I did, fighting the urge to melt against him while my heart skipped beats in reaction to his nearness.
“Not that much. There you go. Now swing back just a little and tap the ball.” He held on as I did so, controlling my speed with a gentle squeeze to slow me down. He was still holding me when the blue ball stopped just short of the hole. “See?”
“Sure,” I said over my shoulder as I moved out of the way so he could take his turn. “It’s easy with you guiding me, but what about—”
Something solid connected with my foot, then I was sprawling forward in slow motion. I’m falling. Don’t let me fall in front of him, was all I had time to think before I met the ground with a thud, my palms burning as they caught my weight on the Astroturf.
“Annabeth?” Alex was standing over me before I could even
