Page 57 of Our Little Moments

The silence breaks when water hits Layla’s back. Everything happens in slow motion as she turns around to find Sam looking at her with a small smile. Crouched on the rock, his hand in the water.

The effect is immediate. The water battle explodes once again, this time, everyone caught in the goofiness of it all. Splashing, laughing, shouting, and falling from our rocks.

Nate and Hazel have lost their balance completely, falling into the creek and splashing each other. Their laughter is infectious, and for a moment, they’re in their own world, completely cut off from the rest of us.

Another splash of water hits me, and I turn to find Adrian, still staring at me with his wicked grin.

Oh, you.

For a second, the coldness of the water dissipates and my insides warm. Because his playful gaze holds mine, the warmth from his smile reaches up to his eyes. It fills me with the same sensation as the sunlight beating down on my skin from above us.

He looks so beautiful when he smiles.

I splash him again, harder this time, and for a split second, we both freeze. Our eyes lock, and for a heartbeat, it’s just the two of us in the middle of the storm of water and laughter. His gaze softens for a second, something unspoken passing between us, before Jay decides he’s some sort of supervillain and takes advantage of my distraction. Suddenly, a blast of water hits me with the force of a tidal wave. I quickly notice Adrian and Isabella have also been his target. We all tumble off the rocks, laughing our hearts out.

I don’t think I’ve ever smiled for so long in my entire life.

The afternoon fades away, with all of us drenched in cold water, our laughter bursting our eardrums and with my heart filled with so much joy that I’m afraid it will overload.

This is what friendship is. This is what it feels like to be truly, completely alive. And for the first time in my life, I feel like I belong here. Like this moment is exactly where I’m meant to be.

Everything feels right.

Chapter 22

Adrian

With all of us now dressed in dry clothes—one thing I never thought I’d feel this grateful for—we sit around the campfire.

“Stella! I’d been trying to protect you! How dare you splash water on me!” Layla jokes as Isa starts the fire we’re all sitting around. With her power, she manipulates and creates fire, the flames growing and warming all of us in seconds.

“Hey! I knew you could block it if you needed to. I didn’t think everyone would jump in with me.” Stella giggles.

“Andyou,” Layla says, turning to Sam, who’s sitting next to her on the tree. “I thought you were hiding away from everyone. How dare you try to splashme?”

Sam chuckles. “It was a great plot twist, don’t you think?”

Layla laughs, and I grin. It’s so rare to see her laugh that I always cherish those moments.

Isa’s eyes zero in on Jay and his burn with challenge.Oh boy.

I just know chaos is about to erupt.

“By the way, why did you target mefrom the beginning,you cocky asshole? I was going to avoid you the whole time, but you just had to target me right from the start.”

“Well, I couldn’t let it all end with me losing, could I?” he says with a wide grin.

Isa rolls her eyes. “Of course. You needed revenge on a victory I had when we were teenagers—”

“One of your few victories, might I add.”

“Shut up. You couldn’t let me have one of the few victories Iearnedfrom our competition as teenagers?”

“Of course not. Don’t think I don’t know you didn’t target me from the start because youknewI’d beat you—”

“I didnot.”

“Yes, you did. You knew I’d win so you refused to play with fire,fireheart.”

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