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never lie to
me—that was my dad’s job.  “You’re right,” I said, leaning my
head on his chest.  He hugged me tight.
    “ You want to swim?” he
asked, a hint of mischief in his melodic voice.
    “ Seriously?  It’s
maybe sixty-five degrees.”
    Octavius pulled back with
an impish grin.  “Not afraid, are you?”
    “ No,” I said
stubbornly.  “But… I don’t have a swimsuit.”
    He winked at me.  I
was growing to adore his winks.
    Octavius leaned on his bike
to remove one boot, and then the second.  He dropped them, and
then unzipped his jacket.
    I stared.
    “ Are you…?”
    He pulled his shirt over
his head and jumped off the boardwalk onto the beach.  He
dropped his tee onto the sand, baring a broad expanse of muscular
back.  My mouth dried out.  No way .  Allison would never believe this .
    “ Aren’t you coming?” he
called over his shoulder, unbuttoning his pants even as he
ran.
    I followed him more slowly,
watching as he dropped his jeans.  He wore black briefs. 
Why was I surprised?
    Octavius dove into the surf
and disappeared under the surface.  Hesitantly, I removed my
shirt – leaving on my lacy bra.  My breasts weren’t great—way
too big for my petite figure.  But it had never been a problem
before, because there had never been a guy to look at
them.
    What if he didn’t like my
body?  What if he laughed me out of the ocean?  Horror of
horrors.  “Maybe I’ll stay out here,” I called feebly, folding
my arms over my chest.
    Octavius surfaced and
flicked something onto the sand.  It took me a minute to
realize it was his underwear, and I felt myself blush so hard I
could have spontaneously combusted.
    “ If you don’t come in,
I’ll come out and get you!” he sang.
      Even
worse.
    “ Please, dear Lord, save
me,” I whispered to the sky, and then I unbuttoned my skinny jeans
and wiggled them down my hips.
    I had to remove my Keds to
get them off, leaving me in nothing but black boy shorts with a red
star and a bra from the sale bin at Victoria’s Secret.  I
grimaced.
    Turning my head to the sky,
I muttered a quick prayer.  “Just don’t let my eyeliner
run.  The bottle said waterproof and I’ve been a really good girl this year.”  I watched Octavius paddle through the
water – naked – and added quietly, “So far.”
    Waddling toward the water
with my hands still strategically placed to cover my body, I stood
at the edge.  The water lapped at my toes.  It wasn’t as
cold as it looked.
    Octavius bobbed up not too
far away.  He must have been kneeling on the sand to keep his
bits underwater and protect my modesty.  With his hair
plastered to his face and neck, he looked even sexier than usual—if
that was possible.
    “ You are afraid,”
he said.
    “ No I’m not,” I said, but
I didn’t do anything to prove it.
    “ Come on, I want to show
you something.  But you have to swim to see it.” 
Octavius eyed me.  “You can swim, can’t
you?”
    Doggy-paddle, maybe. 
“Of course.  Yeah. Who can’t?”
    “ Then come on,” he said,
grinning.
    Squeezing my eyes shut and
muttering one more terse prayer, I stepped into the water up to my
hips.  It was a lot colder like that.  “Holy
crap,” I hissed, going up to my chest.
    And then Octavius was
standing right in front of me.  He moved faster than a
dolphin, like he was born into the water.  Sheer proximity
made the water feel a lot warmer.  “Hey,” he murmured
in a low voice.
    “ Hey,” I shivered. 
My teeth were chattering.
    “ Come on.  I’ll help
you swim.”
    He caught my hand and
pulled me out into the water.  I struggled valiantly to keep
my head above the water and preserve my makeup, but I ended up
getting splashed.  The salt in my mouth was gross, but I
didn’t embarrass myself swimming – much – and he led me to a little
cove not far away.
    It was absolutely private,
backed right up against a small cliff and ringed by rocks. 
The water within was shallow,