Page 12 of The Tides Between Us

Hey you.

I stared at the message, instantly regretting it. I wasn’t wasted, but I had a good buzz going and I didn’t think through what I was saying to her properly. She surprised me as three bubbles popped up before my phone vibrated with her response.

Giana

Hey yourself.

Okay. I could work with this. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing here, but she was opening the door for conversation. She probably shouldn’t have done that, not when I was feeling the way I was. The warmth spread through my body and part of it was from the alcohol, but it was also from the dopamine Giana’s response was giving me.

Giana

Did you happen to come across another injured turtle?

A smile was pulling on the corners of my lips and I didn’t give a shit as I grinned like a fool. She remembered what I told her about saving her number.

Declan

Not today. I just decided I wanted to talk to you instead.

“What are you smiling about?” My brother’s voice broke through my daze. I lifted my eyes up to his. “You didn’t get the check, did you?”

“What?” I stared at him in confusion before remembering what he had asked of me. “Oh, no. I forgot.”

Adrian shook his head at me as my phone vibrated and I directed my attention back to my messages as he called for Bentley and paid for our tab.

Giana

I was beginning to wonder if you were being serious or not about that.

Declan

As serious as a fucking shark attack, princess.

I want to be able to talk to you whenever I want… unless that’s not what you want.

I locked my screen and held my phone in my hand as I rose to my feet. Adrian was waiting for me and I followed him down the pier, making our way toward the beach. My phone vibrated again and I slowed my footsteps as I looked at it.

Giana

If I didn’t want you to have my number, I never would have given it to you.

I smiled down at my phone as I read over her message twice. My vision was a little fuzzy and the words kind of blurred together.

“Come on, lover boy,” my brother called to me from where he was already standing at the end of the pier. “You can talk to her when we get home.”

It was only a five-minute walk back to Adrian’s house and my legs felt like they had sandbags weighing them down. I was exhausted from the day and drinking hadn’t helped to chase that away. My heart beat a little harder in my chest as my phone burned a hole in my pocket.

Adrian slipped into his room and I dropped down on the couch as soon as I walked inside. I rolled onto my side, settling into the cushions, still dressed in the clothes I wore all day. I knew I needed to get up but my eyelids were growing heavier with every passing second. Fishing out my phone from my pocket, I typed out another message to Giana.

Declan

Can I come see you and Pop-Tart soon?

I could barely keep my eyes open as sleep was quickly taking over me. My phone vibrated once more and I read her message, a smile pulling on my lips as I let sleep pull me under. It was blue like the ocean. Just like her eyes.

Giana

You know where to find us.

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