Page 31 of Bad Reputation
She arches a brow. “Is that so?”
“Yep. Just because we aren’t actively fucking doesn’t make it any different.”
I try to keep my tone light and casual. Inside, I’m dying to know whether she still wants me as badly as I want to be with her. She just blushes and shakes her head at me.
“That’s good to know.” Her smile is tight-lipped, suggesting that maybe I shouldn’t drag old feelings out into the sunlight.
“Are you ready to go straight for it, or do you maybe want a refresher?”
Emma seems indecisive. “Uhhh… maybe you should just remind me what the steps are? Like, verbally, I mean.”
“Okay. Starting from the end of the board, yeah?” I point to the end of one of the surf boards. “You grab the sides, and then move onto your stomach. Then you lift yourself upward…”
“Oh, right. Then I sort of turn my leg…”
“Yep. And slide your other foot forward. Then the hard part, which is having enough balance to stand and surf.”
“Right. Got it.” She scrunches her face up. “I mean, I think I do.”
“Good. Let’s paddle out, then.”
I pick up the thermos lid, putting it back on top of the thermos. Then I hand one of the surf boards to her. We pad out to the sea, the sand stiff and crunchy, breaking away under our feet. When I step into the ocean and feel it swirl around my feet, I suck in a deep lungful of salty air.
Glancing at Emma to make sure she’s still with me, I put my surfboard down on the water.
“Don’t forget to attach your leash to your ankle,” I say. Balancing awkwardly for a second, I put the leash on my ankle.
I look at her as she does the same, biting her lip as she attaches the leash. I can’t help the way my eyes dip down to her lush mouth, or the way they slide down to her tits. Most of her body is covered in the wetsuit, but I notice that the zipper is only pulled up to her breasts, leaving plenty of room for the imagination to lurk in the sweet shadows found there.
I realize that I am as bad as a horny fucking teenager, filling in what I can’t see. But I don’t bother to jerk my gaze away this time.
She looks up and colors when she sees me looking at her. She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “What?”
I grin. “Nothing. Are you ready to try to surf?"
She starts to move out away from the shore. “Yeah, I—” Then her face suddenly contorts. “OWWW!”
She pulls away from where she just stepped and leans her weight on her left leg, her expression agonized.
“Whoa, are you okay?” I ask, looking around. I look into the water around her, but it’s murky, lots of sand swirling around her body.
Emma is actually in tears. “I think I got stung by a jellyfish. It reallyhurts!”
“Okay, let’s go back to the shore. Can you walk?”
She shakes her head, her face burning. When she speaks, her voice is choked with tears. “I don’t think so.”
“Come here,” I say, crouching and scooping her up in my arms. She weighs nothing, her small body wracked with sobs. Her hands settle around my shoulders, clinging to me as she tries to control her crying. I head to the shore, murmuring soothing things to her. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
I’m slowed down by the fact that I’m dragging two surf boards, but I eventually make it out of the water with Emma in my arms. As soon as we’re clear of the water, I slip my leash off and unfasten hers too.
Leaving the boards behind us, I carry her to the spot where we left our stuff. I go down onto my knees instead of dropping her, placing her gently on the sand.
She immediately starts trying to look at her right foot, while I dig in my bag for the first aid kit I keep in there. I pull out the little bottle of vinegar that I keep on hand for just such an occasion.
“Let me see.” I move us both so that her foot is in my lap, examining it with a tender touch. I see the jellyfish sting, a perfectly clear line of welts that practically glow bright red. “I think you were actually pretty lucky, it doesn’t look like there are any tentacles to remove or anything.”
“Oww!” she yelps when I move her foot a little too suddenly.