Crossing Lines by Alannah Lynne

out of the pool, and bolted for the cooler. He’d been having so much fun with Sam and the kids, other than the beer he drank when they first arrived, he hadn’t considered having another. He hadn’t even finished the first one. But now, thoughts of Lizbeth sent him running for an ice-cold Bud like his life depended on it.
    As he knelt down, a gust of air blew over his wet skin, chilling him to the bone. He paused with the top of the cooler partially unzipped, recognizing this was a defining moment. Did he want to continue down this path, or did he want to take a different road?
    He looked over his shoulder at Sam sitting on her float, completely bewildered by his quick escape. He watched the kids wrestling over the other float, laughing and playing and having a great time without a care in the world. He looked at the massive house casting a shadow over the pool and thought of Max Holden and all he’d lost because of bad choices.
    Kevin was close, real fucking close, to crossing the line that could jeopardize everything he’d ever worked for and everything he’d ever wanted.
    He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths, swallowing the panic rising in his chest. He re-zipped the cooler and pushed it under his chair, hoping out of sight would be out of mind. He wanted to make different choices in every segment of his life. Choices that would allow him to take better care of himself and find happiness, rather than always putting someone else first.
    The concept was so foreign, a large part of him bulked at the idea. He felt like a selfish asshole, but he had to talk to Lizbeth. Forget all the reasons he had for not ending things with her; his quality of life demanded otherwise.
    She had to see the writing on the wall, and it wasn’t right to continue when they were never going to be more than they were now. He wasn’t going to risk losing something that might be special just because he didn’t want to hurt Lizbeth.
    New choices. New roads.
    After a quick prayer for strength and the release of guilt, he slipped back into the water next to Sam, who studied him from the corner of her eye, wary and confused. He rested his forearm on the opposite side of the raft and leaned over her. “Thank you.”
    “It wasn’t a big deal. Really.”
    It was a big deal. He was so grateful she’d shown up in his life, even if their first two meetings had been costly for both of them. But he decided to leave her thinking it was all about Vanguard.
    He had no idea what the future held, but he wanted it to look like her.
    Her eyes roamed over his face, studying him a little too closely for comfort, but he didn’t back off or look away. After a moment, she said, “What just happened?”
    While he didn’t feel the need to hide, he also didn’t see a need for full disclosure. Besides, what would he say? “I’m on the verge of being an alcoholic, although I’m realizing it’s more of a situation thing. With you, I’m happy and don’t need to drink. But when I think about my girlfriend—oh yeah, have I failed to mention her?—I want to guzzle by the gallons.”
    Yeah. Not.
    He smiled and shook his head, shrugging off her question, then stepped back, giving her some space. “Nothing.”
    He ran his hand over her uninjured foot and down the sole. She closed her eyes and moaned with pleasure as he ran his thumb up her arch, then circled it over the pad below her toes.
    He’d avoided crossing one line today, but as he rubbed her foot and enjoyed the ecstasy etched on her face, he slid into dangerous territory. The boundaries between right and wrong were blurring. A smart man would remove his hand from her leg, take a step back, and make sure he maintained at least ten feet of distance between them at all times, at least until after he’d talked to Lizbeth.
    However, he’d apparently lost all sensibilities, because rather than removing his hand, he leaned in closer and said, “You went above and beyond for me. Now let me do