I looked down the stretch of the beach that was only dotted with a few guests, but didn’t spot Ally’s tall figure. I panicked for a second, thinking she had gotten into her car all upset, but her shoes were still lying in the sand, so I knew she hadn’t gone too far.
I don’t know what made me do it but I looked out at the ocean, and just as I did, I caught sight of a blonde head bobbing above the waves. I didn’t even think for a second before I sprinted towards the water, and dove straight in.
Ally
My hands had just reached the bottom of the sandy floor when I felt a set of arms wrap around my waist and I was being pulled back towards the surface. I didn’t have time to think about what was happening, so I forgot that I was underwater and sucked in a mouthful, causing me to sputter for air as I blindly flailed around.
I didn’t get far, though, because I could feel my body being dragged towards the shore. When I managed to peel my eyes open, I saw Nick hovering over me. “What in the hell were you doing?” he asked in a quiet, calm tone, but I could tell he was trying to control himself by the way his jaw was clamped down tightly.
I didn’t answer him right away because, really, I was a little confused. I mean, I knew this was a private beach, but I figured it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. Apparently it was.
He licked his lips as he pushed his wet hair out of his eyes, and returned his attention back to me. “I know things are hard right now, Ally, but I promise they’ll get better. This is not the answer.”
He stared at me very seriously, and I sat up quickly. I couldn’t help myself any longer once I realized exactly what he meant. I began laughing as I pushed up the sleeves of my shirt, which was now sticking to me like glue. This man probably thought I was insane, second time in one day that I looked like a nutcase in front of him. Oh well, I guess everyone has a little bit of crazy in them.
“Nick.” I reached out to grip his hand, and bit down on my lip to control the laughter. Now, I felt a little guilty because he looked so worried, and there was the little fact that he had jumped into the water after me. Woops.
“I was just going for a swim, I swear. Nothing else. Just like you said, things might be bad now, but I would never do something like that.”
His eyes flicked to mine, and I could tell he really wasn’t sure if he believed me. “I swear,” I reassured him, giggling slightly. “Trust me, if you knew me before all of that happened, you wouldn’t even think twice about it. My best friend teases me that I’m all rainbows and butterflies, it drives her nuts. I just felt like taking a swim, clearing my head a little.”
He arched one eyebrow at me, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. “In your clothes?”
“In my clothes,” I repeated, looking down at myself and realizing it probably wasn’t the best idea with a white shirt on that was now basically see-through.
Oh well, you only live life once, right? Except I think Nick was now noticing how little my shirt was covering by the way his eyes slowly moved away from my chest, and he gave me a wide smile before jumping up, holding out a hand to pull me to my feet.
“C’mon, Ariel, let’s get you into something that’s dry.” He looked back down at me one more time with a smirk. “And isn’t so revealing. Even though I don’t mind,” he stated, whispering the last part into my ear, his warm breath sending shivers all the way down to my toes.
I think my heart literally stopped at the feeling. “Ar-iel?” I managed to stammer out as I let him lead me back towards the resort.
“Yeah, apparently you think you’re a mermaid or something, so I think the name’s pretty fitting.”
“This is your place?” I asked in surprise after managing to peel myself off the back of Nick’s bike. I don’t know what I had been picturing, but this really hadn’t been it.
My body had pretty much been plastered to his on the short ride over due to my wet clothes. I tried to keep our bodies as far apart as possible to make things a little less awkward, but Nick knew exactly what I had been doing, reaching back to pull my arms tight around his waist. My whole body tingled from the contact of his warm skin, and my legs were like Jell-O when I managed to stand.
“Yup, this is it,” he replied, biting on his bottom lip as he shrugged his shoulders. “I literally just moved in, so don’t judge. There’s a ton of work to be done, but I think I can handle it.”
“I think it’s the best house I’ve ever seen.” From the outside at least. His yard couldn’t have gotten any better. Who wouldn’t want to open their windows to the ocean every morning?