Sunkissed Serendipity

Chapter 10

Isla

I feel bad for playing around with poor Julian because the guy was actually scared. He seemed so concerned at my horror, but when he started to whisper to me, his voice barely being heard, I almost lost it. He had fallen for my jokes, and it was too funny not to laugh about them.

"You're so annoying," Julian says to me, moving in the water and forcing me to move off him. Jumping on him wasn't part of the plan, but it just happened. I hoped that I wasn't crossing too many of his boundaries whenever I do things, but sometimes I forget that not everyone is like me. But he has been a good sport, and if he ever found me too much, he would tell me, right?

I'd like to think that he would.

I laugh as I follow after him and say, "Oh, come on, Julian. You have to admit that was funny."

"I was genuinely worried about the shark," he calls out from in front of me. I try my hardest not to laugh, biting my bottom lip hard. He must sense my actions because he turns around and gawks at my actions. I cringe, turning to my side to make it less known. Then I turn back to find him crossing his hands over his chest. "Isla, that was not funny."

"But—" I say and cut myself off before I can burst with laughter once more. It was hard for me to stop in the first place, so if I started now, I wouldn't be able to stop. "It was just a little funny."

Julian rolls his eyes, walking away from me, and only then do I burst out into laughter again. I'm crouching over on my knees, trying to get the laughter to stop, but it was too funny. He had been super scared, and I saw his face go pale. It deserved a little bit of laughter.

"Julian," I shout out, moving faster to catch up to him. I rush forward and walk beside him, and before he can walk away, I place my hand in his own. He halts to a stop and turns his head toward mine. I give him a smile, tugging on his hand and saying, "I'm sorry. I didn't think that you would be mad."

"Just—" he says, glancing at our hands and then clearing his throat. I give his hand a squeeze, and he brings his eyes back to mine. "Just be careful making jokes that could be too serious, okay?"

I hold out my other hand in defense as I say, "I won't anymore." I swallowed, feeling a little guilty now that he seemed to be worried about me. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay," he says after a moment of silence. Then he looks over at the still water and says, "You still want to swim?"

My response comes automatically, and I can feel myself growing excited again. "Yes, I really want to make the most of today."

"Okay," Julian says, taking a step back and taking his hand with him. I placed my hand behind my back, not knowing that my body felt warm at his touch. The water around us was suddenly making me feel colder, and I could not look at Julian's face anymore. I hadn't realized that I had grabbed his hand, and he was someone that I wasn't used to being around. His touch made me feel—well, whatever it is you feel around guys you don't know well.

I run a hand through my hair, feeling the bun loosen and the contents spill onto my shoulder. My hair has been wavy this entire trip because I didn't bring a hair straightener, and that was for the better as I went in the water every day anyway. I walk deeper into the water, and without thinking of how cold it is, I plunge my entire body into it. My arms move on their own accord, and soon enough, I'm swimming in the water at night in Hawaii.

The thought makes me feel giddy, and that makes me swim faster. I turn my head over to where Julian was just watching me swim as I shout back, "Swim with me. It's very calming right now."

He looks like he is thinking about it, and I laugh, saying, "Oh, come on. You're already wet; you might as well swim."

He gives a little shrug then, and I shout triumphantly. I swim back toward him, and once we are side by side, I shout, "Want to race?"