I blew out a breath, my skin prickling as I realised Helen was looking at me.
“You good?” she mouthed.
I replied with a curt nod.
Her forehead creased, and she beckoned me toward her with her index finger.
I lifted my mug as if it were a reason for me staying where I was.
“Jackson… sorry, Jax. Get your feet in these waves. I promise it will make whatever put that look on your face vanish into the abyss.” She crooked her finger at me again and despite how much I wanted to stay still, I pushed myself up, dusted off the sand, and walked toward her, stopping short of stepping into the water.
“Is it cold?” I asked apprehensively, removing my trainers and throwing them behind me so they didn’t end up getting washed away.
She laughed. “You’re only getting your toes wet. Imagine running in and getting your whole body in here.”
I pulled a face, shaking my head. “No fucking way. I fight fires for a reason. I like the heat.”
“Because you’re heading for the fiery gates of hell.”
I gasped as the cold water hit my ankles. “Why… why would you do this for fun?” I edged in deeper, muttering under my breath about how stupidly cold it was.
Helen jumped suddenly, leaping over a wave I didn’t notice that hit me hard, splashing up my legs and soaking me. I yelled, she screeched, before pointing at me and giggling. Then she reached down and scooped water into her hands before splashing me with it, making the thin material of my clothes cling to me.
So desperate to avoid the onslaught, I took a step backward, slipping on the uneven seafloor. Things moved in slow motion as I tried to regain my balance and right myself, but instead, I fell flat on my arse just as a wave hit, slamming into my face.
Spluttering, I wiped my hand over my eyes just as another one hit me. “Fuck,” I cried as saltwater filled my mouth. “Drowning.”
My closed eyes stung, but I felt her soft hand take mine, pulling me to stand. “Here.” She laughed, wiping something over my face. “Are you alright?”
I took whatever she was wiping my eyes with from her and scrubbed my face more forcefully as the waves continued to crash against us. Eventually, when I could see again, Helen was standing close, her eyes glassy and her cheeks pink.
I raised an eyebrow, noticing how tight my skin felt from the saltwater. “Are you laughing at me?”
She rolled her lips and shook her head before she started laughing hard.
“Really?” I questioned. “Are you sure you want to do that?”
She shrugged, and without thinking, I stepped through the waves, lowering my stance so I could push into her and lift her onto my shoulder.
Obviously surprised, she cried out my name as she gripped the back of my shirt. “Put me down!”
“You wanna go down? You sure?”
“Yes, put me down. Oh, my god. People might see us like this.”
“And?”
“And they will think it’s weird.”
I walked deeper into the water, not caring anymore as I was already soaked and I couldn’t deny how much I liked having Helen so close. “Or they will think I’m a fireman and I have you in a fireman’s lift.”
“Jax, put me down,” she begged, her voice breathy and barely audible over the sound of the waves.
“You asked for it.”
Twisting her, so she was bridal style in my arms, there was a split second where she looked happy I was doing as she asked, but instead, I tossed her towards the waves, diving in after her and scooping her back up, holding us both so our bodies were submerged.
She screamed, slapping me on the shoulder. “Why? Why would you do that?”