by McKayla Box
But I'm getting there and I'm not embarrassing myself.
I see Archer reach the buoy and put his hand on it. He turns around, treading water in the ocean, yelling something in my direction.
I paddle and kick harder, my lungs on fire.
As I get closer, another guy reaches the buoy, taps it, turns, and heads back to the shore.
Archer reaches out, grabs me by the wrist, and pulls me toward him. I crash into him and it's like hitting a brick wall.
He puts my hand on the buoy. “Are you okay?”
He barely looks as if he's done anything. He's wet, but barely breathing hard.
My chest is heaving, my arms feel like noodles, and my thighs are on fire.
“Fine,” I gasp. “Go.”
His eyes stay on me for a second, then he nods and pushes off the buoy. I do the same and start off behind him, just as another wave of swimmers is reaching the buoy.
It's going to be close.
I get to nearly even with Archer and I see what he meant by the swimmers coming at us. It's like being in a meteor shower as the bodies come at us. But they part, just like he said they would. And then I see the guy that reached the buoy at nearly the same time as us drop back as we go past him.
My entire body hurts and my arms aren't working the way I want them to, but I don't stop moving. Now I want to win. I want to prove that I can do it.
“You okay?” Archer yells as we approach the waves.
“Fine!” I croak back.
“I'm taking the waves in,” he yells. “When your feet hit sand, get up and sprint.”
I do something that hopefully looks like a nod and he jettisons in front of me. He's clearly been holding back, not swimming at full speed, so I can stay with him. But now his arms act like paddles, propelling him through the water like a machine. I see him go up and over the first wave in front of us, then disappear over the top as the wave crashes forward.
I put my face down into the water and will my arms to paddle harder. I kick as hard as I can. The ocean rises up beneath me and I keep swimming. The wave starts to break and sends me shooting forward. I'm not ready for it and before I can catch myself, I'm somersaulting over the wave and my feet are over my head and I'm tumbling under the water.
It takes me a moment to orient myself, but then I swim upward. I break the surface of the ocean and gasp for air just as another wave hits me, sending me somersaulting again. I get my bearings again and come up swimming, coughing up water and trying to find air.
I know the waves cost me some time, but I can make out the shore and the only body in front of me is the guy who we passed once. But I don't see a girl.
Which means I'm ahead.
And we can win.
I put my head down again and thrash through the water. My entire body aches and I'm just running on adrenaline now. But the waves behind me are smaller and they're crashing behind me rather than on top of me.
I can hear shouting from the shore each time I take a breath.
I can hear Archer's voice.
Calling my name.
I paddle harder.
And then my fingers graze the sand.
I bring my legs forward and my feet find the ground. I stumble forward, the water just above my knees, but I keep my balance and keep moving to the shore.
The yelling and screaming gets louder as I gasp for breath, trying to keep my legs turning over as I push forward.
I look up.
I can see Archer on the shore, screaming at me.
I can get there.
We can win.
And then something hits me from behind like a truck.
Chapter 18
I feel a body go over the top of me as I go down in the water. I take in a mouthful of ocean as I crash into the sand. I'm not prepared to go under water and so I'm under with both my mouth and eyes open.
And I can see a body in front of me trying to stand up.
I push off the sand like I'm doing a push-up and pop out of the water, coughing and spitting water everywhere. Blood is pulsing in my ears and my heart is going a hundred miles an hour. And the center of my back throbs from where something hit me.
Or someone.
As I get to my feet, I see Reese doing the same thing in front of me. Pulling herself out of the water, getting to her feet and trudging forward. She's breathing hard, and I can tell by the way she's moving that her legs are heavy, just like mine.
She's the one.
Reese is the one that ran over me.
And I know it wasn't a mistake.
No one told me if there were any rules to this race, so I have no idea if what she's done is a problem. But I have time to wonder. She's moving in front of me and she's closer to the sand than I am. I have no idea who her partner is or where he might be, but I don't care. All I'm focused on is getting to the sand before her.
With payback on the way.
I high step over the water, heading right for her. When I'm about three feet behind her, she turns, a surprised look on her face. I lower my shoulder and crash right into her, hitting her as hard as I can.
We both tumble into the shallow water and the hard-packed sand actually hurts this time. My shoulder stings from wherever I hit her. Our legs are tangled together.
I kick my legs free and scramble to my feet, not looking back. I sprint through the last twenty feet of water, running faster than I thought I could. Archer is standing there, his arms wide, a big smile on his face.
And I collapse into him, as everyone on the beach explodes with cheers.
We won.
We fucking won.
Chapter 19
“Holy shit,” Archer says in my ear. “That was fucking incredible.”
My chest is still heaving and I'm gasping for air. My eyes are on fire. Every muscle that I have hurts.
“Did you hear me?” he says, his arms tight around me. “You did it. That was amazing.”
I manage a nod. The blood is still rushing in my ears so everything is hollow and tinny. People are yelling and screaming on the sand, jumping up and down.
