Page 15 of The Promised Prince
“On your terms?”
“Yes.”
“If I put you down, are you going to run?”
“No!” she groaned.
He slid her to her feet and let go, taking a few steps back. “All right.” He gestured to the water. “Get in then.”
She let out a breath. “Fine. Turn around so I can change.”
“I promise I won’t look.” As he turned, the beginnings of a grin formed on his lips. “At least not more than once.” He was joking, but that didn’t stop the red flames from creeping up her face.
Renna pulled her dress over her head and dropped it on the dock beside her. She stood in nothing but her undergarments, feeling exposed and uncomfortable. Even if she thought the modesty rules were stupid, it was still too much to bear. She leaned over and grabbed his shirt, still resting in a clump on the dock beside them. She slipped her arms into the sleeves. It was far too big for her, with the sleeves dangling to her elbows and the hem ending mid-thigh, but it was exactly what she needed to feel comfortable. How could her mother be mad about this?
“You are so slow,” Trev complained, his back still turned.
“Calm down,” Renna said. Then, she took off running down the dock, leaving Trev behind her.
“Is that my shirt?” She faintly heard him yell. Then she leaped from the dock, the rush of water overhead swallowing the sound of his protests.
When she came up, he was beside her, his shoulders glistening with water. He reached out and pinched the fabric of his shirt. “Very funny,” he said sarcastically.
“I wasn’t trying to be funny. I was trying to be modest.”
“Well, you didn’t think that through very well, did you?”
“What do you mean?”
“The shirt is see-through.” His eyes sparkled.
Renna looked down and grimaced. The white shirt clung to her skin, showing the exact outline of her undergarments. Luckily, if she stayed under the water, Trev still wouldn’t see anything.
“Back to the modesty rules. Did you know that, before Desolation, women wore whatever they wanted, even pants?” he said, breaking into her thoughts. “They could wear any color and show as much of their skin as they wanted.” His arms waved back and forth through the water, keeping his body afloat.
“Yeah, I guess they didn’t care much about modesty.”
“Maybe you should’ve been born in that era,” he teased.
“Maybe I should have,” she said with a sly smile.
“Okay,just Renna, what do I need to know about you? You know, so you stop referring to us as strangers.”
“Well,” her smile grew, “I like to swim. Preferably in boy clothes.”
“And steal boy clothes,” he cut in.
“Yes, I do that too.” Her eyes glimmered as she continued. “I really love food. Like really love it. I would lick my plate clean at every meal if it was acceptable.”
“What else?” he asked, treading water.
“Ummm.” Her head tilted back and forth as she thought. “I speak before thinking. My mom hates it. In fact, she hates a lot of the things I do. I think I embarrass her.” She shrugged her shoulders as if admitting guilt. “I don’t do anything with weapons even though my father tried tirelessly to teach me skills. I’m not the type of girl who is going to save somebody or save the day.”
“Do you find yourself in a lot of situations where you need to save the day?” he asked.
She smiled. “Not really, but you never know.”
“I see.”
