Secret Rulebook of Cheating

Rule #22: Don't Get Caught

My eyelids were heavy. The torture Jason had put me through during the last hour in the ocean, combined with the sleepless night last night, which again had Jason all over it, had sucked on my energy. I felt myself drifting. We were still at the beach, prolonging our stay as much as possible since it was our last day here. It wasn't nearly as crowded as it was earlier, nor was it that noisy. Especially since Rob and Dan had finally stopped teasing Jason about the unsuccessful swimming lesson. Even though it wasn't his fault and we all knew it, because we were all perfectly aware that he took on an impossible task, they kept bugging him about it. Of course, that was to be expected with his overconfident proclamation. I knew I was partly responsible for that, but after so many failed attempts in the water, I was too frustrated to get in the middle. And besides, why would I stand in the way of someone kicking him right in the unjustifiably huge part of him – his ego?

It had gotten quiet now without the bickering voices. I was slowly dozing off when my belly started tingling. Not its entire surface, just a circular trail around my navel. For the first few seconds, the only thing I could make out was the pleasantness of the sensation but once my consciousness was restored, it didn't take long to realise what was causing it. My head jerked in Jason's direction, being abruptly pulled up from what was supposed to be my soon-to-be blissful slumber.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"Relax," he said, like he didn't have a single worry in this world, his eyes following the circles he was tracing on my belly with his fingers. "No one's around."

I quickly looked around, more on reflex than anything else. His words were confirmed by the empty towels under the neighbouring umbrella. Yet aside from the tingles, there were also knots in my stomach.

"They could come back any minute. Stop that." I was about to push his hand away but he clutched my wrist. This time he looked up to meet my incredulous gaze.

"You don't really want me to," Jason spoke in a hushed voice. Damn was it sexy!

Gosh, why did he have to be right? Of course I didn't. Not with the way those gorgeous blue eyes of his were looking at me – like he wanted to do things to me. Right here, right now.

He took advantage of my daze and drew nearer to plant a kiss on my shoulder. A freaking hot kiss! There was no need to say it out loud. He saw it in my eyes. And he acted on it. I watched as his features grew with him approaching, his eyes not losing mine. His lips drew closer and closer. I was going to give in. He had already gone past the point, where my eyes closed on instinct in preparation for the kiss, when I heard the last thing I could possibly imagine hearing at this moment.

"Shit." My eyelids flew up. "Dan's coming," Jason elaborated and quickly backed away.

My head rolled to the other side as I shifted in my skin. Jason let go of my hand and I placed it on my stomach, trying to hide the trail he had left there with his circles. Which, I knew, was ridiculous, but I was kind of panicking.

Dan was pacing, the sand slowing him down. Please, please, let him not have seen anything!

"Guys," an all-knowing smile was stamped on his lips when he finally reached us after what felt like forever. God, if he made any biting comment about us, I'd die, I swear. I gritted my teeth, preparing myself for his next words, expecting the worst. "Want to come to the bar?" he suggested. "We went right after you fell asleep."

A moment of confusion dazed my mind. I mean how was that a comment about him finding me and Jason in a compromising position? I had to blink a couple of times before it all cleared away and shuffled into the hugest relief known to mankind. Dan hadn't seen us! Of course he hadn't, he was so far away. How could he?