explode. She broke
through and coughed.
Alexi’s curt laughter filled the air. Pat was
already swimming toward her, reaching for his craft, and climbing
on.
“Crash and burn,” Jake said, reaching for her, his
wet hair falling around his face.
“What happened?” she asked, wiping her hair from her
eyes.
“We crashed and burned too.” His eyes lifted to
where Pat already rode away.
Gabby looked at his hand, feeling the familiar
regret settle through her.
“What, you can’t touch me but you could touch Pat?”
Jake scowled, his eyes stabbing her like daggers.
Ouch. She did want to touch him, but she
didn’t want to know his future or past. She didn’t want to be given
his private images and thoughts, scared by what she might find
there. Though the impressions were a result of direct contact with
people, touching hands meant giving over control of the amount of
time spent touching to the other person. After Sheriff Miller had
refused to release her hand last year during the investigation of
the fire that had taken Kyle's life, she had sworn off handshakes.
She had felt stark, cold hatred during that contact and had been
sick for a week. Nope. Hands were off limits.
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled his hand
back. “Hop on then before you drown.” He sighed.
She swam toward him and pulled herself up, using his
shoulder as leverage. Touching his bare flesh sent ripples of
electric shock under her flesh, and she pulled her hand away from
him. Straddling the craft, she wasn’t sure where to put her hands.
He waited until she cupped the waistband of his shorts before
following Pat.
They found a strip of secluded beach sandwiched by
cliffs. Gabby couldn’t help but to feel a sense of panic at being
confined in the narrow gap, but she swallowed it. She wasn’t about
to make things worse with Jake by telling him to take her home. And
she didn’t want to ride with Pat.
Jake stopped the craft and turned off the ignition,
getting off and pulling it to shore. He didn’t even look at her.
Once he secured the WaveRunner, he called out to Pat and pointed to
a ledge on the cliff and began climbing up the ridge. His muscles
flexed as he climbed in only water shoes, knowing exactly what he
was doing. Gabby remembered his fascination with heights and
falling off of high places. Perched on a very narrow rock ledge, he
peered out into the lake. So far away, he was unreachable in every
regard. And Gabby couldn’t understand why she felt a sting in her
chest by that realization. Almost as if he swallowed up all the
light around her, leaving her in the dark.
Pat reached the narrow ledge, and Gabby felt panic
swell inside her. Pat pointed to the water below them. Gabby
couldn’t see it from this angle, but she was sure there must have
been rock below them. Was Pat coaxing him to jump? She was
about to yell up at him when Alexi spoke.
“Hey, sorry for stealing your man. He’s just so
cute.”
Gabby broke her gaze from the guys. Alexi was the
cover swimsuit model of the year.
“He’s not my man so you wouldn’t be stealing
anything from me,” Gabby said, and when she looked back up, both
guys were gone. Having jumped into the water, they were swimming
for shore. Gabby had never had a man, and her first kiss had ended
up in disaster. And that had been with Pat. She sighed. No, Jake
was not her man.
The sun burned her pale skin as she lay back on the
coarse sand. She’d regret it tomorrow. She’d never tan, burned
usually, but no tan. Closing her eyes, she listened to Alexi
clapping and cheering as the guys waded to shore. “I want to try,”
she cheered.
Gabby hoped she’d hit the rocks on her way down,
just before she drifted to sleep and dreamt of fire. Burning. Pat
laughed at her, his sincere, all-American boy laugh that infected
everyone around him, and soon everyone was laughing as they
through and coughed.
Alexi’s curt laughter filled the air. Pat was
already swimming toward her, reaching for his craft, and climbing
on.
“Crash and burn,” Jake said, reaching for her, his
wet hair falling around his face.
“What happened?” she asked, wiping her hair from her
eyes.
“We crashed and burned too.” His eyes lifted to
where Pat already rode away.
Gabby looked at his hand, feeling the familiar
regret settle through her.
“What, you can’t touch me but you could touch Pat?”
Jake scowled, his eyes stabbing her like daggers.
Ouch. She did want to touch him, but she
didn’t want to know his future or past. She didn’t want to be given
his private images and thoughts, scared by what she might find
there. Though the impressions were a result of direct contact with
people, touching hands meant giving over control of the amount of
time spent touching to the other person. After Sheriff Miller had
refused to release her hand last year during the investigation of
the fire that had taken Kyle's life, she had sworn off handshakes.
She had felt stark, cold hatred during that contact and had been
sick for a week. Nope. Hands were off limits.
Without waiting for an answer, he pulled his hand
back. “Hop on then before you drown.” He sighed.
She swam toward him and pulled herself up, using his
shoulder as leverage. Touching his bare flesh sent ripples of
electric shock under her flesh, and she pulled her hand away from
him. Straddling the craft, she wasn’t sure where to put her hands.
He waited until she cupped the waistband of his shorts before
following Pat.
They found a strip of secluded beach sandwiched by
cliffs. Gabby couldn’t help but to feel a sense of panic at being
confined in the narrow gap, but she swallowed it. She wasn’t about
to make things worse with Jake by telling him to take her home. And
she didn’t want to ride with Pat.
Jake stopped the craft and turned off the ignition,
getting off and pulling it to shore. He didn’t even look at her.
Once he secured the WaveRunner, he called out to Pat and pointed to
a ledge on the cliff and began climbing up the ridge. His muscles
flexed as he climbed in only water shoes, knowing exactly what he
was doing. Gabby remembered his fascination with heights and
falling off of high places. Perched on a very narrow rock ledge, he
peered out into the lake. So far away, he was unreachable in every
regard. And Gabby couldn’t understand why she felt a sting in her
chest by that realization. Almost as if he swallowed up all the
light around her, leaving her in the dark.
Pat reached the narrow ledge, and Gabby felt panic
swell inside her. Pat pointed to the water below them. Gabby
couldn’t see it from this angle, but she was sure there must have
been rock below them. Was Pat coaxing him to jump? She was
about to yell up at him when Alexi spoke.
“Hey, sorry for stealing your man. He’s just so
cute.”
Gabby broke her gaze from the guys. Alexi was the
cover swimsuit model of the year.
“He’s not my man so you wouldn’t be stealing
anything from me,” Gabby said, and when she looked back up, both
guys were gone. Having jumped into the water, they were swimming
for shore. Gabby had never had a man, and her first kiss had ended
up in disaster. And that had been with Pat. She sighed. No, Jake
was not her man.
The sun burned her pale skin as she lay back on the
coarse sand. She’d regret it tomorrow. She’d never tan, burned
usually, but no tan. Closing her eyes, she listened to Alexi
clapping and cheering as the guys waded to shore. “I want to try,”
she cheered.
Gabby hoped she’d hit the rocks on her way down,
just before she drifted to sleep and dreamt of fire. Burning. Pat
laughed at her, his sincere, all-American boy laugh that infected
everyone around him, and soon everyone was laughing as they
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