Page 33 of All at Once

“Why?” Luca shrugs. “Just be yourself.”

Ah yes.The golden words that sound lovely but also seem impossible when you’re actually trying to be yourself.

It’s then that I wonder why Luca hasn’t gone back to his friends yet. Maybe he feels bad for me.

I feel less guilty for ruining his plans to surf after seeing the lack of waves. But I still feel bad for separating him from his friends, so as I hold onto my board, I say, “I’m going to keep practicing. I don’t want to take more of your time. This was really helpful.”

“Okay. I’ll see you later.” He points toward the sand. “Just remember the shore is that way.”

I scoff. “I take back my helpful comment.”

His lips slightly curve upwards before he paddles away until it’s just me, my thoughts, and the ocean. After swimming closer to the shore and observing a few small waves come and go, I feel a bit more daring, now trying to get on my surfboard again.

I barely even have a chance to stand on the board though, when a small wave tips me over.Shit.

Somehow I’m submerged in the water even deeper than earlier as I try to rise back up. Of course the waveshadto get a little stronger when I was finally on my own.

As the saltwater fills my mouth, turning me into a coughing mess, I feel a breeze tickle across my chest. Today isn’t particularly windy though so—

FUCK.My bikini top?! Where did it go?I immediately push my chest back into the water, while looking over at Enrique and his friend group to see if anyone noticed. Thankfully, they’re all too consumed by the water to give my shitshow any attention.

I think about searching for the top myself but since I’m this close to the shore, there’s no way I can cover my chest, look for it,andhold my board simultaneously. So all I manage to think of is to cross my arms before shouting the first name that I can think of. “Luca!”

He turns around as he’s paddling. Enrique also looks over as well. Judging by Luca’s puzzled glare, he senses something’s wrong, to which I’m grateful when he doesn’t tell Enrique to come with him. Swimming as fast as he can, he reaches me quickly.

“Is everything okay?” he asks with brows raised.

“My swimsuit top fell in the water,” I explain, making sure my arms and board are shielding me enough. “Can you please help me find it?”

A tiny scoff falls from his lips, probably thinking something far more pressing had occurred. “How am I supposed to find it in the ocean?” he asks, his brows furrowed at my request.

“It was right here though. Maybe it’s somewhere nearby.” I clarify, “I would look for it, but I don’t want anyone to see my chest.”

“Okay.” He sighs, but I also notice his cheeks flush. It’s probably just from his sunburn. Before he starts to look for it, he asks, “How did this even happen?”

“I don’t know. It’s this stupid bikini. But to be fair, I also didn’t pack my swimsuits with surfing in mind.” I shrug, now feeling exponentially warmer at the realization that I’m currently half-naked next to this guy.

Instead of replying, Luca goes down into the water.

“Do you see it?” I ask when he comes back up.

“No. Not yet,” he says. “Let me check this side.”

Since this is the side facing my chest, I start panicking. “Can you try and maybe close your eyes as much as possible?” Between holding my board and my chest with my hands, I’m not exactly covering my boobs as efficiently as I would have hoped for.

Luca raises a brow at me. “How am I supposed to find your swimsuit in the ocean with my eyes closed?”

I also sigh at my ridiculous request. “No. You’re right,” I say, before he goes into the water again.

But when he comes back up a few moments later, I almost can’t believe he’s holding the lime fabric in his hands. “Shit. Perfect. Thank you so much.” Then I notice how it’s covered with seaweed. “I hope that doesn’t leave a stain.”

“At least it matches your swimsuit,” he says with a slight chuckle, before shaking his head. “Have you considered making a bingo card for every time something like this happens to you during your stay here? I think it would be worthwhile.”

I roll my eyes. “Thanks for the helpful suggestion.”

“What happened?” His brows crease. “I saw you were doing pretty well.”

“You were watching me surf?” I ask, my heart rate returning to the same pace it reached when his fingers touched my hips.

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