Page 20 of Until We Kiss

But he’s not looking at it. He’s looking right at me, sunlight glinting in his hair, sunglasses over his eyes.

The shadow moves under us, somehow graceful even at its size, silent under the water, and then Carter looks down and laughs.

It’sunderneathus.

This behemoth of the ocean, more enormous than I’d ever imagined, swimming right below us, streamlined and silvery, almost like a mirage.

It passes silently, sliding over onto its back and then rotating onto its stomach as the tail passes underneath.

I’m not breathing. Not thinking, just spellbound.

This islife. I feel like I’ve forgotten that. I’ve been too consumed with whatisn’tto remember what is.

Sunlight ripples underneath the water, and then the whale changes speed, darting forward, that perfectly shaped tail rising, so damn close that?—

“Theo!” My name echoes from somewhere, and a split-second later, the force of the tail shifts the water, and we’re under.

Salt water fills my mouth, shockingly cold. I can’t tell which way is up, and I have this weird weightless moment before it clicks where I am. I swim, my head popping out of the water, kicking hard as I suck in air. Shit, where’s everyone else?

Dorian’s next to me, sputtering out water. Our Waverunner rocks a few feet away, toppled over.

I spin until I find the other Waverunner, upright, with Rory in the driver’s seat and…. Where thefuckis Carter?

Jesus. “Carter!” His name roars out of me, like every muscle I have is made of that word.

And then he’s suddenly there, his hand latching onto my arm, water trickling down his nose, sunglasses gone, and this look on his face—unlike I’ve ever seen.

His amber eyes are dark, flicking around my face, that dimple non-existent.

He’s not smiling. Not the Carter that I usually know.

My heart thumps like it’s hollow, my relief all encompassing, my hands trembling as I tread water around him.

He’s still clasping onto my arm, and I have to kick carefully so I don’t ram him in the shin.

“Carter,” I say, because he hasn’t spoken, and he’s still just looking at me like that.

I shiver, water tugging on my board shorts as I kick, cooling my armpits and drying on my lips.

“You guys okay?” Rory calls.

Carter’s eyes burn a path, a swath across my skin, as he looks from my face down to my chest and then back, and then he yanks me against him, his jaw brushing against mine, his fingers firming around my biceps.

I squeeze my eyes shut, bobbing in the water with him, feeling his chest moving, my mouth filled with the taste of seawater, my nose with the smell of his sunblock.

He grips onto me. “I need you to be okay.”

My heart stutters. A heat filling my throat.

“I need that too, Carter.” My arms keep treading automatically, my chest compressing. Warmth bites at my eyes.

His eyes move around my face, his forehead wrinkling. What does he see? “We should get back.” He pauses. “Bro.”

Bro.

“Yeah.” I nod, glancing toward the overturned Waverunner.

I can’t look at him right now.

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