strawberry scented surf wax | obx

e i g h t

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𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫

Salt water burns my nose, leaving me gasping for air as I return to the surface. I sputter, almost gagging on the tangy feel of it sitting in the back of my throat.

"Holy fuck." I grunt, running my hand over the side of my body that took majority of the impact, wincing when it stings. I use my legs to kick and keep me up, but the ache in them fails to do a good job.

JJ rises to the surface just after me, groaning as he spits out a mouthful of water. The boy immediately floats on his back, pain laced throughout his features.

"Lav, JJ, you guys okay?" I hear John B ask from the boat, soon followed by a groan.

"I think my heels touched the back of my head." the boy next to me mutters, coughing up more water as he comes to his senses.

"I just got folded like a clothesline." I spit, doing my best to inch towards the ladder of the boat.

John B continues to check on everyone else, making sure there was no injuries or serious damage done to anything. I finally grasp on the metal pole of the ladder, giving my legs a break from keeping me afloat.

"Pope, what did you do?" I manage to ask, voice rough and scratchy.

The water ripples from behind me, a head of blonde hair suddenly placing his hands on my waist. "May have lost my beer, but I didn't lose the girl." he grins, helping me up the ladder.

This boy cannot be serious. Two seconds ago he was nearly plummeting to his death into a body of water, and now he's already onto hits wits and stupid pick up lines. I almost laugh at the thought.

"Are you hurt?" he asks, his grip firm on my hips.

"No," I breathe out, using all my strength to get myself onto the edge of the boat. I sit down, my feet dangling off the edge as I wring out my hair. "I'm good, thank you."

"Sandbar," Pope announces from behind me. "the channel changed." he sighs, walking to the front of the boat to look down into the water.

JJ lets out a sarcastic scoff, still floating in the water below me. "No shit."

"This place is gonna be a mess." John B curses, hands on his head as he stretches forward. I'm sure each of us are coming out of this with a nasty bruise.

"Guys..." Pope suddenly says, gaining everyone's attention. His gaze lands straight onto the water in front of him, not moving from that specific area. "I think there's a boat down there."

I furrow my eyebrows as John B shakes his head, not believing the boy. "Shut up. What?"

"No way." Kie adds, letting out a laugh.

"No, no, I'm serious!" he says defensively. "There's a boat down there!"

John B and Kiara stand up from their seats, moving to stand behind the boy and peer down into the water. Kie's jaw drops and JB's body stills. "Holy shit, he's right. Let's go!" she says, turning around to pull her denim shorts off of her body. John B and Pope follow close behind, making their way down to their bathers.