Page 2 of Anchored To You

"Yeah?" he asks, a huge beaming smile appearing on his face. "Let's go."

We both pay our tabs, then take off into the night, walking down toward the forest. The bonfire is always the start of the new school year. There's partying, drinking, swimming in the river, and just hanging out with friends. Our entire walk through the woods, Beck and I talk about what classes we're taking, and in between each answer our arms will rub up against one another or he'll look at me in a way that says he wants to tear off my clothes. Which, hell yes, please? I want that.

The sound of yelling and music hits our ears before we enter the clearing where the roaring bonfire is. I'm about to walk toward the keg when Beck grabs hold of my hand.

"Wanna swim?" he asks, stopping in his tracks as he glances out at the river full of students swimming and hollering.

"Here?" I ask, looking at the enormous party in front of us. "You don't want to grab a drink or play a game?"

"I thought I did, but I'd rather just hang out with you. Plus, I would love to see your fins if you're willing to show me."

"Hell yeah, I am. Let's go."

I clutch his hand, leading him through the crowd of students partying all around, toward the edge of the riverbed. We strip down to our briefs, and I can't help but stare at Beck in his underwear. Fuck, the man is a god. He's so damn muscular, which, duh, he's on the baseball team, so he probably works out a lot.

"Thank God for the moon," I mumble, my eyes fixed on Beck.

"I concur," he adds on, stepping closer to me. "You're beautiful, Talon. I'm about to kiss you, and unless you tell me no, it's going to happen.

"I'm not saying no."

Beck moves one step closer, his hand coming out to cup my face. "Last chance," he murmurs, his gaze flicking from my eyes to my mouth.

"Kiss me," I tell him, moaning when his lips finally touch mine. Damn, this man can kiss. My toes are curling into the sand, my arms wrapping around his waist and trying to bring him right up to me. "Wow," I whisper when we eventually pull away.

"Wow, yourself. I really want to kiss you again, but I also want to swim."

Barking out a laugh, I nod my head eagerly. "Same. How about we swim and kiss at the same time?"

"As long as we keep our heads above ‌water, I should be fine. Last one's a rotten egg!"

Beck takes off into the river, jumping in with an enormous splash. I follow behind him, slowly entering the water. I close my eyes as my body shifts, allowing my fins to transform freely. Dunking my head under the surface, I swim a few feet before coming to a stop next to Beck. I flip my fin against the surface, letting Beck see the teal fin that matches my teal hair.

"Hi." I tell him, splashing him again as I circle around him.

"Wow, I knew you were beautiful, but seeing you in this form, damn, you're gorgeous." His fingers reach out to caress the tip of my flipper, his hand grazing up to my hip.

My cheeks warm and I know without a doubt, I'm blushing intensely. "Thanks, you're not too bad yourself."

He laughs hard, squeezing my hips. "I guess I'll take it. Come on, let's swim."

We swim around one another for a few minutes, enjoying the water. There are other students swimming nearby in the river, but we're not paying them any attention. This is not how I expected my evening was going to end, but I'm not mad. Hell, I'm shocked as hell to be honest. I thought for sure I would spend the night at the bar by myself until this sexy ass man sat in the spot next to me.

"So, I know earlier you said you didn't want to attend the bonfire by yourself, but you were able to not only visit the bar but also strike up a conversation with me. How come you were so nervous to be here by yourself?" I ask, wanting to learn more about the guy who randomly dropped into my lap.

"Ugh, it's hard to explain," he swims up next to me, stopping once he's in front of me. "I worry about what people are going to think of me. Being the new outsider here. I've barely made any friends on the baseball team, which is one reason I was iffy about coming tonight. I didn't want to show up not knowing anyone, and then I see a teammate and they ignore me."

I wade in the water, staying in place as we talk. "Do you suppose it's just because you're one of the new guys? When did you first get here?"

"It's only been a couple of weeks. We came a bit early to have some practice in before the year starts.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," I tell him, placing my hand on his arm. "I guarantee you already have friends. Hell, you easily came up to me and were friendly. I have no doubt you'll connect with others.”

"You have more faith in me than I do," he snickers. "And we've only known each other for an hour."

"I'd like to think I'm a great judge of character," I bat my eyelashes at him, feeling so at ease with him. For someone I only met tonight, it feels as though I've known him even longer. "And you've got a new friend tonight."

He wraps his arm around my waist, pulling my body flush with his. "A new friend I'd like to kiss again."