“Is it going to be cold?” I asked like a five-year-old not wanting to take swimming lessons.
“Heated pool,” Wes answered. “Besides, it’s not as if you won’t have me to warm you up.”
“Probably shouldn’t be doing any warming when we’re naked.”
“You sure about that?” His hands froze on my shoulders. Holy crap, what was I supposed to say?
“I mean, that’s wilderness 101, naked bodies rubbing together to create heat, friction—”
“Good thing we aren’t in the wilderness.” I laughed, trying to kill the sexual tension that was making me want to turn around and throw myself at him.
“I’d say it’s a pity.” Wes’s hands left my shoulders. I almost slumped over onto my plate but kept my body rigid. “Need a suit? I can grab you an extra if you do.”
I didn’t even want to think about why they would have extra suits.
“Lots of parties, people leave suits. All of them are clean I promise.”
“Yeah.” I swallowed. “A suit would be good then.”
He was gone for maybe five minutes before he returned with a white bikini. Surely that wasn’t all they had left?
My eyes narrowed.
He grinned. “What are you waiting for? Take it.”
“Will it cover anything?”
“The important parts.” He held it out to me. “Come on, live a little.”
I snatched it from his grip. “If I die from hypothermia…”
“Not possible.” Wes shrugged. “Not unless you decide to take a midnight swim in the Sound, and I would advise against it, since that giant squid seems to think it’s a cool place to live.”
“Noted.” Did I mention I hated fish? Or the fact that the reason I didn’t ever go diving with my parents was because water terrified me? Maybe that’s why the nightmares were worse for me than someone else. I couldn’t imagine dying a watery death. I was terrified of it. Ever since I fell in the pool when I was three, I hadn’t been able to go near it without feeling weak in the knees.
Well, Wes would find out soon why this was on my list, so I might as well tell him before I jumped into the water and made a fool out of myself. I went into the bathroom and shakily took off my clothes, then donned the white bikini. Little triangles covered my boobs, just barely, and the bottoms were strings tied to little patches for the front and back. Holy crap I looked like a prostitute. I mean, the suit looked fine for a stripper.
I leaned against the porcelain sink and took a few deep breaths. I could do this. I would do this. I was halfway through my list.
“Get it together, Kiersten.” I stared at my reflection in the mirror, my red hair hung down to the middle of my back in thick waves. My green eyes stared back in a terrified fashion, as if my insides were begging me not to go through with it.
“I can do this,” I repeated, my fingers still clutching the sink. “I will do this.” With a final jerk, I pulled away from the counter and opened the door. I shook the entire way down the hall. By the time I reached the door to the back porch and pool, my hands were shaking so bad it looked like I was a druggie in need of a hit.
“You can do this,” I whispered again and opened the door.
Cold air hit me immediately. Whose brilliant idea was it again to go swimming in November? Oh right, mine. Teeth chattering, I walked over to the edge of the pool and nearly had a heart attack when Wes’s hand touched my shoulder.
“Ready?” he asked.
No. I swallowed and gave him one jerky nod.
With an understanding smile, he pulled me into his warm embrace. His body was searing against mine, the only thing dividing us was our suits and quite honestly it scared the heck out of me that I wanted nothing between us, that I wanted to be pressed against him and only him. I could almost forget about the pool, forget about the terror.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered in my hair. “I’ve got you.”
“Promise?”
“I promise, I won’t let you fall, not on your own. I won’t let you drown. I won’t release your hand until you’re ready and even then I won’t turn my back on you until you’re safely back on the ground.”