The Night We Said Yes

by Gibaldi,Lauren

Meg took her shirt and pants off, and jumped in next. I tried to remember if I shaved my legs. Check. I also thanked myself for choosing a black bra and matching underwear. Simple, but classic. I always wore nice undergarments to parties. It wasn’t like I planned on hooking up with someone; I just liked looking good under my clothes. It made me feel more confident.

  “So . . .” Matt said, looking at me. The night was dark, the pool barely illuminated. I was glad he couldn’t see the redness spreading across my cheeks.

  “I guess it’s our turn?” I picked at my shirt, waiting to see what he’d do. To my surprise, he turned away, motioning for me to go first, and it made me smile. It was something Nick never would have done. Quickly, I stripped off my shirt, pushed down my jeans, and jumped in.

  The water did feel good—warm, but not too warm. I broke the surface and swished my hair back, rubbing the water from my eyes. Meg and Jake were already on the other side of the pool talking in hushed tones and very close to each other. Secrets we weren’t quite allowed to hear. Behind me, the water crashed, and I turned around to see Matt bobbing his head up.

  “So,” he spit out, wiping water off his face. “This is new.” Even with the alcohol coursing through my veins, I still felt self-conscious. I was underwater, but if he looked down, he’d see everything. Everything. I doggy-paddled by, but not too close.

  “Yeah. You know—we may be the first people to swim in our underwear here,” I said, trying not to blush.

  “Well, I feel very honored to be among the first.” He grinned. I noticed he was swimming at a bit of a distance from me. What did he have to be self-conscious about? I couldn’t see much, but his skin looked soft and suntanned. His arms, though skinny, had the hint of muscle, probably from playing bass, and I couldn’t stop staring. Goose bumps pimpled his shoulders as he bounced up and down. We made waves with our hands and the water splashed up gently against our bodies, despite the distance between us.

  “As well you should. Only so many people have seen me in my bra.” Did I just say that? I stopped bobbing and swam closer. He smiled in reply.

  “I wish I’d known we were doing this; I would have dressed better,” he said, pushing the water with his hands.

  “You looked fine tonight,” I answered, smiling.

  “No, not that. I’m pretty sure I’m wearing Batman boxers right now.”

  I laughed, blushing as I thought of him and his lack of clothing. “I expect to see those by the end of the night.”

  “Oh no. Only a select few get the privilege of seeing my underwear.”

  “How does one become privileged?” I asked. The words were coming out of my mouth without me thinking. As if it wasn’t me talking. With anyone else, I would have been mortified, but with the blackness of the night, the quiet behind us, and Matt’s proximity—I felt unconquerable.

  “Years of training. Advanced degrees. Chocolate-chip cookies.”

  “Chocolate-chip cookies?”

  He grins, floating above the water mere inches from me. “I really like cookies.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I responded, taking him in. His face looked excited, open, and just as cute without the glasses. “Can you see okay?”

  “Without my glasses? Yeah. I mean, I can’t drive without them, but you’re not a huge blur or anything.”

  “How many fingers am I holding up?” I asked, holding up three fingers above my head.

  “Hmm.” He paddled closer. “Eighty-two?”

  “Close enough,” I answered, giggling.

  “I should thank you, by the way,” he said, chin bobbing under the water.

  “For what?”

  “Taking me out,” he said, completely earnestly. “I don’t—I don’t always do this stuff, just so you know. Like, drinking, skinny dipping . . .”

  “Oh, god, I don’t either. This is rare.” I shyly looked down and caught him glancing at my bra. The light illuminated him just enough so that I could see the pink on his nose. I should have been nervous or outraged, but instead I felt . . . pretty. He wanted to look.

  “I like it here. It’s been a great night so far.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re here. It would have been really awkward had it just been me and . . . them,” I said, pointing my thumb behind me.

  “Speaking of . . .” He lifted his chin to indicate I should turn around. I scanned the water behind me and saw what I feared would happen.

