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“Hey! I thought we were even?” she cried after she came up.

“It’s even now we’re all in the water.” Sam grinned, splashing water in Taylor’s direction.

“Don’t start what you can’t finish.”

Taylor retaliated with a bigger splash. Sam ducked down just in time, then swam up bringing a huge wave of water with her and making Taylor splutter.

“I always finish,” Sam said proudly.

“That’s what she said.”

They both looked at each other and cracked up.

“I feel like that’s our joke,” said Sam, treading water.

“It reminds me of you, when we first started texting,” Taylor admitted.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, it was the first night I asked you to hang out. I was so nervous.”

“I was trying to be cool.” She flicked her hair around, with it landing on her shoulder in a flop. “See?”

“So cool.” Taylor chuckled, then looked around. “Hey, where’s Belle?”

“Oh shit.”

Sam started looking around for the bright yellow life jacket, spotting the pup a fair distance from them.

“She’s fast.”

“Belle!” Taylor called. The dog turned around at her name and paddled back towards them.

They gasped as a fin came up alongside the dog. Just as Taylor cupped her hands to warn Belle, a second fin popped up.

“Oh! No way. It’s dolphins!” Taylor laughed in relief. “The bloody dog is swimming with the dolphins! I can’t believe it.”

Taylor looked at Sam with absolute wonderment, and Sam’s face reflected the same.

“Well, I didn’t expectthattoday,” Sam said, gobsmacked.

“Hold still. Here they come,” Taylor whispered, grabbing her hand as they trod water together. Belle paddled her way over as the dolphins swam in circles around her. Then they shot off intwo directions, going either side of them, under the board, and off along the rocks.

“Wow.”

“You’re telling me,” Taylor replied as Belle came up to them, looking as happy as they were. “Okay, come on girl. Up on the board for a break, yeah?”

As they paddled back to the shop, Sam couldn’t remember a time she’d had so much fun, felt so free andjustsoherself.

Half an hour later, they were already back to the fuel berth, making record time with the sea breeze at their backs the entire way in.

“You wanna come up to mine for a bit? If you’re as tired as I am right now, I’m guessing you don’t want to paddle back to where you’re parked at the moment?”

“Yeah, not really. So I might take you up on that. Belle looks zonked too.” Taylor leaned around Sam to look at the snoozing puppy.

“She’sout. You can leave your board in the boat shed for now, and I could drop you at your car later to save you paddling back if you want?”

“That’d be amazing. I am pretty stuffed.”