Coach Maddie and the Marine by Blaire Edens Page A

splashing around, paying little attention to anyone. This late in the afternoon, there were only a couple of other swimmers and they were all in the other section of the pool swimming laps.
    It was black. Sleek. He flashed back to his longtime crush on Catwoman. Maddie would make a perfect Catwoman.
    She bent over the edge of the pool and he couldn’t help but stare. Her cleavage deepened, and he half wished her breasts would spill over the top of the suit. The temperature rose and he stuck his hands in the pockets of his trunks.
    “Y’all okay?” she asked.
    More than okay. Thankfully I didn’t say it aloud.
    “Just fine. Thought I’d let him splash a little before I gave him some pointers.”
    She nodded and rose.
    “You’re not coming in?” he asked.
    “I thought I’d just sit on a lounge chair.” She pointed to the one where she’d tossed her tote bag and towel.
    He grabbed her ankle. “Come swimming. The water feels great.”
    She shook her head. “I’m good.”
    “Come on, Aunt Maddie, please. Come swimming with me. Please, please.”
    David raised one eyebrow and looked at her. “He’s begging.”
    With a deep sigh, she walked to the steps and crept into the water a little at a time.
    The way the water beaded up on her skin made him even harder. When she was waist deep in the pool, her nipples hardened, no doubt because of the cold water, but it was sexy as hell. He had no trouble imagining teasing those nipples with the tip of his tongue. He shivered.
    “Cold?” she asked. She moved deeper into the water and closer to him.
    “Something like that,” he answered with a wink.

Chapter Seven
    After seeing him in the pool after practice, she decided that her first impression of him was correct: his body was perfect. Like something off a romance cover.
    While they’d agreed just to be friends, it wasn’t easy to stop thinking about him. To stop wondering what he’d look like totally naked. And in her bed.
    On Wednesday, Maddie jumped every time the phone rang. She told herself it was because she hoped Callie called. But she was lying to herself. While she’d love to hear from her sister, somehow her calls home only made things harder. Finally, around midnight, she admitted to herself that she was hoping for a call from David.
    By Thursday afternoon, she was beyond testy. Almost forty-eight hours had passed without a word from him.
    She had to keep reminding herself that she’d told him she wasn’t interested. If she didn’t want to get involved with him, why couldn’t she stop thinking about him?
    The body. The wink. Those were two of the big whys. She wasn’t even going to think about his lips. That was dangerous territory.
    No amount of reasoning put her in a better mood. Andrew noticed her foul humor the moment she picked him up from school.
    “What’s the matter, Aunt Maddie?”
    “What do you mean? Nothing’s wrong.” She cringed, hearing the bark in her own voice.
    “You haven’t even fussed at me for not pulling my hood over my head in this rain.”
    “I’m fine, really. I just have a lot on my mind. I had a lot of difficult clients today. And I’m trying to mentally prepare for the game on Saturday.”
    “You’re upset because Coach Sterling hasn’t called, aren’t you?”
    How did the kid get so smart? Did he miss anything?
    “No. Coach Sterling has his own life. He’s probably a very busy man. He was just helping me learn the game and now we’ll probably only see him at practices and games.”
    “Then why was he kissing you? Kissing has nothing to do with football.”
    “You have a point, Andrew,” she admitted. “But sometimes things between adults aren’t so black and white. It’s okay. I’m fine. Do you have lots of homework?” she asked, trying to steer the conversation in a decidedly different direction.
    “Not much. Can I go over to Tommy’s house later and stay for dinner?”
    “Sure, I guess. I thought you didn’t really like going to his house