Finally, the waters go calm, and I’m able to pop back up, gasping for air, but the second I do, I hear someone scream, “Shark.”
“Shark?”
Oh my God.
Oh my God.
My arms flail around, and I can’t find my board.
Someone needs to help me.
Another wave comes out of nowhere and I’m dragged back under.
My arms move as fast as possible, but I’m not moving. It’s as if I suddenly forgot how to swim. Panic sets in quickly, and I don’t know what to do.
My head pops up to get a breath, but I still can’t move.
Help!
Where are the bloody lifeguards? I don’t want to die out here in the middle of Montauk, I’m not even in my own fucking country.
A pair of arms wrap around me, pulling me close to their body, swimming us toward the shore.
Thank God.
We make it back safely, and I’m pulled onto the sand. I have no strength to move, but I open my eyes, and my favorite shade of green stares down at me.
“Annabelle,” Jack’s voice breaks while pain laces through his eyes. “Are you okay?”
I nod, unable to talk.
There’s a good chance I’m still in shock.
A lifeguard runs over, and Jack starts to lose his mind.
“Where the fuck were you?” he bellows, causing the beachgoers to go silent.
“Jackson, man, calm down. We saw you had it.”
“Calm down? Are you fucking kidding? I waited minutes for you to react, and you weren’t paying attention. You can kiss your job goodbye.”
Sadie is at my side, tears running down her face. “Annabelle. Are you okay? I’m so sorry… So, so sorry.”
“You’re sorry because I forgot how to swim?”
“No, because I forced you to try surfing. I should have known my posh English bestie would do better on land.” She’s trying to make a joke, but her pain-stricken face says otherwise. She leans down, hugging me tight.
“All right, now that the shock has worn off, I’m utterly embarrassed and need to sit up or get the hell out of there.”
“Let’s go home. We can’t go back in the water anyway,” Nate says from beside me.
I almost forgot. “There was really a shark?”
Sadie shrugs like this is normal. We don’t have bloody sharks in London.
Jack stops his attack on the lifeguard, and without another word, he picks me up and holds me close to his body, not letting me even attempt to walk.
His legs must be burning walking through the sand while carrying me. Plus, we still have a long walk to the car. Though, he’s still not entertaining my protests to walk myself.
