Mint’s face paled. “Oh no you do not.”
Frankie rolled his eyes. “For sure Jack became a history major so he can cite obscure old laws to get what he wants.”
“You can take turns in the master,” said Caro, the peace broker.
“Jack,” Heather admonished. “You know Mint and Jess need privacy. They’re sensitive flowers. Let them have it.”
My cheeks flamed. Sensitive, uptight Jessica Miller.
I looked at the ocean, vast and tumbling behind the house. “You know what? I’m going skinny-dipping.”
“You’re what?” Jack stopped his mad dash for the front door and turned, wide-eyed.
I yanked off my shirt and tossed it on the ground. “Naked. In the ocean.”
Around me, nothing but a circle of shocked faces.
“With the sharks?” Caro blurted.
“With the sharks and the whales and the fish.” I sprinted past the house toward the beach. There was no one around but us, so it wasn’t the most daring trick in the world, but still, I felt invincible as I ran. Not uptight—strong and brave and unstoppable. The early evening sun was magnificent over the water, creating a shining path that stretched over the waves, all the way to the horizon. I was half-convinced I could walk it, like a bridge.
I tore off my shorts, grinning over my shoulder. “You guys coming?”
Frankie whooped and charged forward. “Way to steal my move, Miller.”
“Last one in buys drinks tonight!” Heather yelled, ripping off her top and unhooking her bra.
“Ahhh!” I shrieked, covering my eyes as she ripped off her shorts. As usual, she had to bethe most. Now, the most naked.
“I know this is an elaborate plan to see me naked again,” Frankie said, kicking off his shoes so they flew in opposite directions. “Even though you’re probably braced for it, I want to remind you: there is not, in fact, a whale in my pants. It’s just me.”
“Gross, Frankie!” Caro squealed, tugging on her necklace. She hadn’t taken off a stitch of clothing.
“Birthday suit, Rodriguez!” Heather took a running leap into the waves, now one hundred and ten percent naked.
“It’s okay—I’m going to skinny-dip in my clothes.” To her credit, Caro bounded after Heather into the waves.
Frankie, as naked as Heather, turned to face us with a huge, devilish grin—pausing for a second to wink—then jumped into the ocean back-first, landing with an audible smack.
My mouth dropped open.Frankie.
“He wasn’t lying!” Jack yelled, jumping in after him. “It’s a whale of a tale!”
Still clutching my bare chest, I doubled over, breathless with laughter. And then Coop was beside me at the shoreline, his eyes cast out over the ocean. He turned to me, smiling. There it was, the look that shut out the world. This time, I didn’t look away, and something shifted between us. The short distance from his body to mine—the small bit of air and sand—was no longer inert but alive. I was aware of his body, so close to mine, within touching distance. His gaze felt like a physical thing, a finger stroking my arm, raising the fine hairs there.
Coop’s bare shoulders sloped with muscle. His Adam’s apple bobbed beneath the cut-diamond lines of his jaw. His dark hair lifted in the wind. I reached out to touch it, smooth it on instinct, and he sucked in a breath.
I drew my hand back. “What?”
His eyes, so serious. “I’m memorizing your face in this light.”
As I opened my mouth to speak, Mint barreled toward us out of nowhere, scooping me in his arms and lifting me high over his shoulder. I screamed with surprise, heart pumping adrenaline as he rushed to the ocean. The last thing I saw was Coop standing alone on the shore, lit with soft, golden dusk, all sharp eyes and enigmatic smile. The perfect figure drawing.
And then we plunged into the sea.
Under the surface, in the cold, in the salt, swallowed by waves, I pressed my eyes shut, letting myself sink. And in that moment a wild wishing came over me. I wanted to stay here, submerged forever. Above the surface, all the days of my life were waiting like a promise. There was nothing but a blank slate, andanything goes, andwhat if. My life could mean anything, I could become anyone, as long as I didn’t break surface, as long as I stayed here, suspended, in this beautiful, infinitenow.
Chapter 35
