Page 12 of Riverside Reverie

“So…the new girl is hot,” Talia’s voice came from behind me, and I cracked open an eye at her. She was treading water beside Baz, her eyes focused on the rocky edge Rhiannon, Jasmine, and Lux were carefully walking. There was a perch about half a foot from the water for those who didn’t feel like lunging off the side of the cliff.

“Yeah. And?”

“And it seems like you’ve got your eye on her. You gonna make a move, or can I?”

I snorted, which brought water into my nostrils and made me cough. “I don’t think she swings that way.”

Talia grinned. “I overheard Jasmine and her talking; she’s just broken up with her boyfriend.”

“So?”

“Perfect time to get beneath someone new,” Talia’s grin widened with mischief, and she waggled her eyebrows at me. “It’s also the perfect time to experiment with…well, the other team. Who knows, she might really hate men after her heartbreak. I can offer her comfort.”

“I wouldn’t bet on that,” I said, thinking about how Lux’s eyes had raked over my body. “Besides, aren’t you with Eliza?”

“We’re not official,” Talia replied, shrugging and trying to act indifferent. I could tell that mentioning Eliza upset her, but she seemed to shove that thought from her head.

I looked back at the cliffs. Lux, Jasmine, and Rhiannon were waiting on the lower ledge, looking up to the ledge we’d jumped off. Kai and Zoey were perched on it, waiting to jump in.

Zoey had her attention on Kai—worry and concern in her eyes, although she worked to keep her smile unaffected. Kai had epilepsy, and although he was on anti-seizure medication, Zoey had to keep a close watch on him. Sometimes, he’d forget to take his meds, or a seizure would happen anyway. Zoey was well versed in reading the signs, and she could always predict when he was going to have another seizure.

I’d known Kai since we were kids, and he was as independent as they came and didn’t like having his epilepsy hold him back. Kai liked to experience all the adventures life had to offer. Zoey knew this well, and did her best to give him his space, but I knew she worried.

A couple of years ago, Kai had a stroke and had fallen off the roof of a house he was working on with Baz. He’d broken his leg and terrified us all, especially Zoey.

Zoey watched him closely as he pushed off the ledge and jumped into the water below. She didn’t seem to breathe again until he’d resurfaced and swam out of the way. She waited until it was clear before jumping in herself.

On the lower ledge, Jasmine, Lux and Rhiannon hung out. Lux was finishing up putting sunscreen on—the sight of her hands rubbing it over her shoulders made my throat constrict. I looked away, and immediately got splashed in the face by Talia.

“Thought you needed help cooling down,” she told me, pausing to splash herself in the face. “I know I did,” she added with a wicked grin.

A splash sounded, and when I looked back over, Rhiannon had jumped in, with Moose following right on her heels. Moose swam while still managing to hold onto his stick, heading straight to Rhiannon.

Baz saw how hard he was working to catch up with Rhiannon and raced him, swimming toward her as fast as he could. Moose barked around the stick as he swam, almost losing hold of it.

When Baz caught up with Rhiannon, he wrapped his arm around her waist under water. She let out a squeal as he pulled her toward him that quickly dissolved into laughter. He tugged her away from the cliffs, swimming out a little way from the rest of us. Moose swam quicker, finally losing the stick with his attempts at reaching them.

I turned my head to avoid the large dog as he splashed by, and when I looked back, Lux was testing the water by dipping her manicured toes in. The white string bikini she wore gave me heart palpitations.

Jasmine crept up behind her and shoved her in, and Lux let out a startled yelp before disappearing in the water. She resurfaced, teeth chattering.

“You asshole! It’s freezing!” she laughed, swimming toward the ledge. She tried to hoist her body up, and when she couldn’t find purchase on the slippery edge, she lunged forward, reaching for Jasmine’s legs.

But Jasmine dodged her hand, leaping over her head into the water, splashing the rest of us. Wiping the water from my eyes, I was greeted with the affecting visual of Lux biting her lip as she watched me.

Lux swam out to join us, stopping in front of me. She treaded water, her face low in it, her eyes to the left behind me. Jasmine let out a squeal and tried to swim away when she realized Lux was coming for her.

And she was. There was a determination playing in Lux’s eyes that sparked a fire in my blood. That determined spirit was such a turn on for me. Lux swam after her, splashing her a little before relenting when Jasmine started reverse kicking water at her. They broke out into fits of laughter.

“Okay, okay! I give. No more revenge,” Lux giggled, swimming away from Jasmine and back towards the ledge. “Right now, anyway.”

She swam past me, her eyes meeting mine once more. When she reached the ledge, she tried to climb out, struggling to find purchase on the slippery ledge.

I swam up beside her. “Need a hand?”

She eyed me with consideration, arching a delicate auburn brow. “Sure.”

I moved closer to her, my fingers splaying out to cup her rear. My fingers tingled where they made contact with her skin, as if I was touching an electric current.

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