Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
“We should go night swimming!” Briella says, standing up.
“Is that safe?” Waverly asks, frowning.
“Just in the shallows.”
“There ain’t a lot of sharks around here, should be fairly safe. We used to do it all the time when we were younger,” Bohdi adds.
“Perfect, let’s do it. You in, Merleigh?” Briella asks, lifting her shirt over her head until she’s down to her bra and panties.
“Fuck me, I’m in,” Alarick growls, standing and pulling his shirt off, tossing it to the ground.
“Fuck it, let’s go.”
Mykel stands, doing the same, and Waverly follows suit. I stare at Aviana, who grins and stands, stripping down to her bra and panties too. I stare at them, uncomfortable. I’ve never gotten down to anything less than a shorts and shirt in front of anyone willingly before, but ... maybe it’s time to change that.
I hesitate, fingers on the hem of my shirt, and then I carefully pull it over my head. I take my shorts and shuffle out of them, putting my arms around my belly to try and shield myself. I’m tiny, and I’m sure I have a nice figure in other people’s eyes, it’s not why I’m shy. It’s because I’ve never, ever exposed myself before. Never. Not once.
The only time my body has been seen, is by force.
I glance at Bohdi, who has his shirt off. He is looking at me with an expression that makes my cheeks heat. His eyes slowly scan over my body and, in typical Bohdi style, he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to, though. The look he gives me tells me enough. I turn and rush off before he can see how he’s making me feel. I run to the water and put my feet in the shallows.
It’s warm and so damned nice.
Everyone is in already, splashing around and laughing. I take a deep breath and dive in.
The moment the water covers my body, I feel exhilarated. Free. I surface, and I can’t wipe the huge smile from my face. Bohdi has dived in too and is floating beside me, his hair wet and loose, falling down around his shoulders.
“You’d be right at home, Bohdi,” Waverly calls out, arms around Mykel’s neck.
“Yeah,” Bohdi answers.
“You used to surf, didn’t you?” Aviana asks.
“I did, spent years in the water.”
“He’s going to teach me,” I say, kicking my legs and swirling my arms through the warm ocean.
“Oh, my god, can you teach me too?” Briella cries. “I’d love to learn.”
“No fuckin’ way are you learnin’ to surf, you’re ridin’ a bike first,” Alarick growls, nipping at her neck.
“Aw, come on,” she whines. “Let me have a go.”
“Nope. Let them do their thing.”
My cheeks flush. Waverly grins at me, followed with a wink. I turn and swim away from that conversation, turning onto my back and putting my head back in the water, closing my eyes and letting the waves float my body wherever it wants me to go.
A sting has me launching from my position with a screech.
It comes out of nowhere, hitting me on the leg like a hot poker. It burns, an immediate pain that has me clutching it and crying out.
“Merleigh, what’s wrong?” Waverly calls, as they all start swimming quickly toward me.
“Something stung me,” I cry, clutching my leg and wailing. “Oh, god, it hurts.”
“Get her out of the water,” Alarick orders.
“All of you get out, I got her,” Bohdi says, swimming over and scooping me into his arms, getting me out of the water quickly.
“What stung her?” Briella asks as Bohdi runs me back toward the cabin, dripping with water.
“Probably a jellyfish,” Bohdi answers. “Not dangerous, but incredibly painful.”
I whine and press my face into his chest as he jogs back up to the cabin. Of course this would happen to me. How horrifying. I clench my eyes shut when we get inside, trying not to think about the burning pain on my leg. Briella gets a towel and places it on the sofa and Bohdi puts me down before kneeling to look at my calf where the stinging is.
“Yep, jellyfish, you can see the lines. Have you got vinegar?” Bohdi asks me.
“There was some in the cupboard when I got here, I think it’s still there.”
“I’ll get it,” Aviana says, rushing into the kitchen.
“Vinegar will take the sting out, and we’ll check there is nothing left behind in your leg. Then we’ll give it a wash and some painkillers will help. There isn’t much you can do, it’ll be sore for a bit,” Bohdi tells me.
“Okay,” I say softly.
Aviana returns a moment later with a bottle of vinegar. Bohdi uses a cloth and carefully wipes my calf, inspecting it to make sure there is nothing left in my skin. It helps, and after some pain killers, I’m feeling a little better.
“Are stingers something I should be worried about while learning to surf?” I ask Bohdi once he’s done.