He eventually peered back down at me with a stern expression. He studied my face as he continued to be deep in thought.

His seriousness never cracked as I stuck my tongue out at him in a way to cut through the tension.

"Right." I ordered, "Out with it, Lurch."

Stone chuckled "What?"

"I know you want to ask me something." I mentioned, "I can sense it and I’m not even a Stone-expert."

He cocked his head.

"Wait." I laughed out my question "Would that not just be called a Geologist?"

"Where is your dad?" Stone questioned gruffly.

This man was the most perceptive person I had ever met.

Perhaps he was an Ella-expert.

I was not ready to talk about my dad. I had no idea where I would start.

"He is away on a business trip for a few weeks." I lied.

He watched as I crossed my arms. He studied me sceptically like he did not believe my lie.

"Do you think you will ever go back in the ocean again?" Stone asked.

"I don't know." I answered honestly "Maybe one day, I will try. Just not right now. I still need to conquer my fear of the Ferris wheel."

"You are scared of the Ferris wheel?" He repeated.

"Yeah." I confirmed before I let out a humourless laugh "Do you think the world is ending?"

Stone raised an eyebrow at my last sentence.

"We just had a heart to heart. We went ten minutes without insulting each other." I pointed out "Now, I truly believe anything is possible."

His husky laugh vibrated through me as his burly body moved closer.

"I think you should insult me." I mentioned with a loath "Us being nice to each other is too weird."

He laughed again but did not say anything. His face grew serious as he looked at my hair that was absent of the vibrant green colour.

"Are you struggling to find an insult because my hair is gone?" I teased as I nudged him with my elbow.

"There is always your height to make fun of."

I sent a glare his way "Can you not think of anything else?"

His black pupils met mine as he smirked "Your eyes."

"My eyes?" I questioned, "What is wrong with my eyes?"

The answer he gives does not answer my question, instead, he described them as "Large brown doe eyes."

"Do you just sit and find all my flaws?" I asked as I rolled the things he called large brown doe eyes "Anything wrong with my nose?"

"Little button nose." He claimed.

The weird thing was that he described my attributes while staring out at the sea. He seemed to be reciting them from memory.

I shook my head at his comments "These are terrible insults."

Stone chuckled again "Why don't you start us off with an insult?"

Nothing came to mind as I let my gaze roam every part of his exposed body.