1 5 | c a v e s
"COME ON EVERETT!" Connor whooped, throwing a fist in the air.
I sat on my board, tiny waves bumping beneath me as my legs dangled in the water. The water felt cold on my skin, sticking to my sun kissed legs as heat bared down on my face. I lifted a hand to shield my eyes, squinting in the bright afternoon light.
Everett was near me, preparing to push himself up as a small wave tumbled towards him.
He prepared, then pushed himself up, staggering a bit and struggling to find his balance. He bent his knees, grinning widely as he managed to stand fully on the board and begin to ride the wave.
"You're doing it!" I exclaimed, mostly in disbelief.
"I'm doing it!" Everett shouted, in equal disbelief. His eyes widened and his arms wobbled. "I'm not doing it!"
A small wave bumped at his board and, unable to keep his balance, he tipped sideways, falling straight into the water and splashing me in the process. I laughed through a shiver as the saltwater sprayed at my exposed skin, watching his body sink into the inky waves.
"Bloody Americans," Connor grumbled, immediately disheartened. He sighed, paddling away to catch his own wave.
Everett's long board bobbed in the water and he broke the surface, gasping and grabbing blindly for it. I paddled over, grabbing his arm and hauling him up, out of the freezing waves and onto his board.
"Isla," he sputtered. He wiped the water from his eyes and pushed his dark hair back from his forehead. It had started to tint a lighter brown on the top from the sun, and I thought of the gloomy boy he'd been when he'd first arrived – with his sweatpants and deep frown.
I never would've imagined he'd be surfing with me after work – and I'd be enjoying it.
"Thanks," he said finally, catching his breath.
"You did pretty good," I said, grinning as he attempted to sit on his board. It wobbled beneath him and he struggled for a moment before wriggling on shaky arms to sit across from me, our legs dangling beside each other in the ocean.
"Yeah, well," he turned to me, sending me a wink. "I had a pretty good teacher."
I quirked a brow at him. "Connor's not that good."
"I wasn't talking about Connor."
"Oh," I blinked. "River was barely –"
"I meant you, Monroe," he said, rolling his eyes and kicking his foot lightly to splash me with saltwater. "Don't make me take it back."
"Me?" I laughed, shaking my head. "Why, is that a compliment, Everett? I'm shocked. Truly."
"Don't get your expectations up now," he teased, though a smile tugged at his lips.
"Expectations? About you? Never."
"Well," he paused, meeting my eyes. "Maybe you could get some expectations up."
"Wouldn't want to get my hopes up," I said, shrugging.
His eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. "Am I really that much of an asshole?"
"No," I said quickly, though he sent me a doubtful look and I released a breath. "Sometimes."
"Okay, so I might've checked you out when we first met –"
"And ditched me on the beach, twice. Didn't show up in the morning without telling me. Called me a second choice." He winced at that and I smiled smugly at him. "Should I go on?"
"No," he muttered. He pursed his lips and I didn't miss the shadow that fell over his face.
Suddenly, I was feeling guilty.
Sure, he was an arse to me – on more than one occasion. But he'd had his moments too.
I leaned forward, my board tipping and the water beneath it rippling with the movement. My fingers brushed his and he looked up, meeting my gaze.
"But," I started, smiling gently. "You also ran to my house to make sure I was okay. You bought me ice cream. You saved me from Austin and Mia."
His frown lightened up a bit, but he still wasn't smiling.
"They don't cancel out," he said eventually. His eyes were distant, like he was remembering something. "That's not how it works."
I hummed in thought. "I guess not." He pursed his lips and I tightened my fingers around his, my smile widening. "But they replace each other. At least in my mind."
He furrowed his brow in confusion, and I continued.
"You know, when I first met Austin, I held him under the water for two minutes straight."
Everett's lip twitched and I laughed to myself, nodding.
"I was jealous that he had a better freestyle than me. He stole my boogie board. I stole his surfboard. We were little shits to each other."
"Sounds like I have a lot of competition," Everett teased.
I laughed, rolling my eyes. "But then we became friends, and the memory of me trying to drown him was replaced with the memory of him tossing me in the water. The memory of him stealing my board was replaced with him teaching me to balance."
"So," he started. "All I have to do is toss you in the water, and you'll forget about me calling you a second choice?"
"Well –"
Before I could answer, he leaned forward, shoving my shoulder with a mischievous grin.
"Everett!" I squealed, reaching out desperately as I fell backwards.
My fingers brushed his arm and I grabbed it, tightly. His eyes widened and we toppled off my surfboard, landing with a splash in the water. Everett fell on top of me, limbs clashing with limbs, skin on top of skin.
Stupidly, I gasped as my back hit the icy waves and my head fell backwards. Water flooded up my nose and in my mouth. I choked, my eyes widening in alarm.
Everett's own eyes opened and met mine. His smile fell as he took in my shocked look.
Water flooded down my throat, burning its way to my lungs and panic flooded me. I squeezed my eyes shut, coughing in the form of bubbles in a desperate attempt to push the water from my throat, but it was too late. I was choking.
I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and with a strong kick, they pulled me to the surface of the water.
I gasped, coughing for air. My throat and nose burned, and I coughed urgently, water flying from the back of my mouth. My hair fell in wet strings over my face, but I felt calloused fingers push them from my eyes.
"Just breathe." It was Everett's voice. "Please, Isla, breathe."
I tried.
My whole chest felt like it was on fire as I coughed out water and sucked in air. I was keenly aware of water dripping from my nose and lips, but I was too busy trying to breathe to be embarrassed. I was too busy to even keep myself above water.
My body felt weak and I struggled to kick my legs and keep my head bobbing over the tug of waves.
Noticing my struggle, Everett kept one arm tight around me, holding us both up as we floated in the water.
