Page 71 of The Triple Play

“You distracted me with all your”—I wave at her chest area—“womanly wiles.”

Olivia doubles over, laughing. “Seriously? Are you saying one look at my nonexistent boobs made you slip?”

I step in close, so no one can hear except her. “Don’t let me hear you bad-mouthing those perfect breasts of yours, or I’ll have to punish you.” I’m close enough to hear her soft intake of breath. Her tongue darts out to moisten her lips, and right after, I lift my thumb to brush over them. I won’t kiss her, no matter how badly I want to. She made it clear she wants to keep this thing under wraps, and Griff already pushed the boundary by kissing her nose earlier.

I’ll behave, for now.

But later, when part two of our date is underway and we’re somewhere more private? Game on.

That time comes less than an hour later when we climb into Griff’s truck. We flipped up the console in the front so that it made a bench seat, and now Olivia is squeezed in between us as we drive to a spot down by the ocean between here and Cedar Creek. Griff’s arm is draped across her shoulders, and she’s leaning into his side, but her hand is entwined with mine, on top of her thigh.

“Oh wow,” she murmurs, sitting up straight when Griff pulls into the small gravel parking lot that backs right up to the beach. He reverses into a spot with ease, then turns the truck off.

“Wait here, and no peeking,” I command with a wink. Then Griff and I hop out, grabbing everything we brought with us from the back seat. It takes no time at all to set up the bed of the truck with every foam pad and blanket we could find at home. Then I open the passenger door with a flourish.

“This way, your viewing platform awaits.”

Olivia lets out a light giggle and climbs down. “My what?”

As soon as I lead her around to the back, she gasps. “Oh.”

Griff holds out his hand to help her up into the bed of the truck. “We thought a little stargazing by the ocean would be nice.” Aww, he sounds nervous. That’s cute.

I hop up after him and stretch out next to Olivia, tugging her into my side and kissing her head. “We’ve got some snacks and drinks, too. What do you think, Pix?”

She tilts her head up to look at me as Griff clambers up and takes his spot on the other side of her. “It’s perfect.”

I dip my head down and kiss her. Finally. My hand cups her face, holding her as I take the kiss deeper, reacquainting myself with her mouth. The faintest taste of salt is on her upper lip, evidence of how much of a badass she was at the rock climbing gym. Honestly? They way she beat me in that race was fucking hot.

Griff grabs his phone and starts the playlist he spent way too long curating earlier today, and Olivia nestles even closer to me. I let myself sink into the quiet peacefulness surrounding us. The sound of the waves coming onto the shore, the cool breeze coming off the water. It’s not exactly warm this time of year, but that’s why the pile of blankets is so high.

“Are you cold?” I ask when I feel Olivia shiver. Griff immediately grabs a fleece blanket and pulls it over her. She picks it up, and even in the dim light from the moon, I can see her lips curve up. “Is this a Star Wars blanket, Griffin?”

He ducks his head, shaking it side to side. “Listen. We grabbed every blanket we could find.”

I lean over and whisper conspiratorially, “He’ll say it’s from his childhood, but I know he bought it a couple years ago when we were in California.”

“Shut up,” he grumbles, reaching over to smack me, but I dodge him with a laugh.

“His favourite catcher, Dan Montgomery from the Vancouver Tridents, is a die-hard Star Wars fan. He wanted to be just like him.”

Griff launches himself over Olivia. “Seriously? I’m gonna kill you.”

“Boys!” She laughs, pushing us apart. “Stop.”

Griff settles back down with a grunt, and I smirk over at him, earning a light slap from Olivia.

“I said stop,” she says more firmly before turning to Griff. “There’s nothing wrong with admiring another catcher, Griffin. I will admit, buying a blanket just because he likes Star Wars is an interesting choice, but right now, all that matters is that the blanket is keeping me warm. So, thank you.” With that, she leans over and kisses his cheek.

And he takes full advantage, grasping her chin and turning her to face him so he can kiss her properly, keeping one eye on me the entire time.

I exaggerate my eye roll just for him. Then, just because I can’t help it, I shift position, lying down so my head is in Olivia’s lap. It means I’m kinda crammed against the side of the truck, but I decide I don’t care when her hand lands on my head, and she rakes her fingers through my hair.

“Oh, hell yeah, keep doing that,” I moan.

“Are you a cat?” she says, amused.

“If you want me to purr for you, I will. Just say the word.”