Sam leapt to his feet, legs lurching into a full sprint the second that Candace disappeared under the waves. Rooster tails of sand flew behind each foot strike as he instinctively raced toward the water.
Matt was up nearly as fast. The two splashed as they ran to thigh-deep water, then dove in. They swam to Candace’s last location, swallowed one last breath, and dove downward. Spotting her quickly, they snaked their arms around each side of her limp form. Securing their quarry, they kicked hard, driving upward until they broke the pond’s glimmering surface.
Both young men extended one arm with the other wrapped around each of the beautiful girl’s bare shoulders. They swam their precious payload to shore.
As they dragged Candace out of the water and onto the beach, Matt looked directly at Sam and gave him a quick, questioning nod, breathing heavily from exertion. Then, he gave a brief tilt of his head toward the pond and slapped his chest.
Sam gave a quick nod in reply, understanding exactly what he meant. Upon receipt of Sam’s nonverbal reply, Matt sprinted back into the lake to find the two parachutists. Sam turned his attention to Candace.
She wasn’t breathing.
Despite the urgency of the situation, Sam felt a thrill shoot through him at the prospect of giving the beautiful girl mouth-to-mouth. He mentally chided himself. He needed to focus on saving her life right now, not his own desires.
He pressed his lips to hers, forcing his mind to the task, not the sensation. He began heart compressions as the others formed a circle around him. Sam gave a silent prayer of thanks that his gym teacher had required CPR certification as part of their requirements as he lowered his mouth to hers once more.
As Sam removed his lips from hers a second time, Candace sputtered a splatter of water right into his face. Never in his life had he been so glad to be blasted in the face with water!
Candace twisted her svelte abs and cleared her lungs of the remaining liquid into the sand. Giving Candace a bit of space, Sam permitted his relieved eyes the reward of a momentary linger over her glistening curves.
God, she was gorgeous.
As her coughing subsided, grateful emerald eyes found his. Tunnel vision enveloped Sam’s gaze, only her warm, beaming eyes existed for a long moment. Until she reached up and pulled him into a hug.
Sam’s lips broke into a huge grin, his eyes aflame with delight as her breasts touched his bare chest.
“Thank you, Sam,” she whispered into his ear.
Could this day turn out any better? Candace in a bikini? Beach party? Candace in a bikini? Beer? Rescuing his dream girl from the brink of drowning? Okay, he could do without the beer.
Had he thought of Candace in a bikini already? Hugging him? Grateful to the boy who had saved her life? Yeah, that. And that. And that again.
He sighed dreamily.
Candace heard his exhale and released the hug. Her eyes found his inane expression, their corners crinkling in amusement.
“Oh my God, are you okay, Candace?” Mara asked, reminding Sam that the rest of the world outside of Candace did, in fact, still exist.
Sam’s grin began to fade as he realized that Mara’s reaction was probably more appropriate than his. It didn’t diminish entirely, however. This was much too marvelous a day for that.
Candace. Bikini. Hug.
Those three mental images would keep a smile on his face for a long while.
The group heard a splash and five pairs of eyes turned back toward the pond. Sam sprang back to his feet, remembering that Matt was still out there attempting to save lives.
He seemed to be struggling to pull something to the surface of the water. Apparently, he couldn’t do it, though, because he slipped back under the waves.
Sam dove back into the water to help the athletic quarterback. Sam submerged and scanned ahead as he swam. After a moment, he spied Matt with a tangle of bodies in his arms.
Before his eyes, the tangle vanished! He paused mid-stroke in utter astonishment, then continued toward Matt.
Matt didn’t need help getting himself to the surface, however. A shocked expression on his face, his cheeks puffed to release a few bubbles. After glancing around and below for his lost targets, he kicked upward. Sam surfaced with him, took a deep breath, then both of them swam down, searching the area down to the pond floor, finding nothing.
After several more such fruitless sorties, both boys swam back to the shore.
“Did you find them?” asked Rob.
“No,” huffed Matt between breaths. Sam shook his head in confirmation, dropping to his knees as he gulped air. “They were there… and then... they were… just… gone.”
Matt turned his palms toward himself and examined them.
“Watcha doing? Your hands okay?” asked Megan, furrowing her brows.
“Yeah,” said Matt, dropping his hands suddenly.
Rob and Mara helped Candace to her feet.
“You need to go to the hospital, Cand,” said Megan to her friend. “You stopped breathing for a minute!”
“I feel fine. Great, actually… Thanks to Sam here,” said Candace, bathing him once again in the warm glow of her dazzling smile.
Sam flushed.
“Don’t forget Matt,” he said. “Both of us pulled her out of the water.”
Matt nodded at Sam, appreciating the acknowledgment. Candace’s eyes never left Sam, however.
“She’s right! Nice work, both of you. You saved her life!” said Mara. “I’m pretty sure Sam enjoyed the…”
Rob cut her off with a trademark pinch of her toned ass. Mara whirled and smacked him.
“You!!!” she cried in mock outrage.
Rob gave her a crooked grin as Megan took Candace’s elbow and guided her back to the parking lot.
The rest of the gang brushed off sand and hustled to the cars as well. As they pulled out of the parking lot to head toward the hospital, bubbles rippled the surface of the pond.
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