Page 42 of A Dash of You

But with the wind brushing against my face, I am free.

The grass is scratchy yet soft under my bare feet as I keep moving, the scent of summer warming me over.

When I reach the small pier jetting out into the water, I stop, but only to undress. Although jumping into the lake with my clothes on does cross my mind, my tank top is first to go, then my shorts. Here I stand in nothing but my bra and panties as I view my surroundings. There is no one. The duplex sits secluded, and I’m alone. Lana’s pulling a late night at the studio and Logan is, well, I’m not sure where Logan is. It’s just me and the water.

Excitement dances over me before I throw my bra and underwear onto the wooden pier to meet the rest of my clothes. Then, without another thought, I jump in.

Jason had a pool. Of course he did. We lived in a mansion. With not much else to do, I taught myself to swim. Toreallyswim. But those were endless laps that made me feel like a hamster on a wheel. This is different. This is freedom and feels fucking amazing.

The water is cool against my skin but soothing for such a humid night.

I swim from one end of the lake to the other doing front strokes. I’m good. Not great. But good. I can’t run to save my life, but swimming, I’m decent at.

The world goes quiet as I hold my breath underwater, drowning out my past. When my lungs burn, I finally swim to the top to breathe.

It’s dark. The moon hides behind the clouds, and suddenly I am aware of how much night has grown around me.

I hoist myself up on the pier and gather my clothes. My skin crawls with unease as I quickly pull on my shorts, stuffing my underwear inside the pocket. Next, I pull my tank top over my head, struggling to get it down my wet skin. I then snatch my bra that lies on the pier.

Next time, Sora, bring a towel for your spontaneous adventures. My once dry clothes now stick to me like glue.

The water from my body drips onto the wood below me as I slowly close the distance to the grass, following the small light coming from the duplex.

The suspicion of being watched is always showing up in situations like these. Maybe because I’m alone, and it’s dark, or maybe because somebodyiswatching.

A noise somewhere in the distance causes me to stop dead in my tracks. There’s movement of some kind, but nothing visible except the trees surrounding me. My heart races and the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up.

Suppressing my nerves, I whirl around to see if a crazed killer lurks behind me or, worse, Jason.

My feet press deeply into the grass, wishing I could somehow teleport back.

I have officially checked skinny dipping off my bucket list.

Never again.

When I twist back around, deciding to sprint the rest of the way, I smack straight into a hard body. The scream leaving me is loud enough to wake the neighbors. If we had any.

“Sora?” The deep voice behind my name is one I’m not afraid of, and my mouth finally catches up to my brain, telling me to stop screaming for my life. “It’s okay. It’s me.”

I’m able to relax as Logan softly rests his hands on my elbows to steady me.

“Logan!” The involuntary soft slap to his bare chest will forever be etched into my memory. The way his warm skin feels under my palm.

With only the glow from the moonlight, I’m still able to make out his handsome features, and his obvious large frame which obscures the entire view ahead of me.

“You scared me half to death.”

He removes one hand, resting it to his side, but keeping the other on my elbow. “What the hell are you doing?” His voice is deadly and bold.

“I was trying to make a run for it, but your wall of a body seems to be blocking my path.” His eyes glimmer faintly. Except, no, they burn angry. Is this about the day at his shop?

“Running from what?” His eyes grow dark, scanning the area like a lion hunting for prey.

“Nothing in particular. I just got spooked, is all.”

“What are you doing outhere?By yourself.”

“I went for a swim.”

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