Page 61 of On the Rocks
Noah just laughed, his head tilting back a little before he reached with the hand not on the gas behind him. He squeezed my knee once reassuringly, glancing over his shoulder quickly before he turned back to the lake ahead.
“It’s okay. I promise. Just trust me.”
I stared at his hand on my knee, the warmth of it spreading over my entire leg before it dipped somewhere under the bottoms of my swim suit. He removed it just as fast as he had placed it there, and my heart raced in my chest for a completely different reason.
I tried to calm my breathing, to find assurance in his promise that it would all be okay as my hair whipped in the wind behind me. But when a large boat crossed in front of us, leaving a massive wake, and Noah didn’t steer away from it, my eyes bulged.
“Noah,” I said as a warning.
He kept going, aimed straight for the large waves the boat had made when it passed.
“Noah, don’t you dare.”
“Hang on!”
“Noah!”
But it was too late. We hit the first wave made by the boat, the nose of the jet ski skipping up a few inches off the water. I screamed, gripping onto Noah so tight I thought I’d cut off his breathing. The next wave was even bigger, and the jet ski flew into the air, the roar of the engine ebbing a little at the loss of water pressure as we went airborne.
I was still screaming, gripping, fearing for my life when we landed again, and this time Noah cut the wheel right, turning us along the edge of the waves instead of straight over them. We rode them fast and furious, catching another fit of air before we were out of the waves and back on the glassy water.
I was pretty sure my stomach was still somewhere back behind us.
Noah slowed down until we were stopped, floating in the middle of the lake to the tune of the soft, rumbling engine. He turned to look at me over his shoulder with a shit-eating grin.
“That was fun.”
I smacked his shoulder, shoving like I was going to push him off while I fought against a smile. “That wasnotfun! That was terrifying!”
“Yeah? Why you smiling, then?”
“I’m not smiling!” I insisted, but even as the words fell from my lips, I couldn’t fight the grin. I laughed, softly at first before it took over completely, and I laughed so hard I had to wrap my hands over my stomach, my forehead hitting the place between his shoulders as I tried to catch my breath.
When I looked up again, Noah just quirked one brow in victory.
I shook my head. “You’re infuriating, Noah Becker.”
“I believe I was the first one to say that aboutyou, Ruby Grace Barnett.”
I smiled wider, blowing out a breath before running my hands back through my damp hair. “Okay. Fine. I admit it. That was fun.”
“Told you.”
“What now?”
He grinned, thumb hovering over the throttle as he faced forward again. “Better wrap those beautiful arms around me again, sweetheart.”
And I did, just in time for him to cut the wheel and floor it, spinning us in a donut circle that made huge, billowing waves around us. I was laughing and squealing, leaning into the turn with him when he cut the wheel again, and we went flying over the waves we’d made.
I didn’t know how much time passed with him doing donuts and figure-eights and making waves bigger than the jet ski before he’d send us barreling over them, but Ididknow that the huge smile didn’t leave my face the entire time. My cheeks hurt by the time we finally slowed again, and we were both breathing hard, chests heaving with the adrenaline and excitement.
“You’re wild,” I whispered on a laugh, trying to catch my breath.
“What’s that?” he asked, grinning at me over his shoulder.
“You’re wild!” I said louder, throwing my hands up in the air and turning my face to the sun. I closed my eyes, basking in the rays and the feeling of euphoria for a long moment. When I looked at Noah again, he was watching me, throat thick with a swallow as his eyes searched mine.
The sun that had felt so light and airy just moments before seemed to beat down on us then, the heat unbearable, our lips so close where he tilted his head toward me, where I leaned into him.