Page 29 of Paradise

Smacking my ass as I pass him, he drops back down on the edge of the bed to wait for me. “Good girl.”

I grin, heading for my suitcase to get my bikini. There’s no way I’m going to put on a wetsuit. If I do, he’ll make me try to surf again, and I am far too tired to get that frustrated by my lack of skill. I feel his eyes on me and I strip my clothes off, but I don’t turn around to give him a glimpse of the goods. Slowly dragging my bikini bottoms up my legs, I pull them high so there’s some ass showing, and I hear Carson groan from behind me.

Feeling pleased with myself, I slip my top on and tie it behind my back before throwing a pair of shorts on as well.

I start to put my hair up in a bun, turning to face him. “Ready?”

He stands up, his face flushed, as he walks toward me. “How fast do you think I could make you come?”

I narrow my eyes playfully. “Haven’t we played this game before?”

His eyebrows wiggle, and he reaches for me, but I sidestep him.

“No way, buddy. You dragged me out of bed for surfing. Let’s hit it.”

He pouts, reaching for me again, but there’s a knock at the door just as I’m considering giving in. Carson huffs in annoyance, and I point to the door with a grin pulling up my lips.

We head out of the room to meet Levi and Hayden, who are also dressed in wetsuits, and when Hayden sees me, he cheers in surprise. The walk down to the beach is only a couple of minutes, and the sky is a darkening grey above our heads—like it’s going to pour at any minute.

“Of courseit’s going to rain,” I say to myself, a little annoyed.

Levi runs for the tiki hut that rents out boards the second we hit the sand, yelling something at us that’s unintelligible with the strong winds blowing.

By the time we reach the rental shop, Levi has rented a board for each of us, and I shake my head at the guy. “I’m not surfing.”

“What?!” Levi whips his head to the side to look at me.

“Yeah, I don’t feel like drowning today.” I wave him off.

Carson laughs from my side, throwing his arm over my shoulders. “You can roll around at the shore like usual.”

The boys get their boards, and I walk with them to the edge of the ocean, wishing them luck in the choppy waves. They each take off, jumping flat bellied on their boards to paddle out, and I take a few steps backwards to sit down on the dry sand.

I watch as the three boys paddle out into the waves, admiring how they so naturally glide along the water, like they were born to be out at sea. I focus on Carson as he laughs at something Levi says, waving his hand across the five-foot gap that’s between them. I find myself smiling with him, like I’m a part of the joke they’ve shared, like if Carson is laughing, I need to be as well.

My eyes scan over the water, finding Hayden rowing his arms powerfully like oars, his board shooting through the waves until he finally looks over his shoulder, catching my eye from the distance like he could feel I was watching him. I wave, and he flips me the bird, which makes me laugh.

Levi has rounded out, watching flat on his board behind him for the wave to crack and fall, and then he’s paddling hard again, hoping to catch it at the right angle so he can stand up. Carson follows behind him, and when they’ve both chosen their perfect moment, they stand up and bend their knees to ride the wave. Hayden keeps his attention on them, still lying flat on his board in the motion of the ocean, and when they’ve both fallen into the water, he laughs.

I watch them for a while, time standing still and moving quickly all at once as my three boys ride the ocean. Suddenly, it starts down-pouring, soaking me through in a matter of seconds. I slip my shorts off my legs, throw them down in the sand, and then run into the water with a smile on my face.

I know they say you aren’t supposed to swim in a storm, but it doesn’t seem like this is going to be a bad one, so I feel comfortable enough to start swimming out across the ocean.

Carson is sitting on his board about twenty feet from the shore, his legs hanging over the sides and his hand covering his eyes like a visor so he can watch me. I swim to him until I’m breathlessly hanging onto the edge of his board.

“Hey.” He grins, reaching down to slip his hands under my arms to lift me out of the water and onto his board. I mirror him, straddling the board and facing him.

“Hi.” I lean forward to kiss him. “Having fun?”

He holds his hand over his eyes again so he can see me through the rain, and it starts to come down even harder, making me laugh. “You choose now to come in the water?”

I have to yell over the sound of the rain pelting the ocean. “I was all wet from the rain anyway!”

Carson looks over my head for a split second, then lifts his hand to point behind me. “Watch.”

I turn at the exact moment Levi is standing up on his board, a massive wave cresting and breaking behind him. He bends his legs and his back to keep his balance, but there’s no use, the wave is too strong from the wind and the storm, and it crashes over him, taking him under the water.

“Oh my God!” I yell, whipping my head to look at Carson for a second before I turn back to see if he surfaces. “Levi!”

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