Jamie had kissed me on Sunday.
It was now Friday afternoon. I was sitting in art class, my last class of the day. Instead of desks, we had big, wide tables with benches to sit on, offering more workspace. We didn’t have assigned seating and the space beside me remained empty, as it would until Noah arrived. He was always late, sliding into his spot after the bell rang. He’d sat beside me on the first day of school and every day since.
Noah was my other best friend. The guy best friend. He was also Jamie’s younger brother.
We were friends long before I’d even noticed Jamie. I mean, I’d noticed him. You didn’t not notice the Jacobs brothers. It wasn’t until sometime last summer, when Noah and I were hanging out at the beach, that I really noticed Jamie for the first time. He’d stopped by the towel Noah and I were sharing to steal Noah’s water bottle. The Jacobs drank lots of water, as they tended to dehydrate faster than regular humans. I’d watched Jamie behind the dark lens of my sunglasses, the long column of his throat working as he downed nearly the whole bottle at one time. He ignored Noah’s protests to get his own. It was the first time I’d felt the fluttering of awareness in my stomach.
Friends or not, no way could I tell Noah I was crushing on his brother. He’d laugh. And really, it was pretty funny, in an embarrassing kind of way, because despite that kiss, there was no chance in hell Jamie would ever be interested in me. He had just been messing with me, and that made him a jerk. He probably thought I was one of those groupies guys like him attracted in droves. I knew girls moved down to the coast and loitered at bars like the Salty Dog and Flounders where a lot of the Navy guys hung out, hoping to catch a husband.
As usual, Noah slipped in the door right as the bell rang, earning him a stern look from Mr. Foley, the art teacher.
“Hey, Noah,” I said once he settled beside me.
Why couldn’t I be crushing on him? He was a kinder, gentler version of Jamie. Same height just with less bulk. Same ocean eyes, but they were a darker shade of green, like new budding leaves in spring. Where Jamie had short, dark hair, Noah wore his long. It brushed the tops of his shoulders, the blond, sun-kissed strands tucked behind his ears. If Jamie were a craggy mountaintop, then Noah was that same mountain, snow capped.
“I hate school.” He dropped his backpack on the floor at his feet. “It’s such a waste of time.”
I patted his back. I got this tirade every day. It was best to let him get it out. He’d been locked up going on seven hours. Seven hours away from the Gulf water. I understood it made him a little testy. I wondered if that was why Mr. Foley never gave him a hard time, because he knew Noah had special needs the school refused to meet.
“You know there’s this thing called homeschool,” I offered in a sympathetic tone. A lot of his kind went that route. Made sense, I guess.
“My mom is into the whole idea of integration. She wants me to learn to get along with everybody,” he said, his voice filtered in disgust. Apparently this was a problem for him.
He did seem to attract a certain amount of negative attention from some of the guys, like Jax Harrison and Derrick Nash to name names. They’d all been friends at one time but it was like once we got into high school, instead of seeing Noah as a friend, he became the competition. Jax and Derrick were both rich. Both good looking. Both popular. And both just insecure enough to see Noah as some type of threat to their status. In their eyes, because Noah was different, he shouldn’t be allowed to compete with them. Unlike me, not everyone was totally enamored with the idea of another species, and in some ways, a superior one. Some viewed them as having a disease, or like bugs that needed to be squashed.
“Well, I’ve got a proposition for you. It’ll give you a chance to show your gentler side.”
“What is it?” He leaned over the table, resting his head on his elbow. Like Jamie, he had a particular smell. Unlike Jamie’s scent which I found entirely intoxicating, Noah’s was merely mildly pleasant.
“Well, how about we put it to the test? Jax is having a party tomorrow night. Come with me.” I needed a distraction. Something to do other than wait for my cell phone to ring, or a text message to beep. It’s not like I’d given Jamie my number or anything, but he knew where I lived. So I could only conclude that he didn’t want to see me.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Noah said as he took the sheet of manila paper Charlene Goodson was passing out to the class.
