How could Tiffany possibly let her off? She pushed her into Jackson’s arms, “You hold on to her so that she doesn’t get washed away. Hold on tight; the wave is coming again. You’ll enjoy it once you get used to it. It’s fun! I’ve heard Jackson mention that Mark is a pretty good swimmer. Why are you such a landlubber? You’re no different from someone who can’t swim at all.”
Arianne and Jackson both felt awkward. Why was Tiffany so open-minded? Jackson was dressed in swim shorts, and Arianne was dressed in a skimpy bikini. Wasn’t it inappropriate for them to be hugging each other like that? Jackson did not dare say a word and was too afraid to reach out and hold her. Only Arianne awkwardly held onto his shoulders, “Tiffie! What are you doing? Why can’t I hold onto you?”
Tiffany could see their embarrassment and giggled, “I think it’s fine. I can swim, you can’t. It’s not like you’ll lose a few pieces of yourselves by holding each other. Don’t worry, I trust you!”
Jackson was crying internally. Tiffany might have a lot of trust in Arianne, but he couldn’t trust himself. Boners were well beyond his control!
In his desperation, Jackson searched every corner and finally spotted Mark on shore, sipping on a drink leisurely. He glared madly at Mark, hinting at him to come over. Finally, Mark noticed his stare. Jackson lifted his arms and made a provocative gesture, indicating that he was about to wrap his arms around Arianne. Mark promptly put his drink down, got into the water, and walked over.
Soon, the wave rose again. In the midst of the chaos as the wave crashed over everyone’s heads, Arianne accidentally released her hold on Jackson’s shoulders. She thrashed around in panic. Suddenly, someone grabbed her from behind and steadied her. By the time she regained her senses, she tried her best to open her eyes and realized that she had been washed two meters away from Tiffany and Jackson. Then… Who was holding on to her?
She turned around and looked straight into Mark’s cold eyes. She instinctively struggled away from him, then sunk into the water. She reflexively wrapped her arms around his neck, “Take me to shore!”
“No,” Mark denied, surprisingly.
She was annoyed, “You…”
Not only did Mark refuse to bring her to shore, but he also brought her further into the deep end and said, “Let go, if you dare.”
He was playing dirty! He knew that she would be forced to hold onto him. She should have brought a swim ring along with her in the first place!
“I’ll call a lifeguard if you don’t take me to shore!” She glared at him angrily.
“Go ahead.” He lowered his head and stared at her, the corners of his lips curling up subtly.
Just as she was about to issue another retort, he caught her mouth with his lips.
Mark lifted his chin towards Arianne, put on his sunglasses, and refused to say anything more.
The three women widened their eyes. Mark’s swim shorts were still wet, and the fabric stuck to his body. To them, he might as well be naked. His tantalizing figure and flawlessly handsome features cemented their courage. One woman boldly approached Arianne, “We’d like to get to know your boyfriend.”
This the first time Arianne had ever seen anyone so bold. He had already made it clear that he wasn’t single, but they remained shameless all the same. She felt strangely annoyed, “Minor correction, he’s not my boyfriend but my husband. As in my legal husband. You can give up now.”
Her confident and unhurried response made all three women very embarrassed. They grumbled incoherently and walked away.
Mark had overheard every word she said and smiled.
Arianne still wasn’t used to her new swimsuit. She wanted to go back to the car and see if Tiffany had brought UV-protection wear. At least, she’d be able to cover up a little with it. She walked towards Mark and reached out her hand, “Hand me the car keys.”
He got up and stared at her through his sunglasses, “In the changing room cupboard. I’ll go with you.”
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