At least, my hazy head sure thought so, until Seb took off his shoes and marina T-shirt. I knew I stared too long at his chest. I couldn’t help it. I felt I’d been trapped in a convent all year and this was the first bare male flesh I’d seen. And as I tugged off my own clothes, I felt self-conscious, worrying about my bathing suit choice. I mean, it wasn’t SpongeBob, thank God, but it wasn’t a two-piece, either, because I hated how the bottoms always looked on me. As I scolded myself for even caring, I set to work smearing myself with waterproof sunblock and glanced up just in time to catch Seb’s gaze roving down my legs. When his eyes flicked to mine, he immediately looked away. No teasing comment, no wink, no nothing.
Huh.I didn’t know what to do with that. But as I turned to head to the edge of the dock, I spotted Lulu watching us. Had she noticed me gawking over Seb’s body?
Maybe I was paranoid.
Just forget it and have a good time.
Jumping off Benny’s dock into the Little River was something I must’ve done a thousand times over the years. But the dive I took that afternoon felt better than any of them. It was hot enough outside to warm the water to a near-perfect temperature, and this section of the river was unpolluted and clear. Tall trees hung over the riverbanks, creating a dappled patchwork of light that was calming and peaceful. And there was no one else around. All the other neighboring docks were empty while their owners were at work.
Almost better than swimming in the lake.
Almost.
Benny threw out a couple of inner tubes, which we fought over, whooping and laughing. The girls decided Jaz deserved one on account of her arm, but we just couldn’t hoist her up on it without multiple attacks of the giggles.
It didn’t take long for the boys to dare each other to dive off the top deck of the dock—something that was illegal in our town after a kid died doing it in the nineties. But that never stopped Seb or Benny before, and it didn’t now. It was way too far up, and I refused, but it was exciting to watch Seb and his feline, muscled body leap into the air like a daredevil and crash into the water below, covering the back half of the dock in spray.
Glorious. All of it. I hadn’t laughed so hard in a long time.
After a time, the group splintered, with Lulu and Jaz settling on chaise longues on the upper deck, and Benny and Seb playing fetch with Punkin, throwing sticks into the river that she happily retrieved. I watched them for a while, laughing, until someone Benny knew from down the block showed up to chat, and hedidn’t go to school with us, so I didn’t know him. So as Benny and his friend climbed to the top dock to sit with the girls, I hung back in the water.
Where Seb had gone to, I didn’t know. The fact that we hadn’t really said much to each other the past hour or so made me anxious.You’re being silly...Maybe I should just focus on the fact that we might have a new lead for Mabel’s clue and stop thinking about him. Besides, maybe I should just head up to the top deck with the others; my arms and legs ached because I hadn’t really used any of these muscles this year at school. I swam around to a side ladder on the dock and started to climb when I spotted the rope hammock.
Benny’s father installed it years ago: a knotted rope hammock that hung between the dock and a round post that had been driven into the riverbed. The hammock itself hung taut,justover the water, so when you got inside it and stretched out, your weight took itjustunderthe water. Your body floated in and out of the river while you lazily stared at the tree tops swaying in the breeze above.
Absolute pleasure.
I climbed into the hammock and lay back, letting the river gently flow over me, closing my eyes to bright, warm sun on my face. Music still blared from the lower deck of the dock, and I could occasionally hear distant laughter from the group lounging up top, but I couldn’t see them.
A nearby splash jerked my eyes open. Seb swam through the water and disappeared underneath the surface. I tracked him for a bit, then he disappeared.
Only to emerge right next to the hammock.
“Jesus!” I complained, secretly thrilled to see him.
“Boo.” He ducked his head underwater to slick back his hair, holding on to the edge of the hammock. “Remember when we found a soggy diaper caught in the rope?”
“I hadn’t, no. Thanks for ruining a good thing. You aren’t up there trading stories with Brad, or whoever that guy is?”
“No, thanks. He said he’d be taking off soon, good riddance.” He settled his arms on the edge of the hammock and peered down at me, his gaze roaming over my black bathing suit.
“You’re going to capsize me if you keep pulling on it.”
His eyes sparkled mischievously. For a moment, I went rigid because I expected him to try to tip me into the river. Instead, he stopped paddling with his legs and let himself float on his stomach, then he glided up and over the edge of the hammock, grabbing rope near my head to aid him. In one fluid movement, he hoisted himself atop me.
“What are you doing?” I said in a panic, glancing around his head to see if anyone on the upper deck was watching. They weren’t. We were alone for the moment.
“Oh, lookie here,” Seb said, dripping water in my face. “I’ve caught me a real, live mermaid in a net.”
“If you don’t want anyone to know what we’ve been doing, this is not the way,” I said, taking another glance at the dock.
“I never said I didn’t want anyone to know.” He shifted his position, and water lapped between us. My torso was almost all the way below the surface. “Wait. Knowwhat, exactly?”
I didn’t answer.
One corner of his mouth curled up.
“Interesting,” he said, and with a grunt, he pushed himself off the hammock and dove under the water.
