His feet slowed when he hit the shore, but not because he planned to stop. Running in water was no different than high-stepping in quicksand. It was laborious and threatened to take him under if his feet didn't land right. Brock grabbed my hips, his fingers closed around my skin, and the moment air crept between my stomach and his shoulder, I took a deep breath. Catapulted through the air, my arms and legs flailed, and the last thing I saw before breaking the surface of the lake was Austin's infectious smile.
Before I kicked my way to fresh air, Austin appeared in front of me, and the two of us swam up together. His face rippled with distortion from the water, yet through the blur, he never took his eyes off mine. Even when he and his friends played around, Austin never left my side. I ga
