Before He Was Gone: Starstruck Book 2 by Becky Wicks Read Free Book Online Page A

have loosened the second one now on the other side of the boat. ‘Two people on each one, we need to stack them up!’ I say, pulling off my shirt in one movement, throwing it down to the raft and jumping  overboard with the spear.
    The bathtub-temperature of the water shocks me as much as the cold would for a second, but I pull myself easily onto the bamboo slats. There’s a splash next to me. The cheerleader blinks against the saltwater and instantly her mascara runs, but before I’ve even helped haul her up beside me she’s yelling up for the others to start throwing everything overboard. ‘Get it down here, ya’ll!’
    ‘One minute left!’ Ed calls.
    Alyssa’s looking overboard with one of the sacks of rice, waiting for instruction. ‘Drop them!’ I shout and she and the black woman let three go in quick succession. I catch and stack each one as the nerd wrestles with a coil of heavy rope next to them. I can hear the others loading up on the other side now. ‘Evenly,’ I say and we start arranging the rice around the edges to balance the weight. A camera guy floating around us on a yellow kayak is trying his best to catch everything we’re doing without falling overboard in our wake.
    ‘We need the goat!’ Alyssa says above me. The sound of her voice for the first time in reality makes me smile as her face disappears and reappears with another girl – a studenty looking Asian girl with her hair tied in pigtails. They’re holding a small goat over the side, yelling at us to catch it now.
    The nerd is lowering himself over the boat with the rope over his shoulder. He’s looking at the water like he’s terrified. ‘Get in, hurry,’ the cheerleader urges him and he whips off his glasses, plunges in with a gasp, just as Alyssa drops the squirming goat over the side, into my arms.
    It’s heavy and it bleats as I catch it. I shove the thing quickly at the cheerleader. ‘Hold onto it,’ I tell her. They’ll edit this good with some hardcore dramatic music, no doubt.
    ‘Help me!’ the nerd splutters, doggy-paddling over to me. I reach down to yank him up in one movement and he coughs beside us, tangled in the rope. His curls are a flattened wet mess on his head as he fumbles to put his wet glasses back on.
    ‘Get the paddles! Slash the ropes,’ I instruct him, shoving the spear at him and turning back up to Alyssa.
    ‘Catch the chickens!’ she yells at me. She and the mother-figure are each holding an end of a crate over the boat now, waiting for me to catch it.
    ‘Forty seconds left, guys, don’t leave anything you’re going to need!’ Ed instructs. ‘This is your last chance.’
    ‘OK, drop it!’ I shout up. Alyssa releases the crate instantly and turns back for her own bag, slinging it over her pantsuit blazer. The squawking assaults our ears as I catch the birds. They’re louder than the goddam goat as Alyssa clambers onto the side of the boat and drops to the water beside me like a cannon.
    I put the crate down, reach a hand out to her as she swims with difficulty to the raft in all her clothes. Her fingers clasp around mine till she gets her grip and in two seconds she’s flying upwards towards me. She falls against me, swiping the wet hair from her face.
    ‘Did you get the chickens?’ she asks as I put my hands on her shoulders to steady her.
    ‘We got the chickens, Alyssa.’
    ’You know my name?’
    ‘I’ve seen you before,’ I say. Up close, her deep brown eyes are shining with what I think is laughter and something about her makes me want to laugh, too. This is crazy.
    She pulls away from me, shaking her head. She’s pulling off her soaking blazer now, ordering the cheerleader to hold on tighter to the squirming goat. The Asian student has disappeared and I know the raft on the other side will be holding her and the others by now.
    ‘Time’s up!’ Ed Bernstein yells as the mother-figure hits the water with a force and starts swimming towards us. She almost knocks the