  Jake was pushing Meg’s back against the pool and her legs were wrapped around his waist. Their faces were mashed together, not just kissing, but practically eating each other alive. It was as if they’d never kissed before. Her hands were exploring his back, searching for new territory to take over and claim as her own.

  “That’s . . . not good.”

  “I don’t think they care about that right now,” Matt said behind me.

  “We should probably give them some privacy.”

  He nodded and started swimming in the other direction, toward the deeper end. We swam quietly until we reached the edge of the pool. “I can’t stand here!” I said somewhat stupidly, as the water I was flailing around in was eight feet deep. None of us could stand there. I bicycle-kicked my legs to keep me afloat, trying to make it look more cool than childish.

  “I’ve got you,” Matt said, grabbing me by the waist. I yelped as his hands brushed across my bare stomach and pulled me closer. My heart was racing as I was caught in his arms, pressed against his chest. He started lifting me until I was literally thrown over his shoulder.

  “Put me down!” I laughed, playfully beating my hands on his back.

  “You asked for it.” He picked me back up and tossed me into the pool. I felt the water break against my body as I floated down, gulping in copious amounts of liquid along the way. When I reached back up to the surface, I felt like my head was 90 percent liquid. Matt, of course, was grinning.

  “You jerk,” I half coughed, half laughed, trying to get the remaining water out of my mouth and nose. Seeking revenge, I swam back over and jumped on top of him, trying to push him down. It was amazing how much braver water—and, for that matter, alcohol—made me. I was in my underwear, but perfectly okay jumping on top of a guy. Who was I?

  “No fair!” he called out. He started tickling my stomach, which made me cry out. He had just figured out my Achilles’ heel—I was incredibly ticklish. It was bad. Someone could just look at me and think of touching my stomach, and I’d laugh.

  “Hey!” I shouted, gasping for air. I wrapped myself around his body to administer one final assault when I realized how . . . close we were. Really close. My stomach was against his, and my legs were wrapped around his waist. Our chests were rising and falling in sync. His lips were only a few inches away. He stopped too, and stared into my eyes. For a moment, I thought back to our moment on the roof. The shock when we kissed. Our fingers touching. We were silent, staring at each other.

  A beam of light crossed his face, and then another. His eyes snapped from mine to the other side of the pool, and then his body stiffened when we heard the siren.

  “Are those cops?” he asked.

  “What?” Jake called out, releasing Meg from his grip. “Oh, shit, run.”

  I jumped off Matt and looked behind me to see flashlight beams weaving in and out of the buildings on campus. They hadn’t spotted us yet, but with the noise we were making, it wouldn’t be long. Someone must have heard us and called the police, despite that never happening. I felt Matt’s hand close around mine as he raced to the side of the pool. I followed, pushing my arms and legs as fast as they could go. I looked back and saw that Jake was already out, and Meg was paddling by herself, almost there. I was panicked, but I still had a moment to register one fact—Jake didn’t wait for her.

  Matt’s hand was still wrapped around mine as he led me over to the other side of the pool for our clothes.

  “Just grab them and run,” he said, picking up his shirt and putting his glasses back on. I grabbed my pants and shoes, and then w
ildly looked around for my shirt. The shirt Meg got me. I couldn’t spot it anywhere. In the meantime, I picked up her clothes, just to be safe. Jake, wet, grabbed his own.

  “Hey, hey you,” we heard from the other side of campus. They saw us. I hated leaving my shirt behind, but I knew I had to. I looked up at Matt, and followed behind him. He was looking in every direction, figuring out where to go next. His eyes kept moving, scanning the area. He didn’t know where we were, really, which made him look lost and confused.

  “Run,” Jake said, crouched over. He led the way, once again. Interesting how the night brought us back to the beginning. At no point did I expect to escape cops not once, but twice.

