boat at the sparkling water.
It looked inviting, cool and wet, but she hated doing this. She was a
strong swimmer, but she wasn’t into swimming in the middle of nowhere
like Summer was.
“Relax,” Summer said as June hesitated. “I made sure it’s deep, but not
that deep. No water monster lurking in there at twelve feet, and also no
weeds and no leaches. We’ll wear the life jackets. We’ll be fine.”
June gave Arabella a sidelong glance. She didn’t look very certain either.
“How will we get back in?”
“The boat’s got a swim ladder mounted at the back. It’s easy.”
“Can you swim, Arabella?” June wanted to be sure. This wasn’t about
peer pressure. This was just about Summer being Summer and expecting
everyone else to be just as comfortable with her wild and adventurous ways.
“I can,” Arabella whispered, then winced. She looked like she wished she
would have lied.
“That’s what the jackets are for.” Summer, still standing at the front of
the boat, dug out the water-skiing life jackets and tossed two towards the
back. She shrugged one on, already in her bikini, and without hesitation
leaped over the edge. She surfaced a few seconds later, shaking water off
her wet hair, peeling the strands off of her face. “Oh, my God, that’s good!
Nice and cool, but not frigid. It’s such a relief. Get your buns in here. Both
of you.”
“I swear we won’t die,” June muttered under her breath as she grabbed
one of the life jackets.
She tried not to look at Arabella, and failed, as she picked up the other.
She bent at the waist, her bikini bottoms tight and tiny against her perfectly
shaped behind. June nearly swallowed her tongue. She quickly checked the
life jacket over for spiders— she’d had a few incidents in the past where
she’d gotten nasty surprises—and zipped it on right over her tank and
shorts.