“And you fucking wrecked Reese,” he says, laughing.
I manage to turn back toward the water. A guy I don't know is helping her out of the water. Bree and Fallon are next to her. Blood is dripping from her nose.
And she's staring right at me.
She shakes loose from the guy and stalks over to me, the blood trailing out of her nose and over her lips. She points at me. “What the fuck was that?”
“That was her kicking your ass,” Archer says, laughing. “And everyone saw it.”
She looks around for a moment, almost as if she's realizing that everyone did, in fact, see it. She wipes at her face, smearing the blood across her mouth and cheek. She looks down at her hand. Then back at me.
“You fucking bitch,” she growls. “You had to fucking cheat to win.”
Rage ignites in my chest. “I cheated? You ran over me first.”
“I barely touched you. You had to hit me in the face and practically knocked me out!”
I realize now that it was her face that my shoulder hit.
And I'm not even a little sorry.
“Check the mirror,” I say. “It might be an improvement.”
Her hands ball into fists at her sides. “You are such a bitch.”
“You already said that. Try again.”
The noise from the crowd has quieted down and I realize that they are all watching us now.
“You know the rules, Reese,” Archer says. “There are no rules. And everyone saw you truck her coming out of the water. You got what you gave. Deal.”
She looks around, like she's just noticing everyone for the first time. I have no doubt she has more friends in the crowd than I do and if she wants to turn them against me, she probably can. But if Archer is right and there are no rules, she should have no complaints.
She points a finger at me. “This isn't over. Not even close.”
I watch beh
ind her as people continue to pull themselves out of the water.
Then I look at her.
“I think you're confused,” I tell her. “It actually is over. We won. And you lost.”
She stares at me for a long moment, her eyes filled with hate. I'm not sure how she's decided so quickly that I'm the person that she hates most in the world, but it seems clear that she has and that I am. I know it's not over. I know she doesn't mean the swim. Whatever it is that she's decided is brewing between us?
It's just getting started.
Chapter 20
Dylan crashes into me and wraps me up in cold, wet hug. “Bitch! You did it!”
I laugh. “I guess so.”
“You guess so?” she says, putting her hands on my arms to take a good look at me. “You did it. And you mowed over the scourge of all humanity in the process. That's, like, a double win!”
I laugh. “Right.”
Mercy and Brooke come up behind her.
Mercy holds out a hand. “I'm not hugging you because you are like a sea monster, but holy shit!!! That was incredible!”
Brooke tosses towels at me and at Dylan. “Dry off. Then we can hug. Maybe.”
I'm grateful to wrap the towel around my shivering body. I feel Archer's hands on my shoulders and I've forgotten he's standing behind me.
I turn around. “Hey.”
He runs a hand through his wet hair. “Hey. That was impressive.”
“Was it? I felt like more like a dog dropped in the middle of a pool.”
“I said it was impressive. Not graceful.”
“Ha. Very funny.”
“You're a better swimmer than you let on, Orleans,” he says. “You surprised me.”
I start to correct him about calling me Orleans again, but I let it go. He's determined to use it and there's a tiny part of me that decides that I like that he has a nickname for me.
“Let's go celebrate,” he says. “Come on.”
“She's with us, Arch,” Mercy says. “And she's not gonna blow you just because you won.”
“You never know,” he says with a grin.
“I'm not,” I tell him. “That's a sure thing.”
He laughs like it doesn't even matter and it irks me.
“Let's go have a drink then,” he says. “Me and you.”
I hesitate, then shake my head. “No, I'm gonna hang with my friends for a bit.”
His eyes linger on me for a long moment. “Right. We don't have to drink. We can do something else.”
The way he says it, it's different than before. It's not suggestive. It's something else that I can't put my finger on.
“What does that mean?” I ask.
The corner of his mouth turns upward a fraction. “Nothing. Just saying we don't have to drink. We can do something else.”
“She's with us, fool,” Dylan says, throwing an arm around my shoulders. “Maybe if you're lucky, she'll blow a kiss at you later on. Let's go, chicas.”
I let them pull me away. My legs are heavy and tired, and my arms feel like lead weights. I'm cold, but the towel is helping. As we walk up the beach, I turn around.
Archer is still standing there, watching us.
Chapter 21
We find a bonfire on the beach and after I'm finally warm and dry, I pull my clothes back on. People are coming up to me and congratulating me. I'm not comfortable being the center of attention, but it's better than having Reese glare at me.
“Well, this is a kick-ass start to Homecoming Week,” Dylan says, her face glowing against the fire.
“Homecoming?” I ask. “Already? We just started school.”
“Yeah, it's totally weird here,” Mercy explains. “We jump right into it. Starts Monday.”
“Beware football dorks and cheerleading bitches,” Brooke says. “It's the shit they live for.”
Homecoming week at my old school wasn't a huge deal, mostly because our football team wasn't very good and people didn't buy into the whole school spirit thing. But it was always around Halloween, not the first week of school.
