Phosphorescence lights up the water as I splash in. It glows like diamonds around my hands and arms as I swim through the ocean.
The water is alive. The beach is alive.
I am alive. Kenzi is alive. We’re alive, and young, and beautiful, and I want to put myself inside of her and make love to the swell of the sea.
We tread water. It’s cool, but not cold. Nice.
I can hear the muffled sounds of music and laughter from the beach, but we’re far enough out that we’re swallowed in the dark.
She cocks her head. “Are you following me?”
“Something like that.”
“Isn’t Amy going to be jealous?”
“Amy isn’t my girlfriend.”
“Uh-huh.” She doesn’t look convinced. “So how many not-girlfriends do you have right now?”
I shrug. It’s the only honest answer I can give.
“So what am I…the last woman on Hannsett Island that you haven’t stuck your dick in?”
“I’m going to say something…and I don’t want you to die of shock.”
She grins. “I’ll brace myself.”
“I think you’re pretty cool, Kenzi.”
“You don’t even know me.”
“I know some things.”
She eyes me suspiciously. “Like what?”
I rattle it off: “You’re reading Little Women. You hate fishing. You vandalize other people’s boats.”
She’s smiling. I like her smile. “Have you been watching me?”
I dip my chin in the water. “Sounds creepy when you say it like that.”
She edges closer to me. Every now and then, I feel her toes brush against my calves, or her knees bump my legs. We’re liable to get tangled, treading water like this. Even in the cool water, my blood is rushing hot.
“Do you think I’m pretty?” she asks.
There’s something about the question that crushes me right in the heart. I feel my breath leave my lungs. “Yeah. I do.”
“Truth or dare, Jason?”
“Dare.”
Her forehead touches mine. I can feel the heat of her breath sticking to my wet skin. “I dare you to let me suck you. Right here. Right now.”
My voice gets stuck in my throat. We have to keep paddling to stay afloat, and our legs brush, and I want nothing more than to be inside of her right now.
Who the hell am I to say no?
“Yeah,” I say. “Okay.”
She bites her lip against a smile. “See you later, stud,” she says. Then she dips underneath the surface of the water, vanishing into the inky dark.
My heart pounds in my chest. I feel her fingers on the band of my shorts and I shift awkwardly to help her get me out of them. The anticipation of her sweet mouth has me wound tight. I glance towards the flickering light of the bonfire to make sure no one’s watching us—but no. They all seem occupied, snapping open fresh beers around the bonfire.
A couple seconds pass and the buzz of anticipation turns into a fizzle of fear. Did the rip tide sweep her out?
But then I see her—a dark figure rising from the water. She emerges on the shore, climbing to her feet.
And she has my swim shorts in her hand.
My heart sinks like a stone in the deep.
I watch as she gets on shore, stands, and then turns back to me. Her fingers curl in a wave.
I groan. “Fuck—”
