Chapter Nineteen

There was no doubt about it. Every kiss, every touch, every lingering stare made my stomach all oozy and my mind all woozy from all things Sabrina. It didn't help my growing feelings when she helped make it up to Anna by helping with my prom proposal. It surged the crush to take up a more permanent residence in my heart, my brain and everywhere that was capable of emotions.

The only time when my thoughts were somewhat clear was at night in the solitude of my bedroom. So there I was in my bedroom, learning off flashcards, parading back and forth in my bedroom and tossing the cards onto the bed - only to collect them when I realised that I'd learned nothing. All the while, I should've had been asleep.

Studying was put aside in favour of sellotaping cut out pieces of flashcards to form the shape of a crown - one that was multi-coloured and barely held together. I placed it on top of my head, remaining sat in the middle of the bed, looking around for something else to do to pass the time. It turns out; I didn't have to search long.

Outside my window, Sabrina was in the bedroom opposite mine, opening her window and motioning for me to do the same.

It looked like my Sabrina free and clear-minded time was about to be demolished, and I didn't find myself being all that disappointed.

Opening the window allowed a cold breeze to circulate inside my room. I crossed my arms, holding back a shiver and asked, "Sabrina, shouldn't you be asleep?"

Sabrina leaned her elbows against the windowsill and rested her chin on the palms of her hands. "And miss all the fun you're clearly having?"

"Oh, you mean this?" I cleared my throat as I took the make-do crown off my head and presented it forward so she could have a proper look. "You know me, arts and crafts are kind of my thing."

"Is this what you do at night? Dress up in crowns, secretly wishing you were royalty? Or . . . maybe something else closer to reach?"

"You mean prom queen?"

"If that's where your mind went . . ."

"Threatened?" I asked jokingly.

"No." She flicked her gaze up to the crown and back to my face. "It looks good on you."

"Got to get into the mindset of someone at the prom," I explained and placed the crown back onto my head. "Someone that loves the idea of prom. What do they imagine when they head inside the gym? What's hanging on the ceilings? What's behind them as the photographer takes a picture? How many hearts is too many hearts? I never imagined prom before, and now it's all I can think about."

"A good place to brainstorm is in the shower, you know," Sabrina said casually and cocked an eyebrow.

"You just like the idea of me being naked," I joked.

"Speaking of, that gives me an idea. Meet me by the fence, where the hammock is."

"Sabrina?"

"You want to brainstorm, don't you?"

"Well . . . Yes?"

"Then trust me. Let me show you something I do sometimes when I need to think."

"Outside? Sounds ominous. You're not planning to murder me because I dared to wear a fake crown, are you? Drowning would be a pretty sucky way to die. Don't you think?"

"Sam. Let me help you. Oh, and bring the crown."

My eyebrows raised as she shut her window and spun around out of view. Trust her? Did I? There was this . . . naughty sparkle in her eye and a mischievous smile that played on her lips. She clearly wasn't aiming to be trustworthy. Even though I'd no clue what was going through her mind, I intended to find out.

I threw on a coat over my pyjamas and slipped on a pair of shoes and headed out the backdoor slowly as to not make a sound. I went to the fence where Sabrina said to go to, and she was there waiting for me.

She held out her hand and helped me climb through the gap of the fence and held my hand as she led me into the garden.

There's no way I'd be out of the heat inside my bedroom if it weren't for the fact that Sabrina asked me out there. Besides, her hand was warm - which is why it was such a disappointment when she let my hand go. Maybe what happened next made up for it. She dragged her T-shirt over her head and tossed it over my face with a laugh.

As she shimmied out of her pyjama bottoms, I turned away and stared decidedly at the pool which we stood in front of, and it clicked. "You want to go swimming?"

She sat by the edge of the pool, now only in her black bra and underwear. "No, Sam, I want to go skinny dipping."

I gaped at her. "You realise it's February."

"It's a heated pool, so, I'd advise if you want to warm up, you'll join me," she said and then slipped into the pool and sunk under the water.

My options were to head back into my house where it was all warm and snug or head into the closer choice of the heated pool that had steam flittering into the air above the water.

I got undressed down to the same attire as Sabrina and sat by the edge of the pool, so only my legs dipped into the water.

Sabrina finally poked her head from beneath the water, and her hair was wet and glistening under the moonlight.

She tapped the side of her head. "I want to see the crown on you."

"Kinky," I said, placing it on my head and kicking my feet back and forth.

