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“Have you ever skinny-dipped?” She turns to me, her eyes searing into mine. I can’t tell if she’s still on the high from the power dynamic switch from earlier or the adrenaline from catching me before I fell into this frigid water that she now wants to jump into butt naked. Whichever it is, it’s giving me both emotional and physical whiplash.

“Okay, judging by the look on your face right now and your reaction to my idea of sneaking out, I’m going to assume the answer is no.”

“Like I said before, I’m not a delinquent. If I hadn’t snuck out before, then I most definitely haven’t skinny dipped either.”

“But, youhavesnuck out now, technically.”

“I have…”

“So, skinny dip with me.” Her smile widens again, and it’s like I’m talking to a whole different person than the quiet, awkward Laine I hung out with all day today. For some reason, though, I like this version of Laine just as much.

“I don’t know…”

“Okay, half skinny dip with me.”

“Half ?”

“Yeah, like, let’s just swim in our underwear!”

“You’re aware that that water is freezing, right? I could literallyfeelthe chill coming off of it when I almost face-planted in it.”

“That’s part of the experience!”

“It is?”

“Listen, if you’re not getting in, then that’s your choice, but I’m going for it.”

As soon as she finishes her sentence, she starts stripping on the dock, leaving only her matching lavender bra and underwear on. Taking a running start, she jumps in, causing a wave of freezing water to come up and splash me.

“OH MY GOD!” I screech, chills going down my whole body.

“You’re already wet now! Just get in. It’ll be colder now if you sitoutside!” Laine calls out from a few feet away from the dock.

I don’t know what overcomes me, but suddenly I’m stripping to my bra and underwear and cannonballing in. My eyes widen as my toes hit the rocks beneath me, and I realize just how shallow the water is compared to how it looks. The impact sends a shooting pain up my legs, but the mix of adrenaline and freezing water temperature keeps the pain relatively at bay.

I doggy paddle over to where Laine is, and I justknowI look like a mess. My hair is sticking to my face as I’m gasping for air, finally reaching my destination a few inches away from Laine again.

We’re face to face now, lips purple and teeth chattering. She smiles again and then kicks off to float on her back. I follow suit, pushing myself up above the water and looking up at the sky, my breathing paced as I keep myself afloat.

The stars glimmer, scattered across the darkened sky in various patterns and creating an array of lustrous white specks all around us. Their radius stretches down to the water in the distance, and it feels so surreal, better than any immersive planetarium experience I’ve ever had.

Together, Laine and I lay still in yet another comfortable silence, staring up at the stars. I can’t physically see her right now, but I feel her presence through the ripples made by the small laps in the water around me.

In this moment with her, I forget everything I’ve held onto from my past. Everything my dad didn’t do and everything hers did. The world feels silent, almost as if it were just me and her existing together in it. It feels like maybe, just maybe, we will be okay. That everything—our past, present, future—will be okay. A moment so intimate, I never want it to end.

I never thought I would say this, but despite the short amount of time we’ve spent together since her return to Georgia, I think Laine may be becoming one of my closest friends.

Abruptly, Laine repositions herself upright.

“Come here.” Her muffled voice ripples through the water and into my ear. I sit upright as well, paddling to stay afloat in this new position.

“What?” I heave heavily, still out of breath from the deep concentration it took to stay afloat on my back.

“Come here,” she repeats. “I’m cold and I need body heat.”

She paddles over to where I’m floating, closing the gap between us. I stare blankly at her, my brain still processing what she’s asking. She guides us closer to shore, where our bodies are still fully immersed in water, but leaving room for our heads to stay above the surface.

I feel her arms wrap around me, and her hands make their way to my back, clutching the strings of my bra. She slides her legs between mine, intermingling them under the water, both of us still kicking to stay afloat.