Page 41 of The Truths We Find

“You’re really trying to piss them off, aren’t you?” I shake my head.

“Hey, I leave tomorrow. You get to deal with the fallout. I’ll take Alexa, you take Dani?” Emmett holds out his closed fist.

“Fine.” I bump his fist with mine in agreement.

“One, two, three!”

We spring to our feet and scoop the girls onto our shoulders, fireman-style, laughing as they scream and kick the whole way to the waterline.

“Put me down!” Dani yells, pounding her fists against my back, while Alexa shrieks, flailing wildly. I’m laughing so hard I can barely keep my balance.

Emmett and I charge into the waves, cold water slapping our legs and spraying in all directions. We toss the girls in once it’s deep enough to hit our chests. They pop up moments later, laughing and sputtering.

“Oh, you’re so dead,” Alexa deadpans, swiping wet hair from her face. She glances at Dani, and when they share a conspiratorial nod and grin, I realize they’re not actually mad.

Before I can react, Dani leaps onto my back while Alexa flings herself at Emmett, both trying to knock us into the surf. The thrill of having Dani pressed close in her tiny swimsuit makes my chest tighten in the best way. I don’t even try to fight her. She topples me backward, and we’re pulled under together, water churning around us.

The force of the waves spins us, and Dani ends up straddling my front. For a moment, the chaos of the ocean fades, and it’s just the two of us suspended in time. I can’t open my eyes, but I don’t need to. I can feel her. My hand drifts up, fingers tangling in her hair, and pull her forehead to mine. My thumb brushes along her cheek, and I let myself feel it all—the warmth of her skin, the soft weight of her against me, the surge of emotions I’ve tried to keep buried for years.

I finally open my eyes, not caring about the sting of salt water. Her eyes are closed, and for the first time since she reentered my life, she looks completely at peace. And she’s not pulling away. My pulse quickens at the quiet intimacy of it. At the closeness I’ve longed for but never thought I’d get again. I want to stay here forever.

But the world has other plans. She shifts, unwraps her legs, and pushes off the ocean floor, making her way to the surface. I follow her up, my heart still hammering with the memory of the moment we just shared.

“You guys all good?” Alexa asks. “You were down there for a bit.”

“Uh, yeah,” Dani says, refusing to look at me. “Just enjoying the water. But I’m gonna go back to the stuff. I need to take a breather. You guys have fun out here.”

She starts to make her way back to the shore, still refusing to even look my way. Once she’s out of earshot, Alexa turns and glares. “What the hell just happened?” she demands.

“Uh, well—” I start.

“How could you have fucked this up in the last five minutes?” Alexa shouts.

“Have you met Gavin?” Emmett cracks.

“She was happy. She was in a good headspace. What. Did. You. Do?”

Remind me never to get on Alexa’s bad side again. It’s not a fun place to be.

“We may have kinda had a moment under the water,” I murmur.

Alexa’s eyes widen.

“Nothing physical happened,” I quickly add.

“Well, something freaked her out. Bad.”

“Oh, bro,” Emmett sighs. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I told you nothing physical happened!”

“The only thing that would have Dani freaked out that much, and isn’t technically physical, would be if you did the forehead thing.”

“Forehead thing?” Alexa asks.

“Yeah, what forehead thing?” I scrunch my eyebrows towards my brother.

“You really don’t know? How do I know about this, and you don’t?” Emmett throws his hands up in frustration but keeps going.