Remind Me

Chapter Forty-Two

"Brinley! It's good to see you out here," Drake shouts as soon as I step foot onto the sand.

I just smile in return, trying hard to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach.

"The water isn't that bad," Jake says. "It's actually very nice."

I am highly conscious of he fact that his hand is on my back as he leads me out towards the water. I feel even more conscious as I pull off my sun dress to reveal my swimsuit and Jake's full attention is on me. I look away, embarrassed and slightly creeped out.

"Get in here, guys! Party isn't happenin' on the shore," Parker calls, waving us over.

I reluctantly walk over to the water, trying to figure out which guy is which. The darkness makes it very difficult. I bite my lip, trying to ignore the gnawing feeling in my stomach that something's wrong. Seeing Ian in the waves doesn't help. Part of me wants to walk back inside right now.

That thought doesn't get far, because I am dragged into the water by Jake. I let out a squeal as the freezing cold water touches my skin. The next thing I know, I trip over a rock and fall straight down into the water. I come back up, looking around in a daze.

Jake is laughing at me, and so is Parker. I scowl at them both, crossing my arms. "Jerk."

"Hey, if I hadn't pushed you in, you never would've gotten in," Jake grins at me.

"Yeah, and maybe I didn't want to get in the water," I frown.

"You can't come to the ocean and not get in the water!" Parker exclaims.

"Yes I can," I protest. "I can enjoy the crashing of the waves and the smell of the ocean."

"That's the most cheesy thing I've heard you say," Jake laughs again. "Come on, we're going out to the big waves."

"What? No," my eyes widen in terror. Something about the sound of that makes my stomach churn.

"Come on, it'll be fun," Jake drags me further than I'm comfortable going. I nervously look around, finding Ian and Drake wrestling in the water, and Parker and Ben are cheering them on.

I bite my lip, looking over at Jake who's ushering me forward. Making a hasty decision that it'll be okay to hang around him for a while, I trudge forward in the water.

By the time my chest is beneath the water, Jake finally stops. "Dive through the big ones."

"Wait, what-"

I didn't see it coming in the dark, but there's a huge wave in front of me. My eyes widen and I don't know what to do. It's coming at me, it's going to crush me. Jake grabs me quickly and pulls me beneath the wave with him. I squeeze my eyes shut, praying that I won't be carried away.

Jake tugs on my arm and I stand up, taking long breaths. I stare at him. He's laughing.

"Your face was priceless," Jake smiles at me.

"I was terrified, okay? You didn't explain what I'm supposed to-"

"Dive!" Jake yells, throwing himself forward as another wave erupts. I copy his actions, flinging myself forward into the midst of the water.

When I come back up unharmed, I gape at him. "It didn't take me away!"

"Exactly," he laughs at my surprised expression.

"It wasn't that bad actually," I smile as well. "Sort of fun."

"I told you," he winks at me, eyes twinkling in the darkness.

This time when a wave comes at us, I know what to do. I jump out into it and come up laughing with joy. I could keep doing this forever. It's a wonder that I was afraid at all.