The Way to Game the Walk of Shame(53)

My plan immediately backfired. He clasped my arms together and rolled over until I was pinned beneath his body. “Now, this is much better…”

I rolled my eyes and shoved him, but I couldn’t hide the glimmer of a smile on my face. My heart hammered in my chest, and I was half scared he would feel it. “Get off. You weigh a ton.”

“Hey, there’s no reason to get nasty. I’ve been working out, you know.”

“I hadn’t noticed.”

He laughed and stood up. Granules of sand were still stuck to his arms and shoulders. Taking my hands, he pulled me to my feet and hugged me. His heartbeat thumped against my cheek. Leaning back slowly, he bent his head until our faces were inches apart. My eyes automatically fluttered closed.

Suddenly, my feet were off the ground as Evan lifted me up in his arms, carrying me like a bride over the threshold. My eyes flew open in shock. “What are you doing?”

“Getting payback.” He took a couple of steps forward. I could feel the cold water hitting the back of my thighs with each wave. It soaked through my shorts and underwear.

Crap, that was cold! My arms flew around his neck, and I tried to pull myself up, practically choking with laughter now. “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Guess what? I don’t like to be challenged, either.” And with that statement, he dove us both right into the water.

I let out a shriek as the cold water surrounded us. My hands gripped his shoulders so I wouldn’t get swept away, but I didn’t need to worry. Evan had a tight grip around me. He bounced me up and down in the water. Not so low that my head would go underwater, but low enough that everything else was drenched. My loose shirt billowed out like a balloon as the water got underneath it, and I just thanked god that I wasn’t wearing white tonight.

Suddenly aware that the water was also pulling the wide neckline down, showing off my plain gray bra, I shoved against Evan. “Let me down.”

He gently set me down, and I immediately moved away from him, turning so he couldn’t see me. The water only reached my boobs, but it still made my shirt flop open, no matter how many ways I held it down. With my head bent, I tied a knot into my neckline to make it smaller.

“Taylor, are you okay?” His concerned voice was a few feet away. “Did the saltwater get in your eyes or something?”

I froze. “Yeah, I think so. It’s stinging like crazy right now.”

“Shit, I didn’t mean to hurt you. Let me see.” Once he touched my arm, I whirled around and used my hands to splash a bunch of water at him. His dripping, shocked face turned to laughter. “Now that’s the girl I know and love.”

My heart skipped a beat when he said the word love, but by the goofy look on his face, he didn’t even realize what he’d said.

He flopped backward and floated in the water like a piece of driftwood. Hunky driftwood. The waves didn’t bother him at all as he bobbed up and down in sync with them. So at ease that it looked like he did this every night. He must have been part merman in his past life.

The water was still kind of cold, but I was getting used to it. It was crystal clear and beautiful, but I couldn’t really see much in the moonlight. I could see my hands and arms floating, but my feet faded into blackness. Usually this would freak me out. I mean, who knew what was in the water? I could step on a jellyfish. Or there could be sharks and barracudas swimming around me right now, and I wouldn’t even know.

But now all those fears seemed to fade away. Maybe because this felt like a dream. Or maybe it was because I knew Evan would never let anything happen to me. He’d probably fight a shark if he had to, partly so he could brag to people that he’d done it. But I’d like to think saving me would be the main point.

If I thought it was weird to garden with Evan, that was a walk in the park. I had never imagined I would be swimming with Evan at night. Another Dear Diary moment, I guess. Funny how many of them I’d had since Evan.

After I almost drowned last summer, I made myself learn how to swim. But I never really figured out how to float. I guess I just skipped that step. So I just waded in the water a bit as Evan drifted around me.

I don’t know how long we stayed out there. Could be two minutes, could be twenty, but everything was so quiet and peaceful that I didn’t want to leave. I was genuinely disappointed when Evan suggested getting back to shore.

I wrung the water out of my stringy hair as Evan shook his head like a wet dog. His hair sprang out in a bunch of directions, and I couldn’t help laughing. He looked like a porcupine. My laughter faded when he pulled off his wet shirt. I’d barely had time to register this when his hands drifted down to his pants. “What are you doing?”

“Just getting out of my wet clothes,” he said with a shrug, like it was no big deal to strip in front of me.

“But, but…” My hands flew up to cover my blistering-red face, and I stumbled over my own feet in my rush to turn away. “Seriously, dude!”

He laughed. “What are you doing?”

“What am I doing? What are you doing? You can’t just strip down wherever you want to! There might not be anyone else around, but we’re still in public! You could get arrested! Oh god, you’re going to get us arrested for public nudity. It’s going to be on my record forever.”

“Will you just turn around?”