Page 27 of You're The One
After a few more minutes of instruction, we follow the guide into the water. Getting past the break is the hardest part, but once we’re beyond the waves, it’s a little calmer.
That doesn’t stop the squeals, high-pitched and overlapping with the slap of waves against the boards.
“Are there sharks?”
“How deep is it here?”
“I hate this!”
The chorus of remarks carries across the water. I can’t be sure who’s who.
Victoria, the first brave soul, attempts to go from kneeling to standing, but almost immediately ends up in the water. She’s a good sport about it, laughing with the rest of us.
It’s hard to have any meaningful conversation while balancing, paddling, and—according to Summer—not getting eaten by sharks. So most of the chatter is easy, surface-level stuff.
No complaints. It’s actually kind of relaxing.
I don’t get a good view of Mia until I stand up, finally able to see over the women close to me.
Mia is kneeling on her board, next to another woman whose name I can’t remember. The other girl’s sitting awkwardly on her butt, and it looks like Mia’s trying to help her reposition.
My gaze lingers longer than it should, and when Mia turns her head, I don’t have time to look away. She catches me.
She says something to the other woman, then starts paddling… toward me.
Okay. Sure. That works. Easier to keep an eye on her this way.
She knows how to swim, right… Of course she does, you idiot.
“You should really quit checking me out,” she snarks, paddling up beside me.
I plop down onto my board, legs dangling in the water. “I amnotchecking you out.”
I totally was.
“That would be wrong on so many levels.”
Unfortunately, my dick disagrees. Then again, if there’s one thing I’ve learned from my past, it’s that he cannot be trusted.
“Mm-hmm.” She shifts from her knees to a seated position, her legs crisscrossed in front of her.
“So.” She pulls her hair into a ponytail and secures it with the elastic around her wrist. “What are you looking for?”
“What do you mean?”
“Here. In a partner.” She shrugs. “Matchmakers always start with a profile. I’ve got to figure out yours so I know what to look for.”
Before I can answer, she lies back on the board, fingertips trailing in the water at her sides, head tipped toward me.
My eyes don’t get the memo to stop checking her out and drag down the length of her body. I’ve never seen so much of her skin.
I cough, trying to cover it. “I guess what everyone’s looking for. A partner. A best friend. Someone to do life with. You know, like Logan and Hannah have.”
“Why are you so obsessed with them?” she snips.
“I’m definitely not. I just… I don’t know. I guess they’re the only example of a healthy relationship I’ve seen.”
I regret the words the second they’re out, but Mia doesn’t press.
