Page 12 of Unexpected Boyfriends

I stand next to him. Our shoulders are almost touching and I can feel the heat from his body.

Why am I noticing this?

“It’s amazing, right?”

“Yeah,” he breathes, almost reverently. “I know this is sick, but all I can think about is what it would be like to be stuck in there when the water sucks out. Ugh!”

“Mmm. Macabrely fascinating, but yeah, I know what you mean.”

“It would be…I don’t know, terrifying? Definitely heart attack material.”

“It'd be deadly. If the heart attack didn’t kill you, you’d probably drown. You could never climb out before the next wave came in.”

Another wave surges in and the spray goes even higher this time, shooting up in a geyser of churned up droplets that sparkle as they reach for the sun... and we get soaked.

“A pity we can’t come here in a big storm,” says Justin, eyes wide, a massive grin splitting his face. “Imagine it!”

“Youarefascinated by the macabre, aren’t you? It would be a fucking nightmare. But anyway, it’s not possible to get here under those conditions, so we’ll never know how wild it can get.”

“It’s kind of sickening to watch. I’m imagining falling in! Gah! I’m sure I’ll dream about this tonight.” Justin shudders.

I put an arm around his shoulders and give a little shake, as if to push him towards it, though I make sure I’m holding tight enough that he won’t go anywhere. I can be an idiot, but not that much.

“Ahh!” Justin startles, and then punches my arm. “Fuck, that was not funny.”

“Yes, it was,” I laugh. I still have my arm around him when he turns to me.

“Okay, maybe it was,a little,” he concedes, a smile dancing across his lips and curving up the corners. I’m struck by how cute he looks, with his soft, pink lips curled into a cheeky smile, and his stormy grey eyes framed by his darker lashes, the sun highlighting all the golden shades in his windswept hair.

I don’t know quite why I do it, but he’s standing there so close and I’m looking right into those fascinating eyes, and we’ve been having such a fun, relaxed time together sharing this adventure, and thatstilldoesn’t quite explain it. But maybe it’s the proximity, or the fact we’re here alone so far from anyone else, or it’s the heat of his body or the look in his eyes, or the distinctive masculine scent of him mixed with the summery smell of sunscreen, and it can’t be a good idea, in fact, it’s got to be an epically bad idea, but suddenly I can’t find any reason to resist, and I lower my head and move in to kiss him.

JUSTIN

BOOM!

A giant wave thunders into the blowhole, the sound reverberating around the rocks, which tremble with the vibration.

Almost simultaneously, spray shoots into the air and dumps alotof water on us.

Axel jumps back, pulling me with him, further from the edge. He lets me go. His face has gone very pale.

“Let’s go!”

And now he grabs my wrist and gives it a tug.

I’m in shock. What just happened? One moment I’m standing there fascinated, watching Axel’s lips as he looks as if he’s about to make a move on me, and the next I’m jumping out of my skin and doused in water. I shiver, suddenly cold from the shock and the sudden withdrawal of his body heat.

“C’mon,” he says. “We need to go. Looks like the swell is getting bigger. We have to get back before we get cut off.”

I stumble after him. He slows down and helps me over some of the larger boulders. He’s taller and he’s also more experienced at this rock walking thing, and he could easily leave me far behind.

Soon we’ve left the drama and noise of the blowhole behind and are making our way back around the bay where it’s hot and quiet.

Axel is silent on the way back. He doesn’t mention what almost happened out there and I start to wonder if it was just myimagination. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking on my part… and I saw what my subconscious wanted to see.

I huff at my own silliness. Of course, he’s not interested in methat way.I’m probably just a kid to him.

My brain churns for the entire trip back, and I’m so busy thinking my complicated thoughts that we’re nearly back at the pool before either of us has spoken.

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