He laughs and it’s magic, the way it makes me feel. “Just toss it,” Cole says, so I pull back my arm and let the little boat fly. It sails through the air and lands in the water at the bottom of the cliff. I watch it get sucked out to sea. And then it’s gone.

“Come on.” He grabs my hand.

“Where are we going?”

He laughs again. “To get your boat back.”

He pulls me through the gate and closes it behind us.

We move toward the woods, but we take another path this time. This one is less worn. Closer to the edge of the cliff. The waves are louder than before.

I’m trying to keep up with him, but Cole moves over the ground like some kind of wild creature. He’s at home here.

I stumble over a big loose rock. When I stand up to yell for Cole to wait, I look around, and there are rocks everywhere.

No.

Not rocks. Stones.

All the same size and shape. Worn down by the wind and the weather.

They’re arranged in neat rows. It’s all overgrown, so it’s hard to tell. But you can still see the pattern if you look closely. They remind me of a mouth full of broken teeth.

“Cole.”

He’s too far ahead of me to hear.

I pick my way around the toppled stones. Hurry to catch up. Don’t let myself look back.

We emerge from the dark of the woods onto the Whisper Cove beach together. It’s twilight. The sky is pink. The sea is pink. Everything is pink and perfect. We should be heading up to dinner. But instead we kick off our shoes and stand toe to toe in the sand. The wind pulls at our hair, and the salt burns our lips.

Cole pulls his shirt over his head and drops it on the sand. He walks toward the water and turns back to hold out one hand. I slip out of my T-shirt and shorts, and he stares at me for a minute. I’m standing there in my bra and underwear, but I feel so naked. I go to him and take his hand. Because I need that contact.

Cole anchors me. Grounds me.

Cole won’t let me get lost.

We step into the sea together. The surf is cold, and it makes me gasp. He laughs and puts his arm around me, and he’s so close now that I almost can’t stand it. I feel the waves against my thighs.

Icy water.

Hot breath.

I feel dizzy and drunk, and it makes me bold.

“Do you trust me?” I tease.

He nods and I lean in, putting my hands on each side of his face and pulling him toward me.

But then he laughs and slips away.