It Was Always Jace: A Sweet YA Romance (Beachbreak High Book 3) by Emily Lowry

Author:Emily Lowry [Lowry, Emily]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Eleventh Avenue Publishing
Published: 2021-02-12T05:00:00+00:00

I expected to get stuck.

I expected our wetsuits to catch on a piece of rock, or that the cavern would narrow and we wouldn’t be able to go any further. Even though the passageway to the opening was only fifteen feet long, I didn’t expect us to actually make it through.

“It’s just on the other side,” Jace said. He slipped through a narrow opening, then held his hand out to me and helped me through. “Watch the first step.”

I squeezed through the opening, looked around, and gasped.

The cave – our cave – was the size of an extra-large hot tub. Glowing water lapped against the rock, which was smooth in most places, and there was a slight ledge that was just big enough to sit – like a bench. Above, the cave opened to the sky, giving us a perfect view of the stars. The water was deeper here, too – up to our chests.

I lifted my camera and started snapping photos.

Photos of the cave.

Of the stars.

Of Jace splashing in the water.

“When were we here last?” I asked.

Jace floated in the water, his chin tilted up so he could stare at the stars. “Before high school, probably.”

“The night before high school started, wasn’t it?”

“I remember that night.”

I remembered it too. Jace and I were both secretly terrified of high school. Our middle school was a decent size, but it was nothing compared to Beachbreak High. There would be so many new faces, new friends. We both thought things might change between us. That high school might pull us in different directions, pull us away from each other.

“Do you remember the promise we made?” I asked.

“It was a night like this. Felt like you could see every star in the sky.”

I bobbed in the water beside him. He was right, it was a night like this. The two of us had stood in our bathing suits in the middle of this cave. We’d shared our fears. Then, our hands met and our pinkies intertwined as we promised that, no matter what came, we’d stay best friends.

It was a promise we’d kept.

I smiled to myself. “Thanks for taking me out tonight. I didn’t even know about the algae.”

“What are friends for?”

I swam over to the ledge and climbed up. “I don’t know how you managed this. With everything going on in your life, it’s amazing you have time for this. For anything.”

Jace’s smile faded and he looked uncharacteristically serious. “I wish I had more time.”

For the first time in his life, Jace didn’t look like he was overflowing with confidence. His voice was soft, his features defined against the backdrop of the glowing water. In that moment, he looked not like a teenager, but like a young man, one burdened with the weight of the responsibilities passed on to him. It was a weight I’d heard of but never felt.

I rested my head against the rock. “Can I ask you something?”

“Always.”

“You say that you never have enough time. So why are you so invested in this University of Michigan thing? Like, I get that it's super important to you.

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