Page 91 of Survival

“But you’re scared,” I finished for her.

She laid her head on her knees. “Terrified,” she whispered as my eyes met hers, feeling every bit of sadness I saw in their depths.

“Me, too.”

“Do you ever worry it’ll hurt so much you won’t be able to live through it?”

“Every day and almost every night. But I think we can survive it if we go through it together. Trying to hold things back and work through it alone is obviously a bad option for us.”

“True. Tonight we’ll talk…about her. Just not yet.”

“Alright…tonight,” I agreed, my tone telling her I was going to hold her to it.

“We will, Tucker. Don’t worry. We have to if I’m going to give you all of me.”

“I’m sorry I said that.”

“Don’t be. It’s what you feel, and it’s what you deserve. I just want you to know that there’s not a whole lot left of me to give. I’m pretty sure there’s permanent, substantial damage to my heart. But everything that’s left of it is yours. I promise.”

I brushed some windblown strands away from her eyes, wanting her to fully see me. “I would take every last piece of it. Even the parts you think are no good.”

She smiled, and a tear slipped down her cheek. I leaned in to kiss her and asked, “So, what should we do to pass the time?”

Izzy pursed her lips as she considered. “You hungry? I had fruit and yogurt packed for us earlier. And chocolate. The cooler’s still in the truck?”

“Let’s save it for later.” For once, my stomach wasn’t interested in food.

“Okay, we can fight the seagulls for it later.” She grinned, and I chuckled.

“How about a swim?”

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit,” she countered.

I waggled my eyebrows. “Neither did I.”

She reached out to shove playfully against my chest, missing as I jumped from the tailgate out of reach. “Come on,” I teased. “What are you scared of?”

“Everything.” I thought I heard her whisper, the sound carried away by the wind. She gave me a look. “You know what happened earlier…”

“Who said anything about sex? I just hinted at skinny dipping, but if you’re suggesting something more…” I couldn’t help but tease her.We have to start breaking those barriers somewhere.She could hide most of herself in the water if she needed. Just getting her to agree to this would be progress.And a great way to enjoy the night before things have to turn serious.Things were serious so often now. We needed some fun. “Come on, princess.” I held out my hand. “What do you say?”

ISABEL

I stared at the hand Tucker held out to me, watching as he fidgeted in the sand. He really was excited about this, and dang, was his smirk cute. I wanted to say yes. It was so tempting, but my scar taunted me, holding me back.Except Icouldhide myself in the water…What the hell? Why not? Who am I to argue if I can see him naked?

Hopping down, I pushed Tucker back as I ran out towards the ocean, peeling off my clothes as I went while making sure he could only see my backside. I looked over my shoulder at him to grin when my clothes were gone and couldn’t help but laugh at the surprise still covering his face.

“Close your mouth, whiskey!” I called back to him, and he started stripping down, tossing away his clothes as fast as he could.

I laughed and ran out into the water, turning back to face Tucker once I was waist deep. Now that I knew I wassecure, I wanted to see him. But the first thing I noticed was the way those whiskey eyes were watchingme.

He wanted me. Lord, did he want me, and even though I knew he wouldn’t push me past what I was ready for, I needed another moment before he got close. I splashed when he reached me, making him blink in surprise as I dove away.

I’d only managed a few strokes beneath the water, and Tucker’s arm was wrapping around me, pulling us both up. Water dripped from the ends of his hair, the blonde strands glowing pale in the moonlight, but it was the wicked look in his eyes that warned me. His fingers found my ribs before I could move, and he tickled me, merciless, until I was pleading for him to stop. To let me breathe. And as soon as he left me room for air, I reached for the place at his hips, his one ticklish weakness, and braced myself tight as he fought my hold, his deep voice booming out with laughter as he begged me to stop between breaths.

Letting him go, I allowed him to wrap his arms around me while we caught our breath, and I placed my hands between us so my palms rested against his chest. “That was fun.”

“Definitely.” He beamed down at me, clearly loving every minute. “I really didn’t think you’d go for this.”

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