by A. R. Perry
Not that she would need to. He hasn’t been able to keep his hands off her all night. Because of that, my putter might have a slight bend in it that wasn’t there before. Took everything in me not to bash him upside the head with it when he pressed his lips to her neck after a lucky shot on hole ten.
“You’re up.”
I blink and shake my head as Zoe shoots me an odd look.
“Sorry.” I glance at her empty hand, then to Jax and Rylee because if I zoned out that hard I missed them all taking their shots I have other things to worry about.
Jax stands empty-handed but Rylee tilts her head to the side when I notice she still clutches her ball.
“Don’t I go last?” I ask.
Zoe leans against the black railing, crossing her ankles. The movement forces her skirt up a few inches giving me a glimpse of toned thighs. Guess I should have noticed earlier. Why else would she wear that knowing we were going to play mini golf? Her grin has me clearing my throat as I turn to Rylee.
Rylee tosses the golf ball in the air and catches it, raising an eyebrow. The challenge is clear. “Why don’t you show me how it’s done?”
She knows I’m the worst at this hole. It’s the reason she’s beat me so many times. With our scores being so close, all it would take is another lucky shot from her to come out victorious.
And for me to end up fully clothed in the school’s swimming pool.
Not to mention another one of Jax’s smug looks.
I shake out my arms as I step up to the red carpet. Rylee’s gaze follows me the whole time, no doubt judging every move I make. Normally, she’s more vocal about it but Rylee 2.0 can’t make it public knowledge how good she is at, well, anything she puts her mind to.
The orange golf ball hits the carpet with a soft thud that sounds way louder than it should. As my arms shift back, preparing to launch the ball as hard as I can, Rylee clears her throat and I stumble forward missing the ball.
“Thought.” Her hip pops out as she leans into Jax. There’s no mistaking the devious glint in her eyes. “What if we up the ante? Say…the losers have to jump into the pool during swim practice.”
My mouth drops open and Zoe squeals behind me.
“But, Mr. North is like the meanest teacher at Roseville,” she whines. “We would get detention for the rest of the year.”
“Then you better hope Spencer makes his shot.” Rylee smiles, but it’s not warm. Shit, it’s not even friendly. “What do you say, Hendricks?” Her hardened gaze lands on me and I know without a doubt she will make this shot.
And now I can’t back out. Even if it was just the two of us. Rylee would never let me live it down.
“Deal.” I extend my hand expecting her to take it, but she glances away, leaning her head on Jax’s shoulder.
Fine.
With a deep breath, I line up my shot again. Nerves have my palms sweating so much the rubber on the end of the putter is doing little to keep my grip solid. There’s no way in hell I want to draw the wrath of Mr. North, but it seems now I have little choice. Even if his ideal punishment will be making us clean the pool or worse yet, make school pride banners for their meets. Yeah, I’ve heard he’s done that in the past with kids he deemed troublemakers.
At the last second my hand slips and I hit the ball on the edge sending it sideways instead of straight up the ramp. When it reaches the end, it launches the other way and lands…right in the water.
Rylee’s roaring laughter almost forces me to dive into the shallow water to retrieve the damn ball and go again, but seconds later her ball hits home causing the bell above to sound. Not only did she win a free round next time—because no one makes this shot—but she also won the bet.
And Jax’s heart, apparently.
He scoops her into his arms and spins her around with a triumphant shout. When he sets her down, her face is flushed and she stumbles to the side.
“That was such a lucky shot, babe!” Jax grabs her face and leans in but she steps back and runs her fingers through her hair.
“Crazy, right?” Her gaze skips over me, instead focusing on Zoe. “So I guess we win. Yay. No wrath of Mr. North. But that also means…” She grins at Zoe who is pouting by my side.
“Wait, you were serious? Come on. Mr. North is crazy. I could get kicked off the cheer squad for that.”
“Oh, come on, princess. I’ll put in a good word for you.” Jax tugs Zoe to his side and together they walk to the entrance.
