Now, blood rushes to my eyeballs, flooding my skull.
I am over Chase’s shoulder, hanging upside down. Water rolls and tumbles over the length of my face, my soaked hair sticking to my cheekbones, crawling over my nose and slipping between my quivering lips.
I squeal when Chase swings us higher, sending us airborne. Goosebumps pebble across the surface of my skin as I slide down his body, wrapping myself around him.
I focus on the way his right arm coils my waist, his bicep flexing across my ribs, tightening and hardening as he holds me to him. And I wonder if he feels the way my heart rate spikes.
“Hold your breath!” Chase shouts, and on cue, we each suck down a deep breath, inflating our lungs moments before splitting the surface.
Muffled distortion fills my ears. The water takes us, and I untangle myself from my best friend's older brother, kicking around for a while before pushing to the surface.
A shiver dances up my spine when the fresh morning air kisses my skin.
“Almost thought I was gonna have to jump my ass back in and save you,” Chase taunts from the edge of the river where he sits waiting casually, almost smugly.
He knows damn well that I can look after myself, but he’s always enjoyed giving me shit, because, well, it’s Chase, and he’s an asshole.
A beautiful one at that, though.
It was honestly annoying how gorgeous he was. But what was even more annoying was that aside from being Jade’s best friend, I was nothing more to him than another extended limb.
My cheeks heat.
I swim to the edge where Chase stands with his hand thrust forward, as if he thinks I’ll take the easy way out and accept his help. I snort, slap his offering away and begin to pull myself out of the water unassisted.
Chase’s shoulders shake with a laugh.
“Suit yourself,” he sing-songs, waiting for me to right myself.
And those two words shouldn’t sound that perfect. That rough and deep and meaningful, but they do because Chase’s voice was like nothing I’d heard before.
Digging the fabric of my bikini bottoms out of my ass and curling my soaked hair to one side, I wring the gallon of water from the long strands, feeling the cool water drip down my chest.
My shoulder taps Chase’s arm. I graze past him, laughing, and I don’t look back. “If anyone’s gonna need saving?—”
He scoffs, cutting me off, “Oh, here we go. Hit me, Laik, but please make it fucking good.”
I peek over my shoulder with a smirk. “It’ll be you, when I drown your ass.”
“I’ll help!” Jade shouts, and I turn to look at her. She’s pushing a bottle of vodka to her lips and squeezing her eyes closed.
And I’m sauntering my way to where Jade and Harlen are seated a few feet back from the river's edge, listening to Chase laugh off mine and his sister’s retorts behind me.
Harlen places his palm against the face of his guitar, taking the bottle from Jade’s hands when she drops her head into her bicep, a familiar attempt to quench the burn.
Jade’s forearms are hung over her propped knees, her dark hair limp and stringy from the water.
“Can’t handle it, huh, Jadey?” Harlen teases her, thumping her leg with the base of the bottle.
And I can feel Chase behind me, so close, yet far away.
Jade raises her head, her hair long and wet and stuck to her forehead. She works away the taste of what I could only compare to the smell of solvent. Her eyes are jammed closed.
“All good here.” She raises her hand and clenches her throat, splattering through a cough, all while asking Harlen, “But why does it always burn so bad?”
Harlen laughs, pushing the bottle to his lips and taking two large pulls. His golden curls hang over his stark blue eyes as Chase jerks his chin for it and Harlen hauls the bottle toward him, only for me to intercept, catching it before he has a chance.
Harlen watches us as he returns to his guitar, picking at the strings.
