Jesus Christ.
I pull my own shirt over my head, suddenly far too aware of Noah watching me. Then I step out of my jeans, drop them with his clothes, and follow him to the water in my boxer briefs. Noah steps in first, sucking in a breath as the cold water reaches his calves, then his knees. I go in after him, wincing at the temperature. Despite what Daniel said, it feels colder than yesterday, though that might just be because I’m suddenly way too warm.
Noah stops when the water reaches his waist, his shoulders drawn up against the cold. I move in beside him, close enough that our arms brush.
“You don’t have to do this,” I say quietly. “Not if it’s too cold.”
“I’m fine,” he says, even though his teeth are already starting to chatter.
Before I can say anything else, he drags in a breath and ducks under all at once. A second later he comes back up with a gasp, water streaming down his face, his hair plastered to his head.
“Holy shit,” he splutters, eyes wide. “It’s freezing.”
I laugh before I can stop myself, and his mouth twitches.
“Shut up,” he mutters, splashing water at me. “Get in properly.”
I dive under, the cold hitting me hard for a second before my body catches up. When I come back up, I find Noah watching me, smiling a little. He’s shivering now, his arms wrapped around himself.
Without thinking, I move closer. “Come on,” I say. “Keep moving. It helps.”
He nods and starts swimming beside me, stiff at first, then finding a steadier rhythm as his body adjusts to the temperature. We head farther out, away from the shore, where Rick has just waded in to join Cassidy.
Noah stays close beside me as we swim, never wandering far. Every time I look over, I catch him looking at me, and there’s a new kind of softness in his face that wasn’t there yesterday. It does something dangerous to my pulse, even though I know this is all part of the show we’re putting on to make his ex jealous.
“Race you to that floating dock?” I ask, nodding toward the wooden platform about fifty yards out.
Noah looks at it, then back at me, and shakes his head. “I’d lose. I’m already freezing to death.”
“I’ll give you a head start.”
“I’ll still lose.”
“Pretty please?” I say, and that gets a little more life back into his face.
“Alright,” he says. “I’ll try.”
He takes off before I can react, arms slicing through the water with a lot more speed than someone allegedly freezing to death should have. I laugh and push off after him, keeping just behind on purpose. I could pass him easily if I wanted to—swimming is the one athletic thing I’ve always been good at—but something tells me Noah needs this right now.
So I let him get there first.
He reaches the dock a second before I do and grabs the edge, breathing hard, grinning in a way that looks almost boyish.
“You let me win,” he says, splashing water at my face.
I wipe my eyes and give him an offended look. “I did not. You’re faster than you look.”
“Liar,” Noah says, but he’s still smiling, so I’ll take it.
From here, we can see the whole shoreline. Rick and Cassidy are swimming farther out now, close enough that she keeps winding her arms around his neck like she needs help staying afloat, though I’m pretty sure that’s not what’s going on. Onshore, Daniel catches sight of us and gives an enthusiastic thumbs-up before he and Brad wade in too, then strike out side by side along the shore.
A moment later, Maya swims up to the dock and hauls herself up onto the edge.
“Hey, guys,” she says, looking between us. “You two seem happier. Did you make out in the woods?”
“I think you mean make up,” Noah says, rolling his eyes, though his face goes a little pink. “I told you, we didn’t fight in the first place.”
“Sure,” Maya says, in a tone that makes it clear she doesn’t believe us for a second. But instead of pushing, she glances past us toward shore and lowers her voice. “What’s going on with Rick, by the way? He’s acting weird too.”
