Dark Redemption - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,26

his arms. “So, last night was fun."

I nod, holding the sheet tightly against my breasts, even though he has seen every part of me multiple times last night. But still, somehow in the light of day, I feel shy.

"You want to go for a swim?” he asks.

"But you just took a shower."

"Eh. So what?"

After I change into my bathing suit, Dante grabs my hand and leads me down the stairs and toward the private walkway leading straight to the beach.

I remember how nervous I was coming up here yesterday and everything that has happened since still feels incredibly surreal.

The waves are bigger today. Capped with white, they dance in the sunlight. The sky is bright blue without a cloud in sight. It beams down and the rays are hot and a little too demanding.

Dante brings two towels and lays them down so close to the water that our feet are barely in it. A wave comes in and what comes in touches my towel.

"No, no, no, it's going to get wet this way," I say, picking mine up and walking it a good distance back. "I'll just sit on the sand. It feels good anyway."

The sand is lumpy, making up little ridges and peaks and valleys. The grains are relatively big, holding on to a great deal of heat. I scoop up a bunch in my hand and watch them fall through my fingers over and over again. It's almost as if I want to capture this moment on this beach with Dante so that I can remember it forever.

"Come on.” He grabs my hand and pulls me up to my feet. I try to resist, but after a few steps I'm in the water.

It feels cold on my feet, immediately cooling me off. I wade in further and further. When I get further into the water, Dante grabs my hand and pulls me closer.

He kisses me and then kisses me again and again. When he pulls away, he splashes me a little bit.

"Oh, no, I don't want to get my hair wet!” I yell.

"Really?" he asks, and then grabs my hand and pulls me under.

When I come up for air, I laugh, and I can't stop laughing, and I dunk him under in retribution. He's the one that has recently taken a shower anyway.

We continue to laugh, kiss, and swim like we have no worries in the world, and for a brief moment there, we don’t.

After swimming for a while, I remember that I have to get back to Allison. We hold hands walking back to the house, separating only so that he can rinse off at the outside shower by the pool. I opt for something more civilized since I need shampoo and conditioner.

Walking past the kitchen, I hear someone talking.

16

Jacqueline

I stand right behind the doorway, trying to figure out what to do. Their voices are muffled. All I hear is the sound of unpacking of groceries.

It's probably the help, I say to myself. Not wanting to sneak past them and have them notice me, I clear my throat and walk straight in.

"Oh, hey," I say, suddenly taken aback by the fact that the two people in front of me are not the housekeepers, but rather the owners.

The woman is wearing a flowing white summer dress with her hair pulled up to the top of her head, propped up by a pair of sunglasses.

The man next to her, the one with the expensive haircut and a nice tan, like someone who plays a lot of tennis in his free time, is dressed in a buttoned-down shirt and coral shorts popular with the Connecticut crowd.

I pull my towel close around me and step in my flip-flops in the puddle that I'm creating on the floor.

"I'm really sorry to intrude. I was just swimming with Dante."

"Yes, of course," the woman says.

When the light from the back hits her profile as she turns, I see that she's pregnant, recognizing her immediately.

"You must be Marguerite," I say, extending my hand.

She nods. "And you are?"

"I'm Jacqueline."

In a minute that my name leaves my lips, I can see it in her face that she recognizes me. She introduces her husband, Lincoln, Dante's brother who is much harder to read.

After we exchange pleasantries, I look for an opportunity to head upstairs. No only am I dripping wet, the air conditioning is also chilling me to my bone.

"If you don't mind, I'm going to take a shower and I'll be down in just a few minutes,”