Float

Original Edition: Chapter Nineteen

My happiness was short-lived, however, when I noticed Blake scowling at me.

"What?" I demanded, the grin on my face disappearing.

Blake's eyes dropped to my wetsuit. It was still resting around my hips, the top part flapping around in the wind. The frown on his face deepened.

"Aren't you going to put that thing on?" he asked.

"Yeah," I huffed.

I reached for the sleeves of the thing and pulled them up, but they were twisted around. Blake watched me, his expression blank, as I spun in a circle, trying to figure out how to untangle the suit. Finally, he got impatient enough to step forward, grab me by the arms, and hold me still.

"Let me do it," he snapped.

"Fine," I sighed.

At Blake's insistence, I held my arms out at my sides as he walked around me and untangled the sleeves of my suit, which I'd practically tied into a knot. He pulled the back of the suit up to my shoulders, then grabbed my right hand and guided it into the right sleeve. Once that was secure, he grabbed my other hand and poked it through the left sleeve. The material of the wetsuit was heavy and rubbery, but it slid over my skin like cotton.

"There," Blake said, stepping back around me so we were face to face. His blue eyes sparkled with triumph, "now you just have to zip it up and—what'd you do to the elastic?"

I followed his gaze.

The elastic tie I'd been tugging on in an attempt to look like I knew how to put on the suit was poking out at my side, forming giant loops.

"Um," I mumbled.

"Do me a favor," Blake sighed, "don't touch anything."

He reached for the elastic and started to untangle the loops. While his fingers worked against my hip, I looked up at the parking lot. Lena had two surfboards stacked on top of her head, and she was starting back down the beach. Alissa was standing against her car, her hands clutched over her mouth as she fought to hold back a laugh. Jesse was beaming at her, his arm slung around a surfboard he'd propped on its tail end.

'Atta boy, Jesse.

I felt a sharp tug on my side and squealed.

"Sorry," Blake said, not sounding in the least bit apologetic.

I huffed and watched him finish fixing the elastic. I thought he'd stand up and be done with it, but then his hands went to my other hip and started pulling at a different elastic tie.

"What are you—"

"It's too loose here," Blake explained, cutting me off and pinching at the bulging excess of rubbery fabric around my waist. "It's supposed to be skin-tight. What size is this suit, anyway?"

"Large," I admitted.

Blake's lips twisted.

"Yeah, I guess you're tall," he said. "I think Lena might have a smaller one somewhere, though. You can try that next time."

"Next time?" I snorted. "What, are you planning on burying me in a wetsuit?"

Blake stopped fiddling with the elastic and stood up, so I was staring directly at his chin.

"You're not going to drown," he told me.

I glanced up at his eyes. They were soft, comforting.

"How do you know?" I asked.

I'd meant to sound snide and teasing, but my voice came out a little bit hoarse and very, very small. I sounded pathetic even to my own ears. Blake must've heard the fear in my voice, too, because he reached out and grabbed my chin between his thumb and forefinger.