The saltwater burned throat and nose, dripping painfully as I coughed it all out. My eyes stung and I rubbed at them furiously, squinting them open to see him staring at me worriedly. His other arm held onto my surfboard, keeping us afloat.
"You okay?" he asked.
I nodded, still trying to catch my breath. Suddenly aware of how terrible I probably looked, I wiped at my face, flushing in embarrassment.
I half-expected him to start teasing me about it, but he didn't. Instead, he scanned my face, his brows furrowed and guilt flashing across his eyes.
"I'm so sorry," he said. He searched my eyes, frowning, and his fingers dug into my bare waist, our legs knocking into each other as we stayed above water. "I shouldn't have done that."
"No," I croaked. My voice burned my throat even more. I squeezed my eyes shut, sucking in a deep, burning breath, and releasing it in a cough. His arm tightened around me, and I held onto it.
I met his eyes again. "I shouldn't have breathed in."
"Next time I'll warn you," he said decidedly.
I laughed – though it came out more as a hiccup. "That ruins all the fun."
"I'm so fucking dumb," he groaned, frowning. "I almost killed you."
"Call it even," I croaked, my throat raw from all the saltwater I'd inhaled. I paused, narrowing my eyes when the remorse on his face only deepened. "Everett, stop with the self-loathing. It's fine. Really."
He wrinkled his brow, opening his mouth to speak, when a voice interrupted.
"Isla!"
I turned in Everett's arms, meeting Austin's brown eyes and stiff frown.
He lay on his surfboard, paddling towards us, his eyes wide in concern. I blushed, realising he was shirtless and dripping with water.
"Are you okay?" he asked when he reached us. Hesat up quickly, the board rocking beneath him. His eyes landed on Everett and his expression hardened. He leaned forward, roughly grabbing my arm and tugging me away from him. "I saw this asshole tackle you into the water."
I rolled my eyes, coughing slightly before speaking. "I'm fine, Austin. How many times have you boys tackled me off my board?"
"That's different," he muttered.
Everett shot him a glare. "She was fine without your help."
"Oh, like how she was fine before you almost drowned her?"
Everett growled, swimming forward, but I moved in between the two, ripping my arm out of Austin's grip. My skin felt sore where he'd held me, leaving red marks that stung in the saltwater.
"I'm fine, Austin," I said pointedly. I sent him a look and he frowned.
"I was just worried."
"Thank you for your concern," I said, my voice gentle. "But why are you here? I thought you had a date with Mia."
It took all of my strength not to spit her name out like venom. To stop my jealousy from tainting my expression.
Austin grew flustered. He glanced over his shoulder. "Yeah, she's waiting for me."
"Oh," I said stupidly.
A part of me felt touched that he'd left her to check on me, but another part of me felt disappointed. She was waiting for him, and he'd go back to her. He'd only come because it was Everett that had tackled me into the water – anyone else and he wouldn't have cared.
He didn't come here to check on me. Not really. And I wasn't the one he was concerned about.
An uncomfortable silence had settled over us and Austin cleared his throat.
"Well, if you're okay, I'd better get back to her," he said.
I blinked. There it was.
"Okay," I said eventually. He sent me a worried look and I forced a smile onto my face. "I'm all good. You go have fun."
He hesitated for a moment, his eyes lingering on Everett. "Okay, but you be careful."
"Whatever," Everett mumbled, too quiet for Austin to hear over the rush of waves and giggles from the shore.
With a nod and a final look at me, he turned, paddling back to shore. I sighed, grabbing onto my board and pulling myself out of the water. Everett followed, moving to sit on the board he'd borrowed from Connor.
A breeze hit my wet skin and I shivered, feeling water drip down my neck and beneath the back of my bikini. My board bobbed gently over the waves and I gently kicked my feet in the water, listening to the rippling of the ocean.
We sat in silence for a long moment while I wrung my hair out and let the sun warm my skin, soothing the goose bumps that had raised from the icy ocean. I watched as Austin made it to the sand, Mia instantly running towards him and wrapping her arms around him.
An unbearable ache erupted in my chest as I realised how alone I suddenly felt. Austin was spending his summer with Mia. Sky was in Cambodia. And I was here with Everett.
This wasn't how our last summer together was supposed to go.
I ripped my eyes away, releasing a sigh and facing Everett instead.
He'd been watching me. Those burning hazel eyes piercing through me and sending a shiver down my spine like a cold spray of water hitting my face.
He narrowed his eyes at me, his brow slightly furrowing. He'd tanned since he'd first come to Shellside Bay. Now his skin glowed golden, bright against the blue waves.
I warmed, realising he'd seen me watching Austin.
I waited for him to laugh at me, the words already ringing in my ears. Second choice. At least he'd been honest – that was all I'd ever be to Austin. A spare part.
But instead, he frowned at me, his eyes riddled with concern.
"Are you okay?" he asked again.
Warmth spread across my chest and up to the tips of my ears beneath his piercing brown eyes. I felt like he was seeing right through me. His stare was almost familiar – like a reflection of my own. It was unbearable.
I tore my gaze away, staring at the shore again. Austin and Mia had already left together. I distantly wondered what they were doing now. Something disgusting, probably.
"I'm fine," I said finally. "I coughed all the water out."
I turned back to him and he sent me a funny look, but let it go with a curt nod.
We both knew that wasn't what he meant, but neither of us mentioned it again.
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A U T H O R ' S N O T E
So, a bit more bonding between Everett and Isla! They're getting closer! Thoughts? What do you think about Austin?? Next time: Austin drives Isla to work 👀
Also, I've finally finished writing Isla so now I can spend some time editing! Thank you so much for reading, voting and commenting! Your support means so much! 💕