“Yeah?”
Her teeth sink into her bottom lip. “Yeah.”
“Let’s go.”
I start to take off my clothes until my chest is bare and my legs are covered by my swimming shorts. There’s a slight breeze in the air, and I have to admit, it’s beyond freezing.
Maya slowly starts to peel off her clothes, and I tell myself not to watch as she stands there in her black one-piece, but I can’t help it, she looks fucking incredible.
I exhale through my nose as my eyes dilate every time they sweep over her body.
“What?” Maya says as she wraps her arms around herself.
My head shakes. “You just look…” I cut myself off when words fail me. “God, you’re so beautiful it hurts.”
Maya’s cheeks heat and then her teeth start to chatter. “I’m really not.”
“Don’t talk about yourself like that,” I scold.
She bites down on her bottom lip.
“Come on,” I say as I take her hand and entwine our fingers together. “Let’s do this.”
She sucks in a breath and nods before we sprint over the sand and towards the water.
“It’s best to just go for it,” I say. “Slow is worse. Just do it.”
Maya squeals. “Okay.”
Then we’re rushing into the water like madmen, and the second my feet touch the water, it sends shivers down my spine.
“Jump,” I tell her, and she does, right into the sea.
I follow after her as I submerge myself in the arctic water.
Okay, it’s not actually Arctic. But god, does it feel like it.
When I come up for air despite my entire body turning numb from the temperature of the sea, I immediately search for Maya, who resurfaces a moment after I do. She frantically pushes her hair away from her face as she gasps for breath.
“Oh—” she heaves. “My—” she heaves again. “Fucking god.”
I chuckle as I reach for her. “Refreshing?”
“That’s one word for it. Holy shit, it’s so cold.”
“Keep kicking those legs,” I say as I take her hand. “Keep the body moving.”
“Woohoo!” JJ cheers for us as he holds his fist in the air.
Ivy grins as her head bobs above the water beside him. “We did it! Thompson Christmas completed.”
The smile on Maya’s face replicates my sister’s, and I keep my eyes on her. “I’m really not a good swimmer,” Maya declares as she tries to hold her head above the water.
My arm wraps around her waist supportively as our chests push against one another. An exhale becomes stuck in my throat as I stare down at her and the droplets that roll down her olive skin.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper as the water laps around us. “Just relax.”
Her teeth start to chatter. “I bet you’re an incredible swimmer.”
