"Because if you fall in, I ain't jumpin' in to save you." He joked, and took a swig of his beer.

Her arms flopped to her side. "Well, what kind of guy are you? What do you mean you're not saving me? You're supposed to save me if I'm hurt."

"I ain't the savin' kind of guy, honey."

There was that ain't word again in less than one minute.

"So . . . If I fall in you're just going to stand there?"

"Maybe." His big grin contradicted his lie.

She waved him over. "Come over here with me."

"Hell no."

She taunted him. "Why? You scared?"

"I ain't scared of shit."

"Then come on up here with me and show me that you're not scared."

"Let's make a deal." His eyes scanned the length of her body. "If I come over there, you have to kiss me."

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Deal." Maybe it was the beer that made her agree so fast, but he had some pretty delectable lips.

It was just a kiss anyway . . . right?

John chugged the remaining of his beer and then chucked it off to the right where it rolled on the ground. He stepped onto the broken tree branch and walked to her like it was nothing, like he was walking on grass.

"What . . ."

"You really thought I was scared?" he grinned. "Now give me that kiss."

She stood on her tiptoes and placed a sweet, light kiss to his lips.

"That's not the kind of kiss I was talking about-and you know it."

He stepped away from her and did a back flip with some crazy twist off into the river.

"Are you freaking crazy!" she yelled while Ford and Jace laughed from a distance.

"Jump in with me! You won't even need a shower tonight."

Alyssa deadpanned. "Oh my God. You're serious, aren't you?"

"That's the rednecks way to taking a shower," Ford yelled.

"I am not jumping into that disgusting water." At the end of her words, John waved his arms around the murky water and splashed Alyssa. "You just went mudding. You have so much dirt on you that it's going to take more than one shower to get it all out and you're worried about some river water?"

"John! I'm serious! Stop!"

"Not until you jump in and give me the kiss you were supposed to."

Hesitating, Alyssa stared at him. She was covered in mud, having the most fun she's had in a long time, and John was the reason for it all. Taking a deep breath, she jumped into the cold water. She came up to see John swimming toward her. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to his front. "It's not so bad, is it?"

"I guess not."John smiled. "Now where's my kiss?"

"Ah, I think you got your kiss this morning, country boy."

"I sure did, but that wasn't part of our deal just now."

"Hey-that deal was your own deal that I never agreed to."

John squeezed her waist, tickling her. "Yes, you did. I have witnesses to prove it."

"John!" she squealed.

"Give it to me and I'll stop."

"Ah, come on, Alyssa, put him out of his misery please and kiss him already!" Jace yelled from the land.

"Do it!" Ford shouted.

John smiled at Alyssa, his green eyes lighting up. She could feel his enthusiasm. "Yeah, just do it."

Alyssa huffed loudly. "What am I going to do with you guys?" before planting a kiss right on his mouth. Her legs wrapped around his waist and she gripped his face while she kissed him hard. John wanted a kiss, he was going to get one.

John didn't think she had it in her to kiss him in front of his friends, but she did. Underneath the water, his arm circled her waist while his other hand was on her neck, cradling her close to him. Desire coursed through his veins as she kissed him, her lips nipping and then her tongue stroking his. Maybe this kiss deal wasn't such a great idea because all he could think of was the sex they had earlier and how he wanted to lay her flat on her back and do it again.

John pulled back, breaking the kiss. They panted into each other, trying to catch their breaths while Jace and Ford whistled. Her lips were swollen, her eyes glossy with arousal. She wanted him again just like he wanted her. John was in serious trouble. The look she was giving him could make John drop to his knees if he wasn't in the river.

"No more deals," she whispered.

Letting go of her, John dunked Alyssa under the water playfully before swimming to the grass. He waited for her to come up behind him and when she did, he helped her out of the water and walked to get towels. Handing her a towel, he waited until she was finished drying off to use it.

"Ya'll want to get a fire going and crack a few beers here after the sun sets?" Ford asked.

John and Jace perked up. They were always ready for a party. "We're down."

Looking at Alyssa, he asked, "Want to come with us?"

Alyssa smiled brightly. "Sounds like fun."

Alyssa took an extra long shower, washing her hair more times than she could count and scrubbing every inch of her body multiple times.

She was sure she still had mud somewhere.

She stepped out, dried off and dressed. There was a chill in the air at night, so she went with black leggings, an aqua tunic and a synced, white belt. Even though she lived in the South now didn't mean she couldn't wear her Michael Kors wedges just because everyone else wore boots.

The front door slammed and Alyssa paused. "Mom?"

"I'm home, honey."

