Page 77 of Touch Me

Tossing the bottles away, I take pleasure in the glass shattering, and turn to walk back. Cassie blocks my path. I go to step around her, and she jumps in front of me.

“Jace, wait.” She tries to wipe the smile off her face, unsuccessfully. “I wasn’t even close to drowning. Look,” she gestures to herself from head to toe, “all in one piece.” She strikes a model pose like she’s at the end of a runway and smiles.

“It’s not funny, Cass.” I slip past her and walk back to gather our things.

“Jace, relax.” She runs to catch up.

I spin around and catch her off guard. “I didn’t even see you. Before I could stand and look over, your board was empty. I didn’t even know which way you fell, if you landed safely, where to look for you.” That stopped her in her tracks. She crosses her arms and looks up at me with a smirk.

“Are you done?” she teases.

“Am I done?” I run my hands through my hair and blow out a breath. “I didn’t even ask you if you were a strong swimmer.”

“Well that’s kind of insulting. I guess the years of me in a swimsuit running around your pool didn’t leave much of an impression.”

Now it’s my turn to smile. “Don’t make a joke out of this. I was careless.”

“Oh, you were not. I had an amazing time. Don’t ruin it with your protective broodiness.” Cassie walks around me to grab her dry clothes, pulls her t-shirt over her head, and tugs at the string of her swimsuit tied around her neck. “I think it was a great first lesson.” She arches her back and pulls at the string tied behind her. “Maybe our next lesson could be during the day.” She whips her bathing suit top out of the bottom, and her shirt falls to touch the top of her thighs. “That way you can always see me.” Bending over, she pulls her bottoms off, throws them on top of her bag, and grabs a pair of yoga pants. “Would that make you feel better?” She asks, steps into the pants, and pulls them up with a little wiggle of her ass. “Jace?”

I shake my head. “Huh?”

“Would that make you feel better?”

I blink a few times trying to remember what she said. “Would what make me feel better?”

“If you could see me the whole time?”

“Wha-what? What do you mean? See you the whole time?” It suddenly dawns on her that I just watched her strip in front of me and didn’t hear a word she said. My face bursts into flames and she smiles.

“I said, maybe we should plan our next lesson during the day so you can see me the whole time.”

“Yes.” I point to her. “Yes, great idea.”

She giggles. “What did you think I meant?”

I turn away from her. “That. That is what I thought you meant.”

“Uh huh,” she muses.

After repacking our bags, Cassie glances around our little camp with a confused look on her face.

“Jace? Where’s your board?”

I look out to the water. “Out there somewhere.”

“What? You didn’t find it?”

“I didn’t look.”

She turns to face me with her arms across her chest. “You were so mad at my imaginary drowning you left your board in the ocean?” She may as well have been tapping her foot to complete the chastising look she’s giving me.

I stay silent.

Plopping herself down in the sand, Cassie passes me a bottle. “Well good thing we have a couple more beers left.”

TWENTY

WHAT GAME IS THAT?

---