Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 164533 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 823(@200wpm)___ 658(@250wpm)___ 548(@300wpm)
Nuala nodded, looking a little glum suddenly. “Oh God, was that too mean?”
“It was deservedly mean,” I said. “Don’t beat yourself up. The girl convinced all your friends to exclude you from their group. That’s far meaner than what you just said.”
“How awful,” Milly exclaimed, her eyes tilted downward. “I had no idea she did that.”
Nuala shrugged and let out a sigh. “Yep, so beware of what could happen if she ever tries to befriend you at school.”
Milly reached out to squeeze Nuala’s hand. “I could never be friends with someone who treated another friend that way.”
A small silence fell before Tristan, Aidan, and Theo reappeared from wherever they’d been. Nuala’s twin smiled obliviously, hands on hips, “So, what did we miss?”
I glanced at Nuala, who then glanced at Derek and Milly, before we all burst into laughter. It took a little while for Nuala to explain to her twin the real reason she and Kiera fought. He looked guilty like it was his fault somehow.
“Fuck, why didn’t you tell me sooner? I could’ve set her straight.”
“It doesn’t matter now. I’m glad I’ve seen her true colours.”
“I know what’ll cheer you up,” Theo interjected. “A midnight swim. Some of us are going into the water.”
“That’s a terrible idea,” Derek replied. “It’ll be freezing.”
Even as he said it, teenagers all around us began throwing off their shoes and shirts and running towards the sea. Excitement filled the air, and Nuala started to smile as her eyes met Theo’s. “Do you know what? I think that’s an excellent idea.”
Ignoring a few grumblings from Derek, Nuala let Theo take her by the hand as they ran out to the water, Tristan and Aidan hot on their heels. Squeals of delight and jovial laughter echoed around the beach. I looked to Rhys, my gaze drawn to him like a magnet.
“Feel like a swim?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just shower?”
“I did, but you only get so many chances for a midnight dip in the Irish Sea,” I countered, feeling giddy. Rhys was hesitant, so I stood, pulling him up with me. “Come on,” I encouraged. “You only live once.”
His gaze darkened as his hand tightened around mine. “You’re a bad influence.”
I grinned at him. “I’m the best kind of influence, and you know it.”
Rhys chuckled and allowed me to lead him towards the sea where Nuala, Tristan, Theo, and Aidan were already frolicking about among dozens of others. Derek and Milly hung back to look after our phones and personal items, remaining seated together on the sand. Luckily, I was only wearing shorts, so I just needed to slide off my flip flops. Rhys wore longer board shorts and a dark blue hoodie. I reached for the hoodie, tugging it off over his head. Again, he allowed me, his expression enraptured like everything I did in that moment fascinated him.
Leaving him in the T-shirt he wore underneath, I tossed his hoodie onto the sand, and he slipped off his shoes. There was something in his eyes that made me catch my breath, a kind of hunger.
Fizzy excitement gurgled in my belly as I turned and ran into the sea. Air caught in my lungs because Derek was right, the water was cold, the night temperatures setting in. I gasped then felt Rhys’ contrasting heat as he came up behind me, his chest meeting my back.
“It’s freezing,” I said, teeth chattering.
“It’ll heat up in a minute. You just have to let your body get accustomed,” Rhys said, his hand sliding around my hip before coming to rest on my stomach. Somehow his low, husky words made me forget about the cold.
“Okay,” I said. “I don’t think this counts as a midnight swim unless we go into the water at least up to our waists.”
“Lead the way,” Rhys answered, still with that lust-inducing husky note in his voice.
He kept his hand on my stomach as we waded our way into the water. Goosebumps claimed my skin, mainly due to my awareness of Rhys, the way he touched me.
No matter where my life took me when summer ended, the smell of the beach and the sea would always remind me of him.
“You okay?” he asked, and I noticed I’d gone a lot farther than waist deep. The water was midway up my arms, but due to Rhys’ height, he was much less submerged.
“Um, I’m not sure I meant to go this far,” I said, and his other arm swept around me.
“Put your arms around my neck,” he murmured, and my heart thrummed as I wove my arms around him. Unexpectedly, Rhys lifted me, and I inhaled sharply as he guided my legs around his waist. It reminded me of how I’d clung to him in the pool but far more intimate. We were face to face, and I could feel his erection pressing into me, distractingly hard against my stomach.