“Y’all should totally come.” Charlene smiled and leaned over just enough to give Noah a nice view of the swells of her breasts over the pink lace of her pushup bra. I wanted to advise her that if she really wanted to get Noah’s attention she would have to go for a more subtle, less in your face method. Not that he wasn’t looking. He was a dude and Charlene was pretty and she was sweet in a syrupy kind of way. And she was clearly into him.
“Oh, come on. It’ll be fun.” I nudged him with my foot under the table. Plus, I knew if I went with Ally she would dump me as soon as we got there. Jax was her mark for the year, and she’d already set her plan of attack in motion.
“I’ve heard that before,” he said, but he was watching Charlene make her way down the table. She didn’t smile or lean over for anyone else. “If you have to convince me, it means it’ll be no fun.”
“Loud music. Beer. Charlene.” I elbowed him. “Drunk bros. What’s not fun about that?”
“‘Fun drunk bros’ sounds like an oxymoron,” Noah said, a ghost of a smile on his lips. Which wasn’t a no.
“I’ll pick you up around nine. You can wear real clothes and everything.” Not his usual boardshorts, no shirt, and water.
“Sucks already.” He picked up his charcoal pencil and started in on his sketch. His brow furrowed in concentration and a piece of hair fell over his cheek. He had an artistic streak, which was another reason I thought Mr. Foley never got onto him for his tardiness. “I’m not wearing shoes.”
I smiled to myself and stared at my paper, at the puppy that looked more like a mushroom under my less than artistic hand. My eye-hand coordination didn’t translate from hand to pencil. My gaze darted sideways. Noah had a very realistic and graceful sketch of a dolphin jumping out of the ocean, complete with its perpetual smile.
“You’re such a dork.”
He smiled sideways at me. “That’s why you like me.”
A paper airplane flew over his shoulder and landed with impressive accuracy on his sketch. He sighed and unfolded it. It was a sketch of a person that I assumed was supposed to be Noah. He had long hair and a fish between his legs in place of a penis.
“Ignore them, Noah.” I turned and glared at Derrick from over my shoulder. His table was full of those same bros who would be drunk tomorrow night. And they thought they were so funny and clever.
Of all the times Noah had been picked on, I’d never seen him retaliate. He punched Chad Johnson in the face that one time during Spring break last year, but that was only because Chad had been all hands with me at the beach. I’d told him no several times and even hit him myself, but he still wouldn’t get the hint. Noah ended up breaking his nose and cracking two of his ribs. Chad’s parents had wanted to press charges, but my dad had talked them out of it.
It must have been frustrating for Noah, knowing he could wipe those d-bag smirks right off their faces so easily. His self-control was astounding.
“You know with me at the party, it won’t end well.” He crumbled the paper in his hand, his sigh resolute.
“Who knows?” I said. “It might be the night of your life.”
He snorted his disbelief and went back to his sketch.
As it turned out, it would be the night of my life.
* * *
Ally and I were taking advantage of our last Saturday of freedom before volleyball season kicked in. After this weekend, most of our weekends would be spent at tournaments, and our weekdays would be filled with school and practice and games. It was good I hadn’t heard a peep from Jamie. I didn’t have time for a g
uy.
At least that’s what I kept telling myself.
“You’re taking Noah to the party?” Ally asked with the rise of her perfectly waxed eyebrows over the rims of her sunglasses.
“It’s not like that, Ally. We’re just friends.” I rummaged around in my beach bag for a can of sunscreen. My mom would always slip in a can of fifty plus UV protection, insisting I’d regret my time in sun when I was thirty-five if I didn’t take care of my skin. I took out the can of fifteen UV I brought with me and lightly sprayed myself.
“Have you kissed him yet?”
Kisses. I’d been trying not to think about kisses. Of course I’d failed. The movie I starred in popped into my mind: The slow, purposeful descent of Jamie’s face; the feeling of his lips as they touched mine; and the warmth of his tongue.
I shook my head. That was it. No more. I wouldn’t think about it again. It was over. He wasn’t interested.
“Who?” I lay back on my towel. The sun beat down hot and bright, but the breeze was strong today and skated over my skin, making the heat bearable.
“Noah.” She flipped another page of her magazine.
“No, I haven’t kissed Noah. We’re friends.”
“So? I’ve kissed a lot of my friends.”
