Read Wet: Part 1 for Free Online

wanted her to taste his creation. He looked too cute to be the devil.
    “Drink. Drink. Drink,” everyone started chanting, making Rhees feel the need to be a good sport.
    “You have to drink if you want to fit in on this island,” Krista said. “It’s the national pastime.”
    “Yah. Drinking and diving,” Peder said, which elicited more laughter. “Don’t try this at home.”
    “Maybe I should get my money back. The travel brochure said nothing about that.” Rhees forced a smile. She didn’t want to appear to be lacking a sense of humor. She’d only been on the island two days—first impressions and all. She glanced around to see everyone watching expectantly, laughing, and speculating amongst themselves.
    She timidly took the glass from Paul’s hand. She stared at it, working hard to ignore all the germs she imagined swimming around in her drink. She swirled the straw again, hoping to spread them around and dilute them a little more. She used the opportunity to wipe as much of the straw with her fingers as possible.
    She took a deep breath and forced herself to take a sip. It took a few seconds to actually swallow—maybe that made it worse, but too late now. The look on her face must have given her away.
    “You look sick,” Tracy said.
    “I’m fine,” Rhees said, stretching her lips into another tight smile. She closed her eyes, wondering how to get out of this. She had to banter back. She racked her brain to think of a clever comeback—nothing—until she saw the look on Regina’s face and the other girls’ expressions, too. They all stared, envious of her as if they would give anything to be in her place, having Paul showering his attention on them.
    “Well?” He waited for her verdict.
    “Hmm.” She creased her brow and made herself appear to be having a hard time deciding something. “I’m not sure.”
    “Oh?” Now Paul looked confused. That helped.
    “I don’t have enough information. I need to do a little research.” She set the glass down, took another deep breath, leaned in, and placed her lips lightly on his. She meant to give him only one quick, dry peck, for show, but he not only accepted her kiss, he leaned into her as she pulled away, making it last longer, making it look more like a hot-blooded kiss by giving her some tongue. She pulled back, breaking contact, probably a little too abruptly considering she initiated the stunt.
    Paul and Rhees stared at each other, shock on her face, a look of— something on his.
    Someone whistled. One of the men cheered. A girl’s voice said, “Damn it. Not another one,” in a hushed tone. Others leaned forward in their seats, waiting to see what came next, but no one seemed too surprised.
    Tracy and Regina watched but didn’t give Rhees anything to help.
    She did what she thought necessary and shook it off, moving forward with her original joke. She deliberately licked her lips, smacking them. More germs, but she couldn’t stop now. She looked up through squinted eyes, took another sip of her drink, and licked her lips again, still thinking, thinking she was about to die, but she couldn’t let anyone know.
    “Mmm . . . it’s delicious all right, but I don’t think it’s the alcohol that makes it so good.” She glanced back at Paul. “It’s definitely the backwash.”
    He stared at her. His right eye twitched faintly until he finally cast his eyes down with a shy grin on his face.
    “Aw, that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” he said humbly, and everyone laughed. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “You’re funny.”
    “Germs are no laughing matter to me,” she whispered back.   
    The look on his face registered surprise at how serious she’d turned. “Well, germs can’t live in alcohol, right? Forgive me?” A few seconds later, he ducked his head toward her to ask, “If you’re afraid of germs, how does kissing work?”
    She blushed and took a moment to think of an answer.
    “I’ve known