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.