7th ♬

"Reese, are you there? Where's the board scraper?" the radio was making that annoying sound again.

I ignored it. For the last few minutes, I had been an expert at ignoring the talkie. The last thing he asked for was an extra comb. And now, he suddenly took an interest in surfing.

"You're not gonna answer?"

I closed my eyes and took one long, deep breath. But it hadn't done any good in calming my nerves. Just for this summer, for the sake of getting paid, I knew I shouldn't ignore his calls.

I stared at the innocent talkie that was being sabotaged by him. I heard him call my name again, and I was forced to grab it and get this over with. With absolute vexation, I pushed the freaking black button.

"What?" I snapped. One or two heads tilted to my direction, and I suddenly felt self-conscious. I threw them an apologetic smile.

Then I heard Jace again as he say, "The board scraper, you know where it is?"

"You have two eyes, a set of feet, and functional hands. Why don't you find it yourself?" I said under my breath. He was definitely an expert on being annoying.

"I also have one mouth to ask you where it's placed," he added.

Closing my eyes, I felt a non-existent vein snap on my forehead. "You're unbelievable."

"What can I say?"

Clenching my hands in ire, I steadied my breaths. This had been going on for a few days now, and he wasn't, in the least, backing down. I was already exhausted from all the running to and fro the beach house, and making sure that my zone was okay at the same time.

"Mind showing me where it is?" Jace asked again.

"Jace, I'm not your only minion around here. There's Lavy and Carl. If you would be so kind and ask them instead, we could have a more peaceful summer ahead of us," I fizzled out the words.

"They're busy. Are you sleeping again? Can't you see that their hands are full?" he said on the other line, emphasizing each word. "And the beach house is only a few steps away from your post."

I didn't bother to look around. Yes, I did notice that they were busying themselves this morning, with a lot of things, a whole bunch of them. Even Carl was polishing his Jet Ski non-stop. It was even gleaming, as if equipped with built-in light bulbs.

I wasn't sure if they were doing it according to Jace's order, or it was just plain coincidence. Lavy could go along with Jace's plans, knowing that she had been admiring him for as long as I could remember. But even Carl? They weren't even close.

Regardless, I'd rather believe that Carl was threatened than treat all his crazy antics, including Lavy's, to be merely a matter of chance.

"Look, go find it for yourself. It's located—"

"Reese! Are you saying anything? Bad reception. I think my battery's dying. Get here this instant," Jace ordered. Talk about making excuses. He sounded excessively lame.

I put the radio back in its place and headed down the chair. As I was out of my comfort zone, namely, the red and towering umbrella over my head, the summer heat soon touched my skin. I felt even more riled.

I looked around my area. When I was certain that the coast was clear and no one needed help, I headed to the beach house. Slamming the door open, I saw my annoying enemy holding a dark blue surfboard in his hand.

He got that one pesky smile on his face. "What took you so long? I've been dying to get my hands on that scraper."

"You could have gotten it yourself," I muttered under my breath, heading to the storage closet that held everything—including the scraper that he was looking for. I lifted several things before I got my hands on it. Without another word, I handed it to him and walked back toward the door.

"Reese," he called.

I unwillingly turned my head to him. "What now?"

"Thanks," Jace added, holding the scraper up. And of course, he was amused. His face said it all. He looked as if he would soon clap his hands and say bravo.

"Uh-huh," I passively replied.

I heard him follow me as I made my way out. I looked back, darting him cold stares. He looked around with those innocent blue eyes, pulling back his dark brown hair. Instinctively, I looked away. If he had done it on purpose, he had succeeded. If not, I guess being handsome was his gift.

Bravo.

"Stop following me," I anxiously told him.

"I'm not," Jace casually replied.

I scoffed, "That is very believable."

For the next few hours, everything was going well within my area. No signs of someone needing help or children causing trouble. My first aid kit was still unused for the day. Aside from Jace Hamilton, today went smoothly for me. But instead of thinking that this was an easy day (and how I was always proven wrong after), I diligently scanned the area for any sign of unusual activities.

"Reese!" I heard the radio again.

"What?" I answered on the first sound. My voice was already raised to a high pitch, before I realized that it was a girl's voice on the other line instead.

I hurriedly said, "Sorry, Lavy. I thought you were someone else. What's going on?"

"There are two people drowning in my area. It's a little farther away from you, but I know that you're faster than Carl. Help me out," Lavy told me.

