By The Sea Read Free Page B

sat at the edge and stared out at the wide expanse. The small lighthouse cast its rays out, reaching like a pale imitation of the moon, with no boats approaching in the distance. What was I doing trailing this poor guy? A surge of guilt flooded me. My therapist had been right—I had delusions and let them get the best of me. Hence why, even if the loneliness made my chest ache at night, I’d be alone the rest of my life. Someone with a messed up mind like mine couldn’t handle a relationship.
    Undulating waves beckoned to me the same way they always did, an irresistible lure I fell for every time. I kicked off my flats and dropped my bag onto the dock; my tight tee and my crimson miniskirt wouldn’t weigh me down much. A small swim couldn’t hurt. I eyed the brine below before jumping in.
    The water rushed around me like a protective cocoon, ice cold like I’d expected. I kicked out, reveling in the swirl of bubbles and spray of the monstrous, all-encompassing ocean. All the questions adding up in my mind disappeared as I fell into the blissful rhythm of the sea. I kicked forward, throwing my arm overhead and swimming around the dock. Kelp flowed past my ankle, every sensation familiar.
    The water shifted near me, a strong sweep of current. My heart tightened as I felt the difference in the pressure. Something or someone swam beside me.

 
     
     
Chapter Three
     
     
    I aimed for the dock. Sudden thrashing wouldn’t help me and might only draw predators in faster. I kept my movements as steady as possible even though my heart pounded a thousand beats per minute. If it were a striped bass or anything regular, it would’ve left my side by now. Based on the size, it was large, larger than me. Which left minimal options. A dolphin might get aggressive, but would be nowhere near as bad as if a shark had caught my scent.
    My focus on the dock, I swam. If I stopped, I’d lose any composure I clung to. Once I thrashed in the water, even a non-predator would react. My hand smacked against the wood of the pier. I grabbed for the support beam and pulled myself up, half-expecting something to come snapping at my feet. Nothing did. I backed away and sank down to the cypress planks of the dock. My arms and legs shook—not from the cold. I stared into the blackened water, waiting to see whatever slithered down there. Had it been in my imagination?
    A sound drew my attention from the end of the pier where my bag and ballet flats still lay. I froze as someone climbed up from the waters, dark hair glistening under the moon’s rays.
    The memories flooded through me, ones I’d tried suppressing all these years. The way Niall had swum by my side, as fluid as if he was born in the sea. How his blue eyes had illuminated with his smile and the hundreds of times he’d submerged from the water, his head popping up like some mischievous otter. How, when we’d swum at night, his hair had caught the light the same way.
    Mason approached from the end of the pier to where I sat, jaw dropped like some hick. Tall, broad-shouldered, the exact looks Niall would’ve grown into had he stuck around. If he hadn’t left.
    His bare chest shone pale in the moonlight, the shadows sharpening the crevices of his lithe muscles. He reached under the pier and pulled out a bag and a kelly-green hoodie. Mason had come this way to swim. Come to the same docks we used to swim under as kids. He had to be Niall. Nothing else made sense.
    “Hey, Meg.” He sauntered toward me, a half-smile on his face, entirely unsurprised I was here. He might think I was crazy, but I was past the point where I could ignore the coincidences any longer.
    “Hey, Niall.” I crossed my arms over my chest, bracing myself for his confusion. Some part of me needed him to be Niall, needed to know I wasn’t crazy and hadn’t imagined my best friend. The lack of response was agonizing as he walked the couple paces down the dock toward me. He sat in front of me, those blue eyes blank