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I walked right into the water, going up to my ankles. “Come on, it’s not bad. I promise.”
I couldn’t tell for sure, but I was sure her eyes narrowed behind her sunglasses.
“As long as you don’t splash me,” she said, and tiptoed toward the water as if it was going to bite her. The second her toes got the tiniest bit wet, she let out a banshee shriek that made people around us turn and stare.
“You liar, it’s freezing!” She danced from foot to foot and kept making the most adorable little screaming noises. I laughed because it was such a cute and unexpected reaction from her.
“You get used to it,” I said.
I held my hand out to her on a whim. She took it and joined me where the water was up to her ankles.
She huffed and puffed for a few seconds, but then she seemed to calm down. Her hand was still in mine. I hoped my palms weren’t sweaty and my fingers weren’t trembling.
She inhaled sharply through her nose. “Okay, I think I’m getting the hang of it,” she said. I took a step further out and she came with me. Part of me expected her to drop my hand, but she didn’t.
“Don’t take me too far,” she said, her grip on my hand nearly crushing my fingers. I wasn’t going to let go.
“I won’t,” I said, squeezing her hand back. We kept holding hands, and I kept taking one step at a time until we were up to our waists.
“Okay, that’s good,” she said. “Are you ready to hear something extremely embarrassing?”
A bigger wave hit us and I wobbled a little on my feet, but she kept me upright.
“Go for it,” I said. “I won’t tell anyone.”
Esme leaned in toward me. “I can’t swim.”
I couldn’t help it, I was shocked. I guess I assumed most kids who grew up in Castleton had learned at one point or another. We just had so much access to the ocean, as well as a small pond that was popular for swimming as well. My mom had enrolled me in a summer swim class when I was so young I couldn’t even really remember learning.
“I was always too scared so I just never did. I’d put my feet in, but never really got all the way in the water. My great uncle drowned and I guess it always just kind of freaked me out. My dad tried to teach me, but I had a tantrum each time, so he stopped trying.”
Her shoulders were up around her ears and I could tell she was really embarrassed. She didn’t need to be. I had way more embarrassing secrets. Most of them involved bad sexual decisions. So much worse than not knowing how to swim.
“Hey, there’re a ton of people who can’t swim. I mean, unless you’re going to be spending a ton of hours on a boat, why would you need it? It’s not a big deal, Esme.”
Her fingers stopped clenching on mine so intensely. “Thanks. I still feel weird about it. Every year I promise I’m going to learn, but I never end up doing it. Not very badass of me.”
I stepped closer to her and swung our hands in and out of the water. “I still think you’re a badass.”
She looked down and smiled. “I appreciate that.” She’d started shivering, so I suggested that we get out of the water and get moving to warm her back up.
“I was fine, but then I got really cold, I don’t know why,” she said as we stepped onto the sand again. Esme dropped my hand and I tried not to be upset about it. She leaned down and picked up a small rock, rubbing it with her fingers.
“What do you think?” she asked, holding it out to me.
“Maybe an owl?” I said, leaning in looking at the white spots on the darker gray stone.
“Oh, it does kind of look like an owl, you’re right.” She held onto the stone as we walked along. My hand was cold and empty.
Just ahead of us a group of kids ran into the water, screamed, and ran back out again, only to repeat the process over again. I remembered doing the exact same thing when I was younger. Or surfing on the waves with a boogie board.
“I can’t believe I told you that I can’t swim,” Esme muttered.
I avoided stepping on a huge clump of seaweed. “Do you want me to share something embarrassing to make up for it?” I suggested.
That made her laugh. “I mean, only if you want to.”
I searched my brain for something along the same lines. She didn’t need to know any of my embarrassing sex stories. At least, not yet.
