Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88064 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Even though I’m faced with one of the most beautiful vistas, there’s an itch beneath my skin that I can’t quite reach. As a distraction, I reach for my cell phone, snapping pictures of Jared and Joshua in their element.
I take a few selfies, even though my hair is matted from the salt water, and my skin pink from the spray and sun. There’s a part of me that is desperate to create memories, and this day feels strangely important.
The sun moves across the sky, time passing too slow and too fast all at the same time, and my heart skitters with panic at the thought of another day behind me.
There are never enough hours, minutes, or seconds. Every beat of my heart feels like a step too far.
I scoop up handfuls of sand and watch it slip between my fingers, hating the reminder of the egg timer that stands next to the stove at home. Hating the knowledge that with every grain that leaves my palm, I’m a little bit older and not at all wiser.
By the time the twins have had enough, I’m more than ready to go back to Cloud 9 for some alone time.
I get to my feet as Jared nears and shakes his hair, spraying me like a dog. "Where’s your smile, pretty girl?" he asks.
"Did you miss us?" Joshua throws his dripping arm around my shoulder and the shock of the cold makes me jump.
"Of course," I say. "Who else is going to take the time to cover me with seawater?"
"Exactly," Joshua says. "When you find two men who can make you wet, you should hang onto them."
"That’s a phrase that should be printed on a shirt." I smile, the melancholy that had been hanging over me, washing away with their smiles and humor.
"Stick with us," Jared says, pulling a box from his bag and flipping it open. Inside is a strange brown cake covered in white flecks and divided into squares.
"What is that?" I ask.
"It’s a lamington. The best cake you’ll ever eat."
"Lamington? Never heard of it," I say, but I reach into the box and snatch one up gratefully. All the paddling has left me hungrier than a horse. My first bite is tentative, but once my taste buds detect all the yummy sweetness, I don’t hold back. "Mmmm," I groan. "That is frickin’ delicious."
"Isn’t it?" Jared agrees, demolishing a whole cake in just a few seconds.
"I thought athletes are supposed to be obsessed with eating protein, not cake."
Joshua snorts. "We never said we were athletes. Just enthusiastic surfers who love lamingtons."
"…and know how to make a girl wet. Don’t forget that part."
"That’s the best part." Joshua puts his arm around my shoulder again and tugs me into his chest, planting an affectionate kiss to my forehead. It feels so natural and easy, like we’ve been dating for weeks and are in that comfortable zone where two bodies become one.
And I decide, at that moment, that when we get back to Cloud 9, I’m going to find out exactly how good they are at riding the wave and taking me to the crest of pleasure.
7
JOSHUA
When we get home, there isn’t much time before our shift starts. But Dawn is looking at us with hungry eyes and zero reservations.
She’s the first girl we’ve ever hung out with who’s shown an interest in surfing, and I didn’t realize how much I would enjoy sharing my passion with someone of the opposite sex. She’s also the first girl in a long time who’s made me and Jared laugh. Maybe it’s her easy American humor, or maybe it’s just the fact that she doesn’t seem to have any inhibitions. That easy way of approaching life is refreshingly unlike the girls back home.
"Let me carry your bag," I say, easing it from Dawn’s shoulder as we make our way from the truck to our living quarters.
"Why, thank you," she smiles, surrendering it. Now back in her own clothes, the skin of her shoulders is dusted with salt that sparkles like glitter in the sun. Her sun-kissed hair is twisted into a messy bun that’s begging to be unraveled.
At her door, her pretty green eyes drift over me and my brother, crinkling at the corners with whatever she’s thinking in that fascinating mind of hers.
"So," I say, leaving it hanging as a potential opening to more, or a way of closing out an awesome outing.
"So," she says, with a cheeky smile. Then she opens the door to her room and reaches for both our hands. "All that surfing has made me horny. Is that something you can help me with?"
"That’s something we can definitely help you with," my brother says.
For a fraction of a second, Mitchell runs through my mind. I know he won’t care what we’re doing with Dawn. He’s not territorial like that. It’s more that his perspective on what happened between him and Dawn lingers. He’s convinced there’s something behind the YOLO tattoo, but Dawn wouldn’t tell him.