Page 41 of How to Get Revenge on a Cheating Ex
He’s laughing. He’s laughing so hard I’m afraid he’s going to drown.
“You’d better get in here, Bailey,” he calls.
And to my shock, I realize I’m actually smiling.
What the heck?
The anger’s fading fast at the sight of him fully clothed and soaked. The hurtful words we just threw at each other still hang in the air, but…
They’re out there now. And there’s something weirdly freeing about that. Something that loosens that knot in my chest and lets me breathe.
He splashes me as he treads water. “What are you waiting for, Smurfette?”
A little part of me is worried about his phone, his car keys...
“You’d better get in here, Little Bailey Tucker.”
His teasing smile is hard to resist. “Or what?”
He arches his brows. “Or I’m coming up there andthrowingyou in.”
“I’d like to see you try,” I shoot back.
But I’m already stripping off the T-shirt and getting ready to dive in. When I surface, he’s closer than I’d thought and he’s grinning at me like he used to.
Like we’re friends.
We’re not. I know this. But it’s nice all the same.
“Think you can still beat me?” He nods toward the other dock by the cabin a little ways off.
I laugh as I doggy paddle to stay afloat. We used to swim to that dock and back, and I won every single time. “I know I can.”
“Big words, Bailey,” he says. “You know I’ve gotten a few more muscles since the last time we raced, right?”
I try not to let my gaze drop to the water-soaked shirt that does nothing but define every muscle from his shoulders and biceps down to his flat abs. I try to swallow and fail. “Mmhmm.”
He arches a brow. “Still think you can win?”
A familiar flare of adrenaline has me smiling in anticipation. “Only one way to find out.”
We take off at the same time, and this time, for the first time, he wins. But I demand a rematch. And for a little while, we actually have fun.
I don’t forget about Grayson or all the drama that’s waiting, but when we’re swimming and splashing and trash talking...
It’s an escape from the crushing heartbreak. At least for a little while.
By the time we’re back in his car, in dry clothes but with wet hair, the sun’s setting and I’m pleasantly exhausted. We’re quiet for most of the drive, each caught up in our own thoughts.
I try not to think. At least, I try not to obsess. So, I watch the trees whip past the window and catch glimpses of the sky between the branches.
We’re almost home when Zack breaks the silence, his voice low and quiet. “I’m not doing this to make him jealous.”
I turn my head and stare at his profile. “What?”
He glances over, his grip shifting on the steering wheel. “I’m not doing this to make him jealous, Bailey. I’m doing this to get even.” He casts another sidelong glance my way. “There’s a difference.”
He sounds so serious, and I have no idea what he wants me to say. I’m not even sure I get what he means. He turns his head to look me directly in the eye. “I’m not doing this to help you get him back.”
