Kasen cracks his knuckles as Jocelyn walks out of the guesthouse in a sundress. The deep “v” of the neckline accents her breasts. I force myself to draw my gaze from them up to her eyes. She raises an eyebrow.
“Stop ogling me, you heathen,” she mouths.
I smirk and shrug as I walk over to make myself a coffee.
“OK, have a seat, Jocelyn. Let’s see if I can find your family,” Kasen states as he pats the stool next to him.
I find the speaker panel and start playing some music as everyone goes back to their conversations. Carly pulls muffins out of the oven and sets them out on a plate next to some fruit and little breakfast sandwiches.
I take a breakfast sandwich and sit down next to Kasen, watching as he clicks on his laptop, entering Jocelyn’s dad’s name into databases. He is completely focused as he works.
“OK, I have a few hits. Let’s let this system see what it can pull, and we’ll check on it later,” he finally says.
“What’s the game plan?” he says, turning to me. We’ve already worked out and had breakfast together. He knows the game plan.
“Beach, grilled fish for dinner, and bioluminescent bay, remember?” I remind him.
“Right. You know, I could use a nap,” he says, stretching his arms over his head. He stands and looks at Piper. She’s moved from the table in the dining room out onto a lounge chair, where she’s sunning herself. “You tired?” he asks her.
“I suppose I could use a nap if we’re going out later,” she says as she stands and pulls a see-through cover-up over herself. She takes Kasen’s outstretched hand, and they head upstairs.
“We should take a nap too,” Roxy says to Gray.
He chuckles. “Only if bubble blowing is involved,” he teases.
She elbows him in the ribs, and he grimaces. “Or just a nap,” he says, letting out a breath.
I walk out to the deck by the pool and lie down in a chair next to Jocelyn. Carly is sitting on the edge of the pool while Bray plays with Ava, who I think might be living in the water now. Jocelyn slowly flips pages in a book, while I steal glances at her while pretending to listen to a podcast about football.
The desire to touch her grows with each passing hour. How I’m going to keep my hands to myself for several more days is beyond me.
“I don’t think I can do it,” Cam says as she looks into the black-as-night water. It’s after nine thirty at night, and Roxy, Gray, Cam, Fletcher, Kasen, Piper, Jocelyn, and I are on boats in a calm bay. Nearby, we can see people jumping in and the water lighting up around them.
“Too bad Ava is asleep, she’d love this,” Piper says before jumping in alongside Kasen. The two of them swirl in the water, and it lights up like a thousand little lightning bugs are in there with them.
“What causes it again?” Cam asks.
“Dinoflagellates,” I explain.
One by one, each of us jumps in, except for Cam and Jocelyn.
“At least put your hand in, Cam,” Fletcher says as he splashes her and the spray of water lights up like fireworks.
She swirls her hand and laughs. “It is kinda cool.”
I look up at Jocelyn as I make snow angels, or I guess it’s water angels.
“You coming in?” I ask.
She bites her lip and leans over the edge so only I can hear her. “You don’t think there are like…lizards in there, right?”
I chuckle. “No, I think you’re safe.”
“Promise,” she whispers. I pull myself up on the edge of the small canoe, so we are face-to-face.
“On my life,” I whisper back.
She tosses off her top and jumps in next to me. The water lights up as she emerges.
