Page 52

“Well,” she says briskly, “let’s go.”

I waited too long. She turns and starts scrambling up the hill in her cowboy boots, half-naked ass sashaying a few feet ahead. I go after her in my bare feet, because the ground is just dust. We don’t speak as we move through the trees and follow the path down the hill until it turns into sand. She comes to a halt at the edge, frowning at the water.

“Do you think there’s amoebas in there?” she asks.

The thought hadn’t occurred to me. “Probably no more amoebas than usual.”

She gives me a look. “Seriously though.”

Gesturing around at the other swimmers, I step into the shallow water. “If there are, we’re all going to get one.”

“That’s so comforting. Remind me not to come to you when I have anxiety.”

She steps into the water but doesn’t go further than her knees.”

“I’m good with anxiety,” I say. “I’ve had plenty of it myself.”

She sobers. “Really?”

“Do I seem put together?” I raise a brow.

“You seem so put together, I feel like someday, you’re going to explode,” she says bluntly.

I’m unsure how to answer that. Luckily, I’m saved by her stepping in deeper and, apparently, saying damn the amoebas, diving beneath the surface. Instantly, I go in after her, cutting through the water to where her head reappears. Before she can turn around, I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her in. Beneath the water, her smooth legs wrap around me. Keeping us afloat, I kiss her hard.

She makes the sweet little hum. I want that bad, so I kiss her lips apart. The taste of her tongue is everything, liquid fire in my veins, just as it was the first time we fell into bed together. Only, now that I know her better, that fire burns even hotter in my veins.

“Get a room!”

I pull back. There’s a group of guys fishing off a boat, all drunk and waving beer cans. Sabrina pulls back, grinning as she throws up two middle fingers. They love that, hollering and stomping their feet.

“Jesus. Can’t get a minute to ourselves out here,” I say, but I’m not annoyed.

She wraps her arms back around my neck. “I actually can’t swim all that well, so I’m gonna hold on to you like a monkey and let you tow me around. Okay?”

I laugh, dipping down so she can lay on my back. She locks her arms beneath mine.

“Alright, let’s go,” she says, breath warm on my ear.

It makes me pretty damn happy when she’s happy, so I do as she says. It’s been a long time since I did something physical for the sake of fun—unless I’m counting fucking her, which is the most fun I’ve had in a long time. But with my clothes on, this is all new. It feels like opening a valve in my brain and letting the pressure out.

We float out into the center of the lake. It’s quiet, peaceful.

At least, it is until she dunks my head under. Then, she lets go of me and starts swimming incredibly slowly to the shore. I pretend I can’t catch her because I want to see her smile, flipping to her back and kicking her feet as she goes. We end up laughing, out of breath, on the shore. I touch her hair, leaving little trails of sand at the tips. She’s on her back, I’m laid out beside her. The sun makes her eyes so blue.

“It’s so pretty out here,” she sighs. “I might lie here and tan for a bit.”

“I might lie here and look at you tan for a bit.”

She smiles, blushing. Neither of us talk for a while. The sunlight dapples through the trees and leaves shards of gold across her skin.

“Are you happy?” I ask finally.

She has her arms crossed behind her head. I turn my head to the side to look at her profile.

“Yeah,” she says. “I love this.”

I push myself up on my elbow, looking around. The lake has emptied, and there’s no one around except a few couples on the far end of the water. They’re too far away to make anything out, just dots on the shoreline. When I look back at her, she’s watching me with heavy lids. I trace my fingers over her belly, and it quivers as her breath hitches.