Page 65 of Freshmeet
“Fair.”
“What are your friends like?”
I thought about the guys and smiled. “They’re great. We’ve been friends since kindergarten, so at this point, they’re basically my brothers. Every summer, Tom throws a huge party for the Fourth of July out on his parents’ property. I was kind of hoping you’d want to come with me this year.”
“I could probably make that happen,” Sarah said, tapping her chin.
I pulled her to my side and dropped a kiss on top of her head. The casual affection felt natural despite us being on a quasi-first date.
I inhaled deeply and hummed. “Are you wearing perfume?”
“Mm-hmm.” She nodded, her curly blond ponytail bobbing against my neck.
“It’s nice.”
“Thanks.” She pressed her nose to my arm. “And is that, Dove?”
The heat of her breath on my bare skin made me tighten my hold on her. “Guilty. It leaves my skin soft and smelling nice. You should smell the sugar scrub I use once a week. It’s delicious.”
“Let me guess. It’s citrus?”
I leaned back to get a good look at her blushing face. “How’d you know?”
“That night in your car. You smelled all zesty.”
I opened my mouth, but someone screaming from the dock cut me off.
“She’s drowning!” One of the girls from the other sorority shrieked, waving wildly at the lake.
Sarah and I ran toward the crowd forming at the end of the dock. Scanning the water, I saw a tube floating away and a bunch of splashing behind it.
We shoved through the group, and without missing a beat, Sarah dove into the lake. I pushed people back from the edge, giving her plenty of room to drag up whoever was struggling.
“It was an accident,” a guy with long brown hair slurred, a long gash running along the side of his forehead. Blood dripped down his sunburned chest onto the worn, wooden planks where he lay. “We were just fucking around.”
“You don’t bring glass to the lake, Colby,” a fierce, tall blond snapped. “I swear, if Jana’s hurt, I’ll?—”
Sarah surfaced from the water with a small woman in her arms.
“Jana!” the blond shouted, her hands going to her mouth as she watched Sarah swim toward the dock.
You had to admire Sarah. The girl was drunk as hell, but sprang into action like a goddamn superhero. The dock had gone silent, everyone holding their breath as they bobbed through the water.
When they got close enough, I reached down and helped pull the coughing girl out of the water. Sarah lifted herself out of the lake and went straight into barking orders. The blond handed her a towel, and she quickly wrapped it around Jana.
Shoving back her long braids, Jana gave Sarah a weak smile. “Thanks, Sarah.”
“No problem,” Sarah said between panting breaths. Her pale skin was bright red from exertion, making her look like she had a sunburn.
Jana’s warm brown eyes scanned the group, narrowing when they landed on the bleeding doofus struggling to stand. “You cut me and pulled me under, asshole.”
“I’m sorry, baby. I wasn’t?—”
“Thinking. Story of your life,” Jana said, letting Sarah check for injuries.
“Looks like you got a little cut on your shoulder,” Sarah said, holding the towel to Jana’s dark brown skin. “Does anyone have a first-aid kit?”
“Right here,” Mona said, jogging up the dock with an enormous case. “Let me take it from here. You go get some water.”
