Page 73 of I Could Be Yours

“Only they would play water Frisbee.” Rix rolls her eyes. “No wonder Tristan is out cold the second his head hits the pillow.”

“That’s exactly what happened last—” I stop myself before I finish that sentence. Nate was out within seconds of turning off the bedside lamp last night, but I can’t tell Rix that. “—time I dated a jock,” I quickly amend.

“It always takes me a good half hour to fall asleep.” Rix sighs.

“Same.”

Nate misses a toss and swims out to retrieve it while the guys heckle him. He’s on his way back when he starts thrashing. Tristan is the first to notice and quickly heads for his brother, therest of the guys on his tail. Even from the beach we can hear Nate swearing a blue streak.

“What’s going on out there?” I grab Rix’s arm and drag her toward the water. My first thought is that Nate got bit by a freaking shark, but there’s no blood swirling around him.

His face is contorted in pain though, so something happened. He brushes off his brother and Flip, heading directly for me and Rix.

“Are you okay? What happened?” Rix asks as he reaches the shore.

“I ran into a jellyfish. Or more than one. I don’t know, but it really fucking hurts.”

“Someone should pee on him!” Dallas shouts.

“I’ve got you, honey bear,” Flip calls.

“Don’t you dare! That’s not what you’re supposed to do anyway.” He drops onto his ass and puts his head between his legs. “Fuck me, this is some pain.”

Red welts line his back and side, traveling over his shoulder and down his right arm. More welts run down the inside of his left thigh. My throat constricts at how high up they might go.

I crouch beside him and put my hand on his unaffected left arm. “Hey, hi. I know you’re hurting and it’s probably hard to think around it, but can you walk? I’ll take you to the medic and get you something to make you comfortable.”

“I just need a sec. The burn is unreal, Ess,” he grumbles.

“We can bring medical to you, if that’s better.” I wish I could do something to ease him, but then there will be questions.

“You’ll come with me?” He turns his head, eyes glassy with agony as they meet mine. “You’ll stay with me?”

My soft heart leaps at his pleading tone. “Yeah. Of course.”

“Okay.” He swallows. “Okay, let’s go see the medic.”

I help him to his feet and duck under his arm on the left side, careful to stay away from the welts.

Rix wrings her hands. “We should come with.”

“I don’t need an entourage. I just need Little Miss Sunshine and Rainbows,” Nate barks.

“I’ve got him. He’ll be fine. Just needs Benadryl and he’ll be good to go.” I point to the red cross symbol on the small white building just beyond the boardwalk. The clinic is literally a hundred feet away.

“Message as soon as you’re done?” Rix presses.

“Absolutely.” I kiss her on the cheek and lead Nate away.

He swears every three seconds until we enter the medical building. There’s only one other person waiting, and they have a sunburn so bad on their feet that they’ve blistered.

The nurse takes one look at Nate and ushers him into an examination room. I help him up onto the table.

“We don’t see many jellyfish stings this time of year,” she says.

“Guess I’m just lucky,” Nate mumbles.

She looks him over, pushing his shorts up to expose the stings on the inside of his thigh. “You must have run into a few of them. Maybe a mom and her babies. I’ll give you a shot to help with the swelling and some cream to calm the itch once the burning settles down. You’ll feel better inside the hour. Stay hydrated and avoid alcohol for the next twenty-four hours.”

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