“There is some stuff I’ll be glad to get away from,” he admitted, but when he looked over at her, his expression softened. “But there will definitely be some things that I miss.”

The beach was mostly deserted, other than a few teenagers having a bonfire, and Gemma directed Alex to drive a little farther. The soft sand gave way to more jagged rocks lining the shore, and the paved parking lots were replaced by a forest of bald cypress trees. He parked on a dirt road as close to the water as he could get.

This far away from the tourist attractions, there were no people or trails leading to the water. When Alex cut the lights on the Cougar, they were submerged in darkness. The only light came from the moon above them, and from some light pollution cast off by the town.

“Is this really where you swim?” Alex asked.

“Yeah. It’s the best place to do it.” She shrugged and opened the door.

“But it’s all rocky.” Alex got out of the car and scanned the mossy stones that covered the ground. “It seems dangerous.”

“That’s the point.” Gemma grinned. “Nobody else would swim here.”

As soon as she got out of the car, she slipped off her sundress, revealing the bathing suit she wore underneath. Her dark hair had been in a ponytail, but she pulled it down and shook it loose. She kicked off her flip-flops and tossed them in the car, along with her dress.

Alex stood next to the car, shoving his hands deep in his pockets, and tried not to look at her. He knew she was wearing a bathing suit, one he’d seen her in a hundred times before. Gemma practically lived in swimwear. But alone with her like this, he felt acutely aware of how she looked in the bikini.

Of the two Fisher sisters, Gemma was definitely the prettier. She had a lithe swimmer’s body, petite and slender, but curved in all the right places. Her skin was bronze from the sun, and her dark hair had golden highlights running through it from all the chlorine and sunlight. Her eyes were honey, not that he could really see the color in the dim light, but they sparkled when she smiled at him.

“Aren’t you going swimming?” Gemma asked.

“Uh, no.” He shook his head and deliberately stared off at the bay to avoid looking at her. “I’m good. I’ll wait in the car until you’re done.”

“No, you drove me all the way down here. You can’t just wait in the car. You have to come swimming with me.”

“Nah, I think I’m okay.” He scratched his arm and lowered his eyes. “You go have fun.”

“Alex, come on.” Gemma pretended to pout. “I bet you’ve never even gone for a swim in the moonlight. And you’re leaving for college at the end of the summer. You have to do this at least once, or you haven’t really lived.”

“I don’t have swim trunks,” Alex said, but his resistance was already waning.

“Just wear your boxers.”

He thought about protesting further, but Gemma had a point. She was always doing stuff like this, but he’d spent most of his high school career in his bedroom.

Besides, swimming would be better than waiting. And when he thought about it, it was much less creepy joining her swimming than watching her from the shore.

“Fine, but I better not cut my feet on any of the rocks,” Alex said as he slipped off his shoes.

“I promise to keep you safe and sound.” She crossed her hand over her heart to prove it.

“I’ll hold you to that.”

He pulled his shirt up over his head, and it was exactly as Gemma had imagined. His gangly frame had filled out with toned muscles that she didn’t completely understand, since he was a self-professed geek.

When he started to undo his pants, Gemma turned away to be polite. Even though she would see him in his boxers in a few seconds, it felt strange watching him take off his jeans. As if it were dirty.

“So how do we get down to the water?” Alex asked.

“Very carefully.”

She went first, stepping delicately onto the rocks, and he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance of copying her grace. She moved like a ballerina, stepping on the balls of her feet from one smooth rock to the next until she reached the water.

“There are a few sharp stones when you step in the water,” Gemma warned him.

“Thanks for the heads-up,” he mumbled and moved with as much caution as he could. Following her path, which she’d made look so easy, proved to be rather treacherous, and he stumbled several times.

“Don’t rush it! You’ll be fine if you go slow.”

“I’m trying.”

To his own surprise, he managed to make it to the water without slicing open his foot. Gemma smiled proudly at him as she waded out deeper into the bay.

“Aren’t you scared?” Alex asked.

“Of what?” She’d gone far enough into the water to lean back and swim, kicking her legs out in front of her.

“I don’t know. Sea monsters or something. The water is so dark. You can’t see anything.” Alex was now in a little over waist-deep, and truthfully, he didn’t want to go any farther.

“There’s no sea monsters.” Gemma laughed and splashed water at him. To encourage him to have fun, she decided to challenge him. “I’ll race you to the rock over there.”

“What rock?”

“That one.” She pointed to a giant gray spike of a rock that stuck out of the water a few yards from where they swam.

“You’ll beat me to it,” he said.