Page 84 of Catch Me
I held up my hand to flip him off as I leapt off the dock.
Yeah, I was definitely gonna get us killed because this water was cold as fuck. I was pretty sure my dick was about to fall off, but he’d dared me to jump in, and his taunting expression made me determined. Even when he said he was kidding, I had to keep going. I was committed.
“You coming?”
I heard him groan, then he took off his shirt. My heart sped up as he raced toward me. There was a huge smile on his face despite his complaints. When he jumped, he wrapped his arms around his knees, making him look like an exuberant teenager.
After he hit the water, I moved a little further away and took a moment to breathe.
Why did I feel so sick right now? I was one stray glance away from throwing up.
I had to get my shit together. I wanted to be Travis’ friend, which was why I’d invited him here. Nothing else was going to happen, and I knew that we both agreed on that front.
Besides, people couldn’t develop feelings in two weeks.
Feelings. That wasn’t what was going on here. I didn’t catch feelings for men. Sometimes, I slept with them. That was it. I wouldn’t let anything else happen. It didn’t matter what Til said or how much I’d been thinking about it lately.
Me and Travis were friends. Next weekend, I’d go home, and maybe we’d text sometimes. I’d say ‘hey’ and he’d say ‘hey back.’ Then, I’d get fucking butterflies and spiral into the familiar, vicious cycle of guilt and self-hatred.
It might kill me someday, and with every year that passed, I wondered how much I cared. At least my dad wouldn’t hate me if it happened before he found out what had been going on in my head for so long. My memory would be pure as long as my shame followed me to the grave.
Travis breached the surface and I refocused. Immediately, I honed in on some droplets of water that fell from his hair and traveled down his chest.
“You’re not dead,” I pointed out.
He snorted. “Let’s not make this a habit.” Tessa whined from the dock and he pointed at her. “Don’t even think about it, monster. Roman doesn’t get to drag you down with us.”
“Just you, then.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m getting out before an alligator comes for my toes.”
“I’m sure they have better taste than that.”
“Not a foot guy, huh?”
My nose wrinkled as I swam toward the dock. “I’ve never looked at someone’s feet and thought, ‘Damn, those are some nice fucking feet.’”
“No foot jobs for Roman.”
“That’s disgusting.”
After I pulled myself out of the water, I glanced at him. He picked his shirt up, then shook his head and hung it over his shoulder. “So much for fishing.”
“We’re already here.”
He shot me an incredulous look. “It’s forty degrees and we’re wet.”
“Go change. I’ll get things set up.”
“Roman,” he said in what I could only describe as a ‘dad voice.’ “You need to warm up too.”
As I grabbed the poles, I smiled. “Just bring my bag, man. I won’t croak while you’re gone.”
“Promise?”
“Dude, just go,” I laughed.
He eyed me for another second before he turned toward shore. “Tessa is staying with you so she can come tell me if you pass out or start seizing or something.”
