“What are you doing?”
“I— I don’t—” Her words fall away, her teeth chattering.
A wave hits my back, pushing me closer to her, and Alex’s fingers splay across my chest, her eyes wide with fear. When I try to walk us toward the shore, she digs in, her hands bracing my upper arms as her legs go rigid. The sensible thing would be to leave the water, but it’s clear that fear has taken over Alex’s mind.
“Breathe.” I dip my head, trying to shield her face with mine.
Alex’s gaze bounces everywhere—the sky, the crashing waves, on her nails biting into the fabric of my hoodie—as her chaotic breaths get shorter and shorter.
I band one arm tightly around her, using my free hand to grip her jaw. “Eyes on me.”
When her panicked gaze locks on mine, I soothe her cheek with my thumb. “Good. Now, breathe for me.”
Alex takes a shaky inhale, and I move my palm to shield her face from the rain.
“Keep going. Nice and slow.”
After several rounds, her fingers loosen their death grip, and her shoulders fall away from her ears.
“I’m in the ocean,” she whispers, her words wonder-filled.
Despite the circumstances, despite the fact that I have every right to be angry, a smile curves my mouth. “I know.”
When her fingers tighten as another wave hits me, I run my hand along her spine. “I’ve got you.”
Alex nods, not breaking eye contact.
“I never thought I’d do this again,” she says after a long moment.
Only then does she look down at the water rushing around our soaked jeans. The first laugh is nothing more than a hiccup of a sound, followed by a low chuckle. Then a wild smile overtakes her face as she glances up at me. I’m helpless to do anything but grin back at her, my heartbeat hammering in my throat. When Alex tilts her head back, her messy hair dripping with rain drops as she laughs into the rain, my breath shudders.
Please stop making me fall in love with you.
Alex looks so much like that carefree girl I bantered with years ago while simultaneously the present-day version I can’t stop thinking about. Standing this close is suddenly more painful than striking out with the bases loaded.
“We should get out of the water,” I tell her, my voice low and tight.
Alex doesn’t seem to notice my distress as our soaked shoes trudge their way back to shore. Once we’re beyond the waves’ reach, I put several feet between us. Alex takes one step on her own before her knees buckle. She hits the packed sand before I can catch her.
“I don’t understand why—”
“It’s the adrenaline crash. You’re going to be shaky for a while.” A ragged sigh escapes me. “I’ll help you.”
I could carry Alex against my chest, but with her nerves finally settling, my irritation feels like it’s mounting. I’m not going to leave Alex soaked and freezing on the beach, but I’m not going to be nice about carrying her back to her car either. I help Alex up and then stoop, tossing her over my shoulder like a sack of mulch.
“Tenny, what are you—” She pounds on my back, though not hard enough to hurt. “Put me down. This is ridiculous.”
“Don’t I know it.”
I march toward the restaurant, craving a hot shower and wondering how I’m supposed to survive the rest of the season when I can’t seem to get away from Alex.
Chapter 21
Alex
I’m a scattered mess today. I’m still hurt by how quickly Tenny moved on, but I’m also reeling from the tender way he took care of me when I’d been in the ocean yesterday.
Theocean.
