He was still in the water with me, and the longer he lingered, the more the heat in my stomach burned—no longer just warmth but something deeper. Something that clawed at the edges of reason, begging to be let loose.
I felt my breath stutter in my throat, sharp and uneven. I couldn’t ignore the way my body betrayed me. Like how my chest rose and fell faster, how my pulse pounded in my ears like thunder. My skin tingled, alive, sensitive to every drop of water trickling down my shoulders. Every ripple in the lake felt amplified, like the world itself was holding its breath, waiting.
I couldn’t ignore the way my body betrayed me. My chest rose and fell too fast. My pulse thudded in my ears, drowning out every rational thought. And still, my feet wouldn’t move. The water that had once coole
