Page 58 of Beneath the Surface

Speed. I needed speed. Throwing my car into a space in the empty parking lot next to Micah’s beaten-up Honda, I looked out at the jetty. Micah could be in trouble, and the only important thing was to get to him as fast as I could. The Jet Ski Cruz had commandeered was still there, unclaimed by its rightful owner—who probably hadn’t even noticed it was missing—so I headed straight for it.

I flew over the lake with a roar of the engine, heading straight for the little beach. As I drew closer, I slowed the Jet Ski, scanning the shoreline.

Oh, fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Over the sound of the engine, I could clearly make out the sound of something or some things crashing through the undergrowth, and the distant, furious barking of a dog.

A second later, Micah crashed into view, a backpack bouncing madly on his shoulders, his eyes wild as he ran for the rowboat that was pulled up on the beach.

The barking was louder, accompanied by shouts. Fuckfuckfuck. “Micah!” I shouted. “Here! There’s no time!”

His head flew up, his eyes widening as he took me in, and then he abandoned the boat, wading into the water as fast as he could. I moved the Jet Ski as near as I dared, and fucking finally, he was clasping my hand and letting me help him up onto the JetSki. I only waited for a second to make sure he was holding on to me before I launched us back over the waves, away from the beach and whatever had been chasing him. I could feel his body shaking against mine, his head buried in the back of my neck as he wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, his breaths coming hard and fast as we bounced across the lake surface. I was struggling to regulate my own breathing, but I was focused on getting us back, relieved that he was safe, and I didn’t know whether I wanted to fucking punch him for being so reckless. Or kiss him.

Whoa. I eased up on the throttle, my heart pounding for a whole different reason. Where the actual fuck had that thought come from?

It must be the adrenaline. Maybe I was going into delayed shock.

I steered the Jet Ski carefully back to the jetty and switched off the engine, holding myself still as Micah shook against me. Eventually, I tapped at his hand, which was fisting my hoodie.

“Hey. We need to leave.”

I felt him nod against me, and then inhale a shaky breath. “O-okay,” he whispered, but he made no attempt to move. Carefully, I peeled his shaking hands away from my hoodie, and then somehow managed to get him off the Jet Ski and back into the parking lot. He slumped against the side of my SUV, his gaze blank and his body still trembling.

“For fuck’s sake,” I muttered, giving in to my instincts and wrapping my arms around him. He more or less collapsed into me, and I had to brace myself in order not to stagger backward at the sudden weight.

“I’m sorry,” he said, so quietly I barely heard him.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Micah?” I said harshly. “Why did you go there alone? Why did you put yourself in fucking danger like that?”

He gasped, wrenching himself away from me. “You’re shaking. You—you— I?—”

My voice rose. “Yeah, I’m shaking because I’m fucking angry at you! Anything could have happened!”

His eyes grew impossibly wide, full of wonder as he stared at me. “You care. You actuallycare.”

“Of course I fucking care, you complete fucking?—”

He cut my words off with his mouth on mine. My heart stuttered, my brain slamming to a halt as he kissed me.

It was over before I even had time to process it. He launched himself away from me, his backpack slamming into the side of his car as his hand flew to his mouth. His cheeks flushed a deep red, and there was a panicked expression back in his gaze.

“Shit! S-sorry! I-I-I didn’t mean to do that.”

I had no idea how to react. No clue what to do or say, so I did what any normal person would do, and acted as if it was no big deal.

Yeah. No big deal that my coach’s son had just fucking kissed me out of the blue. The very person I’d always assumed was straight, thanks to the thing he’d had for Ava forever. Until Cruz had started insinuating shit, that was. And also, why kiss me? He knewIwas straight.

I ignored that momentary thought I’d had on the Jet Ski earlier, rubbing my face as I stifled a groan. There went my brain again, adding more complications to the mix.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re in shock,” I said, stepping into his personal space and tentatively rubbing his shoulders in a way that I hoped conveyed friendly comfort. “We need to get out of here. Are you okay to drive? I don’t like the idea of leaving your car here for someone to find.”

He shivered again. I didn’t pay attention to the way his tongue swiped across his lower lip, leaving it glistening, but Ididn’tnotpay attention, either. His gaze darted to mine before returning to the ground. “Um. Yeah.”

“Okay. You go ahead, and I’ll follow you. That way, if you need to pull over or anything, I’ll see you and I can pull over too. Head to the rink, yeah?”

He nodded and then unlocked his car door with a trembling hand. I waited until he was seated inside the car before I climbed into my SUV. We headed back to campus, pulling up next to the rink. My teammates would be up and about now, preparing for our morning practice, so the rink was our safest bet. Otherwise, if we went back to the house, we ran the risk of awkward questions, and how did I explain Micah being there so early? Luckily, most of my hockey shit was either already in my SUV or in my locker, so there was no real need to swing by the house first.

I got Micah a spare pair of sweatpants since his were wet from the lake and made sure he was seated in the stands before I headed to the locker rooms to change. He was so quiet, his skin pale beneath his tan and his gaze distant. I was worried about him, but it would have to wait. My captain duties had to come first—only temporarily, because this was more important. But the last thing I wanted to do was draw more attention to him, especially with his dad there.

After an endless, torturous practice, I removed my helmet, ruffling my damp hair as I glanced toward where Micah was hunched over his camera, his shoulders slumped. I started toward him but was stopped by Coach.

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