Rylee stays behind, eyes trained on me.
“Really?” I ask, leaning on the putter.
“What?”
“You know what.”
“Hey.” Her hands fly up in the air. “You started it. But maybe you should get boarding out of your system tomorrow.” She walks away throwing parting words over her shoulder. “You won’t have time with detention.”
The sun feels amazing as I lay out on one of our blue-and-white deck chairs. We may not have a pool, but it’s never stopped my family from soaking in the sun’s rays whenever possible. Although the second summer hits, really hits I mean, I might be tempted to beg my dad for a pool yet again. One of those tacky aboveground kinds will even do.
Can’t always rely on Spencer. Especially with the way he’s been acting.
I push my sunglasses back up my sweaty nose for the tenth time in the past hour. What I should be doing right now is boarding with Spence. But after he left in a hurry last night, I haven’t heard from him. His car didn’t show up in his driveway until after two in the morning.
Okay, yes I couldn’t sleep and it might have something to do with the fact that he left with Zoe suctioned to his body like some bloodsucking pest hell-bent on burrowing deep and never letting go.
I still don’t know why the sight of them together bothers me so much. But my already awkward date took a steeper nosedive when they showed up. Pretending to be someone I’m not with Jax alone was hard enough. Add Spencer to the mix and my anxiety shot through the roof.
That’s got to be what bothered me so much. It wasn’t Spencer with Zoe, but that they crashed my date and Spence took every opportunity to undermine my behavior.
And I took the bait.
I couldn’t help it. His stupid taunting and disappointed glances were enough to make me break. I made the shot I’ve made every single time we played for the past few years. Of course, I played it off as if Jax was the best teacher on the planet. In reality, he sucks.
With a groan, I toss my arm over my eyes. I shouldn’t have pushed the bet further. No way in hell did I want to watch from the sidelines as Spencer completed our bet with Zoe. And I certainly didn’t want to lose my ride home for the rest of the year when he’s saddled with detention.
With Zoe.
But he got under my skin and I couldn’t let it go.
My phone rings and I jump at the sound of “Thunder” filling the silence.
Spencer’s ringtone.
“What?” I snap the second I pick up.
“So a good night’s sleep hasn’t bettered your mood?”
“I wouldn’t be in a bad mood if you hadn’t crashed my date.”
Spencer’s gasp almost makes me smile. Almost. I can picture his stupid face twisted in mock horror. “I would never crash. I can’t help we are on the same wavelength.”
“Sorry, buddy, you were on Jax’s wavelength last night. Mini golf was never in my plan.”
The line goes dead for a few seconds before Spencer clears his throat. “Take a day off from your double life and hang out with me? You were supposed to dedicate yesterday to me. Instead, lover-boy got all of your attention.”
I roll over on the lounge chair, my body suddenly a bit too hot despite being early morning. “And why should I grace you with my presence after how you acted yesterday?”
“Because this might be the last time you see me. Rumor has it, the last kid who messed with Mr. North’s pool disappeared.”
“Yes, and aliens exist too.”
“Just come
over, Everett. I might be nice and let you swim in my pool.”
This gets my attention and I shoot up. “Really? It’s never up and running this early in the year.”
“Yeah, well, Dad wanted to get a head start.” There’s a weird twinge in his voice. Almost sad, but he brushes it off with another sigh. “You coming or what?”
“I should be icing you out after how you acted.”
“Will snacks and music of your choice make up for it?”
I stand and slip my feet into my sandals. Thankfully, I had thrown on my new swimsuit this morning with plans to roast in the sun for a bit and get used to it. Jax expects to see me in one and I can’t be a fidgeting mess. “I suppose.” I try to lace my voice with annoyance but fail. “Be there in two seconds.”
Spencer starts to count down as I hang up on him. Mom and Dad left to go do something this morning and my brothers are out being stupid, so I race through the side gate and jog across the street.
