Page 21 of Jumping In

“Come on, man, it’s just MJ. You’re old friends. Nothing has changed.”

“Bullshit,” I scoff.

“Okay, some things have changed. But it’s still MJ. She missed you, you missed her. Get your head out of your ass and go talk to her. Break the ice, something.”

Grabbing a soda out of the cooler, I nod and take a deep breath. I can do this. We walk back to the picnic table, and I see MJ has already headed back into the water. She always was quite the little fish when we were younger. I go to sit at the table, but Austin clears his throat and gives me a pointed look.

“What?” I groan.

He looks down at the creek and then back at me. “Go talk to her. You see us almost every day. You’re not here for us. Go.” He whines like a petulant child. Fucking friends, man.

My T-shirt hits Austin square in the face and he laughs. I head down to the water where MJ is floating on her back. No sign of Shannon; she’s likely tending bar at Hal’s like the little workaholic she is.

MJ must hear the water splash as I wade in, because she sits up and pops her eyes open. Her hazel-green eyes are almost haunting and full of surprise as she locks in on me. Thankful for the water covering most of her body, I will myself not to pop another woody out here in the water.

Go talk to her, they said. Yeah, it’s not that easy. But I have totry.

“Mind if I join you?” I ask. She shakes her head, and I dip under, enjoying the cool water that sends a chill of familiarity down my spine. I haven’t been out to the creek in quite a while. Even though it technically runs through my backyard too, it’s much harder to get to from my house. Plus, it always felt weird to come down here without MJ.

The smooth trickle of the creek lulls us into silence. I’m waiting on bated breath for her to say something, anything. But she kicks her feet back up and leans back into a float. Well, this is going swimmingly.

Chapter 9

MJ

Mac is here, at the creek, in the creek, with me.Holy shit!

It’s been a little awkward. I think we’re both nervous, but we haven’t really hung out like this. Not with other friends, and not just the two of us, like old times. So yeah, I think it’s fair for things to be a little awkward.

I fully expected him to show up, hang with the twins, and maybe say hi to me. I was not expecting him to get me alone nor for my heart to beat so wildly. Besides saying hi, I think he’s said five words to me, but I’m not doing any better. Pretty sure I’m ignoring him unintentionally. I just can’t get my brain or mouth to work properly.

I feign a lack of interest and float in the creek, but my eyes betray me. As much as I don’t want to look at him, I can’t help it. Stealing glances his way, I am hyperaware of his presence and where he is in the water.

Slowly moving my arms and legs through the water, I kick out a little further than necessary and hear an “oof.” Trying to hide my smile, I sit up and look at Mac, who’s rubbing his chest.

“Sorry,”I finally break my silence. “Forgot you were in here with me.” Lie.

“All good.” He shrugs and then turns away from me. Okay then, I guess we won’t be talking much. Something flashes across his face, but I can’t place it. Leaning back into a float again, I can feel his eyes on me, but if he won’t talk, I won’t either.

A few minutes pass by and I lose track of him. He’s still nearby, I think. Straining my ears, I can hear Blake’s baritone voice up the hill. And there’s Austin’s laugh. Where the fuck did Mac go? I sit up to look around, more curious than before, and then I feel it. The water moves around me and then a torrent of bubbles hits my back. I can’t contain the little squeal that escapes my lips and then the giggles, too. Mac pops his head up out of the water next to me with a huge grin on his face.

“You asshole!” I say halfheartedly. His eyes twinkle with mischief as he clutches his chest like I’ve wounded him, and it softens me up immediately. It’s the kind of thing we used to do when we were younger; always sneaking up and trying to startle each other.

Mac chuckles and I splash water at him as he wades out of the creek. My shoulders drop and I let out a breath. Guess he’s done hanging out with me now. I glance up slowly, trying not to seem obvious, but don’t see him heading up to the picnic area as I expected. Instead, he’s walking toward the rope swing.

“Heads up!” he yells as he runs toward the swing. He hops on, swings back and forth a few times, and then fliesoff, landing right in the water below. Popping his head up, he swims toward me, much closer than he’s been so far. Our legs bump into each other under water and he moves his arms to steady himself. Both arms are caging me in even though he’s not touching me, and I resist the urge to lean into him. I bite my lip and look up at him through my eyelashes.

Seeing him up close like this has my brain misfiring. His arms are muscular, not huge like Blake’s, but toned and strong. His chest has a smattering of hair that I want to run my fingers through and follow the trail to where it disappears beneath his swim trunks. Six years and I’m still attracted to him. But we’re not even talking to each other right now, so it kind of seems pointless to be drooling over him. Mac says my name, and it pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Huh?” I ask, trying to pretend I hadn’t heard him.

“I asked if you’ve jumped off the swing yet?” he asks, shaking his hair out and wiping the water off his face. I shake my head quickly and try to avoid the little movie that plays in my head at the mention of it. Brad getting caught up on the swing when we were younger. My ten-year-old body trying to heave my brother’s teenage bulk out of the water. It was such a close call, but we got him unstuck and he didn’t drown. But ever since then, I’ve been even more apprehensive about jumping off the old swing.

I shake off the memory and look back at Mac. He must see the fear written all over my face because he doesn’t push or ask any more about the swing. His blue-green eyes pierce mine and we hover there, locked into one another for whatfeels like an eternity. His calloused hand brushes my waist and my feet tangle with his underwater. Little goosebumps break out on my skin and the butterflies in my stomach are flying at full force.

“MJ, I . . .” his voice cracks. We twist our heads at the sound of footsteps and see Austin heading down.

“Food’s about ready if you guys want to come up.”

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