Page 41 of The Great Dating Fake Off
“Because it sounds like ‘you were right, Nora.’”
He dips almost entirely underwater as he moves my way. As he hits the part where it’s too shallow for him to keep swimming, he rises to his feet.
His smile is suspiciously wide.
I eye him warily. “What are you doing?”
Water sluices down his body. His basketball shorts are so heavy they’re struggling to stay high on his hips. I can see the entire waistband of his boxer briefs. “I can’t help but notice you’re not wading.”
“I am!” I take a tiny step deeper and wince.
He moves a foot closer.
My nerve endings misfire, confused between the contrast of the cold water and his heated gaze.
“You made a deal,” he says evenly. “I jumped.”
“I never specified how deep I had to wade.”
“You have to be fully submerged. Equal exposure to the water.” His face tilts an inch sideways, appraising me from a slightly different angle as he circles me. “I’ll wait.”
I splash water at him.
He laughs. He’s close enough to reach out and grab me and large enough to toss me over his shoulder like a sack of flour. “If you’re scared—”
I lift my chin to meet his eye. “I’m not scared.”
“My mistake.”
He steps closer, which crowds me one foot deeper into the water.
The soles of my feet slide against the ground. My legs vehemently protest the cold, but I force myself to take another step.
“How’s it feeling?” he asks, brows aloft.
“It feels…refreshing.” My butt hits the water. Goose bumps ripple across my skin. “This is much easier than jumping off a dock.”
“That’s great.” He reaches down, dips his hand in the water, and splashes my stomach with the smallest bit of water. “All the way, then.”
I narrow my eyes and lunge for his arm. As soon as I close my grip, I let myself fall backward. We topple into the water in a clumsy heap. His cool skin slides across mine, his hand grazing my waist as he breaks free.
Danger, danger!
Sucking in a sharp breath, I swim sideways, putting distance between us and the delicious way our limbs slid together. I don’t stop kicking until I can no longer conceive of how deep it is, twenty or thirty feet out. The water is clear enough that I can see my body beneath the surface, but not in great detail.
Sebastian swims close by. Eventually, we stop to catch our breath. He runs a hand down his face as he floats closer to me. “Was it really necessary to drag me with you?”
“You were toying with me.” My tone is breezy as the part of my brain responsible for temperature regulation works overtime. I kick a steady rhythm beneath the water to hold myself up. “Couldn’t let you get away with that.”
A relaxed smile settles on his face as he flips on his back, the portrait of ease. “It got you in, didn’t it?”
I shoot him a smile. “Got us both in.”
My body slowly relaxes into the gentle push and pull of the water. I take a moment to admire the view of the shore from this broad vantage point.
On the other side of the gazebo sits a wooden shack with a tin roof and a huge driftwood sign advertising all the options for rent in colorful, messy scrawl.
PADDLE BOATS,CANOES, PADDLE BOARDS, AND KAYAKS.
