for a moment and somehow manage to claw my way out of the stupor to produce a word. “So?”
“We do this.”
The idea seems less appealing now we’re actually here. I flick my head towards the windows. “Anyone could see us through those things.”
“Trust me, those gardens are completely empty this time of night,” he reassures.
“Trust you ?”
“So someone sees us. What’s the worst that could happen? We get a slap on the wrist, suspended? Don’t know about you, but I could use a break.”
“You’re one strike away from expulsion. You don’t think this would count?”
“It’s worth it.”
Zing. Another doozy straight to my vagina.
I’m wary, looking him straight in the eyes. “You just want to see me with my clothes off.”
He puts his hand to his heart and stands at salute. “I swear I won’t look, not even a tiny bit, and I’ll go all the way with you.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“You know what I mean.”
The rain shifts up a notch, hammering against the windows in a percussive slurry.
Blake moves closer. “What happened to the wild and spontaneous prankster?”
Another raised eyebrow. “You’re really going to play that card?”
“If you don’t do anything completely reckless, out of control ever again, do this one thing. I won’t tell a soul.”
It still sounds ludicrous, but I have to admit Blake has a strange effect on me. He’s fire. Try as I might, battle against my head all I want, I’m going to get burnt one way or another. Why not have a little fun in the process? I mean, when was the last time I completely let go?
You know why.
No, fuck that. It’s been long enough. I can’t let what happened in Orlando follow me around, forever casting a shadow over my life.
“Fine,” I agree, “on my terms.” I can’t even believe the words are coming from my mouth.
“Sorry?” Blake clearly isn’t expecting it either.
“I’ll do it.”
“You’ll do it.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, let’s go then.”
“Let’s.”
My toes tingle. My whole body feels tight and tense, but why? This is what I want, isn’t it? A true college experience?
The rat-a-tat-tat of rain continues, a death march.
“I think you know where the female changing rooms are,” says Blake, jogging ahead of me and pointing down past the pool.
“If anyone comes, make a run for it.”
This does little to appease my fast-declining courage. “Where will you be?”
“I’ll get changed—undressed, I mean—over in the men’s changing rooms. I assume you don’t want to come out together, so I’ll jump in and yell the coast is clear. Towels are by the bench there.”
I feign casualness. “No problem.”
We head in separate directions. My heart rate triples as soon as he’s out of sight. I walk into the change rooms, sit down and try to catch my breath.
I hear a splash outside. Blake shouts something and I silently curse him for rushing me along. I stand up and start undressing, placing my clothes on a seat near the door exactly the way I was wearing them in case they need to go back on in a hurry.
This is what you want, isn’t it? Dad would freakin’ flip if he caught us. You’re twenty-one, idiot. Like he’s got any say over how you live your life.
Soon I’m standing there naked. It’s cool and completely unnatural, which is funny when I think about it. I can hear sound beyond the door.
You have lost your mind, Tia Reed.
Ideally, the best way to approach the situation is to run and jump in, limbs akimbo and loose bits flailing like a completely free spirit. That’s how they do it in the movies, spur of the moment.
Instead, I poke my head around the changing room’s entrance, my body pressed up against the cold wall.
“Don’t look,” I announce, as loud as I can muster. My voice bounces off the windows and walls, reverberating with the rain and turning into something alien.
That’s the right word. I feel so incredibly strange standing here in this situation. Vulnerable. I
“We do this.”
The idea seems less appealing now we’re actually here. I flick my head towards the windows. “Anyone could see us through those things.”
“Trust me, those gardens are completely empty this time of night,” he reassures.
“Trust you ?”
“So someone sees us. What’s the worst that could happen? We get a slap on the wrist, suspended? Don’t know about you, but I could use a break.”
“You’re one strike away from expulsion. You don’t think this would count?”
“It’s worth it.”
Zing. Another doozy straight to my vagina.
I’m wary, looking him straight in the eyes. “You just want to see me with my clothes off.”
He puts his hand to his heart and stands at salute. “I swear I won’t look, not even a tiny bit, and I’ll go all the way with you.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“You know what I mean.”
The rain shifts up a notch, hammering against the windows in a percussive slurry.
Blake moves closer. “What happened to the wild and spontaneous prankster?”
Another raised eyebrow. “You’re really going to play that card?”
“If you don’t do anything completely reckless, out of control ever again, do this one thing. I won’t tell a soul.”
It still sounds ludicrous, but I have to admit Blake has a strange effect on me. He’s fire. Try as I might, battle against my head all I want, I’m going to get burnt one way or another. Why not have a little fun in the process? I mean, when was the last time I completely let go?
You know why.
No, fuck that. It’s been long enough. I can’t let what happened in Orlando follow me around, forever casting a shadow over my life.
“Fine,” I agree, “on my terms.” I can’t even believe the words are coming from my mouth.
“Sorry?” Blake clearly isn’t expecting it either.
“I’ll do it.”
“You’ll do it.”
“Yes.”
“Okay, let’s go then.”
“Let’s.”
My toes tingle. My whole body feels tight and tense, but why? This is what I want, isn’t it? A true college experience?
The rat-a-tat-tat of rain continues, a death march.
“I think you know where the female changing rooms are,” says Blake, jogging ahead of me and pointing down past the pool.
“If anyone comes, make a run for it.”
This does little to appease my fast-declining courage. “Where will you be?”
“I’ll get changed—undressed, I mean—over in the men’s changing rooms. I assume you don’t want to come out together, so I’ll jump in and yell the coast is clear. Towels are by the bench there.”
I feign casualness. “No problem.”
We head in separate directions. My heart rate triples as soon as he’s out of sight. I walk into the change rooms, sit down and try to catch my breath.
I hear a splash outside. Blake shouts something and I silently curse him for rushing me along. I stand up and start undressing, placing my clothes on a seat near the door exactly the way I was wearing them in case they need to go back on in a hurry.
This is what you want, isn’t it? Dad would freakin’ flip if he caught us. You’re twenty-one, idiot. Like he’s got any say over how you live your life.
Soon I’m standing there naked. It’s cool and completely unnatural, which is funny when I think about it. I can hear sound beyond the door.
You have lost your mind, Tia Reed.
Ideally, the best way to approach the situation is to run and jump in, limbs akimbo and loose bits flailing like a completely free spirit. That’s how they do it in the movies, spur of the moment.
Instead, I poke my head around the changing room’s entrance, my body pressed up against the cold wall.
“Don’t look,” I announce, as loud as I can muster. My voice bounces off the windows and walls, reverberating with the rain and turning into something alien.
That’s the right word. I feel so incredibly strange standing here in this situation. Vulnerable. I
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