Out of Breath (Breathing, #3)(91)

TJ burst out into cackling laughter, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with him. ‘I can’t believe I did that. That’s awesome!’

I looked over towards Evan, who was smiling and shaking his head. He noticed I was watching him and didn’t move his eyes away. The smile held upon his face. The one that made the blood rush through my body at a whirlwind pace.

I averted my eyes, focusing back on the fire. I brushed at my cheeks with the back of my hand, feeling as if the embers had ignited them.

‘That naked surfer dude was weird,’ Ren reflected.

‘That he was,’ Nate agreed.

‘Emma, do you surf?’ TJ asked.

I was about to say that we needed to teach her, when she answered, ‘Yeah. I know I’m not nearly as good as you guys, but I do. I still need my own board, though.’

I stared at her in shock. ‘You surf?’

She smiled bashfully and shrugged.

‘I think you just made Evan the happiest guy on the planet,’ Ren said, making her smile grow brighter.

‘We’ve never had one of our girls surf before,’ Brent explained. His choice of words drew my attention. He noticed and floundered, ‘Hey, you know what I mean.’

‘That’s because the girls you’re always interested in are too top-heavy and head-empty,’ Nate shot at him.

I laughed. ‘When was the last time you even went on a date? Rubbing suntan lotion on someone doesn’t count.’

‘I … date,’ Brent defended weakly.

‘Dude, no you don’t.’ TJ laughed. ‘You think you’re all slick, but you never close the deal. Let’s put it this way, who did you hook up with after the pool party last weekend?’

I glanced at Emma, who was observing the exchange with an adorable smile, her eyes dancing between whoever was speaking. She seemed much better than she was earlier today, and I would give anything to keep that smile on her face.

I lay down on the pillow and pulled the sleeping bag under my chin, continuing to listen to the stories shared among the guys. They usually ended with someone defending his actions. I could see why Evan kept them in his life. It reminded me of the girls.

The talking tapered off, and Ren played the guitar and sang a relaxing reggae-style song. It was the perfect choice with the sound of the surf in the background.

‘Evan, you should’ve brought your camera,’ TJ noted. ‘Dude, I haven’t seen you with it since you went off to the Ivy League. You used to never be without it.’

‘I, uh …’ Evan faltered. I turned my head on my pillow to look up at him. ‘I’m not sure where it is. I haven’t really had a reason to take pictures lately.’

I felt my heart twinge.

‘Maybe you should find a reason again,’ I murmured, staring at the fire.

I knew no one else heard her except for me, and I was pretty sure she hadn’t meant for me to overhear. A small smile crept onto my face as she snuggled into the sleeping bag, staring at the fire, making me recall the first picture I’d ever taken of her. Perhaps I had found a reason.

I watched her fall asleep as Ren sang and TJ joined in. Across the fire, Nate raised his brows, appearing to have read my thoughts.

‘Be careful,’ he said quietly. ‘Okay?’

Nate was looking out for me. I knew that. He was the only one who truly knew how bad it got after Emma left. I believed him when he said he’d risk our friendship to make sure it never happened again. But I was hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

The fire died down, the embers glowing in the sand. Everyone started drifting off. I angled my bag so I could watch Emma sleep until I succumbed to it myself.

I shot up in a panic, then stopped and looked around in confusion, not remembering where I was. The guys slept soundly, or in Ren’s case not so soundly – dispersed across the sand in their sleeping bags, tucked in deep to hide from the chilled air. It took a moment, but I shook off the panic of the dream that awakened me most mornings. Then I noticed Emma was gone. The panic took hold again, and I jumped out of my bag to scan the beach.

My shoulders eased up when I spotted her seated closer to the water, wrapped in a sleeping bag. ‘I have to stop freaking out,’ I mumbled.

I walked towards her, wading through the lowlying clouds until I stood beside her, looking out at the same view of the morning sea.

‘I’m still not convinced you don’t like mornings,’ I said, making her jump. ‘Sorry.’ I smiled at the familiarity of her response. I always seemed to catch her unaware, lost in her thoughts.

‘You love sneaking up on me,’ she accused, ‘as is evident by that stupid grin on your face.’

I grinned wider, sat down on the sand next to her and crossed my forearms over my knees.

The cool air whipped around me, and I shivered. She noticed and held out an arm, offering a portion of the sleeping bag. ‘Thanks,’ I said, wrapping the edge around my shoulder, trying not to think about the heat emanating from her body.

We sat and watched the ocean for a moment, but I couldn’t keep myself from asking one of the million unanswered questions that I had when it came to her. ‘What happened yesterday?’

I could sense him thinking while he was sitting next to me. I was prepared for some sort of question to come out of his mouth, but was hoping that wouldn’t be the first one.