Flynn
WHEN DAD USED to teach me how to swim and I'd get scared because a lake was different from a child's pool, he'd say, "Relax. Breathe and even though I can't come in with you, I'll be waiting for you when you resurface."
I was four and scared shitless, but I'd go in anyway because even if I did well or not, he'd be wheeling towards the bank of the lake and winking at me while doing the okay sign with his fingers.
That kept me going until it didn't anymore.
Now, as I stare at the pool and the students trying out for the team, I'm not in the best of moods and it's either one out of three reasons or all three. One, I have no idea why Coach called me here and told me to wait while the students try out because all I want to do is get the fuck out of here before I do something absolutely ridiculous, like crying or loosing my shit. Two, I want to understand why a certain girl hasn't texted me back and explained why where I am is perfect. Three, as cheesy as it sounds, I really need someone to hug the fuck out of me.
From my peripheral vision, I see Josephine opening the door to the arena with fuck face walking behind her. He's messing with her again, I'm sure and she's not comfortable in the least but she shrugs away from him and leans back. I remain rooted in the spot and look away from her when I realize I'm staring. If she spots me staring, she'll walk over with that annoying frown on her face and ask me why I was staring. Then I'd have no answer. Besides, she handles it well. She always does. Unlike me.
I hear her footsteps behind me and pretend not to while staring at the pool. She's right behind me now and that citrus smelling shampoo she always uses reaches my nose. She's hesitating and then she takes me off guard when she wraps her long, slender arms around my torso and rests her head on my shoulder.
Jesus Christ. Every inch of my body tenses involuntary and I close my eyes for a second before sliding my hands down her arms and watching those little hairs on her skin rise and break out into goosebumps before interlocking my fingers with hers. I had no idea her skin was incredibly soft. How is it this soft?
I turn my head to the side and ask, "Is this your count me in?"
"Mhm," she mumbles and I turn around and trap her legs between mine. I turn to the side, because I can't help it, and see Johnston watching us. He looks like he's about to combust.
Surprise, surprise, motherfucker.
I turn back to the girl in front of me and watch her look up at my face. She's wearing a little dress with some flowery things on it and most of her legs are on display. She's way taller than most of the girls in our grade so her legs pretty much run for miles. She's done her hair again in the same way she did it the day after I teasingly asked her if she was having a bad hair day. I didn't mean that then. It was just fun to pull her legs. Still is. All in all, she looks good but I'm obviously not going to tell her that.
I tuck a rogue strand of hair behind her ear. "What did you do today?"
She scrunches her nose. "Ew."
I smile. I knew it. She doesn't have one romantic bone in her body. I really don't know how this is going to work.
"Obviously, I learnt. That's what you go to school for. Besides, Craig was bothering me today in class. He asked me to spend the night with him. As if."
I really don't know what he wants from her but it's pretty obvious he's looking for someone to hump and dump. I just don't know why he's particular about her. He only thinks with his dick. At least, sometimes I use my brain. I don't even know if he has one because presently, regardless of the fact that her skin is touching mine, he's staring at her legs and folding his arms unblinking. I drag her closer with my feet until there's very little space between us and glare at him. I've never wanted to poke my fingers into someone's eyes as much as I want to right now.
"Is he looking?" She asks and I nod.
She sighs and rubs her forehead together. When she stops, she's frowning again and it's hard not to smoothen those lines out. "Do you think he's going to back off? I really shouldn't have gone out with him in the first place."
I don't know what she saw in him then but I'm glad she doesn't see it anymore.
"Tell me something," I say and wrap my arms around her waist like it's something I've been doing for years. "Anything."
"Okay," she breathes and thinks about it. Her brows are scrunched together and she's chewing the side of her lip. It has no reason to be cute. "Ah, I've got it. I'm just going to teach you what I was taught in class."
Oh god. I almost groan out loud. She's switched to her nerdy self. The side I always see when she's tutoring and narrowing her eyes at me when I'm not listening.
"Geneticsâ"she starts but I'm staring at her mouth. She's not wearing that red lipstick she wore at the party. I wish she was wearing it but this is good too. Her lips are glossy and pink and for some reason, it's a little bit hard to look away.
Her fingers grab my nose and she twists it painfully. "Stop staring at my mouth like that."
Goddammit. I forgot she's aggressive. I hold my nose and groan.
I shoot her a look. "You can't even hide your caveman attributes when you're pretending you like someone?"
She places her hands on her waist and then takes one off and points a finger at me. "Civilized men don't look at people's mouths like that."
"Why are two cavemen pretending to be in a relationship in front of another caveman? Did we somehow go back in time?"
She's glaring at me. She's always glaring or frowning or doing neither. I've never seen her smile before. "You're the caveman. This is my love language. The type you'd understand."
