Letting My Brother's Best Friend Take My V-Card

HELP

LUKE

The grains of sand bit into my back as I lay sprawled out, limbs. heavy and aching. Every inch of me was soaked, raw, like I'd been dragged through a wave of razors. I tried to focus on breathing-one sharp, salty breath after another- but each inhale scraped down my throat.

To my right, Josh flopped beside me with a grunt, looking just as beat as I felt. He let out a long sigh and stared up at the sky, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. "Never... flying... again," he muttered, half under his breath as if the words themselves took too much effort.

I chuckled, my voice rough. "Yeah, and the company better pay us overtime for this...assuming we live to collect it."

Josh gave a tired laugh, the sound barely there, but it still managed to make me grin. "If we make it out of this alive, Jess and Laura will probably kill us anyway. I might just stay on the island. Laura has good aim. I don't feel like a paintbrush in the eye." Josh checked, and For a moment, we just lay there, staring at the endless blue above us, both of us too exhausted to care about the sand itching under our backs or the sun baking down on our soaked clothes. Just breathing. Just...existing after whatever the hell had happened out there. 14:03

HELP!

204 Moucher

Then, the quiet was broken by a high-pitched scream, faint but unmistakable, slicing through the air like a knife.

Josh and I jerked upright, every ounce of exhaustion shoved aside as adrenaline kicked in. Out on the water, a pair of hands flailed desperately, fingers clawing at the surface as the figure. sank and rose again in the rolling waves. "Shit," I breathed, pushing up on my elbows. "Someone's drowning."

to our feet, but the

leg. I let out a strangled sound, feeling my thigh buckle under me. "Fuck!" Josh turned around and noticed my leg. "That looks worse than your

it. Josh looked over at me, his face twisted in frustration. "I just dragged you

stop the blood, but finally tore off the trunk of my pants to wrap around

ras!

like an hour, as I watched his form moving against the pull of the ocean, closing in on the panicked figure. Waves crashed

18

moment, they disappeared beneath

as he struggled to keep them both above water. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they got close enough for me to see them clearly, and I dragged my ass up to meet them

the flight attendant." He sputtered just as I got to him and helped him drag

my leg gave out again, and I landed back on the sand, cursing under

neither of them moved, both of them

to catch my breath. Josh leaned over to look at her

He shifted to a sitting position, eyes flicking between me and the woman,

shrugged, though the movement sent another stab of pain through

1. it.