Impulse Control (ON HOLD)

Chapter 4

"Aaahh!" I scream as the tube bounces skyward and I'm launched toward the sun, even higher than the tube. I try to spin my body in the air so that I'll land on the tube when I come down, but that doesn't work.

The tube hits the lake with a huge splash that sends water up my nose. Then it flips over and drifts out of my range of landing. I manage to suck in a breath and close my eyes before I go under.

I hit the lake with a tremendous splash that knocks the wind out of me and stuns my system. The cold water rushes into my mouth, and I hurriedly close it.

As I'm floating there, I realize three things:

1. The life jacket came off when I flew from the tube.

2. I'm now underwater without a life jacket.

3. I can't swim.

Panic bolts through me and I kick my legs as hard as I can. The water burns my eyes as I try to see through them. I can see a little bit of light at the top of my vision, so I push towards it.

The light grows bigger, and bigger.

Seconds later, I break through the surface. Coughing water out of my nose and mouth, I look around for the life jacket. It's floating beside the tube, and I don't have the energy nor the experience to swim towards it, so I stay where I am, moving my arms and legs to stay afloat.

I hear the rev of an engine, and I know Mom's bringing the boat back around. I try to blink the water out of my eyes so that I can see her, but they hurt, so I close them.

By the time Mom gets the boat back to me, I've managed to get rid of the water in my eyes. She pulls the tube in first and I climb the ladder to the swim platform.

Cleo offers me a hand into the boat, and I accept it gratefully, ignoring the warm rush from her skin on mine.

She hands me a towel, and I wrap it around me. "Are you still going to go?" I ask, pointing at the tube. She nods. I smile at her and say, "Try not to get off the tube the way I did." She laughs and agrees.

After Mom has the tube ready again, Cleo climbs the swim platform. Mom pulls the tube close. Cleo looks at me and says, "Watch this."

I obey, and I watch as Cleo takes a leap onto the tube. I've never seen anyone jump on to a tube before, and I gape at her as she struggles to maintain her balance.

She grins at me and steadies herself with effort. I smile back, still in awe at the fluid motion it took to get her on the tube. Mom returns to the wheel and says, "Sierra, get the rope."

I climb over the back seat, reaching for the long rope that secures the tube to the boat. I thrust it out into the open water after making sure it's tied tightly.

Mom keeps the boat at idle speed waiting for the slack in the rope to disappear.

When it does, Mom speeds up and Cleo clutches both handles frantically. I watch curiously as she presses her body against the tube and watches the water around her. Her eyes are darting back and forth from my face to the lake, and she is wearing an odd, pinched expression.

She looks absolutely terrified.

But that makes no sense! Based on her expression while I was tubing, I assume she's used to going fast. But right now she looks like she's never gone fast before in her entire life. Maybe she's trying to impress me like I tried to impress her, I think to myself.

But that doesn't make sense, either. Why would Cleo want to impress me?

I look back towards her, and she gives a thumbs up. I tell Mom what she wants, and Mom speeds up. The terrified look has disappeared from Cleo's face and now she seems to be enjoying herself. I watch in awe as she half-turns on the tube and stretches one arm out over her head.

Quickly, I dig my phone from my bag. I raise it and aim it toward Cleo, intent on snapping her picture. She smiles at the phone, and I snap a picture. I'm about to post it to Instagram, but I decide not to. Something about the way we're here, the way we're becoming friends, makes me want to keep our day between us.

I put my phone away and shift my gaze to Cleo on the tube. She's laughing, with her head tossed back and her hair dancing in the wind. I catch a small scent of rosemary, and the smell sends a shiver down my spine. A tiny blush rises to my cheeks as I stare at Cleo; Her perfect rosebud lips, her silky, white-blonde hair, her smooth, tanned legs.

A rush of warm shoots through me as I take it all in. She's perfect in every way.

"Look out!" Mom shouts from behind the wheel. I look towards her, just in time to be splashed full in the face by an oncoming wave. Coughing on the murky water and blinking it out of my eyes, I reach for a towel to wipe my face.

As I'm doing so, I hear a startled cry from Cleo. Looking quickly towards the tube, I begin to laugh. I expected the wave to have come and tipped it, but that's not why Cleo yelled. A fish just jumped out of the water and onto the tube.

Surprisingly, it doesn't flop or try in any way to get back in the water, not even when Cleo lets go of the handles and leans in closer to it. It's silvery skin reflects on the water, creating a flash of iridescent light. Cleo tentatively reaches out a hand to stroke it, and I can almost feel the slippery, smooth skin running over my palm like liquid crystal.

Gently, she shoves the fish off of her tube, leaning over dangerously far in order to get it into the water. It's at that precise moment that the wave comes.

It passes under the tube and sends it, which was already leaning to one side due to Cleo's shift in position, flipping through the air. With a strangled cry, Cleo tips and spills from the side of the tube, hitting the water with a wet splash.

I watch, laughing, as the tube drifts away from her. Just as her head rises above the surface, that same fish comes back. I know it's the same fish because of it's color and the way it jumps. As soon as her face is exposed, that fish jumps up out of the water, and hits Cleo in the face, attaching itself to her cheek like a freaking remora.

When the fish shows no signs of moving, I dig my phone out again. Grinning, I snap a picture, one split second before Cleo brushes the fish off.

Laughing to myself, I tap away at the keyboard.

Now that's going on Instagram.