“Last round. Here we go!” Callum says, clapping his hands to start the round.
We go back and forth for several minutes. Lizzy wants this. I can see it in her eyes.
“Get his nipple, babe!” She shouts.
“Dirty.”
“You didn’t say they can’t touch. It’s a strategy.”
“She’s right,” Callum calls.
“Whose side are you on?”
“I’m on the side of the game.”
“Traitor,” Emmett mumbles, before he screams. “Didn’t know I was getting a purple nurple. Geez!”
“Go again!” Lizzy shouts, riding his neck.
“Next time he lets go of her leg to twist my nipple, push them hard. We’re going to attack.”
“Strong side. Weak side,” Lizzy grunts.
We push and shove a few more times, arms locked, each of us leaning back into the water or pulling forward.
“Attack!” Lizzy commands.
“Shit!” Emmett shouts, running backwards into the water, but he can’t move fast enough. Tony clamps on, causing Emmett to yelp!
“Don’t get a hard on E.” Jax enters the roasting and Emmett just glares at him. Jax tosses his head back, laughing, and I let out a sigh of relief.
He’s going to be ok.
We’re going to be ok.
Damn it!
I’m not paying attention and Lizzy catches me off guard. Emmett and I fall back into the water and when I pop back up, Lizzy is cheering around the pool while Tony carries her around on his shoulders like a trophy.
“Good job, Liz.”
“What happened? You seemed distracted.”
“Nope, all good. I was expecting you to do something else, and I was wrong.” I didn’t want to admit what I was actually thinking about. I feel like we’re on shaky ground as it is, and I want Jax to get solid ground beneath him.
She cheers some more.
Dinner comes and goes and we all hang out in the hot tub for a little or cuddle on the huge chairs. After a while, Jax stands up and asks me to go on a walk with him, so I do. It’s dark except for the moonlight, which is fairly bright and almost a full moon. We can’t have flashlights on the beach after nine because turtles are still coming up to nest on the beach, and if there are bright lights, it may confuse them.
He’s silent for a while.
I don’t know why he invited me on the walk or what he wants to talk about, so I wait for him. With him, you don’t push. When he’s ready, he will speak.
We continue walking for several more minutes, then he reaches out and grabs my hand and interlaces his fingers in between mine. Still no words.
I’m dying to ask what’s going on, what’s been on his mind all day. Last night. Does he regret last night? Does he not? I want to tell him he shouldn’t, but I also don’t want to pretend like I know what happened. Something did, but I’m not sure. The only thing I know is that I can’t push.
“I love you,” he says, so quiet that it almost sounds like the waves washing back out.
