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I wave back

Keep it together, Juliet, I tell ht

I sloade back towards shore, as Emerson walks out towards the ocean Weten feet away fro around our feet

"Hi" I say quietly I feel even ht before: a bikini top, andme with his eyes He looks away, like he doesn’t even want to see me

I wish I could pretend like I felt the sa aze can’t help roving over hiht sunshine, I can ht--like the faint line of pale scar tissue running across one shoulder, and the freckles on his forearms that have multiplied over the years

"Hey" E all e Then I look up, into those dark blue eyes I feel a shiver through ht This tiasp, but still, I feel my skin prickle with his nearness My niles harden, and I thank God my bikini top is dark and padded to hide the evidence of my desire

How can he do this to "

The words are out before I realize how dumb they sound Way to state the obvious, Juliet!

If E like a fool, he doesn’t say it He nods, and his tense expression relaxes, just a little "His nahway, a couple of years ago His owners just dumped him out there"

"That’s terrible!"

Eht, you alere a soft touch with animals" He looks at me, softer "Remember that stray cat that used to coh we all said you’d never get rid of it"

"The poor thing was hungry!" I protest "I couldn’t just let it starve"

"By the end of suhs "I don’t knohat they did with the on his lips as he realizes what he’s said

When I left

I feel a clench of panic watching the aze I brace er and cruelty fro breath, exhaling slowly