I let my head loll to the side and looked at her. “What friends?”
“Jason and Alex,“ she mused. “I probably kissed Tyler once, too.”
“Tyler doesn’t kiss he slobbers,” I interjected. I’d had the unfortunate experience of kissing Tyler in the eighth grade behind the bleachers at a football game. I think that was when I decided I appreciated older guys, more experienced guys. I certainly didn’t want to waste my kisses on some fumbling adolescent who had no idea what he was doing.
Ally laughed. “I know, right? Then there’s Derrick and Adam.”
I lifted my head. “Wait, you kissed Derrick?”
To put it in as nice as a way as possible, Derrick lacked good personal hygiene. To put it not so nicely: he smelled. Bad. The stench was like a cloud that followed him around, which was a shame because he wasn’t bad looking and he could be funny at times.
Ally pulled her sunglasses down her nose, her face a mask of total seriousness. “You got to kiss a lot of frogs to find that one prince.”
Unless that prince found you and then ruined it for all the frogs.
“So is Jax a frog or a prince?”
“I don’t know yet. But I plan on finding out tonight.”
“He’s kind of a douche.” In that way some guys born into privilege, and with excessively good looks, tended to be. Like they were some gift to all the girls spinning in their orbits.
I rolled over on my stomach to watch the waves rolling onto the beach. The surf was rough today. A few people were out on their boogie boards, taking advantage of the waves, and a few surfers bobbed in the water farther down the beach.
“He’s a guy.” Ally sighed as if accepting the inevitable. “Aren’t they all?”
Maybe. Especially the ones who delivered that one life-altering kiss that was everything you’d dreamed a first kiss would be and more, and then disappeared from your life.
“I’m getting in the water.” I tossed my sunglasses on my towel, irritated I couldn’t shake one simple kiss.
The waves rushed around my thighs, threatening to knock me over as I waded into the surf. I dove under a foamy break, making my way past where the waves broke and let my body rise and fall with each new swell. In a matter of seconds, the current carried me a good fifty yards down the shoreline from where I’d gone in. I swam for shore, uncomfortable with the drag of the current against my body, but it was like swimming on a treadmill. I wasn’t getting any closer. In fact, the beach was farther away. Ally, on her bright orange towel, was about the size of a postage stamp. My brain seized around the words rip current.
I’d lived on the Florida Gulf coast most of my life and had never been caught in a rip current. It carried me backward with alarming speed. I waved my arm and thought about calling for help, but I knew how dangerous it would be for anyone who might come to my aid, and there were no lifeguards on this part of the beach.
I knew how this worked, and while my mind technically knew what to do, executing it was a different matter. I stamped down the rise of panic and kept my eyes trained on the shore, blocking out the thought it was getting farther and farther away with every second that ticked by. I was a strong swimmer. I didn’t tire easily. I could totally do this.
I turned my shoulders parallel to the beach and swam, knowing I’d eventually swim out of it. It was a struggle, kind of like running against a wind trying to blow me sideways. The most important thing was not to panic. I sucked in a ragged breath when I saw how far away I’d been dragged from the shore. I might be in serious trouble. Once I got myself out the current, I’d still have to swim to shore—a daunting task with the churn of the surf. I kicked for all I was worth, my arms straining for the elusive spot where the current would kick me out.
Finally, it released me. The swells were coming in quick succession, but they weren’t breaking, so I lay on my back, riding each one, giving my arms and legs a brief rest. My mind lingered on thoughts of how deep the water was, such a deep a green I couldn’t see the bottom. I’d never been this far out in the Gulf before. This thought pattern wasn’t helping me in the breathing department, so I flipped onto my stomach and moved my arms in breaststroke fashion. I wanted to keep my head above water as much as possible. The goal was the beach and I needed to keep it in sight.
I relaxed after a couple of minutes, which made it easier for my muscles to work. When I was sure I wouldn’t drown, something came up beneath me—a dark, menacing shadow, coming at me fast. A head popped out of the water beside me. I gasped then clamped my mouth shut when I saw it was Jamie. My breath released in a rush when he reached out and grabbed me around the waist, securing me to his side.
