Shipwrecked Summer Read Online Free Page A

the people dancing split off from the crowd.
       He led me into the throng of partiers, then spun me around so my back faced his chest. As we began to move together, I began to forget about Jeff. It wasn’t because I was discovering any kind of feelings for Joey, no, that ship would definitely never set sail, but at the very least dancing with him made me realize that I was still in control here.
    I was still me. I made my own decisions and it was my choice whether or not I let Jeff get to me.
    I could plan my way around this.
     Couldn’t I?
      I lost track of time as Joey and I moved to the beat of the music blaring from inside the beach house. The sand worked its way into every crevice between my toes as we danced.
    If it had been up to me, I’d have danced with Joey until the morning sun peeked out over the horizon.
        But it wasn’t up to me.
        “Hey.” Joey stepped to the side. “We should go find Pia. It’s been awhile since she said she was going to the bathroom.”
      I frowned. Clearly he hadn’t liked dancing with me as much as I liked it with him and I sighed. The blonde hadn’t lost Jeff’s attention, but I couldn’t even manage to get a friend to hang around me for that long.
       “Oh. Okay, yeah, you’re right. You go ahead, though. I just want to walk down by the water quick. Come find me when you’ve got her, okay?”
       Joey stared at me for a few seconds before nodding. “You alright, Lexie?” I could see uncertain concern flash in his eyes, like he wasn’t sure if he should be worried about me.
        “What? Yeah, I’m fine. Go find her.”
      He walked off towards the house while I headed in the opposite direction down toward the water.
    I loved the ocean. Whenever I had a problem when I was at the shore, I always felt like I had to be by the ocean to solve it. With its unpredictable tides and incredible, incomprehensible size, everything seemed dwarfed, trivial even, in comparison to the sea.
     The crashing surf made everything feel manageable. I couldn’t control the ocean, but whatever problem I had compared to that felt like a piece of cake. My problems paled in comparison to the power of the sea.
        And I craved that security now.
       I wandered down by the shoreline, standing in the place where the tip of the waves rolling in met the beach and sat down, keeping my shorts on dry sand but allowing my feet to feel the cool water flowing over them.
       I hated that I was silly enough to care about Jeff the Lifeguard. He wasn’t the kind of guy I should be interested in. I knew better than to feel any sort of anything for him, but my…my…I didn’t know what it was, really. My desperation to find someone who wanted to be with me? Whatever it was, it had clouded my better judgment.
        I sighed as a bird cawed overhead.
       “Lexie, right?” I glanced up and swallowed hard.
    Jeff stood just to my right, looking down at me. He dropped into the sand beside me, keeping a considerable distance, a red plastic cup in his hand, and I wondered if he was drunk.
        “Hi.”
       “Look,” he said, getting right to it. “I know you saw me dancing with Brittany earlier.” I frowned. This wasn’t what I’d been expecting to hear him say. “And I’m sorry if that upset you for some reason. But…I don’t know, I guess I just wanted to make sure that you’re okay or something.”
       I glared at him through narrowed eyes, my blood already boiling. If Jeff could have said any one thing to ensure that I would get over my silly, useless, immature crush on him, flashing his rude side twice in one day was it.  
        “What even makes you think I was upset?”
       Jeff rolled his eyes. “Don’t bother playing coy with me. I saw you standing up there on the railing, looking at me like you hated me once you saw me with Brittany. You looked horrified, like you’d been slapped. I’m not that stupid, Lexie.”
       “You