The icy water robbed her of breath and she came up sputtering and treading water. "You stupid idiot!" She snarled. "You could have drowned me!"

"Aw, shut up and stand up." His voice had an edge that belied the smile on his lips.

She allowed her feet to touch the bottom and stood. The water came to her chest. She pulled her hair back from her face and wiped the water from her eyes. She frowned up at him through wet lashes.

The deep amber eyes mocked her. "That's as deep as it gets, you little pansy. What's the matter? I thought you said you could swim - or is that only in salt water?"

He cupped his hand and dashed water into her face.

She gasped and rubbed the water from her eyes again. He flipped water at her again and she turned away, swimming with strong strokes for the bluff on the other side of the creek. His voice followed her.

"Stay away from the rocks. There could be snakes."

She rolled over and smoothly converted to a backstroke in the opposite direction. She was getting used to the water and it felt good, but she would have preferred a swim in the ocean. She ducked under the water and swam a short distance before surfacing to make sure she wasn't close to any rocks. As she wiped the water from her eyes, something bumped her shoulder. From the corner of her eye she saw the long dark shape and screamed. She slapped water at it, and screamed again when she felt a sharp pain in her hand. Was it poisonous? She scrambled behind Keaton, still splashing water at the dark form that followed her wake. Some vaguely sane part of her mind protested that it was a cowardly thing to do, but panic had the upper hand.

Keaton, on the other hand, wasn't the least bit cowardly. In fact, he reached out and plucked the stick from the water. He doubled over with laughter. "I hope it didn't bite you," he finally managed, and then burst into a fresh bout of laughter.

She staggered back and her foot slipped on a smooth stone, spilling her into the water again. Scrambling to her feet again, she stumbled to shallow water. There she finally gave up and sat down, burying her face in her hands. The burning in her eyes had little to do with the creek water. After such a cowardly display, she didn't want him to catch her crying. Her stomach was still tied in knots, and she clutched her knees to her chest, shivering in the cold creek water. This phobia about snakes was thwarting her attempts at independence. Somehow she had to conquer it - but how?




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