried to pull away, but he pulled me back. The kiss. The kiss. The kiss. It was chocolate cake and fizzy passion and goose bumps. No one had ever kissed me like that before.

Then, he did the strangest thing— he pulled away and held me at arm’s length. The spell was broken.

“Olivia…” His voice was rough.

I shook my head. I didn’t want to hear what he was going to say.

“I have to go,” I said quickly.