Page 87 of Easy Steal

“You’re not a beach guy, yet here we are. You’re not a music guy, but you always play it when we’re in the car. You’re a mafia son, yet you work a day job. You’re a walking fucking contradiction.”

“Thanks?” I said.

She shook her head.

“You getting in or what?” she nudged my arm.

“No.”

I could almost hear her eyes roll.

“Come on,” she tugged at my sleeve.

“No, thank you.”

“Fine,” she snapped, walking towards the water and kicking her shoes off.

“You’re not hopping in my car wet,” I shouted as she disappeared deeper into the waves.

“I can’t hear you,” she yelled back.

“You’ll be walking home, I swear to god.”

“Still can’t hear you, you’ll have to come and get me,” she dipped deeper into the sea.

I planted my feet into the sand, shaking my head.

The breeze was crisp, and I inched closer towards the shoreline and the water was even colder.

I stepped back a few paces and shook my head again.

Livie disappeared under the waves, and I squinted trying to see her.

“Liv?” I called when she didn’t resurface.

A few more seconds.

“Liv?”

She bobbed up for a split second and took in a breath, before disappearing again.

“I know what you’re doing,” I called. “I’m not falling for it.”

I couldn’t see her shadow under the waves any more.

I couldn’t see the ripples from her kicking feet.

And though I knew exactly what she was doing, I sighed and kicked off my boots before striding into the waves.

“Fucking cold,” I muttered to myself.

I pushed against the rolling waves until the water reached my hips, and looked down into the water.

“Liv?”

I felt something touch my leg briefly and I stumbled backwards, and Livie popped up from the waves right in front of me.

She gasped in a breath and pushed her hair backwards out of her face.

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