"Hi!" she yelled from the other room. Flipping her silky blonde hair over, Alyssa blow dried it until it was pin straight. She applied black eyeliner on both the top and bottom lids with small wings to help accentuate her sapphire eyes and then finished off with a light dusting of blush and clear lip gloss.

She checked the mirror one last time before heading to see her mom. John would be there to pick her up within the hour and she wanted to spend some time with her mom.

"Hey mom," Alyssa said, kissing her cheek.

"Hi, honey. Where you headed to?" Lauren asked.

"To hang out with John and his friends for a little. They're going to build a small fire and just hang out on their trucks . . . or something," she paused. "I guess? I'm not really sure to be honest."

Lauren gave her a quizzical look. "What?" Alyssa asked. Her mom smiled, shaking her head. "We live such a different life now, don't we? I can't imagine you ever doing that back in California."

"I had the day off today and went mudding."

Lauren barked out a laugh. "No way!" Alyssa beamed, thinking about the amazing day she had with her friends. "Sure did! It was so much fun too!" She dropped her clutch on the counter and sat on a barstool. "At first I was going to kill John for covering me, head to toe, in mud-"

"Mud?" Lauren made a sour face.

"I know, I know, but then he let me drive his four wheeler!" she said excitedly "I've never ridden one of those things, but now I wish we had one."

A light smile displayed on Lauren's face. "Well, it sounds like you had a blast today."

"I did." Alyssa couldn't remember the last time she had so much fun.

"But now you're going out with him again?" she asked with a tilt of her head.

"Relax, mom. He's just a friend, nothing more."

"It's not that sweetie, but have you made any girl friends?"

"Not really . . ." she shrugged nonchalantly. It didn't bother her though. It was never easy making girl friends, so she usually had mostly guy friends. No attachment.

"Do you need the car?"

"No, Johnny is picking me up. You'll have the chance to meet him. He's a really good guy, mom, and comes from a good family. I think you'll like him."

Lauren eyed Alyssa, but said nothing. She just slowly nodded her head. "And he isn't your boyfriend?"

"No."

Knock, knock, knock.

Alyssa smiled from ear to ear. "There he is."

Walking through the living room, Alyssa opened the front door to John. Their eyes locked and he smiled, his dimples drawing her attention. Johnny was looking mighty delicious. His distressed jeans, camel colored boots and white shirt that was only tucked in the front with the rest hanging out made him look effortlessly hot. She took a deep breath and inhaled, stepping in to give him a friendly hug.

"Hey," she said softly. A mixture of cologne and pine invaded her senses and it was oddly alluring.

"You look beautiful." His gaze traveled the length of her body, and then stopped on her shoes.

"Really? I thought we went over this."

Alyssa popped out her hip and placed a hand on it. Her sassy attitude was brewing. "Hey, now, country boy, this is me," she waved a hand down her body "And I'm not changing for anyone. No one said you, or anyone else, has to like my shoes."

John put his hands up to defend himself.

"I happen to love them," her mom said, rounding the corner, eyeing Alyssa. How long has she been there?

"See? Someone likes my shoes."

He smirked. "Hey, I never said I didn't like them, just that they're not fit for mudding or hanging out in an open field."

Lauren extended her arm. "I'm Lauren, Alyssa's mother. Why don't you come in for a minute?"

"Thank you, Ms. Winters. It's nice to meet you," he shut the door and followed her into the kitchen.

"My daughter tells me you give her a ride to school. That's very generous of you to do. Please, let me pay for your gas-"

"Thank you, but that's not necessary, Ms. Winters. I'm not going out of my way to give her a lift, plus that's what friends are for," he said, looking at Alyssa. Her cheeks flamed under his gaze.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. It just gives us time to get to know each other anyway," he winked at Alyssa.

"If you say so, but I hope to repay you for all that you've done so far. It's very unexpected of you, but appreciated."

John smiled. "You're welcome."

"So what are you studying in school? Same as Alyssa?"

"Actually, we only have a few classes together, just the prerequisite ones. I'm going for business right now, but I've been thinking about enlisting in the Marines. My father and his father both served, so it's in my blood."

Lauren smiled in approval. "Do you have any siblings?"

He nodded. "I have an older brother-"

"He's a country rock singer on the radio," Alyssa chimed in.

Lauren's brows angled toward each other. "He is?"

"Sure is. His name is Luke Jackson. He lives around here, but I think he's away on tour, not sure. He's busy a lot. I also have twin brothers. They're younger than me."

"Wow. Your mom is a busy bee."

John smiled so big it was clear he was proud of his mom being able to handle four rowdy boys.