Be Brave With Me

Chapter Ten

Smack!

Theo winced. That one had sounded like it'd hurt.

He looked up and scanned the bay to check up on Aura.

He had lost count of how many times he had done that this morning. Before reminding himself for the umpteenth time that he did not care.

He was here to work. He had a job to do. This morning, it included prepping the jet skis so that the Mr. and Mrs. could take them out for a spin later.

It did not include keeping an eye on Aura while she was out there getting tossed off that damn inflatable donut hailing straight from hell.

He scanned the bay and saw only Avery in the dinghy, the engines idling and the empty inflatable trailing behind him in the clear turquoise water.

Theo had to remind himself that he should not be holding his fucking breath right now. He should not be counting the seconds until...

There she was.

Her head appeared above the waves, and his heart picked up its beat again.

In the past two hours alone, Aura had taken more hits to her body than any human should be able to stomach.

"One more, babe! Just one more go! I promise! I haven't gotten a good one yet!" Jess shouted from from her spot on the top deck of the yacht, juggling her Nikon and her phone in one hand and the controller of her drone in the other.

Out on the water, a few moments passed. Theo watched on as Aura caught her breath and adjusted the life jacket she wore over her bikini. Then, she lifted one arm above the waves, high into the sky, and gave Jess a thumbs up.

She climbed back onto the donut.

Theo shook his head. She couldn't be serious.

And he really wasn't supposed to care.

Damn it.

"Let's go again!" Aura called out to Avery up front in the dinghy and settled onto the donut, holding one of the latches in her tight grip. Like a field marshal, ready to ride into battle. The determined, frustrated look on her face only added to the picture.

It surely was not the one that Jess had in mind for her fucking photo.

Theo turned away from the scene, not sure if he would be able to stomach seeing Aura hit the water again, and went back to work in the massive garage that opened up behind the swimming platform. It was filled to the brim with jet skis, inflatable bananas and donuts, stand-up paddle boards, air mattresses in all colors of the rainbow, snorkels and diving equipment. You name it, the Plan B had it on board.

They all promised fun and adventures.

Once upon a time, that had been Aura, too. These days, she was out there torturing herself for the price of a perfectly posed picture.

Theo didn't get it. And he didn't want to get it. What was the point in looking like you had fun without having any?

He heard water splashing at the back of the platform, followed by a frustrated groan and a resigned sigh. "Hello? Someone up there?"

Theo was at the ladder in three, quick strides and found Aura clinging to it down in the water.

Was she done out there? She looked like she was done. Breathing hard, her cheeks colored red and hollowed out from exhaustion. He could see the muscles in her arms shake where she was holding weakly onto a rung of the ladder.