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."

our feet, but the moment I

out a strangled sound, feeling my thigh buckle under me. "Fuck!" Josh turned around and noticed my leg. "That looks worse than your face, man." He said with furrowed brows. I

I intended, but there wasn't time to worry about it. Josh looked over at me, his face twisted in frustration. "I just dragged you out, man." He cursed under his breath, scanning the water again, but he didn't hesitate for long. "Fucking fine." With that, he tore off

thigh, trying to stop the blood, but finally tore

ras!

one feeling like an hour, as I watched his form moving against the pull of the ocean, closing in on the panicked figure. Waves crashed over them both, and

18

moment, they disappeared beneath

eternity, they got close enough for me to see them clearly, and

got to him and helped

my teeth against the pain, but my leg gave out again, and I landed back on

him, eyes closed, her breaths shallow. For a moment, neither of

to ask, still trying to catch my breath. Josh leaned over to look at her and nodded, barely able

her a minute." He shifted to a sitting position, eyes flicking between me and the woman, his gaze

shrugged, though the movement sent another stab of pain through me. "It's fine."." I gritted my teeth,

1. it.