She stated where it was. Without another thought, I put the talkie down, grabbed the keys, and headed to the Jet Ski. Starting the engine, I dashed to the place where she had specified. In a little while, I spotted the two who needed help. Lavy was also on her jet ski. She nodded to me, and pointed to the two girls who were struggling in the water.

I grabbed the float, and threw it to them. Jumping into the deep water, I swam my way to the two. I noticed that Lavy was already rescuing the other one, so I focused myself on the blonde girl. She was struggling when I grabbed her arms to put over the float. And her feet and hands had done me no good. It took me several attempts, before she finally calmed down as the float rested her on the ocean.

I started pulling her back. Everything was going well, until I felt some tingling pain in my leg. Leg cramps. Lavy was already far from where I was, so I couldn't ask her for help.

I felt the pain creeping again. And in another moment, I wasn't able to move my right leg at all. It was a good thing that the girl that I was saving hadn't noticed my struggle. I tried pushing her, but it was no use. My calf was stiff, and painful sensation radiated all around it. Panic started to take over me, and I did my best to hush it down.

Get a grip, Reese.

"Are you okay?" I heard a man's voice say faintly in my ear.

"My legs," I muttered, gulping some water as I spoke.

Then a hand held me up and steadied me so I could breath. I tried to relax my legs, but the pain was still there. So I said to the one who was holding me, "The girl. Get her to shore."

"You're gonna be fine?" he asked, breathing in my ear.

I nodded.

"I'll be back in a few," he told me, before bringing me closer to the Jet Ski.

I held on to the port and tried floating instead. At least the girl was safe, so I didn't have to worry anymore. After several minutes, I started to wonder how long the cramps would last. I never had them since I started working. It must be due to exhaustion or probably dehydration. It was most likely dehydration, with Jace ordering me around like crazy.

After a few minutes, someone held me again. Putting his arm around me, he started pulling me back to shore. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I weakly mumbled.

When we arrived safely to shore, I got a clearer view of my lifesaver's face. I had a hunch that the voice sounded a lot like Jace's, but I didn't entertain the thought. And now, I had no clue if I should be thankful or what. He could pass as my stalker. He even noticed that I was in need of help. However, I just exhaled. I knew that I should be thankful. If not for him, I had no idea what I could have done if that girl, who was drowning a while ago, suddenly became frantic again. We could have both died.

Pulling one genuine smile that I hadn't given him for years, I muttered, "Thanks."

"No problem," Jace answered, bending down to me.

Then, without even asking, he picked me up in his arms. His drenched shirt clinging to my bare arms made my heart thump wildly in my chest, not to mention the effect of his warm breath that was softly tickling my face. I closed my eyes, unsure of what to do. And in turn, I heard two wildly beating hearts. I believed that my heart had surpassed its limit, and it was now able to beat fast, double time.

I was guilty of savoring the forsaken moment. But when I regained back my senses, I snapped, "What are you doing?"

"Can you walk on your own?" Jace asked me instead, his voice a little unsteady.

I looked at my cramped leg, and replied in defeat, "No."

"Then just be good and don't move too much. You're heavy," Jace said in a playful tone.

"Do you want to be smacked in the face so badly?" I angrily replied. He shouldn't have mentioned the fact that I did gain weight.

"No, I don't want that." He grinned.

The proximity of us was bothersome. From where I was, with both eyes wide open and staring at him, I grasped a closer look of his face. He was looking where he was going, so I didn't have to worry that he might see me carefully studying him. I was also aware of the fact that every girl around us was envious. If he was the lifeguard, I was certain that there would be a drowning incident every other minute.

When he placed me down on the sand, he grabbed my right foot and pointed it toward me. I was obliged to stay calm and let him be. Everyone else was watching. And from the looks on their faces, I couldn't actually make out what they were thinking. So instead of worrying about it, I just focused my eyes on his hands that were working wonders on the burning sensation on my leg.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah," I answered.

He met my eyes, and his next question caught me off guard, "Need a mouth to mouth resuscitation? I'll help you."

"No!" I hurriedly exclaimed. The crowd laughed. Great. Even here, he was making fun of me.

"We've done it before, there's no need to be shy," he rascally added in a much lower voice.

"When..."

A sly smile formed on his lips, and I was reminded of when. It was that same smile. I narrowed my eyes in dismay, as I recalled our first encounter after two years. My eyes then unknowingly lingered on his lips.

No, it wasn't kissing. But yes, I did touch those lips. I saw his smile stretch wider, and my cheeks became flared. He cleared his throat, as if reminding me that we had an audience.

