He wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me close to his chest. “I’m reading Hiroshima by John Hersey. Have you read it?”
I shake my head and he starts to tell me about the story—a journalistic account of six survivors whose lives were drastically altered after the atomic bomb was dropped on their city. He goes into intricate detail, telling me each of the survivor’s names and struggles, and I suddenly wish I had this book in my hands.
As he’s explaining the aftermath, he pulls two glass jars of tea from the cooler, placing one in my lap.
“You don’t have to limit yourself because of me...” I whisper.
“I’m not.” He grins. “Homemade tea is far tastier than beer.”
I roll my eyes and take a few sips.
Closing my eyes in bliss, I savor each and every one. I haven’t had tea this good in years—not since Leah stole some from an upscale restaurant.
“Is it good?” Carter breaks me out of my trance.
“Very. You made this?”
He nods, and we drink the rest of our tea in silence, occasionally looking at one another and smiling—confirming my belief that he’s going to try and have sex with me at the end of the day.
And I’m going to let him.
It’s definitely happening...
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.
“No reason.”
“Hmmm.” He stands up and takes off his shirt, exposing his perfect washboard abs. As if he knows how sexy he is and how hard I’m staring, he rubs his hands across them while smiling at me and then he dives into the water.
When he resurfaces, he splashes the edge of the dock. “Care to join me?”
“Maybe later.”
“What do you consider later?”
“Never.”
He laughs. “I bought you something last weekend. It’s in the red box at the bottom of my bag. After I get done warming up, you’re going to join me in here.”
I don’t get a chance to say “No I’m not” before he swims away. I watch as he brings his arms over his head in a strong motion, carrying himself across the entire length of the lake.
Once he reaches the other side, I fumble through his bag and find a shiny red box. On the top of it there’s a card:
For Emerald:
An “ALL literature type”
They’ll read much better this way...
Intrigued, I rip the paper to shreds and open the box, gasping when I see a brand new e-reader, the three hundred dollar one that came out two weeks ago. It has a camera, three times the memory, and he’s preloaded it with hundreds of books.
When I scroll across the home screen, I notice that he’s set the wallpaper to be a stunning picture of a lone raven.
No guy has ever given me a gift before—at least not without immediately expecting something in return, and I’m not sure how to feel about this. Confused, I lie back against the blanket and start to read As I Lay Dying.
Every now and then I look up and steal a glimpse of Carter swimming back and forth across the lake, involuntarily smiling at him whenever he catches me looking.
“Do you know how to swim?” He splashes me from below.
I sit up and shake my head. “Not at all.”
“Never wanted to learn?”
“Never wanted to drown.”
Rolling his eyes, he climbs onto the dock. He takes the e-reader from my hands and places it into the box. “You shouldn’t let your bikini go to waste. Take your clothes off.”
“Excuse me?”
“Take your clothes off. Or do I need to tip you first?”
My jaw drops. “Did you really just say that?”
He laughs. “Five seconds.”
I sigh and slip out of my shirt. As soon as my shorts hit the deck, he slips an arm around my waist and pulls me into the lake.
I move my feet around—feeling for the bottom, but the water is too deep.
“Relax,” he says and tightens his grip. He waits for me to stop flailing about and then he slowly lifts me and lays my body against the water—securing one arm underneath my head and the other underneath my thighs. “You need to learn how to float first.”
My heart is racing and I can feel my hands twitching. I realize I should’ve told him that my fear of drowning is actually a fear of deep water.
I shut my eyes and try to be as still as possible, but I feel him pressing his lips against mine—making it even harder.
“Are you relaxed now?” he asks.
“No!”
“Close enough.” He kisses me again. “Try to focus on me and not the water. I’m not going to let you go.”
I don’t say anything.
“Are you afraid of deep water, Emerald?”
“No shit. Are you suicidal?”