Page 24 of My Ex-Best Men
Anthony laughed. “Good one, Zane!”
“You keep talking, brainiac. I’m coming for you.” Zane huffed. “Someone else get in the damn water. If a shark does come up I want a chance at being faster than someone.”
“Here goes nothing!” Sophia jumped off and dragged Jake with her. He went with a scream.
One by one everyone else dove in, except for me, Anthony, Uncle Sal, and the boat captain. I watched with envy as everyone splashed around and had fun. I especially noticed the wayMadeline seemed to be having such a great time swimming next to Will. I stared at them for a few moments too long, wondering if there was something there. I knew that Will had kissed me and seemed to want more and I didn’t think he was a player but I didn’t know him anymore.
“What’s wrong?” Anthony brushed my hair away from my face and followed my gaze. “Oh. She’s not exactly subtle, is she?”
The captain saved me from having to admit I was jealous. He stopped in front of me and gently patted my knee. “Are you feeling better? If you’re feeling up for getting in the water, I have a float you could use. It might help stabilize you a bit.”
I’d talked to the man several times while booking the excursion but I never would’ve imagined he’d be just a little older than me with a beautiful smile. I’d noticed a few of the other bridesmaids checking him out. “Maybe. I am feeling better but now I’m thinking about viruses and hot spots in the ocean.”
He shot Anthony a look and rolled his eyes. “In all the years I’ve been leading these things I’ve never had a problem that wasn’t caused by a drunken idiot.”
“Oh, captain! Would you mind coming over here and telling an old man about how he’d get to be your first mate?” Uncle Sal flicked his wrist and perfectly extended a bright pink fan. He fanned himself while batting his eyes. “If you don’t mind.”
The captain squeezed my knee and winked at me. “You owe me.”
Anthony ran his hands down my thighs after the captain moved away. “He’s going to look like a cliche when I rip his hand off and he has to have a hook.”
I was so shocked by the jealousy evident in his voice and the imagery that I threw my head back and let out a wild laugh. Anthony had never been the jealous type before but he was different. I felt the way he wanted to claim me in every touch and there was something intoxicating about it.
“Hey! Anthony!”
We both looked over at the sound of Will calling him. He stood up and moved to the side of the boat, trying to find out what Will wanted. Before he could get a word out Zane snuck up behind him and shoved him into the water before jumping in after him.
I gasped and hurried to the side to make sure they were both okay. Zane was grinning up at me, clearly proud of his antics. Anthony was several feet behind him, an evil glint to his eyes. He disappeared under the water and I shook my head in sympathy for Zane. Anthony was a championship swimmer. He’d basically just pushed the human equivalent of a shark into the ocean with himself.
Zane noticed my expression and looked around. “Where’d he go?”
A few seconds passed and then Zane screamed before disappearing under the surface of the water. He came up a few seconds later, sputtering and growling at Anthony who came up looking even prouder than Zane had.
“You want to come in, baby?” Anthony smiled up at me, his concerns over the ocean neutralized for the time being.
Will swam up next to him and looked up at me. “I’ve got you if you want to come in.”
Madeline swam close behind him. “Leave her be, Will. She’s been sick all morning. She probably doesn’t want to get in, the poor thing.”
There was no way I was letting Madeline be fake nice to me to get Will to herself. I held my nose and jumped off the boat. My stomach did a few somersaults on the way down but then I was in the water and strong arms were pulling me back to the surface. I gulped in oxygen as I came up and clung to whoever had me.
“Um, Claire? As much as I love you, I’m going to need you to get your boobs off of me. You’re like a sister and this is weird.”Jake eased me away and clucked his tongue. “The water turns you weird.”
I blinked my eyes open and tried to wipe at them. “I didn’t put my boobs on you, jerk. I thought you were someone else.”
“Me?” Zane wrapped his arms around me from behind and I could feel his legs kicking to keep us afloat.
I glanced at him over my shoulder and smirked. “I don’t know. I’ve heard you scream twice since getting in and I’m worried we’ll both need someone to save us.”
23
***Claire***
Captain Avery came through on his promise and sent a little floating board into the water for me. Grateful that I didn’t have to cling to anyone to stay above the water, I happily laid across the board and used my snorkel to stick my head under. I got to watch a few fish swimming around and something about having my head in the cool water actually helped me feel better. I was starting to really feel good about my choice of excursion.
My goggles got a slight leak after I’d been playing around for a while and I awkwardly tried to fix them without coming out of the water since I was watching a school of fish move together so gracefully. Grunting when more water got into the mask, I was just about to give up and lift my head out of the water when a heavy weight hit me from behind and someone yanked me off my float.
Panicking, I swung my elbow back, unsure of what was happening. I felt my bone connect with something and then Iheard Will grunt. Gasping, I stopped freaking out and looked back at his bloody nose. “What the hell, Will?!”
