That was odd. Ally hasn’t taken a nap in the afternoon since… well, since we got Hades for her. I looked over my shoulder at her stretching out on the blanket in the shade. She has been drinking coffee in the afternoon lately, too. I turned back around and headed for the guys. Maybe one of them knew what was going on.
I went to the large rock near them and sat down. “Hey, does anyone know why Ally is so tired?”
Everyone gave me their attention immediately.
“What do you mean?” Miles asked.
I gestured towards the blanket. “She’s taking a nap right now.”
“What?” Ethan asked, not believing it.
“That’s strange,” Miles admitted.
“She’s just taking a fucking nap,” Isaac snapped as he swam towards the edge of the water.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
Isaac pulled himself out of the water and snatched his towel from the pile. “I didn’t sleep worth shit last night, so I’m taking a fucking nap too. Or do I fucking have to ask for permission?” Isaac shot over his shoulder as he started to dry his hair. Everyone chuckled as he left.
Miles continued watching as he walked away. "He's not sleeping again?"
Ethan sighed. "No, I don't think so."
"He didn't get wasted at the party,” Zeke pointed out.
"That's true," Asher added. "Besides, there isn't much we can do if he's not willing to talk."
"We should try and keep an eye on him,” Miles announced.
The guys nodded in agreement. Putting it out of my mind, I got to my feet and dove into the water.
Lexie
I was running around in circles in my head when a shadow fell over me. I opened my eyes and smiled. Isaac was still dripping wet from the water, his wet hair slicked back off his face.
“Heard you’re taking a nap,” he said.
“Yeah,” I muttered.
He grinned. “Sit up.”
I didn’t ask why, I just sat up. Isaac sat down behind me and stretched out.
“Now you can use me as a pillow,” he said as he bent an arm under his head and closed his eyes.
My heart warmed. “You don’t have to do this you know.”
He opened one eye. “I didn’t sleep worth shit last night. You’re doing me a favor.” He reached over and tugged on my sleeve a little. “Come on. Nap time.”
I smiled and put my towel where my neck was going to go before I lay down. My head was resting on his hard, but still comfy, stomach. His hand found mine where it was resting on my upper stomach. His fingers played with mine as I looked up at the sky again.
“Comfy?”
“Uh-huh,” he muttered.
“Why couldn’t you sleep?” I asked, my voice quiet.
“Bad dreams,” he hedged. “What about you?”
“Same,” I lied. Warmth slid through me as he continued to stroke my fingers with his.
“Hell, we could have napped at my house,” he pointed out, his voice growing slurred.
“Good point.” My own body was starting to relax now. Isaac grew quiet.
I went back into my own head. Okay, I wasn’t doing as well as I thought. But I wasn’t that bad. I still had time. What the hell was I going to do with it?
“Isaac?”
“Hmm?” He was more than half asleep.
“Hypothetically, if you were dying, what would you want to do?” I asked in a whisper.
“Crash at your place,” he mumbled, his words barely audible. His fingers tightened on mine making my heart skip. “We’d hang… out… every… day…” He drifted off.
It was a sweet answer. His fingers stopped playing with mine as he fell asleep. He was right, though. Spending time with the people I loved and making sure they knew they were loved felt right to me. His deep, even breathing helped me relax. I slowly slipped under.
Pins and needles in my hand and up my forearm woke me up. I shifted. There was a grunt. I opened my eyes to find myself lying with my head on someone’s shoulder and my back against their side. I took a deep breath and smelled limes. Smiling, I relaxed against him. The hand on my belly moved a little.
“You awake?” Isaac whispered.
“Uh-huh,” I mumbled. The fingers on my stomach started rubbing back and forth slowly.
“Do you want to wake up?” His face pressed into the back of my hair.
“I’m debating,” I grumbled.
He chuckled. “Whatever you want.”
“How long have you been awake?” I asked as I started to rub the sleep from my eyes.
“A while,” he muttered as his face moved from my hair.
“Then why didn’t you get up?” I asked as I tilted my head backward to look up at him.
He grinned. “You were out cold. I figured you needed the sleep.”
I smiled. “Thanks, Cookie Monster.”
He leaned down and kissed my forehead. “Are you getting up now?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I want to jump off a level.”
He smiled as he pulled away so I could get up.
Isaac and I headed back to the others. When we reached the water, I looked up at him. “Want to jump off the first level?” I asked. He grinned.
“Hell yeah.” Isaac led me up the steps to the first level. “Make sure to jump out so you don’t hit the rocks right below you,” he warned. I winked at him, then ran and jumped. I tucked my knees to my chest and hit the water. I came up laughing. I swam over to the guys, still laughing.
“Nice splash,” Asher told me as he wiped water off his face.
“What’s so funny?” Miles asked.
I stopped long enough to wipe the tears from my eyes. “My ass hit the water first. I’ve got the wedgie from hell.” Miles turned bright red while the others burst out laughing. I was starting to calm down when Isaac jumped in and came up near us.
“What’s so funny?” he asked. That set us off again, leaving Miles to explain.
“Um, Lexie has a situation,” Miles hedged.
Isaac’s eyes snapped to me. “What’s wrong?”
I shook my head as I quickly pulled my suit out of my crack.
“What’d I miss?” Isaac asked again. Everyone but Miles and Zeke started laughing again.
“I hit ass first and got a wedgie,” I admitted.
Zeke shook his head at me. “You don’t get to jump anymore unless you’re doing a pencil jump.”
I saluted him. “Yes, sir. Only the one wedgie for me, sir,” I said in a gruff voice. The guys were still laughing as they got out and headed for the jumping ledges. Except for Ethan. He sat on a small ledge still in the water. I swam over and lifted myself onto the ledge next to him.
“You’re not jumping?” I asked, watching as the guys climbed the stairs.
“I can’t,” he muttered. “If you have a healthy spine, you can jump from ten feet with no problem, even twenty. With my back, I can’t even do ten.”
I wrapped my arm around his and squeezed. He smiled down at me before we went back to watching the guys jumping from the second level.
After a while, everyone was getting tired. Isaac got out and held his hand down to me. “Want to jump off the second level?”
I smiled, took his hand, and followed him up the path. We moved to the second level.
“Okay, Red,” Isaac said as he walked out on to the ledge with me. “You’re going to do a pencil jump or it’ll hurt. Lock your legs together, point your toes and keep your arms straight down at your sides. When you hit, you want to make a point not to take a breath. After you hit, spread your arms and legs to stop you from going too deep. Got it?”
“Yep.” I looked down at the water. “How much is this going to hurt?”
“Your feet might sting a bit.” He shrugged.
I smiled, my heart pounding. “This should be fun.” I jumped, locked my legs straight, and kept my arms at my sides. I hit the water. I cringed. My feet stung as if I had hit cement. I swam to the surface and cursed.
The guys whooped. I swam toward them, hoping the stinging would stop soon.
“Enjoy that?” Ethan asked with a smile.
“Yeah, I just wish it didn’t make my feet sting.” I pulled myself out of the water and onto the ledge.
“You didn’t point your toes enough,” Miles informed me.
“Next time I’ll try that,” I said as I looked up to watch Isaac jump.
My heart dropped.
Isaac was climbing past the third level. “Guys. Isaac.”