Both of Spencer’s parents’ cars are gone. Again. I swear they are never home. No wonder he was spending so much time at my house. Well, until the whole Jax thing happened. Now he spends as much time with that skank Zoe.
Ugh. I rake fingers through my hair in annoyance at the mere thought of her being here. Her car is nowhere to be found so I think I’m in the clear. Better be in the clear.
We need today. Will be good for us. For our friendship. I might even get him to tell me why he’s been acting so weird. It’s got to be his parents’ divorce. Hell, I didn’t see that one coming.
Spencer opens the door with a grin. “Took forty-six seconds.”
I reward his sass with a soft punch to the gut. The drama king folds over groaning. “Baby.” I shove past him, goosebumps trailing over my exposed legs when the cool air inside his house hits me. “Do we need to make a snack run?”
“Nah.” He shuts the door, tilting his head toward the kitchen. “Mom went shopping yesterday.”
“Dr. Pepper?”
“Of course.”
“Then we’re set for now.” He trails after me as I make my way to the kitchen. There are a few brown packing boxes lining the hall. They must be doing some spring cleaning.
“So, what’s your issue?” I ask as I grab the six-pack of bottles from the fridge.
Spencer’s friendly smile dims. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ve been pissy ever since Jax and I started hanging out. Scared you’re going to lose your best friend?”
He scratches the back of his neck, refusing to meet my gaze. “Nah. Just think he’s a dick and not worth your time. But, uh, anyway, let’s go swim.”
He shoulders past me, sliding out the door before I can respond. I knew he didn’t like Jax. I didn’t know he thought he was such a bad guy. For crying out loud, he was the one who agreed to help me land him.
And then quickly bailed…
Spencer is in the pool when I step outside onto the cement patio. I catch sight of his glistening shoulders before he dives under the water. Which gives me an idea.
“Hey!” I shout when he surfaces by the diving board. He whips toward me, pushing the hair off his forehead. “Let’s play underwater secrets.”
His loud laugh is genuine and infectious. “Haven’t played that in forever.”
“All the reason to play now.” I kick off my sandals as I tug my shirt over my head.
Spencer’s eyes go wide and it takes me a second to realize why and what he’s looking at. Butterflies erupt in my belly as my hand flies to my bare stomach. For a second there I forgot I had it on. When I bought new clothes, I decided to brave a real bathing suit. Although this one could pass for scraps of fabric. The tiny black triangles cover all the important bits but still leave me feeling naked.
The bottoms are worse what with my bubble butt as my mom calls it.
“Does this look okay?” My fingers hover over the zipper of my shorts. Spencer nods but says nothing. “You think, um, Jax will like it? He mentioned a trip to Lake Tahoe.”
He glances away brushing a few drops of water off his shoulder. “Yeah. Sure. He’ll love it.”
His words don’t match the anger in his voice and I’m positive I killed the mood again. After a few seconds of hesitation where I’m certain he’ll kick me out, I slip off my shorts and they join my shirt on one of the lounge chairs.
The hot cement burns my feet as I race toward the stairs in the shallow end. Normally, I would cannonball in as my grand entrance, but I’m not sure how this suit will hold up.
The cold water feels incredible as I sink down to my chest. Spencer floats against the wall on the other side, hanging on to the lip and still not looking at me.
“I’m glad you invited me over.”
A snort is his only response. It says everything he’s not saying. Right now, he’s wishing he never called me. All this feels so damn weird. Never in all the time we have known each other has there ever been silence when we are together. Not even during a movie.
That nervous, awkward, overwhelming energy makes me blurting out the first thing that pops into my head.
“So you and Zoe serious?” I cringe and sink lower into the water hoping he didn’t hear me. If he says yes, it might tempt me to drown myself.
Speaking of people who aren’t worth the time. Spencer is nothing but a passing fling to her. The thought of them becoming official sends heat flaring through my chest.
“We’re just hanging out,” Spencer answers as he pushes off the wall. “She graduates this year and I—” He shakes his head. “No reason to get serious.”