"Cute," she resorted, sinking below again and all I could see was the outline of her figure as she came closer and closer. Then suddenly, she was there standing between my legs and stroking her hands over my thighs. "Coming in?"

"What happened to skinny-dipping?" I asked, looking pointedly down at her covered chest.

"Hmm. Stripping naked in front of someone without asking seems a little . . . rude." Sabrina flattened a hand against my skin. "Why? Are you disappointed, Samantha?"

"Maybe a little," I said, wiping a drop of water from her cheek with my thumb.

"Come in and see what happens." As she floated back, her fingers skimmed down my legs until she held my ankles in the palm of her hands.

"We'll brainstorm?" I teased, and it sounded like a ridiculous thing to say but by the growing smile on her face and how she inched backwards, she didn't seem to mind.

"I did promise to help," she said, pulling my feet so that I slipped into the pool. Now that we were both in the water and staring at each other, she grew serious. "We should probably talk about this," she said, using a hand to gesture between us. That's when I realised there was too much space between us.

"I mean, we could do that," I said, nodding, but not really agreeing. My lips wanted something much more fun than that. "Or," I said, going closer to her and placed a finger over her lips. "We could not."

She took a shaky breath and took the crown off my head, flinging it onto the grass. "I like the way you think, Sam."

We went for it. Sabrina soon had me panting and shaking and had my legs so wobbly that if it weren't for the fact that we were in four-foot deep water, I probably would've had drowned - and wouldn't have cared at all.

She tugged lightly at my hair, and I moaned. Why did that feel good? I did the same to her, and she responded the same as me. It was good to know I wasn't the only one completely overwhelmed.

Sabrina floated me backwards, and somehow, we easily sank deeper into the water until we made it to the edge of the pool's wall without hurting ourselves. I wanted everything at once and nothing was enough. I needed more of her, more of this, so much more it would kill me, and I wouldn't care. She ran her hands down my back and hiked my leg up onto her until I got the hint wrapped my legs shamelessly around her.

Even if she was the one to keep me upright, I'd never felt this powerful in my entire life. I could sink underwater and breathe without effort or fly into the sky and touch the moon. Nothing was out of my reach.

Sabrina moved, so I was forced to thrust her hips into her and just like that my power surge dropped and I thought I was going to fail to breathe and die right there. I held onto her for dear life, finally pressing my hands against the now wet ground on the edge of the pool, so I didn't drown in the storm between us.

Sabrina's hands were everywhere like her soul had infiltrated mine, stroking and grabbing where she could. At that point, I didn't care if someone just so happened to head out into the garden in the middle of the night, as long as she didn't stop.

Little involuntary sounds came from my mouth, and I wasn't in control or responsible for them.

She used one of her hands to sneakily roam up my back and dance over the clasp of my bra, and if she had kept going, I might've died and gone to heaven before she got to the fun bit. Just as if she noticed what she was doing, she stopped and rushed her hands down. In doing so, she trailed along my skin, and her hands landed on the back of my thighs. We were gasping and staring at each other, faces so close that if she leaned in again, I wouldn't hesitate to kiss her back.

But apparently, she had a clearer head than me.

"A second longer and you would've been skinny-dipping," she said, and it took me several seconds to process her words and to understand what was happening. This was stopping. I wanted the kissing to continue.

"Wasn't that the deal?" I asked and wiggled my eyebrows.

"Maybe, but I did want to help you brainstorm so, what do you think, do you have a clear head? Inspired at all?" Her warm body was still connected to mine, and my legs were still wrapped around her. Several key places on our bodies were aligned and that made it hard to string coherent thoughts together.

"I'm inspired to do other things right now," I said, letting my hands slide from the ground so that they were now at the back of her neck.

"So am I," she admitted but proceeded to untangle us.

Pouting over the loss of contact, I said, "You're a total tease."

She winked. "You love it."

I dunked my head under the water to get a reprieve from her intense eyes. If you had told me a few hours ago that I would be kissing with Sabrina in the middle of the night in her swimming pool, I would've said yes, in my dreams, maybe. And while holding my breath, I could see it, the entire prom night down to the littlest of details. A flash of colour burst in my brain, and suddenly it was there and perfect.

I rose to the surface and matched the radiant smile that broke out on her face as she saw me. "I've got it. I know what prom will look like."

"You're not going to keep it a secret, are you?" she said, coming closer to me again.

"No." We stared at each other and grinned for a few seconds as our blood cooled a little. "Because you're going to help me make it a reality."