Shattered: A Salvation Society Novel Bella Emy (best ebook reader for laptop .TXT) 📖

Something inside me shifts, and I feel a pool begin to form in my bottoms. My only hope is that we will end up going swimming at some point today because, at this rate, my wetness is going to be dripping down my legs before the end of the night.

Well, my wish came true. We did end up going swimming, but not like I was expecting.

When we arrived at the designated location, Kalen made me gear up… in scuba gear.

“Ever been scuba diving?” he asks, as he pulls the open heel fins on his feet.

“A few times, actually,” I respond, adjusting my water goggles.

He smiles at me. “Cool. Then this will be smooth sailing.”

I hope so. It’s been forever since I’ve done this, but I don’t think diving is something you can ever really forget.

“Here, catch this,” he says, throwing a rectangular object my way.

As I move it around in my hands, I realize it’s a camera. It’s one of those waterproof types made especially for scuba diving adventures. Which I’m sure we’ll have today.

I raise my eyes to meet his and take in his smile as he rises to his feet. “Let’s try to get some great pictures.”

I nod. Although I’ve done this plenty of times, I’d never captured any of my past experiences before, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can get today. Plus, with it being my birthday and all, I’m really excited about it.

“Try to get some good shots of me down there. I happen to look very good under the waves, surrounded by the colorful decor of the ocean. But make sure you get my good side,” Kalen says, turning his face slightly to the right.

I chuckle at his humor. I find it hilarious how he thinks he has a good side. Shit, from where I’m standing, all sides of him look damn good.

Calm yourself, Lexi.

The quick pace of my beating heart is telling me this is just the beginning of a day. Yup, it’s definitely going to be a day.

We finish up getting ready, and once we have our tanks set and everything is good to go, we dive into the turquoise blue waters of the Pacific Ocean.

We swim close to one another, passing a colorful array of underwater life. This experience never gets old.

Pretty blue tangs float past us as we swim down further into the depths of the ocean. Yellow butterfly fish flip their fins, creating the perfect underwater picturesque effect.

After swimming around for nearly twenty minutes, Kalen swims up to a coral rock covered in a bright green moss. To his left, plants of pink, green, blue, and bright orange surround him. I keep my eyes pinned on him as he spins around, throwing up both his thumbs. I pick up the camera and right before hitting the shutter button to take a shot, a mud-green sea turtle finds her way into the picture. It’s going to be one epic shot. After getting the snapshot, the turtle swims off like she had just come for the picture and now she had to be on her way. We follow it with our eyes, and once it’s far enough away, we look at one another and he nods, motioning for me to follow him back up to the surface.

As we reach Kalen’s boat and he climbs onto it, he quickly pulls off his tank and goggles and then helps me onto the boat. I place my tank, camera, and goggles next to his on deck and then start to unzip my scuba suit. My eyes can’t help but land on his as I notice him doing the same. And of course, his are glued on me as well.

I purposely peel the suit off of me very seductively and notice the slow curl of his lips into a smile.

How the hell am I going to get through the rest of this getaway without touching this man? I want to kill Erin right now for forcing me into this. What kind of birthday present is this? I’m going to die from blue vag syndrome.

By seven that evening, I’m famished and more than ready to get some food into my system. After we finished our scuba diving adventure—which so far has been the total highlight of my day… or maybe that was seeing the way Kalen gawked at me when he first saw me in my bikini—we cleaned up and got ready for the evening ahead.

I put on the little black dress that Kalen had picked out as part of my evening wear, and it’s gorgeous, fitting me like a glove. It’s very elegant and sexy, and everything couldn’t be more perfect if I tried.

“You’re going to love the celebrations tonight at Starfish by the Sea. It’ll be like they’re having a birthday party just for you.” He keeps telling me how every year they throw this fantastic summer bash, that just so happens to occur on or around my birthday.

Even though it’s been hard to keep my hormones in check, this has still been one of the greatest birthdays I’ve had in a long time. And I know we haven’t done all that much, but being with Kalen again makes me feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

He docks the boat at the pier, and once we hop off, he grabs my hand, and we start walking toward Starfish by the Sea. It’s off to the right, but I can already see the neon pink and blue lights coming from it and hear the loud music.

“You see the rides over to the left?” Kalen points and asks as we walk hand in hand toward the festival.

I follow where he’s pointing to and nod. The lights flashing from the Ferris wheel and merry-go-round quickly grab my attention. “That looks like fun.”

“Maybe after we get some food, you and I can get on one of those rides. Sure, the view right on the sea