  We ran behind the building we had recently conquered, and sprinted across the parking lot, back onto the street. The ground felt hard and rough against my bare feet. Pebbles stabbed into my soles, and I had to avoid a few pieces of broken glass. But the pain didn’t make me stop. The entire time, Matt didn’t let go of my hand. I was only slightly aware of the fact that we were running down the street in just our underwear. I didn’t even want to think about what we’d be charged with if caught. Breaking and entering. Indecent exposure. Underage drinking. My parents would kill me. I looked over at Matt’s face and could tell he wouldn’t let that happen to us. His eyes held so much determination that he didn’t even notice me looking. He only thought of escape. I could trust him.

  We took a quick right onto the street where our cars were parked. They were still there, thankfully.

  “My car,” Meg called out from behind. I grabbed her keys from her pockets and threw them at her. She quickly unlocked the doors and we all jumped in. Matt and I huddled in the backseat, while Meg took the driver’s seat and Jake sat next to her.

  “Go, go,” Jake yelled.

  “Wait, no. They’d expect that,” Meg said, out of breath. “Let’s just stay here. They’ll be looking for a car going absurdly fast. They don’t know where we were parked. Let’s just stay here for a while.”

  “And wait to get caught?”

  “They won’t find us here.”

  “Meg’s right,” I agreed. “They won’t expect us to stay. They’re probably just waiting to pull us over.”

  “Plus, we’ve all been drinking,” Matt pointed out. Even though it was three against one, we still waited for Jake to answer. After a long, long pause, he finally sighed and nodded.

  “Yeah, you’re right. We’ll stay.”

  We didn’t turn the lights on. Instead, we sat in the dark, too afraid to talk or even move. The only light was from the streetlamp up the street, and the house we were parked in front of.

  “Car,” Matt said. We all ducked down. It drove slowly up the street, and then passed us, not even stopping to take notice. We lifted our heads and sighed.

  “We’re going to do that every time, aren’t we?” I asked.

  “It’s a good thing not too many cars come up this street.” Lights hit Meg’s face just as she finished speaking. We ducked again, and the car passed quickly. “Spoke too soon.” My heart was doing somersaults. It had no clue what to do—slow down, speed up. But despite everything, I actually felt safe. In Meg’s car, I was where I belonged. I knew we’d be fine. I looked down and noticed that Matt’s hand was still wrapped around mine. In the silence, I finally had a moment to think.

  I’d never dated a good guy before. And then came Matt, who not only kissed me on the roof, but also held my hand the entire run back, just to make sure I wasn’t far behind. Just to make sure I was okay. He never let go. He still hadn’t.

  I touched my lip and remembered the spark—the moment I knew we had something different. But it was all so soon, too soon. Could it just be the excitement of the night? The adrenaline pumping through us? Or real feelings?

  And then there were Meg and Jake, who always showed the biggest public displays of affection, but ran apart when trouble approached. Relationships shouldn’t be like that. And yet, something constantly brought them back together. What made a good relationship?

  My breathing calmed as the minutes passed.

  My skin felt sticky from the chlorine and I suddenly realized that I was still in my underwear. “We should put our clothes on,” I suggested, feeling my face flush.

  Matt looked down and quickly took his hand away from mine, realizing it was still there. He smiled sheepishly at me, as if apologizing for the mistake. My hand felt cold, empty, alone. Perhaps it was just the heat of the moment after all.

  “I have your shirt, um, if you want it,” he said, ruffling through his clothes. He handed me the shirt Meg gave to me earlier in the night. Relief spread through my body as I realized it wasn’t lost. Of course he’d saved it as well.

  I tossed Meg her clothes, and then put my own on. I hated the feeling of being wet under dry clothes. I knew wet patches would spread through my shirt, leaving marks, but at least I was covered up.

  Still, we didn’t talk.

  Suddenly, a Flaming Lips song shouted out of Jake’s phone. We all jumped as he quickly grabbed the phone out of his pocket and answered.

  As he talked in one-word answers, his eyes darted back and forth from Meg to the outside. Two minutes later, he hung up.

  “Who was that?” Meg asked without a pause.

  “Elise.”

  “Elise from Wing King?”

  “Yeah.” He wasn’t meeting her eye, staring intently at a tree instead.

