“Now you’re going to track sand all over our house,” he said. “What were you thinking?”
I looked down at my stomach. I’d been just as sweaty as him and now we were matching sugar-covered doughnuts. “Damn it.” I really loved the beach. But I hated that no matter what we did the sand refused to stay outside.
He laughed. “Don’t sweat it. It’s definitely my turn to sweep.”
“I’ve never seen you pick up a broom.”
“Which is how I know it’s my turn.” He smiled down at me. “Come on, we better go rinse off,” he said and pulled away from me. He kicked off his socks and shoes. “You coming?” he asked.
“Yeah. I just need a minute.”
I watched him run into the water.
I took a deep breath. I needed a minute to calm down. My heart was beating too quickly. It was like I could feel it hammering against my ribcage. I wanted to think it was because I had just run for miles. But it wasn’t that. Miller made my heart race. When he was close. When he was far away. Whenever I thought about him really.
My stomach twisted in knots. Was Matt staring at some new girl the way I was staring at Miller? Probably. Most definitely.
I closed my eyes for a minute.
But Matt thought I was dead.
I needed to see him. I needed to clear my head somehow. But that was a little hard to do. Because when I opened my eyes, Miller was standing above me.
I screamed as he lifted me over his shoulder. “Put me down!”
Instead of listening to my very reasonable request, he sprinted back into the water, carrying me with him.
“It’s freezing!” I screamed as he pulled me down into the cold water.
He laughed as I splashed water in his face. “Sorry, but I couldn’t let you track all that sand into the house.”
I gave him an exaggerated scowl. “I’m still wearing my running shoes.”
“I’ll buy you a new pair. Besides, it might be kinda fun to run barefoot on the sand. It’s probably better for your feet.”
“My feet are fine, thank you very much. And you just confessed that you hate running. I don’t trust your running advice at all.”
“Fair point. Do you want to swim back?”
“No. It’s a little hard to swim in sneakers.” We weren’t in very far, so my sneakers were awkwardly sinking in the wet sand beneath me. Swimming would be impossible.
“You’re really not letting up on the sneaker thing, huh? Don’t you have like a million pairs of shoes in your room?”
Yeah, there were tons of shoes and clothes in my closet. But I barely spent any time in my room. I spent way more time in his. Or out here.
It was strange. I knew my dad was keeping me in a well thought out cage. But it was hard to feel that way when I was out here. I felt…free. Especially when I was next to Miller.
I was pretty sure it was what my father wanted.
To keep me in a cage willingly.
“It’s not a big deal,” Miller said and lightly touched the side of my face. “Like I said, I’ll buy you a new pair. But to make up for it…we can head back to the house however you want. Swim, run, crawl…”
I laughed. It was going to be a squishy walk back in these shoes. “I have a better idea.”
“That look of pure evil on your face… What are you going to make me do?”
I smiled up at him. “Nonsense. I’m not the evil sister. But I am going to demand a piggyback ride.”
