All of My Soul (9 page)

“Put me down!” I kicked my legs but he only
held me tighter.

He smacked my butt in reply. “Keep it down.
You’ll wake the kids.”

I looked up and saw everyone following us
down the hallway, laughing and egging Lincoln on.

“Put me down!” I demanded again, this time
quieter. “Where are you taking me?”

“I told you I was going to throw you in the
pool if you didn’t give me my beer.”

He couldn’t be serious. Now that the sun had
set, the temperature had dropped and it was freezing outside.

“No! Lincoln! It’s too cold!”

He smacked my butt again. “Well, you should
have thought of that before.”

I tried to stretch my head up to see where we
were at in the house. I hadn’t been in this part of Kennedy and
Brian’s home before, but I could tell we were getting closer to the
back, which meant we were close to being outside at any minute.

“No!” I cried as I struggled in his arms.
“I’ll get you another beer, baby!”

Lincoln laughed loudly and held me tighter.
“Too late for that now!”

I heard a metal door clang as he carried me
through a doorway, and the air temperature changed drastically. But
instead of being the cold blast of air I expected, it was suddenly
warm and humid. I looked around as best I could from my awkward
angle and saw we were in a small atrium. There were windows all
around, and brown cloth lounge chairs were stacked next to the
doorway we had just come through.

“Where’s your phone?” Lincoln asked.

“What?” I gasped.

“Where’s your phone? Is it in your
pocket?”

He didn’t want to throw me in the pool if I
had my phone on me. “Yes! Yes! My phone is in my pocket!”

“She’s lying!” I heard Rebecca yell. “It’s in
her purse!” I looked up and saw her smirking at us from the
doorway, so I raised one hand and flipped her off.

“All right! Are you ready?” Lincoln
asked.

“What?” I was confused. We were still in the
atrium.

Lincoln pivoted slightly, and a medium-sized
pool came into view. Oh, thank God. He wasn’t taking me
outside.

He walked up to the edge of the pool. “Are
you ready? One!” he cried and shifted me in his arms. “Two!” Our
group joined in the countdown, and Lincoln moved his hands to my
hips readying to toss me into the pool. “THREE!” everyone cried,
and I clamped my legs around his chest. If I was going in, he was
going with me. But he surprised me. Instead of pushing me into the
water, he jumped in himself, taking me with him.

My scream was suddenly cut off as we hit the
water and sank like a rock. Lincoln held me close to him, and I
felt him push off the bottom of the pool. The water was warm, and
had I not been in jeans and a sweater, it would have been
perfect.

Lincoln smiled widely at me as we surfaced.
He shook his head to get his wet hair out of his eyes, and I rubbed
my face. I was still clinging to him, only now we were
face-to-face, my legs wrapped around his waist and my arms circled
around his neck.

I couldn’t help but smile back at him. Sure
we were both soaking wet, but they were only clothes. They could be
washed.

“That was fun,” he said.

His big goofy grin made my heart flutter. He
was irresistible like this. So happy and full of joy. I pulled
myself closer to him and kissed him hard on the mouth. He kissed me
back with passion, and it wasn’t too long before I heard Kennedy
complain.

“Oh, come on! I wanted to see her get pissed
at him, not making out in my pool. AHHH!!”

I pulled away from Lincoln and looked up in
time to see Brian lift up his wife and throw her into the pool.
Only he wasn’t as nice as Lincoln. He managed to stay dry with his
feet on the ground as his wife sailed through the air and into the
water. She shrieked as she surfaced quickly.

“You are so dead, Brian!” she cried. She swam
to the ladder and hoisted herself out of the pool, her cotton
pajama pants and tank top clinging to her body.

Brian laughed and tried to dodge out of her
grasp, but she managed to climb on his back. She was dripping wet,
and now half of Brian was too. He must have realized this because
he grabbed her legs to keep her from letting go of him as he ran
for the pool. I couldn’t help but laugh as he jumped into the
water, taking her with him.

Matt made a move to grab his girlfriend but
Kailey took a step backward toward the door and held up her hand.
“Don’t even think about it, Matthew. This sweater is cashmere!”