“Oh. Okay.” Relief floods through me and I wade farther into the pool until my feet no longer touch the bottom.
“What about you and Romeo? He confess his undying love for you yet so you can cut the act?”
I scoff and float toward him. “No. Just hanging out too. He’s kind of hard to read.”
Spencer mumbles something under his breath, creating tiny bubbles on the surface of the water.
“What was that?” I ask.
“I said we should play our game.”
“Sure. Sure.” My hand hits the surface of the water sending a small tidal wave right into his face. “I’ll go first.”
Before he can get me back, I sink under the water. Soon after Spencer follows, swimming close enough that we can see each other’s faces.
“You’re a terrible liar!” I shout, but it comes out all muffled and creates enough bubbles that I lose sight of him for a second.
When he comes back into focus he waves a hand, signaling for me to say it again. With the last bit of oxygen I have left, I repeat myself then swim to the surface.
Man, I have got to work on that this summer. Spencer never outlasted me underwater before.
Next to me, Spencer sucks in a gasp of air and once again pushes the hair off his forehead. “I got you are.” Water hits me in the face and I gasp, floating away from him. “You can’t tell a secret about me.”
“Sure I can.” I clear my vision and smile.
“Clearly against the rules. But we’ll count that as a practice round. What was the rest?”
“I said you’re a terrible liar.”
His laughter rumbles, somehow hitting me right in the stomach and shaking my insides. “That’s not a secret.”
I shrug and kick my legs to stay above water. “Your turn.”
With a shake of his head, he comes closer. “No way. You didn’t even tell a real secret.”
“Fine,” I relent. He’ll never let it go and the whole point of today is to get our friendship back on track. Suppose I can throw him a bone. I sink under the water and let a truth bomb out. “I’m scared I’m losing myself.”
It’s something that’s been bothering me since the party. Festering. Every time I throw on one of my new outfits and parade around I feel it. A sadness that grips my heart. At first, the excitement of Jax noticing me overshadowed it. But it became crystal clear last night when I went along with his golfing l
essons. It seems like such a small thing, but I didn’t even fight it. Just went right along with it, giggling and acting how I’m sure every other girl he dates acts.
No wonder Spencer couldn’t look at me most of the time. I was pretty disgusted with myself when I got home.
Both of us break the water at the same time.
“You okay?” His hand slides across my cheek, knocking a chunk of hair out of my eye.
“Yeah.”
His eyes soften as he moves closer. “You’ll only lose yourself if you forget who you really are underneath all these fancy new clothes. Don’t get yourself twisted over some guy.”
I smile despite the sadness weighing me down. “You were always too good at this game.”
“Nah. Just dialed in to the Rylee channel.”
My hands slip around his neck, linking as he treads water. “That’s gotta be rough.”
“Most days.” He grins when I dig my heel into his thigh.
“Tell me truthfully, should I stop this?”
“Jax?” Spencer kicks a few times sending us to the center of the pool.
“Yeah.”
“Of course you should. You’re too good for him.” His eyes search my face before his sighs. “You’re too good for all the moron guys at our school.”
“What about you?”
His head jerks back, mouth dropping open. “What about me?”
“Zoe.”
His shock morphs into confusion. “What’s Zoe got to do with anything?”
I roll my eyes. “Come on. She’s not your type.”
“My type, huh? And how do you know my type?”
“Well, for starters, blondes aren’t your thing. You normally go for brunettes. Big brown eyes. Tall…” Spencer’s arms tighten around my back, fingers playing with the ends of my long brown hair.
Wait…did I just describe myself?
His eyes hold fear and I swear his breathing kicked up a notch. In response my stomach flips, making my breathing race to catch up to his.
“Rylee, I—”
“You two are getting in some swimming while you can?” Spencer and I both whip our heads toward the voice.
Mrs. Hendricks stands at the end of the pool, a wide brim hat covering most of her face, but I do catch a sad smile.