“Hold on.” He turned so his back was to the horizon and I saw the reason for his warning. A wave loomed behind him, rising higher and higher the closer it got. The kind of wave that would toss me like a ragdoll if I weren’t looking.
“Jamie,” I squealed and his arm tightened. My fingers dug into his shoulders, and I sucked in a deep breath, expecting him to dive under. He didn’t. We rode up the crest of the foamy break, all the way to its peak. I didn’t know how he did it, but the wave rushed right past while we idled in place as if the wall of water gushing around us was no more powerful than the spray from a squirt gun. It roared past, dying to a fizz. Not five minutes ago, I thought I might die. With Jamie’s green eyes focused on me, the press of his body close against mine, I’d never felt safer. Or alive. I laughed, and before the sound died, Jamie kissed me again, his lips warm and pliant. My hands slid to the back of his neck. His hands dropped to my hips. We coasted up and down the next swell and I forgot about everything except the sensation of Jamie’s mouth on mine. He must have too, because when the next wave hit, it nearly knocked me out of his arms.
“Don’t let go,” I said, reaching for him.
“I won’t.” He lured me back in and anchored me to his side. His face enthralled me. He looked at me as if he wasn’t sure what to do with me. Drops of water clung to the tips of his long eyelashes. Those eyelashes kept his face from appearing too harsh. That and the fullness of his lips. With my body pressed against his, I thought his lips were the softest thing about him.
“Erin!” The call came from far away, traveling over the water, barely audible over the waves.
I’d totally forgotten about Ally. My back was to the beach, and Jamie’s eyes were trained over my shoulder, following the faint sound. When I turned to look, Ally was wading into the water.
“Someone’s looking for you,” Jamie said, his eyes quickly returning to my face.
“My friend, Ally. She probably thinks I drowned or something.” I shuddered, appreciating the power surrounding me—the rolling water, the sheer force of the waves, and the strength
of the arms holding me.
“You want a ride in?” Jamie offered me his back. His dark hair was plastered to the back of his head. My eyes settled on the crescent-shaped tissue conforming to the shape of his ear. Gills. I wanted to trace the edges of the fine skin with my finger. I wanted to know everything about how his waterbreather body worked.
“Yes.” I hooked my arms around his neck so my front was pressed against his back. My bikini offered little barrier from the bare skin of his back. I’d never been this close to a guy before, not without clothes between us. The next wave picked us up and carried us toward shore, and I suddenly didn’t want to go. I felt every subtle shift of his body as his muscles worked to keep us moving forward, effortless and graceful, like riding a kite in the wind. I was sorry when we reached shore.
I stumbled when my feet touched the packed sand and Jamie’s arm shot out, offering me leverage. The muscles in my legs cramped feebly, reminding me of the real danger I’d escaped. My arms hung limply at my sides, and when I collapsed in the sand, I felt the absurd urge to cry.
Ally ran to meet us. Her eyes worried over me, and all I could manage was a wavering tilt of my mouth. Jamie crouched beside me, one big hand splayed on my back. His touch, I thought, the only thing keeping my tears at bay.
“Erin! Oh my God. I thought you drowned.”
“For a few minutes there, I thought I might.” My hands shook. And even though the sun was high and hot overhead, I shivered. Delayed reaction. I hadn’t realized how scared I'd been.
“But you didn’t. You did exactly what you were supposed to do,” Jamie said, his voice a rumble in my ear.
I looked at him quizzically. “You were out there the whole time watching me?” Accusation colored my voice. Heat rose in my cheeks. Had he been watching me struggle to get out of the current?
“I was looking out for you. There’s a difference,” he said unapologetically.
“You were out there the whole time?” I wasn't sure why I was getting mad. Maybe because now that I was thinking clearly, I remembered my feelings were hurt. It had been a week since he’d kissed me that first time, without saying so much as a handful of words, and while I suspected he was jerking me around, it still stung. I pushed the hand caressing my shoulder away. No more touching. No more gazing at those waterfall eyes. No more lingering glances on his chest. I deserved more than a random kiss on the beach. To think I’d let him kiss me again. And I’d openly participated this time.
Summer's Last Breath (The Emerald Series) Page 3
