Chapter 20 #2
Ethan must catch on to the tension between us. He clears his throat and excuses himself to get a drink.
Dex still has that intense gaze locked on me, his sunglasses now pushed up onto his head.
“You’d have to come back in the winter,” he says. “Which isn’t likely.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Don’t I?”
“No. You don’t”
“Prove me wrong, then, princess.”
“Oh my god, sometimes I just want to…”
“What?” Dex leans in slightly, daring me. “Just do it. Whatever it is you’re thinking.”
“No.” I reply, holding his gaze.
“Well, don’t be shy. What happened to the feisty Daniela I first met?” He’s taunting me on purpose to get a rise out of me. It’s working.
“Fine,” I say, standing up .
He’s sitting up high on the edge of the boat, looking smug.
So I shove him—hard—right in his huge chest.
He topples backward and hits the water with a splash.
The engine isn’t running, and the boat is barely drifting. I look over the edge to see Dex flailing in the water.
“I can’t swim!” he yells, and suddenly I’m jumping in after him before I even think about it.
The water is freezing. I’m fully submerged, but the life jacket bobs me right back up.
“Don’t panic,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady. “I’ve got you.”
Then suddenly he goes completely still, and we’re face-to-face, treading water.
“You’re swimming,” I say, dumbfounded.
“I’m also wearing a life jacket.” He’s wearing a smug, arrogant grin now.
“You were messing with me?” I ask, appalled.
“You jumped in after me,” Dex says, his smirk answering for him. His black hair is soaked, and water droplets are clinging to his long, dark eyelashes.
“Duh,” I mutter. “You get on my nerves, but I don’t actually want to see you drown.”
“I’m so flattered.”
We tread water in silence for a few seconds.
It’s peaceful down here, just the sound of gentle waves.
When I meet his gaze again, there’s a softness in it—an intensity I feel deep in my chest. I let the moment linger a little too long before turning and swimming back toward the boat.
It’s drifted a small distance, but no one seems even slightly concerned.
If anything, it looks like they’re purposefully not looking our way.
“It’s fucking freezing,” I call back to him. “Let’s go.
As I swim back, the chill really starts to hit me. I reach the boat and climb up, my teeth chattering. Layla hands me a towel and I grab it gratefully, wrapping it around myself.
“Decided to go for a swim?” Layla asks with a grin.
“Something like that.” I say between deep, fast breaths. “I’m going to lay in the sun up front on the hot leather seats. I’m fucking cold.”
“Good idea,” she agrees, nodding.
I hear Dex climbing in behind me, but I don’t turn to look. I was right—the leather seat is deliciously warm. I sink into it, closing my eyes and basking in the sunlight.
“You okay?” Dex asks from close by.
“You’re asking me if I’m okay?” I ask, my eyes still shut. “I’m the one who pushed you overboard.”
“I egged you on,” he says. I can hear him taking a seat across from me. He lets out a few deep breaths, maybe a shiver. “Plus, it was kind of funny.”
I open my eyes and find him grinning. “Aren’t you freezing your balls off? ”
“Yes,” he replies simply, running a big hand through his wet hair.
His eyebrows are furrowed as he squints in the sunlight, looking out over the water.
I take him in while he’s not looking. It’s really not fair what a gorgeous man he is, with his damn jawline, perfect nose, and effortlessly good hair.
Then his eyes flick to mine, catching me watching him. The corner of his mouth lifts. I say nothing, then close my eyes again and turn my head away.
Some time later, the bright sunlight shining on my eyelids wakes me. I slowly sit up, stretching, and find Dex still sitting across from me. His gaze meets mine the moment I stir.
“How long was I out for?” I ask, my voice groggy.
“Twenty minutes.”
“Have you been sitting there watching me sleep the whole time?”
“No. I drove us to this little cove. We can actually swim here. The water is a lot warmer in the shallows.”
We spend the next couple of hours anchored in the cove, hopping in and out of the boat, blasting music, eating lunch, and talking a lot about wedding stuff, once again. It’s definitely the topic of the summer.
Dex, Liam, and Ethan are ridiculous together.
It’s like the moment the three of them are in the same space, they revert to their teenage selves—laughing at each other, trying stupid tricks off the back of the boat, being slightly obnoxious.
Jackson is loving every second of it. I think they’re hamming it up for him a little bit.
Layla and I join in on the fun here and there, and they welcome us with open arms, but mostly we hang back in the boat, sipping drinks and chatting.
By mid-afternoon, we’re all wiped out and ready to head back.
I’m sitting next to the driver’s seat when Dex comes up beside me, toweling off his hair.
I curse myself for looking his way, because my eyes land right on the very pronounced V of muscle leading down to his soaked shorts—and the very prominent bulge beneath them.
Damn it.
My gaze lingers a little too long, and I force myself to look away. I cross my legs, trying to suppress the feeling it left me with.
“You okay?” Dex asks in a low, gravelly voice.
“Yep.”
It’s a windy ride back to the dock, but I welcome it. It snaps me out of my haze, bringing me back to the present. My body and mind had started drifting—back to that night last Thanksgiving.
I don’t want to go back there.
The rest of this summer is going to be really damn hard.