“Is that Emma?” I stutter, totally confused. “What the fuck? And is that Jameson?” I stand and point in their direction.
“Well, isn’t that interesting.” Dax smirks over at his friend. “They’re coming this way and trying to be discreet.” He chuckles.
I grab on to Dax pushing his face in their direction. Little do they know that I spotted them, and there will be many questions later. They finally make their way back to the group, and the party continues. I feel free for the first time all day and enjoy the company knowing that this might be the last time we all get together.
With all the festivities going on, my thoughts continue to go back to Dax and how it’s so easy and natural to be with him. I suddenly realize that I haven’t had this much fun in a very long time. Brodie comes back to the group, swaying as he walks, clearly drunk. I can’t say that I feel sorry for him. He needs to take responsibility for his actions and grow the fuck up. Brodie grabs a bodyboard lying on the ground and runs sloppily toward the water. He is very athletic and has been in tip-top shape throughout high school. He does a front flip and lands on the board, and our group of friends hoots and whistles. I shake my head and laugh. He is always the center of attention. He sees me watching, and his laughter stops. His eyes search mine for a moment, and I think he might come over but then he thinks better of it. Dax sees the interaction and pulls me in. I don’t hesitate and lean in to absorb the warmth that he offers. He feels my body relax next to his and draws me in further. I couldn’t resist the pull if I tried. He leads me over to the side, and we discuss plans for the near future. He tells me about his fellowship, and I tell him about my plan to move this summer.
“Emma and Jameson looked pretty close, don’t you think?” He laughs, and his eyes spark with mischief.
“Why do you say that?” I shake my head and look up.
“Well, if you saw how they looked after returning from the sand dunes…” He trails off and shrugs. “Maybe he was just escorting her back from the porta-potty. You never know,” Dax quickly interjects.
“Nope, I saw the guilty walk of shame from the sand dunes while trying to maintain that look of innocence plastered all over her face.”
Dax gives me one of his panty-dropping smiles. “Well, I’ll be damned. I guess he couldn’t resist. That seems to be the theme, doesn’t it, Liv?”
I place my hand on his chest and look into his eyes while playfully batting my eyelashes. “Why, whatever do you mean, Dax?”
“Oh, nothing, babe, it’s just that you ladies seem to be ruining us for every other female,” he says jokingly. But I can see the truth in his eyes.
His mouth is inches from mine, and I can feel his breath on my lips. He leans in to close the gap between us. His lips ghosted over mine, causing a tingling feeling over my lips. His tongue swipes over my lower lip, and I allow him entry. He deepens the kiss, and my whole body is lit on fire. I go to grab onto his neck but find myself threading my hands through his hair. His hands are spread across my lower back, pushing me against his hard-toned body. He breaks away quickly, and his eyes widen. That’s when I hear it—a scream makes us freeze. Broken from our trance, we turn toward the bonfire where the noise seems to be coming from.
“Help! Someone help!” a person shrieks.
We both take off for the shore, sprinting toward our friends. As we get closer, my heart hammers as I take in the scene before me. What we find makes us want to go back in time to at least a few minutes where our kiss held the possibility of everything.
ChapterEight
Dax
Liv’s handtenses in mine as we run to the scream’s source. My heart hammers in my chest, and I can hear Liv’s breath coming in frantic gasps. Skidding to a stop, a horrific scene awaits us. I first noticed Brodie lying in the wet sand. My eyes darted around the scene, instinct from medical training taking over. I look for signs of obvious trauma, but the one thing that stands out above all others is that Brodie is entirely still. His body sprawled out on the wet sand, limp and unconscious. A small cry leaves Liv’s lips, and she slaps a hand over her mouth. The look of shock and disbelief was written all over her face. I drop her hand and run over to Brodie placing my fingers on his neck to check for a pulse. A tiny bit of tension leaves my body when a steady thrumming pulse under my fingers, and I see his chest rise to let me know he’s breathing.
“Brodie, can you hear me,” I shouted in front of his face. “Did anyone call 9-1-1?” I keep my eyes trained on Brodie while Liv, Emma, and Jameson come over to help.
“Do you need help moving him?” Jameson asks as he crouches down beside me.
“No!” I stammer out a little too forcefully. “No one moves him. He could have a neck injury. We need to know what happened.”
“I saw the whole thing,” I hear a voice from the crowd. “Brodie was doing front flips on the bodyboard. He went to do another, but he slipped on the board. Bro, he landed on his neck and then just went limp” He stutters, “It didn’t look good, man.”
My body has gone on autopilot, my training taking over like a well-oiled machine. I shift myself over Brodie’s head and place my hands on either side of his neck to hold it steady. A small groan escapes Brodie’s lips, and I wonder if he’s in pain.
“What’s the ETA of the ambulance?” I bark out.
Ainsley says, “I called as soon as it happened, I don’t know, like ten minutes ago.”
Just as she says it, I hear the faint sound of sirens in the background. As I look up, I see the flashing lights heading down to the sand.
Thankfully with all the traffic today on the beach, the sand is packed down pretty well. The less trouble the ambulance has to get here, the better. I try to wake Brodie again, but he still doesn’t respond. The ambulance comes into view, accompanied by the police. Paramedics jump out and race toward us with the backboard. They swing into action, placing a neck collar on and then gently moving him to the board and onto the stretcher. As they make their way to the ambulance, the police ask the crowd if they witnessed the accident, but everything starts to fade away as I look at Liv. Her face is pale, and silent tears stream down her cheeks. Her arms are crossed across her chest as if to keep herself warm, but I can see her body visibly shaking from shock. Within two strides, I’m by her side.
“Liv, are you okay?”’
She doesn’t answer. Her eyes are fixed on the sand where Brodie’s body was lying just seconds ago. I step in front of her and grab her shoulders to try again,
“Liv, talk to me.”
Still, I get nothing. I gently raise my hand to her chin and tilt her chin up so I can look into her eyes.
