All Chapters of Toxic Paradise : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The minute we broke the surface, I gasped in a large breath of air. I didn't even realize how much my lungs had been burning for oxygen till now."Jayna, are you okay?! What the hell were you doing?" Alec's deep voice rumbled from behind me. I clung to his arms that were wrapped around me as he walked us both to the shallow end of the pool. "Alec? I'm fine! What the hell are you doing?" I breathed. Once we were shallow enough for me to stand, he released his grip and I immediately turned to face him. I almost lost my breath again as I took in the sight. I knew Alec was insanely good looking, but a wet, shirtless Alec was in an entirely different league.Although it was dark, the pool lights illuminated the perfect outline of his sculpted body, and I could see his muscles flexing as he caught his breath. He ran a hand through his hair before responding. "I'm saving you! I thought you were drowning!" "Well, I wasn't; I'm fine," I sniffed. "Could have fooled me," Alec responded. "Y

Finally, about 45 minutes later, we arrived at the beach. As I fumbled with my seatbelt and gathered my beach bag, I was surprised by the sound of my door opening. I looked just in time to see that Alec had opened my door for me. I shot him a smile as I jumped out of the car.Ryan lead the way as we made our way over to a small, blue building that looked like a little shed. It had a large sign out front with different purchase options, and paintings of surf boards on either side. I noticed the price of the surf lesson on the sign and immediately turned to Alec."I can do the lesson by myself... really, please don't pay that much just so I don't look lame and alone." I wasn't expecting the lessons to cost 70 bucks for an hour. I thought maybe 30–40 max.As I was speaking to him, I noticed his eyes were fixated on the shed. When I turned to look, I realized what he was staring at. The girl in the window was absolutely gorgeous.She was tall— really tall, slender, and had long blonde hai

"To Jayna completely eating shit in front of the hot surf instructor," Ryan teased, holding up his whisky sour. I watched Alec hold up his beer, chuckling along with Ryan.I held up my tequila sunrise, shooting daggers at them both. "Or... how bout to the fact that the two of you made it through almost a full day without killing each other." I knew this was kind of risky to say... but also, it was true. They both looked to be having a nice time, and I thought they should acknowledge it.They both looked at each other, shrugging their shoulders before we clinked our glasses together in cheers.We didn't have to go far to find this restaurant. In fact, it was right on the beach. The restaurant was half inside, half outside. Where we were seated outside, the ground was made up of wooden slats that resembled a boardwalk, with some tables, booths, and a large tiki bar with stools. If you followed the boardwalk past the bar, you would end up back on the sand, next to a DJ where other people

Waking up the next morning, I felt good. I couldn't help smiling as I reminisced on the events of yesterday. Overall, I had fun, and I knew that it was the best day yet when it came to interactions between Alec and Ryan.After we got home last night, Ryan did end up confronting me again about my dancing with Alec. I promised him that it was nothing, and as far as telling the truth, in my mind, this wasn't exactly a lie. I knew whatever I felt for Alec could never be anything anyway, so why even worry Ryan for no reason? However, the truthful part of my brain knew I couldn't deny that dancing with him was amazing, and it gave me more butterflies than I'd ever felt before."You don't have to worry," I had said to Ryan, "but.. how about you two? Seemed like you were having fun today?" I knew this question was a good way to gather information while also changing the topic.It worked, and Ryan didn't press me further before answering. "Yeah... today was nice but it doesn't change the fac

I hesitated, allowing my feet to adjust to the temperature. "Fuck, it's cold! The other beach was warmer," I complained."Don't be a wimp; let's go," Alec persuaded."I just need to go slow to adjust," I informed, taking another few steps and stopping.I watched as Alec rolled his eyes, taking a few quick steps back in my direction."What are you doing?" I questioned. I had a bad feeling as I took in the expression on his face.He didn't answer me, instead, he grabbed me around the waist and lifted my feet off the ground as he walked us both deep into the water. My body was pressed tightly to him, keeping my front kind of warm as my back was assaulted by the cool water."Fuck—fine! You win; I'm in! Put me down," I squealed.He chuckled. "Put your goggles on first. The sand dropped off and you won't be able to touch here."He released his tight grip on me enough so that I could move my goggles from the top of my head to cover my eyes."Put your snorkel in your mouth, and test both of t