“You'll have fun with her driving, though,” Logan mused, his eyes on the dog. “Where are you two headed?”
“None of your business,” I said quietly. I hated the way my body was warming at the sight of his muscled arms. Apparently, my body hadn't gotten the memo that we wanted nothing to do with him, because my insides were wanting the something he had given me before.
“The reef over there,” Tyler answered at the same time, pointing to a spot a little ways out.
“I've heard there's some good snorkeling there,” Logan responded, pretending to not hear my comment. “You have your gear, right?”
“Yup. Aunt Liv even got me better goggles, just for this trip.” Tyler pointed to a mesh bag at his feet with his snorkel gear in it. I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him gently toward the dock.
“Time for us to get going,” I told him.
“See you later, Logan!” Tyler waved to the taller man. “Bye, Dog. I'll see you when I get back.”
He scratched the ears of the mongrel dog one last time before grabbing his bag and bounding down the dock to our waiting jet-ski
“Have fun,” Logan told me, rising gracefully to his feet. Sand stuck to his knees and the hem of his board shorts. It wasn't fair how good those shorts made him look. Why did the man have to be such an ass? I ignored him and hurried after Tyler. I was not going to let the presence of Logan Hayes ruin my vacation. If I just pretended he wasn't there, perhaps he would leave and make it a reality.
Tyler was already on the jet-ski with a grin that threatened to split his face in half. He had been looking forward to going out on the ocean on one of these new jet-skis since he had seen them in the brochure. I stepped off the dock and onto the jet-ski in front of him. Tyler wrapped his skinny arms around my waist and squeezed. I looked back, surprised at the hug.
“You ready?” I asked. He nodded, relaxing his grip slightly and grinning with excitement.
I revved the engine and took off. He shrieked with delight from behind me as I moved us out into the open water. He whooped as I sped up and bounced us between the waves. I spun us in circles and pushed the jet-ski through its paces. I had spent most of my summers growing up on jet-skis, so I was comfortable even with the new engine.
“Go faster!” Tyler cried out as we bounced over a wave. The wind was making the waves slightly rough, but it wasn't anything I couldn't handle. I hit the gas and sent us hurtling forward. Tyler gripped me tighter and I could feel his laughter rather than hear it.
When Tyler's shrieks of delight started slowing down in frequency, I brought the jet-ski to the edge of the reef. We had been instructed on how to enjoy the reef and still preserve it upon arrival to the resort, so I made sure to keep the jet-ski clear of the delicate coral.
“You ready to snorkel?” I asked, turning off the engine. “There's some cool-looking fish down there.”
I pointed down into the clear blue water. A long, thin fish flitted under us and into the safety of the reef.
“Yup,” Tyler said, putting his mask over his head. He looked even goofier as the back strap ruffled up his light brown hair like an exotic bird crest. “Are you coming in?”
I shook my head. “Nah, I think I'm going to stay up here and enjoy the sun a little more. If you see a really interesting fish, though, I'll come look.”
“Okay.” He grinned and jumped into the water. His orange life jacket bobbed in the waves as it kept him afloat in the clear, blue water.
I took off my own life jacket and hung it from one of the handlebars on the jet-ski. The sun felt so good on my skin. I hated winters in Chicago, and while November didn't technically qualify as winter, it was still too cold and dreary for my taste. Sunshine was so much better.
I leaned back, basking in the rays and listening to the waves. They gently bounced the jet-ski up and down. I could see clouds forming on the horizon. In the distance, there were large whitecaps, but right next to the reef it was relatively quiet. I could hear the soft splashes emitted by Tyler as he swum around looking at fish and the hum of another electric jet-ski. Logan wasn't far from us, bouncing off the water and doing tricks on his own jet-ski. He hit a wave and shot up into the air, the jet-ski rolling in a controlled spin before hitting the water with an easy splash. Showoff, I thought, adjusting my sunglasses. I pointedly turned and looked back at Tyler. I did not need to give Logan Hayes an audience.
“Aunt Liv!” Tyler called out, his head popping up from the water. He was on the far side of the small reef. “There's a moray eel over here! You have to come see it!”
“On my way!” I shouted back, starting the engine. I would have to circle around the edge of the reef to get to him since I didn't want to go over it and risk damaging the delicate ecosystem. The jet-ski purred to life and I started the quick jaunt into deeper waters to reach him.
The waves were rougher outside the calm of the reef, but I had been on a jet-ski enough times to know how to ride it. I was almost to Tyler when a rogue wave came out of nowhere and slammed into the jet-ski.
I wasn't ready for it. I felt my body lift from the seat, and suddenly become alarmingly weightless. The last thought through my head before I hit the water was that I had forgotten to put my life jacket back on. Maddy was going to kill me.
Chapter 5
The world was a beautiful shade of blue, like a robin's egg, but with swirls of white that made me think of cotton candy. I heard Tyler's voice, full of panic and fear, but it was very far away. Pain rushed through me, but it was as if I had never experienced it before and wasn't sure what pain was. My thoughts were dull and foreign as I slowly came back to myself.
“Olivia, can you hear me?” A deep, masculine voice asked. I knew that voice. I loved that voice. No, I hated that voice. That voice belonged to Logan Hayes.
I quickly righted myself so I was no longer looking up at the sky to find myself bobbing in the ocean. Logan had been holding my shoulders to keep me floating above the waves since I didn't have my life jacket on and had been out cold. As I sat up, he released me and I had to remember to tread water to keep my head from going under again. There was a splash as Tyler tossed me my life jacket and I clung to it so I wouldn't have to swim. My head was pounding.
“Of course I can hear you,” I answered. I meant to sound cross, but my tongue was sluggish so I just sounded sleepy. “What happened?”
“You hit a wave and flipped¸” Tyler answered. He was sitting up on our jet-ski, his freckles dark against pale skin. He looked like he might be sick. “It knocked you out.”