“It's fun,” Mercy says. “But it gets to be a bit much by the end of the week. By then, you just want it to be over and have everything be, like, normal.”
“Yeah, but classes are shorter and that's never a bad thing,” Dylan says.
The other girls nod.
“Ladies,” Aidan says, coming up behind us and putting his arm around Mercy. “What's happening?”
Mercy shrugs off his arm. “Nothing with you, jackass.”
“You always hurt my feelings,” he says.
Nick comes up next to him. He's got a baseball cap on backward and he's wearing black sweats and a navy blue T-shirt. He hasn't shaved and his face is scruffy.
“Why didn't you swim?” Brooke asks him.
He shrugs. “I don't know. Football. Didn't wanna get hurt.”
I didn't realize that Nick played football. I just thought he was a surfer, like his buddies.
Nick looks at me, gives me a quick nod. “That was pretty cool.”
“Thanks,” I say.
“Kind of surprised you blew off Arch,” Nick says.
“The key word there being off,” Dylan says.
“I didn't blow him off,” I say. “I told him I was going to hang out with the girls.”
Nick shrugs. “Same difference. I don't think he invited you to swim with him so you could stand at a fire with your girls.”
“I don't care why he invited me to swim,” I say, annoyed. “I didn't ask him to invite me. That was his choice. I don't owe him anything.”
“Didn't say you did,” he answers. “Just pointing it out.”
The way he says it, it just irritates me more. I literally tried to not swim, but Archer practically dragged me into it. If he has some idea that I owe him something for doing it, he’s a moron.
I'm about to say that to Nick when I spot Archer just up the sand. I step away from the fire and march over to him. There's some little blonde waif standing next to him, batting her long eyelashes in his direction.
“Hey,” I say.
Archer turns to me and raises an eyebrow. “Hey.”
“I don't owe you anything,” I tell him.
“Uh. Okay?”
“Why is Nick over there trying to make me feel guilty over hanging with my friends and not you?”
“I would maybe ask him that.”
“I'm asking you,” I say.
He squints at me. “I think maybe your brain froze out there in the ocean.”
“You invited me to swim,” I say, ignoring the comment. “I told you I didn't want to, but you practically begged me.”
“Honey, I don't beg,” he says. “For anything.”
“Either do I,” I tell him. “But don't ever say I owe you anything.”
“I didn't,” he says. “You came over here, all pissed off. Remember? I was just standing here, talking to...” He looks at the girl.
“Megan,” she purrs, touching his arm.
He turns back to me. “Yeah. Megan. You made it clear you didn't wanna hang with me. Cool. I found someone else to hang with.”
Megan looks absolutely thrilled to be filling the role of someone else for the evening.
“Enjoy yourselves then,” I say.
He slips an arm around her and smiles at me. “We will. Don't worry.”
I turn and stalk away from them.
I'm not sure why I'm so angry, but I'm fuming.
Is it because he's dismissing me? Because Nick sent me over there and Archer was acting like he had no idea why?
Or was it because he had his arm around some little beach bunny who looked as if she is ready to tug his shorts down to his knees and go to town?
As I stomp across the sand, I’m really not sure.
Chapter 22
By the time I get back to the fire, the girls have scattered. Dylan is down near the water with Mitchell. Brooke is walking down the sand, away from the fire, with Nick. And Mercy is nowher
e to be found.
I'm alone.
And it's uncomfortable.
I stand around the fire for a minute, warming my hands and staring into the flames. I keep glancing up to see if Mercy is around anywhere, but I don't see her.
The one thing I do see is Archer getting cozy with Megan.
And that turns my stomach.
“I need to congratulate you,” a voice behind me says.
I turn around and Heath is standing there, smiling.
“Thanks,” I say without much enthusiasm.
“You kicked ass out there,” he says, coming up next to me. “Pretty impressive way to start the school year.”
“I guess.”
“You don't sound very excited.”
“I'm not,” I say. “I mean, I am. I mean...Jesus, I don't know what I mean. I'm glad I won. I'm glad we won.”
He nods slowly. “Where's Archer?”
Probably in Megan's bikini bottoms.
“I don't know,” I say. “And I'm about to leave anyway.”
“Oh yeah? How come?”
“I'm just...tired,” I say. “And everyone is just doing their thing...so I think I'm gonna bail.”
“You have a ride?” Heath asks.
Shit.
“Uh, no, not really,” I tell him. “But that's okay. I like walking better, anyway.”
“I'll give you a ride,” he says.
“No, that's okay,” I say. “You don't have to.”
“It's fine,” he says. “I should probably head out, too. We have lifting in the morning for football.”
“You really don't have to,” I say.
“I know that,” he says. “But I want to.” He nods his head back toward the cliff. “Come on.”
I hesitate for a second. It would be a long walk back to my grandparents and I don't know the way. I can pull it up on the maps app on my phone, but it's late and I don't know where I am.
So I follow Heath back toward the cliff, then make the long climb back up to Archer's house.