She turned and stormed out of the atrium.
Matt gave a longing look back at those of us having fun in the pool
but then turned and begrudgingly followed his girlfriend back into
the house. Poor guy.

Shrieks from my sisters drew my attention as
Deacon attempted to maneuver both of them into the pool. Deacon
grabbed Emily’s right arm and Rebecca’s left arm and pulled them to
the pool as he walked backward toward it. Deacon was just like
Lincoln, full of muscles, and if he wanted you to do something,
there was little you could do to fight against it. Although both my
sisters tried. They both pulled against him until the last second
before they reached the pool. In a quick move, Rebecca grabbed
Deacon’s arm and surrendered to the inevitable. She jumped in which
caused enough momentum that Deacon was unable to stop himself from
going in with her while pulling Emily along with him. Once they
surfaced, the three of them began splashing each other, which gave
me an idea.

I thought Lincoln was distracted but as soon
as I brought my hand back to splash him, he grabbed it and shook
his head at me with a smile.

“Remember what the punishment is for
splashing, Princess.”

I bit my lip to try to stop from smiling as I
remembered our Valentine’s Day bath. Tickling was the punishment,
but it was worth it. He must have seen the gleam of mischief in my
eyes because before I could splash him he moved his hand to my
waist and began tickling me.

I screamed loudly, not caring about waking
the kids anymore since it seemed as if the metal door would block
out the sound. “No fair! I didn’t splash you!”

“Oh, but you wanted to. I could see it in
your eyes.”

I tried to push away from him, but he still
had one hand around my wrist, and every time I managed to get out
of his reach, he would pull me back while laughing at me.

Our playing was shortly interrupted by a
large echoing splash coming from the other end of the pool. It got
everyone’s attention. Carter had been the only one not in the pool,
but as I looked around I found he was missing. Emily was now
standing on the edge of the pool with a devious look on her face.
She must have ditched her sweater, because she now stood there with
her skintight leggings and tank top clinging to her body.

“What—” I started to say, but just then
Carter surfaced from under the water, flailing his arms and gasping
for air. Emily must have pushed him in. His gray suit was drenched,
and his wet hair fell in front of his eyes. He stood in the chest
deep water in shock, and everyone froze waiting to see how he would
react.

A small giggle from Emily broke the silence,
and Carter looked up at her with disbelief.

It’s not that Carter was a total grump. He
was a good guy and a great brother to Lincoln and Kennedy, but I
hadn’t ever seen him just let loose and have fun. I didn’t think
he’d be mad at Emily, but I wasn’t sure if he’d think she was funny
or annoying. But thankfully after a few tense seconds, Carter
laughed and swiped his arm through the water, creating a massive
wave that hit Emily from head to toe.

She shrieked and jumped back into the water,
aiming to hit Carter with most of the water from her cannonball.
Rebecca used the distraction to surprise Deacon. She vaulted up out
of the water and push down on his shoulders, trying to force him
under, but he simply grabbed her arms and dove under the surface,
pulling her under with him.

Lincoln pulled me close to him again and
moved us farther away from the rest of the group. That last beer I
slammed started to hit me hard, and I pinched my eyes shut and
rested my head against his.

“Mm… stop spinning us around, Lincoln.”

He rubbed my back. “We’re not moving,
baby.”

“Then the room is spinning.”

“Are you going to be sick?” he asked with
alarm.

I shook my head, but made no other attempts
to move. My stomach was fine, but I was suddenly extremely tired
and was having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

I felt him pull back from me slightly. “Are
you going to be okay, or do you want to go to bed?”

“No. I don’t want to leave the fun.” I knew I
was whining again, but I didn’t want the evening to be over. This
night had been one of the most enjoyable nights with my friends I
ever had.

Lincoln ran his hand over my head and down my
hair. “There’ll be more fun tomorrow, Princess. It’s late. We
should go to bed.”

“Hmm… okay,” I agreed. I had no energy to put
up a fight. I closed my eyes and rested my head against his
again.

“Don’t fall asleep yet, baby. We have to get
out of the pool first.”

“Okay.” I was willing to do whatever he asked
at this point as long as it involved a bed.

“Okay,” Lincoln repeated with a chuckle. “I’m
going to lift you up to the edge of the pool, but you have to help
me, all right?”