  I raised my eyebrow at Matt and he nodded in agreement. It was the calm before the storm. The questioning before the fight.

  “Why is she calling you?”

  “Because she wants to hang out. And that’s okay because you’re not my girlfriend anymore.”

  “Walk?” Matt whispered to me. Meg was already yelling her response, something about “knowing” and “not needing.” I didn’t want to hear any of it.

  “Yeah,” I answered. We quietly got out of the car, and out onto the road again. Between cops and our friends’ wrath, we chose the police.

  “So . . . that was intense,” he said once we crossed the street. I knew the road we were on well. It was small and looped around, so within ten minutes, we’d be right back where we started. At that point we could assess the situation and decide if it was safe to join them again. Small houses lined the street, each one more asleep than the last. Lights out, cars snuggled in the driveways. It seemed like we were the only ones awake.

  “That’s Meg and Jake.”

  “Are they always like that? It doesn’t seem . . . healthy.”

  “No, they were good for a while. A long time. But their relationship was always a bit . . . much. They’re both all-or-nothing people, you know? They put everything in, and expect to get everything out. And when you put that much into something, or someone, you get very . . . attached and emotional.”

  “They are very passionate.”

  “And you’ve only known them a short while.” I bumped him with my elbow. “Wait until a year goes by. You’ll be able to call their moods quicker than me.”

  “Yeah,” he said, melancholy filling his one syllable.

  “You will be here for a year, right?”

  “Yeah, totally. I mean, I should be. We’ve never really been in a place for less than a year.”

  “Good. Because this is only night one.” I smiled. He nudged me back. I wanted him to hold my hand again, weave his fingers through mine, but I didn’t press.

  “This has to make your wrist, right? I mean, cops were involved.”

  “Ha, yes, definitely.” I nodded, sliding my finger along the bracelets and getting excited to add him to the mix.

  “Tell me about one of them.”

  “Hmm,” I said, looking down, trying to pick the perfect one. “Well, this one,” I said, pointing to an orange one, “this one is from the other day when Meg and I passed all of our exams. We celebrated by going to the beach.”

  “That doesn’t sound too crazy.”

  “They’re not all crazy. It was just a real
ly nice day. I mean, we only have one year left, so it was nice just . . . hanging out.”

  “I get that,” he said. “I haven’t been to the beach here yet. Actually, I’ve never lived by the beach, so I’m kind of excited to be so close.”

  “Where else have you lived? You don’t really have an accent.”

  “It’s what happens when you keep moving, I guess. I was born in Virginia and we moved throughout the States for most of elementary and middle school. Then my dad got a job overseas and I spent the end of middle school and beginning of high school in various parts of Europe.”

  “I’d love to go to Europe,” I mused.

  “I’ll bring you one day,” he commented. Even though it was an empty promise, one said rushed after a night of magic, I still grinned at the thought. “What else would you love to do?”

  “I don’t know . . .”

  “Yes you do,” he said, already knowing me all too well.

  “I’d like to graduate high school and get into college.”

  “Other than that.”

  “I’d like to write a book, as you know.” I paused. “And sing with a band.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah.” I blushed. “I’d never actually admitted that to anyone.”

  “Not even Meg?”

  “Well, yeah, okay, Meg knows. She knows everything, though.”

  “That’s awesome! How come you haven’t? I mean, you’re friends with a band.”

  “I’m not good, honestly. I can’t really sing well. Also, I’m totally scared.”

  “Ella, you jumped into a pool practically naked in front of a near stranger tonight. If you can do that, you can sing onstage.” He said it with such conviction, I almost believed him.

  “Thanks,” I said quietly. I pushed him with my shoulder. He tapped back and we both smiled, as if knowing it meant something completely different.

  We walked in silence until he leaned down, and picked up a sheet of paper from the ground.

  “Another found object?”

  “Another found object,” he answered, unfolding the paper. It was crunched up, folded into a swan. It felt almost wrong removing its wings to view the secret inside.