Roger keeps running with me screaming over his shoulder, and I’m getting
seriously worried he’s not going to slow down when he reaches the ice-cold
Pacific Ocean. I can feel the freezing wet splashes on my legs, and as he runs
into deeper water, some of the splashes reach up to my face.
I’ve been playfully kicking and screaming for him to put me down, but now,
I’m gripping his upper back, not wanting him to lower me at all. Don’t let the
turquoise water of Carmel fool you; it’s damn cold, even in the summer. Girls
wear bikinis on the beach, and surfers wear wetsuits all year-round. Even I
know that.
“You broke a promise,” he says while his arm grabs me from over his shoulder
and moves me down.
The muscles in my legs bulge, and I clench them around his upper body,
holding myself high up on his shoulder.
“What are you? A cat?” he says, confused, as he tries to figure out what I’m
doing with my body.
I grab on to his head and use it as leverage to clench my thighs together over
his other shoulder. “I never broke a promise,” I say, unashamed. The only
emotion going through me right now is fear of going into the ice cold water. “I
never promised to call you.”
“Oh, that hurts my feelings,” he says dramatically.
He reaches up and tries one more time to pull me off of him, but I’m too
strong.
“How the hell are you stronger than me?” he exclaims, clearly frustrated that
he’s tried twice to throw me in the water with no success.
All he’s been able to do is make me slip down his body a little. My one leg is
still draped over his shoulder, and the other is wrapped around his back,
holding on for dear life. My face has moved from over his head to right in front
of his nose.
“Ballerinas are a lot stronger than you think,” I say with a calm, even breath.
I’ve never kissed a boy before, and right now, I’m staring at one’s lips. They’re
so full and colorful; they look as if they’re full of fruit punch. I wonder what it
would taste like and feel like. If I just move my head a few inches closer…
“Maybe so,” he says, matching my even breath. “You might be stronger than
me, but I’m more clever.” He spreads his arms out, as if he’s going to give
someone a huge hug, and slowly, his body weight shifts back.
“No, no, no, no, no!” I scream once I realize there’s no stopping him from
falling back into the water.
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