6. Welcome back to the land of the living

MICHAEL

Shit...

I didn't mean to react the way I did when Jacob touched me. And judging by the look on his face, I knew I had offended him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to..." I started to apologize, but he interrupted.

"No, it's okay. I understand. I shouldn't have touched your face like that. It was just a natural reaction, and I didn't mean anything by it," Jacob smiled, but he still looked hurt.

"No Jacob. I'm serious. I didn't hate it when you...uh...checked my temperature," I let out a nervous chuckle.

He smiled at me. His green eyes were sparkling under the moonlight. "So you liked it?"

"What? Well, I..."

"Jesus, Michael, I'm messing with you. Just calm down, will you?" Jacob laughed. "But I'm glad you're feeling alright. I'm gonna go rescue Francis before Alison talks his ear off."

Jacob swam away from me. He had a strong, muscular back and arms. Francis was fit too, but nothing compared to Jacob.

I watched as he playfully jumped on Francis's back and interrupted their conversation. Francis laughed out loud and splashed water on Jacob's face, and all three of them were laughing.

I sighed and swam towards them. I should be hanging out with my girlfriend instead of gawking at her brother and his date.

"There you are. What were you and Jacob talking about?" Alison asked.

"Nothing. He was asking if I had a fever. Do I really look sick?" I asked.

"You look fine to me." Alison shrugged. We swam farther away from them so we could get some privacy.

She wrapped her arms around my neck. "This is fun, right? Us being in the water under the moonlight is kind of romantic," she cooed.

"Yeah," I said distractedly and looked at Jacob and Francis on my peripheral vision. They were making out. Guess they find this romantic too.

"Kiss me, Michael," Alison said in a hoarse whisper.

I turned my attention back to Alison and pressed my lips on hers. She wrapped her legs around my waist and nibbled on my lower lip. I always loved kissing her. Her lips were soft and warm. She broke the kiss then pressed her lips on my neck.

"That feels nice," I said and closed my eyes as she nibbled on my neck. She trailed her lips from my neck to my chest and kept going down.

"Whoa, Ali. Your brother is right there," I protested. I looked at Jacob to see if he was looking at us, but he and Francis were lost in their own world, looking like they were about to eat each other.

"He is not paying attention to us. Besides, it's too dark and we are too far away for him to see anything," she whispered.

"God, how long are they going to keep kissing? Are they trying to suck each other's face off?" I said. I couldn't hide the irritation in my voice which made Alison look at me with surprise.

She cleared her throat. "Are you jealous?" she asked.

"What? Why would I be jealous of those two when I have you," I said and rubbed her arm. I wondered if Alison noticed me staring at Jacob. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea.

"I don't know. You've been acting weird lately. Distracted." Alison shrugged.

"Maybe Jacob is right, and I am getting sick. I should get out of the water," I said.

Alison looked worried. "Oh no! You should see a doctor tomorrow. I'll go over there and tell Jacob we are leaving." She said and started to swim toward them. I hung back for a moment, then started to swim.

Something caught one of my legs all of a sudden. I felt something coiling around my leg and pulling me towards it.

"Hey...guys?" I called out, but they couldn't hear me as they were swimming away.

I yanked my leg but couldn't get it free. Whatever it was, it pulled me farther down.

I needed to dive underwater to set my leg free, I thought and proceeded to just that. I held my breath and dove underwater.

Fuck...

I thought as I saw thick ropes tangled around my foot. They were attached to an old boat. Just my luck.

I grabbed the rope and tugged at it, which was a huge mistake. It felt even tighter on my leg. I pulled at it again, harder this time. My hand slipped, and it stung. I couldn't hold my breath anymore and started to panic.

My chest burned as I swallowed more water. I tried to swim, but my arms and legs wouldn't move. It was as if they lost all of their strength. I struggled for a bit, then slowly drifted away. Drowning was not the way I imagined I'd die.

****

I woke up feeling a pair of lips on top of mine. Someone was kissing me. Alison? They didn't feel the same as hers.

Who was kissing me? No, wait. It wasn't a kiss. Someone was breathing into me. My chest didn't feel as tight anymore. Whoever it was, they removed their lips as I started to cough. Ah dammit...I wish I could feel them just a bit longer.

I opened my eyes and saw Jacob's face hovering over mine.

"Hey, handsome. Welcome back to the land of the living." he smiled.

I sat up and threw up water in response. Jacob slapped my back. Shit, this hurts.

"What happened?" I said after I finally managed to stop coughing.

"Your foot got stuck, and you were drowning," Alison said, and I finally noticed her and Francis sitting close to me.

"Jacob pulled you out of the water!" Francis exclaimed.

I looked at Jacob, who was gently rubbing my back. "Thought we lost you, buddy," he said.

I leaned forward and hugged him. "Thank you for saving me from drowning." My voice shook. I thought I was going to die."

He tightened his arms around me. His warmth spread through my body.

I felt dizzy.

"Nah, I wouldn't have let you drown. Sorry I didn't get there sooner. We were talking and didn't realize you were stuck," Jacob said and kept rubbing my back.

"We should go home now. Glad you're okay, Michael," Francis said, so I let go of Jacob.

Jacob stood up then pulled me off the ground. "Alright, next time we hang out, there will be no swimming." He chuckled. "I bet Francis was getting jealous when I gave you mouth to mouth," he said and winked.

So it was his lips I was feeling on mine. I felt a familiar flutter in my stomach again.