Wilder

“It’s nice,” I agreed.

“Don’t relax too much, the helicopter will be here in a minute. That’s all they’re waiting on.”

“Helicopter?” As if on cue, the sound of rotors reached us, and as the helicopter came from the island, Paxton and the others took to the sky.

They were giants rising from the water, their legs long and powerful as they flexed. Paxton rose a little higher than the others, then dipped back to the water only to skyrocket again. Then they all started to experiment, the water-powered hoverboards allowing them to flip, turn, and even dive beneath the water as Landon had earlier.

I held my breath as Paxton soared again, then pulled a double backflip as he fell to the water, catching himself right before impact. He’d broken his fifty-foot goal. Then he did it again, and again, just because he could.

I found myself grinning, enjoying the show as I’m sure Paxton was loving putting it on. He raised his arm, and they all dropped back down to the water. “What are they doing?” I asked.

“Running over the game plan before they perform.”

“There are a lot of them.”

“Yeah, there’s Penna.” She pointed to the left. “Then Landon and Paxton, then a few regulars, and the CTDs.”

“CTDs?” I asked. I hadn’t realized the Renegade crew was this big.

“Crash Test Dummies,” she answered. “Groupies who hang around hoping that the four Originals will make them regulars on the Renegade Channel.”

“Like Zoe.”

“She’s the worst of them. I’ve never minded the ones who are here for the stunts, or even the fame. They’re as reckless as Penna or Pax. But Zoe? She’s trying to sleep her way in, and it annoys the shit out of me.”

“Which ones are Originals?” I asked, trying to make out the faces I didn’t recognize and wishing I’d spent more time in Paxton’s suite this last week.

“Paxton, of course. He’s the Pied Piper of daredevils, I swear. Then Penna, Landon, and N—” Her voice died suddenly, and she rubbed her hand across the bridge of her nose, moving her sunglasses, but not enough to reveal her eyes.

“Nick?” I guessed.

“Did your research, huh?” she asked with a wry smile.

“No, he kind of came up in discussion yesterday, and Paxton clammed right up.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t talk about Nick. Ever. No one does. Oh, look!”

All ten of them rose again, but this time they squared off, five against five. Paxton backed away, then raised something over his head.

“You have got to be kidding me,” I muttered as he tossed the football.

I laughed at the sheer lunacy of it, and then watched the craziest football game I’d ever seen play out fifty feet above the water.

“This is much more my speed,” I said, treading the crystal blue water next to Paxton. “How did you manage to get away from the cameras?”

“I may have insinuated that we’d be naked.”

“You did not!”

“No, I didn’t. Then they really would have insisted they come with.” He pulled his snorkel mask down over his eyes and nose. “Shall we?” he asked in a nasal tone before popping in his mouthpiece.

I did the same and nodded. Then I took a deep breath, and we descended into paradise. The water was perfect, the color, the clarity, the temperature—everything. Colorful fish swam in schools along the reef, lingering on the shipwreck Paxton had brought us here to see.

My lungs subtly protested their lack of oxygen, and I swam back up, taking a breath before heading back down. Paxton kept pace with me, pointing to certain pieces of the wreckage, lingering when I did, breathing when I needed to.

This was incredible.

I’d always loved the water. Even…after, when it had become more of a prescription than an enjoyment, it had always welcomed me home with open arms. There was something about being infinitely weightless, of living in a world without walls, that was simply blissful.

We swam through the fish, across the wreck, explored the shallower shorelines, and seemed to find a perfect harmony together without uttering a word.

After over an hour, when we broke the surface for the last time, we both removed our mouthpieces and masks, facing each other as we treaded water about thirty feet from the boat.

“Worth it?” Paxton asked.

“Every second. This is amazing—seriously one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. Thank you.”

The smile he gave me was more beautiful than the scenery around us and more intimate than a kiss. It was soft, open, with a touch of vulnerability that was sexier than any of his performances. “I’m glad that you enjoyed it. You know, if you’re stuck with me the next nine months, you may as well get perks. If there’s something you want that’s not on the excursion list in any port we come to, just tell me. I know it’s going to suck for you at times, and that you got yanked into my world without having a fair choice, but I swear I won’t let you regret it.”

“And what about you?” I asked. “I’m your tutor. You’re stuck with me for study sessions and test prep and papers. None of this was what you agreed to. You don’t have to spend your free shore time entertaining me. I know there are a lot of…demands on you.”

The brief internet search I’d done on him hadn’t only turned up his X Games medals, but pages of party pictures with tons of different women. Add that to the mug shots from the few times he’d been arrested for jumping off things he shouldn’t have, and it painted a different picture of Paxton from the one swimming in front of me.