I take my hand off my reddened nose and grin. "You have an unusual way of displaying your love for me."
"I'm pretending to date a caveman. It's only natural I do that," she says and wraps her arms around my neck. Her glare dissipates. "Is he still here?"
I don't know. I don't look. Still I say, "Yes."
She sighs and tightens her hold around me again. "So, biologyâ"
Like I said, sometimes I use my brain. Sometimes I don't. Now I don't so I grab her face and angle it towards me. She shudders slightly and tightens her arms around me in a chokehold.
Her eyes widen and then she mumbles, "If you kiss me, you're dead."
"Relax, Pryce," I trail my fingers down her throat and her breathing picks up pretty quickly. "If you want caveman three there to believe this is a thing, then you've got to relax."
I wasn't going to kiss her but I like the fact that her face is red hot. I lean down just a little bit and bite her chin softly. Very softly so she doesn't punch me in the face and I end up going home with a black eye. Then I press my lips to it and lean back.
She rolls her lips together and looks at me, her cheeks flushed and all. "What was that? Was Craig looking?"
"That's this caveman's love language," I hold her shoulders and hold her gaze. "And I hope to God he was."
"Cauley," Coach bellows behind us and I take my hands off her shoulders and reluctantly turn around. He's standing right next to the pool with a whistle around his neck and a binder in his hands. His son storms off in a rage just as he calls my name and he slams the door to the arena shut. I hope he pisses in his pants when he gets home. I head over to the coach and stop when I'm directly in front of him.
"Coach," I greet and he nods.
"Did you see the students who tried out for the team?" He asks and I fold my arms and briefly glance round the pool to see the four of them, three girls and one boy packing up their stuff to leave. Josephine is sitting in the bleachers, legs crossed, bag on her thighs and book in hand. I should have brought a coffee with me just in case and my sketchbook. It doesn't matter now though, because whether I want it or not, this image is already imprinted in my brain.
I shrug and he drags a hand towel down his face and wraps it around his neck. "Well, what did you think?"
"I don't know," I lie. "I wasn't looking."
"Flynn," he places his hand on my shoulder and forces me to look at him. "I knew you wouldn't come if I asked you to attend practice so I figured setting up a late tryouts would work."
I shake my head, already knowing where he's headed. "I'm not returning to the team."
A downcast expression replaces the hopeful one on his face. "I'm not going to force you but I just need you to think about it." He claps his hand on my good shoulder. "Can you do that?"
I can think. I should be able to do that. "Okay."
He gives me a sad smile. "Good enough."
I start feeling like a kid from his gaze so I nod awkwardly and turn around. I glance at the pool as I head over to the bleachers. Unwanted memories flood my brain as I stare at it and I look away before it sucks me in again.
"I did so well. Did you see him?" Jo asks immediately I get to where she's seated and I nod. "I should win an Oscar." There's a hint of pride in her voice.
"Sure," I laugh and she gets to her feet and slings her bag behind her back. I glance at the novel she's reading and realize it's a new one. It used to be 'To Love A Knight In Shining Armor' but now it's 'Send My Love'.
With the number of romance books she reads, you'd think she'd be a romance guru. But alas, she's not.
She's back to standing at an arm's length away from me as we leave the arena and venture into the hallway. She's talking about something she learnt in AP biology. According to her, she only associates with book-smart people so she's trying to make me one.
As soon as we leave the hallway and get outside, someone calls a name behind us.
"Juliet?"
Jo turns around as soon as I do and the culprit waves at us. I roll my eyes. Great, it's Prince Charming.
She turns to me, her cheeks already pink and she nods sideways. "You. Get out."
I scoff. "You're not even going to correct Romeo?"
"I'll tell him once he gets here. Besides, it was a beautiful story."
"Tragic and also kind of stupid, in case you've forgotten."
Daniel gets closer and nods at me. I don't nod back.
"Flynn."
"David."
He doesn't bother to correct me this time. There's a glint in his eyes when he turns to her. "You're Juliet right?" Forgetful prick.
"Josephine," she coyly says.
"Right, right. I met you at the store the other day? Felix was there too right?" He narrows his eyes at me.
I lean back on my heels and chuckle. It's tit for tat I guess.
"Flynn," Jo corrects and nods. I don't like the little flutter that occurs inside me when she corrects him so I decide there and then, that I've overstayed my welcome even though he was the one who came to us.
"Right, well I'm leaving. Jo," I nod at her and she nods back. I turn to Daniel. "Princess." I nod with mirth in my eyes and he scoffs and throws me a nasty scowl. It's not tit for tat anymore. It's war.
I turn around and leave them to themselves before heading towards my car. I hope she wears this little dress again tomorrow.