“Their loss.”
His gaze roams over my body, lingering on my legs for a while before he speaks. “You coming swimming?”
I shrug. “I did earlier.”
“Don’t you wanna cool off?”
“Don’t you wanna warm up?” The smile I send him is practiced. As in, I’ve literally sat in front of a mirror in my room and practiced this smile again and again. I’m trying to hook him. Reel him in.
Looks like it’s working.
He goes to the ladder and grabs the handles, hauling his lanky body out of the water. He’s tall and thin, his skin pale and his black swim trunks barely clinging to his narrow hips. I normally like them bigger-this makes me think of Cannon, ugh-but this boy will do.
When he stops in front of me, Noah shakes his head, water droplets spraying everywhere and reminding me of a dog. I scowl as he runs his hand over his short brown hair, and I take a step back as I continue to get showered with water.
“What’s your name again?” he asks, like we’ve talked before. We might’ve seen each other around when I went to Dustin’s basketball games but we’ve never been introduced.
“Emily, but call me Em.” I beam at him. “And you’re Noah. Star basketball player.”
His cheeks turn ruddy and he waves me off, almost like he’s bashful. Please. “I wouldn’t call myself a star.”
“Come on. Don’t be modest. I watched you play a lot of games. You’re amazing.” I put on the awed tone, knowing boys like it when I talk like that and from the spark that lights Noah’s eyes, I see it’s worked. Everything’s working.
It’s almost too easy.
“My team was pretty good.” That’s true. They won their regional championships tournament. “But I’m not that amazing. Trust me. Couldn’t even get a scholarship for college.” His expression turns hard and I realize I’m losing him fast.
“Their loss!” I sound way too chipper so I dial it down. “Where are you going to college?”
“Community for a year, maybe two. Then I’m going to transfer.” He sounds bitter and I guess I can’t blame him.
That’s the last thing I want to do too. That means I’m stuck here and I’ll feel trapped. My parents would probably want me to still live with them and while it’s the obvious choice, helping me save money and all that, I want to make my escape from them as soon as I can.
Not that they notice me, or care. They’re too focused on their own lives to worry about mine.
“Well, at least you can still hang out with us, right?” That was the wrong thing to say. I see his expression fall and his gaze dims. I need to cheer him up fast.
Threading my arm through his, I lean into his cool body, pressing my cheek against his upper arm for the briefest moment. “Let’s go get something to drink, okay?”
We find some beer and make small talk. He complains about his friends, who are now nowhere to be found, and I complain about mine, who are probably still around but hopefully they won’t notice me. He grumbles about a girl he had a major crush on the last half of the school year and how she never even noticed him.
“She was in band. In your grade.” He flicks his chin at me and I frown, not sure who he’s talking about.
“Aren’t they all a bunch of weirdoes anyway? Why’d you like her?” I tease with a giggle, pretending I’m already buzzed. I wish I was. I think I’m gonna need it to get through the rest of tonight.
“She was cute.” He shrugs. Takes a sip from his beer before he continues. “She had that whole innocent thing going on. Like I knew she was a total virgin yet she was probably hot for it, you know?”
I cannot believe he’s talking to me about this. Worse, I know exactly what he’s referring to because he’s describing me in a nutshell. Just because I’ve given a few extra hand jobs and blow jobs during my junior year does not mean I’ve given it all up. I’m still a virgin, though I’d like to change that status by summer’s end. I’m tired of it
His gaze roams over my body, lingering on my legs for a while before he speaks. “You coming swimming?”
I shrug. “I did earlier.”
“Don’t you wanna cool off?”
“Don’t you wanna warm up?” The smile I send him is practiced. As in, I’ve literally sat in front of a mirror in my room and practiced this smile again and again. I’m trying to hook him. Reel him in.
Looks like it’s working.
He goes to the ladder and grabs the handles, hauling his lanky body out of the water. He’s tall and thin, his skin pale and his black swim trunks barely clinging to his narrow hips. I normally like them bigger-this makes me think of Cannon, ugh-but this boy will do.
When he stops in front of me, Noah shakes his head, water droplets spraying everywhere and reminding me of a dog. I scowl as he runs his hand over his short brown hair, and I take a step back as I continue to get showered with water.
“What’s your name again?” he asks, like we’ve talked before. We might’ve seen each other around when I went to Dustin’s basketball games but we’ve never been introduced.
“Emily, but call me Em.” I beam at him. “And you’re Noah. Star basketball player.”
His cheeks turn ruddy and he waves me off, almost like he’s bashful. Please. “I wouldn’t call myself a star.”
“Come on. Don’t be modest. I watched you play a lot of games. You’re amazing.” I put on the awed tone, knowing boys like it when I talk like that and from the spark that lights Noah’s eyes, I see it’s worked. Everything’s working.
It’s almost too easy.
“My team was pretty good.” That’s true. They won their regional championships tournament. “But I’m not that amazing. Trust me. Couldn’t even get a scholarship for college.” His expression turns hard and I realize I’m losing him fast.
“Their loss!” I sound way too chipper so I dial it down. “Where are you going to college?”
“Community for a year, maybe two. Then I’m going to transfer.” He sounds bitter and I guess I can’t blame him.
That’s the last thing I want to do too. That means I’m stuck here and I’ll feel trapped. My parents would probably want me to still live with them and while it’s the obvious choice, helping me save money and all that, I want to make my escape from them as soon as I can.
Not that they notice me, or care. They’re too focused on their own lives to worry about mine.
“Well, at least you can still hang out with us, right?” That was the wrong thing to say. I see his expression fall and his gaze dims. I need to cheer him up fast.
Threading my arm through his, I lean into his cool body, pressing my cheek against his upper arm for the briefest moment. “Let’s go get something to drink, okay?”
We find some beer and make small talk. He complains about his friends, who are now nowhere to be found, and I complain about mine, who are probably still around but hopefully they won’t notice me. He grumbles about a girl he had a major crush on the last half of the school year and how she never even noticed him.
“She was in band. In your grade.” He flicks his chin at me and I frown, not sure who he’s talking about.
“Aren’t they all a bunch of weirdoes anyway? Why’d you like her?” I tease with a giggle, pretending I’m already buzzed. I wish I was. I think I’m gonna need it to get through the rest of tonight.
“She was cute.” He shrugs. Takes a sip from his beer before he continues. “She had that whole innocent thing going on. Like I knew she was a total virgin yet she was probably hot for it, you know?”
I cannot believe he’s talking to me about this. Worse, I know exactly what he’s referring to because he’s describing me in a nutshell. Just because I’ve given a few extra hand jobs and blow jobs during my junior year does not mean I’ve given it all up. I’m still a virgin, though I’d like to change that status by summer’s end. I’m tired of it
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