"Reese!" I heard a worried voice came from the crowd, pulling me out of my muzzy thoughts.

Two people had emerged. Claire pushed aside the crowd and made her way to the center, finding her way to my side. Mason was soon beside her. He threw one meaningful glance at my flushed face and Jace's hands that were on my calf. He raised both of his dark eyebrows and grinned, unable to hide his amusement. Nodding his head a bit, which made his natural black curls bounce, his smile became even more teasing.

I glared at him.

"Are you okay?" Claire asked, tucking her hair behind her ears. She looked at my face and tilted it side to side. Her grasp was firm and deadly. As both Mason and I knew, she was not gifted with the trait of being gentle.

"Ouch," I muttered as she forcefully moved my neck to the right, wondering if I had broken it. Little did she know that she almost did.

During times like this, I was thankful that Mason had always been there. He had a way of calming her down, making her realize that her worry was appreciated, and quickly removing her hands so that she wouldn't do any further damage. I breathed and cracked my neck back as her hands started finding their way to my shoulders.

Mason held her in the arms and pointed to her the obvious, "She's fine. The damage is on her calf."

And that was when she caught a glimpse of Jace, who was still holding my calf. For a brief moment, I also forgot all about him. With a surprised voice, Claire blurted, "Jace!"

"Hi," Jace greeted her calmly, like an old friend.

Then her emerald eyes met mine, demanding for some form of explanation. I hurriedly answered, "Leg cramps!"

She darted her stare off my leg—that was still being massaged by Jace—and met my eyes, her hair hiding whatever she was doing from Jace's eyes. I nervously shook my head and shrugged. "I have no choice!"

Claire rolled her eyes in disbelief, and joined in Mason's amusement about the situation. I couldn't believe that they were my friends. I knew that they didn't want to spoil me, and they took the incidents as enough to believe that what we both did to each other were already evened out. But during times like this, I sincerely wished that they were on my side instead. It would be easier, less embarrassing.

"I'm feeling better, Jace," I muttered in defeat, as I felt that the tingling sensation started to wear off.

Jace slowly got up, stretching his own legs for a while. Then he told the two, "I'll leave her to your care then."

"Thanks for saving her," said Mason.

"And for massaging those legs," added Claire in a teasing tone.

My eyes widened in annoyance, telling both of them to stop. They both laughed, and Jace joined in. The world seriously took a wrong turn today.

Jace gently patted the top of my head, messing my hair. I shoved his hand away, but he sleekly avoided it. His soft laugh resounded again as he made his way back to the beach house. The crowd dispersed, and I was then left with the two.

And yes, I was still disappointed with them.

"I can't believe the two of you," I groaned, trying to stand up. Claire helped me up and held my arm as I stretched out my right leg and saw that it was now functional.

"Well, I believe that you enjoyed it yourself. So how's the feeling of being saved, Ms. Lifesaver?" Claire nudged.

"Great! Unbelievable!" I sarcastically replied, shoving them both as I made my way back to my post.

"Want to tell me how you're feeling, sweet?" Claire asked.

Sweet?

Ugh.

My heart was already messing with my head. There was no need for them damage it further. I threw Claire a disgusted glance. With a deadly voice, I warned her, "Not that name."

"Sure thing, sweet," she said again, disregarding my attempts to reprove her.

"Hey, stop it, you two. So where are we going tonight? It's Friday," said Mason, pushing himself in between us and putting both of his arms around the two of us.

"I heard that Midget Dreams will be playing, want to check them out?" Claire said, disregarding me altogether.

"No," I instantly replied. "Mason, you're taking my side, right?"

"I'm torn, Reese," he replied, eyeing his girl beside him.

"Whatever! You two enjoy your time," I protested, trying to get his arm off me. "This is a betrayal."

He held his arm tightly in place. "We were just kidding. Come on, where do you want to go?"

Seeing that I was still angry, Claire tickled me on the side. "I think we should all go for some ice cream after your shift, and then we'll decide. What do you think?"

"Fine," I mumbled in agreement, pushing her hand off my waist.

"Still angry?" Claire tickled me again.

I held her hands to stop her, laughing a bit. "Yes."

When I got home that night to change my clothes before heading to a sleepover, there was a case of sports drink in the kitchen. In different colors, it was hard not to notice. When I opened the refrigerator to grab some water, I saw that a red one was already waiting for me inside.

The note said: Drink it up.