I nodded, but in reality I didn’t know how
much help I could be. The room was still spinning, and my head was
so heavy.

“The ladder is right behind you. Can you
reach back and grab the handles while I push you up?”

I silently unlocked my arms from around
Lincoln’s neck. He had his hands on my hips, holding me steady in
the water. Somehow he managed to push me up to the edge while I
steadied myself on the railings of the ladder.

Sitting on the edge of the pool, I watched
through half-closed eyes as he nimbly hoisted himself out and sat
next to me. He stood up, taking me with him, and I watched as he
pulled his wet T-shirt off and threw it on the floor next to the
pool before shucking out of his jeans. Even drunk, I appreciated
how gorgeous he was as he stood in front of me in just his boxer
briefs.

“Woo! Take it off, Lincoln!” Emily yelled
from the pool. A slight flare of irritation burned through my
drunken haze, knowing my sisters were now seeing my man in just his
underwear, but I decided it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t much
different than if he had been wearing swim trunks. Besides, I could
touch and they couldn’t. I reached out and lightly brushed my
fingers over his abdominal muscles.

He chuckled and grabbed my hand to stop me.
Lifting it to his lips, he kissed the back of it before stepping
closer to me.

“Okay. Your turn.” He reached for the hem of
my sweater and tugged it up, slowly peeling the heavy, wet, fabric
over my head. I felt fifty pounds lighter as he threw the soaked
sweater on the floor, leaving me standing in front of him in my
jeans and tank top. “Now your jeans.” He moved to start unbuttoning
my pants, but I pushed away from him in panic.

“No! Lincoln! I don’t want them to see my
scars,” I said in hushed tones as I looked down with shame.

“It’s okay, baby. I’ve got a robe right
here.” He held open a big, fluffy brown robe, blocking me from
anyone’s view but his.

My drunken fingers slowly undid my belt, and
I put all my concentration into unbuttoning my jeans. It took me a
few tries, but Lincoln never lost patience or told me to hurry up.
Eventually I got it, and I held on to one of his strong shoulders
for balance as I worked my jeans and panties off. I peeked over my
shoulder to ensure no one could see me before I undressed
completely.

Our wet clothes lay in a pile next to the
pool as Lincoln wrapped me in the fluffy robe and lifted me to
cradle me in his arms. I felt totally cared for and protected as
Lincoln carried me out of the atrium, bidding everyone
goodnight.

It wasn’t that far of a walk to the guest
room we were staying in, and I managed not to pass out in Lincoln’s
arms as he carried me. He set me on the end of the bed, and
suddenly there was a bottle of water in my hand. I don’t know where
he got them from, but he held out two little white pills.

“Two aspirin now and two more in the
morning,” he instructed me.

I took the pills. “You sound like you have
experience taking care of drunk girls,” I managed to say. I think
he understood me despite my slurred speech.

He smiled and knelt in front of me so we were
closer to eye level. “No, baby. I’ve just drank more than you have
in the past.”

I chugged half the bottle of water before
handing it back to him and lying down in bed.

“Do you want me to dry your hair?” His tone
was soft and comforting, as if he’d be honored to do it.

My head smushed against the pillow as I shook
my head to answer him. I just wanted to sleep.

I lifted my hand to invite him into bed, and
he crawled in next to me and pulled the covers over us.

“I didn’t take my contacts out.” God, I
sounded so helpless.

“If I get your case and saline solution, are
you going to be able to take them out?”

I nodded. I would somehow manage despite my
drunken state. I hated sleeping with my contacts in.

Lincoln was ever patient as he brought me my
eye-care gear, and I slowly and carefully took my contact lenses
out and placed them in the case.

I snuggled back into bed as Lincoln set my
things on the nightstand and then wrapped his arms around me,
curling up against me, my head on his chest, tucked under his chin.
He was so attentive to my needs. I loved how he cared for me.

“Lincoln?” I whispered.

“Shh… go to sleep.”

I was nearly passed out already, but I
desperately wanted to tell him how I felt. I think I started to
tell him, but the alcohol and exhaustion won the battle, and I
ended up mumbling something incoherent into his chest before
passing out.