Matt jumped into the water, almost reaching the hat, when a huge wave slammed against his legs. He went down with the surging surf.

Jorden couldn’t stop laughing. “You do look like The Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine,’” she yelled over the howling wind.

Matt jerked around, regained his footing and ran up the beach to avoid the next set of waves. “You’re no help. How dare you make fun of me! I gallantly tried to recover your crown.”

“Oh! Now it’s my crown?”

Matt pushed her; she pushed back. The tug-of-war began. Eventually, Jorden ended up in the sand.

“I quit!” Jorden lay back, the rain drenching her face and grains of sand becoming imbedded in her hair.

Matt pulled Jorden up. Laughing, they ran back to the motel a half mile down the beach. Matt threw off his rain gear; he was soaked. He took everything off except for his shorts and gave his clothes a good shaking.

“Come on. You’re next!”

“I’m not taking this all off!” Jorden scoffed.

“No one can see you.” Matt laughed playfully.

“You can!” Jorden scowled.

“You’re soaked. Here, I’ll help you.” He proceeded to lift up her sweatshirt.

“Don’t touch! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Your underwear is just like a two-piece bathing suit. You’re full of sand. The sooner you get it off the sooner we get inside.”

“No way!”

“I promise I won’t look.”

“Turn around.” Jorden stripped down to her underwear. She shook out her sand-laden clothes and then covered herself with them loosely. “Okay. You can turn around.”

Matt opened the door and let them in.

“So much for your rain gear,” Jorden remarked.

“I have a solution. Let’s take a hot shower.” Matt dropped his clothes next to the door and took Jorden’s out of her arms before she could protest, exposing her bra and panties. Her mouth dropped open.

Matt pushed her toward the shower, pulled back the curtain and lifted her in. Quickly, he turned the water to warm. At first the showerhead sprayed cold water.

“Get me out of here! You’re crazy!” She pushed away from Matt, but the warm spray came on strong. She stopped, soothed by the water. Matt slid his arms around her waist and let her lean against him to get the full impact of the warm water. They stayed that way as the bathroom steamed up. He turned Jorden around and leaned down for a lingering kiss. His arms moved up her back. Jorden lost her footing, reaching for the shower tile when the silver chain of her bracelet clanged against the hard surface. Images of Alex shot through her mind.

“I can’t do this. I want to . . . but . . . I can’t!” Jorden whispered loud enough for Matt to hear.