Again, no response.
“London, I know you’re upset, but aren’t we a little old for the silent treatment?”
She says nothing.
Panic spikes in my chest.
“London!” This time, it’s loud enough to echo through the air around me.
“Go away!”
I blow out a relieved breath when I hear her call back, though her voice seems distant.
“Where are you?”
“Leave me alone.” Is her only reply.
I follow the sound that seems to lead directly into the cove.
“Are you in the water?”
“So what if I am?”
“It’s still dark,” I call into the darkness, the only sound the gentle lap of the water against the rocks that lead into the cove.
“And?”
“And it’s dangerous.”
“Didn’t realize age made you such a baby.”
“I’ll show you baby,” I mutter under my breath as I strip down to my boxers before quietly slipping into the water.
Swimming into the cove, I smile to myself when I see London floating in the water, illuminated by an intense glow caused by a specific type of plankton that emit a blue-green light.
Her brown hair is splayed out on top of the water, seeming to absorb a glow of its own.
Suddenly, I’m fifteen all over again. Sneaking down to the cove after midnight to meet London. Hours we’d spend in this water. Talking, laughing, kissing, and touching. I haven’t beenhere in years, but it feels like yesterday as I tread the water, moving closer to London’s floating form.
Whether she doesn’t hear my approach or simply doesn’t care, she continues to float on her back on top of the water like I’m not here.
I take a long moment to watch her. To watch the water lap over her ivory skin. The way her face is turned up just enough to keep the seawater from getting in her face. She’s still dressed in the silky pajama bottoms and tank that she showed up at my house in, only now they’re soaking wet and basically see-through.
I have to resist the urge to focus on that particular detail.
“You’re beautiful,” I finally say, voice soft.
“Flattery will get you nowhere.” She doesn’t react to my nearness, which tells me she knew the second I entered this cove and has simply been waiting.
“Not flattery. Just truth. You are beautiful.”
She doesn’t say anything.
“How did you know I was home?” I ask, knowing it’s unlikely she showed up in the middle of the night on a whim.
“Alec,” she states simply.
“About what you saw...”
