Part of Me: Friendship, Texas #3

by Magan Vernon

  “Okay, now let’s get a few with the mama,” the woman in gray yelled, not even looking up from where she was crouched in front of Johnny with her camera in her face.

  All eyes around the pool went to me, and I felt like I would pee from embarrassment right there. I focused on Johnny’s face as I slowly made my way to the side of the pool, and he put his arm around me.

  “Okay, let’s just do a few casual ones of you two standing here,” the photographer said.

  “Um, what do I do? How am I supposed to stand?” I asked.

  “Just act natural,” the photographer yelled.

  “Um, okay,” I stuttered and put a hand on my hip and tried to smize, you know, smiling with my eyes.

  The photographer pushed the camera away from her face and looked up, raising an eyebrow. “Ma’am, do you need to use the bathroom?”

  “What? Oh, uh, no,” I said, shaking my head.

  “Okay, don’t do that with your face then. Maybe try smiling. And put your hands down, less sorority girl pop and more natural. Like you’re just hanging out,” she said.

  I tried to put my hands down to my side and then that felt weird, so I put one behind my head and smooshed my face, but it still felt weird, so I moved it back down.

  “Why don’t we try something different,” the photographer yelled with a sigh. “Take a break, and we’ll come back.”

  The photographer stood up and went over to where the group who had got me made up was, and I could see them whispering back and forth, but I wasn’t sure what they were saying.

  I sat down on the ledge of the pool, putting my head in my hands. “I suck at this. I’m sorry,” I muttered.

  I felt Johnny as he sat down next to me, dangling his legs into the pool before he put his arm around me. “You don’t. You’re just overthinking it.”

  “I’m not usually an over thinker; I’m more of a ‘throw caution to the wind kind of girl,’” I said, looking up and putting my arm out as if I was actually throwing something.

  “Then what if we did something crazy? Totally threw caution?” Johnny asked.

  I raised an eyebrow. “If you’re talking about throwing me in this pool...”

  Johnny grinned before he hopped off the ledge and floated in front of me. “Then how about you jump in with me?”

  I widened my eyes, looking back and forth between the photographer still talking to the group then down at Johnny. “Are you supposed to get that bathing suit wet?”

  Johnny laughed and held his hand out to me. “I mean we should test the products we’re wearing, right? Come on, babe. Throw caution to the wind.”

  I sucked in a breath and without thinking, slid off the ledge and jumped in, a little splash hitting Johnny in the face.

  “Oh, you gonna splash me now?” Johnny asked, holding onto the side of the pool and inching closer.

  I put my hands up. “Don’t. I’m covered in more makeup than I’ve ever worn in my life, and I don’t want all of it running down my face.”

  “So if I just did a little splash?” Johnny raised an eyebrow, putting his hand back, lightly hitting the top of the water.

  “Jonathan, don’t you dare.”

  “Oh, going with full names now,” Johnny said, hitting the water harder.

  “Johnny! No!” I screeched and then giggled as he hit little sprinkles of water over my face as I covered my eyes.

  Then he took both of my hands and moved it away from my face. “Oh god, all the makeup is all over! Oh noooooo, you’re like the creature from the mist,” he said in a way too high pitch before laughing.

  I tried to turn my face away from him but instead ended up with his wet face against mine with a big smile before he kissed me then nuzzled my nose with his. “You look fine. Perfect,” he whispered.

  I blinked once then twice. “You’re perfect,” I whispered back.

  At that moment, I felt a flutter in my stomach that wasn’t Ellis moving but something bigger. Something bursting inside me every time I was around Johnny.

  Before I could open my mouth to say something, I heard a yell from the side of the pool. “I think we got it!”

  I snapped my head to the side to see the photographer only a few feet away from us, looking down at her camera.

  “How long have you been there?” I asked, looking from her to Johnny.

  The photographer smiled. “Long enough to get some great shots.”

  Chapter 20

  My phone alerted me with a million little pings. I thought it was because Lia was in town for the baby shower and she was messaging me, but instead, every single social media outlet was alerting me to a tag or a share or a new follower.

  I was barely awake, but opened up one of my apps and scrolled until my eyes widened when I saw I was tagged in an ad. It was a picture of Johnny and me in the pool with his head to mine. Then I scrolled to see the full picture where both of our bathing suits were showing, and his hand was on my stomach with the words “Baby Blue” written over it.

  I didn’t know when or how the photographer got that exact shot, but I had to say it was a damn good one. And now...now, I was becoming internet famous. Even if it would probably end up dying soon.

  I turned over to ask Johnny if he’d seen it, but his side of the bed was empty, as usual. Johnny had another girlfriend. I mean maybe not an actual girl, but the swimming pool would always be his love.

  But since I was alone, and Lia hadn’t messaged me yet, I figured there was nothing wrong with going to the kitchen and eating some bacon and sour cream for breakfast.

  Getting out of bed was becoming like a marathon, so by the time I rolled out, I figured I deserved the candied bacon treats as breakfast.

  At first, the idea of them sounded gross when Johnny brought them home, saying he saw them at a gas station between the townhouse and Fort Worth, but then I tried them, and I couldn’t stop craving them. I just couldn’t let Johnny know he was right.

  Waddling to the kitchen, I didn’t bother picking up a sweater or even pants on my way. I figured I had time to eat then I’d shower and get dressed. There was nothing wrong with a pregnant woman in a tank top and granny panties sitting on her kitchen counter eating bacon candy.

  At least, I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it until the front door burst open and not only was Johnny standing there his arms full of boxes but so was the UPS guy.

  I hoped the man in brown didn’t see the half-naked pregnant woman, but I didn’t want to look to see if he did. I jumped off the counter as fast as I could and hid behind the fridge until the door closed.

  “Is it safe for me to come out?” I called, hoping Johnny didn’t invite the guy in to play Xbox or something.

  “Sofie? What the...” Johnny’s voice trailed off then his footsteps got louder as he crouched down next to the fridge. “Are you seriously hiding? And eating bacon candy that you said was crazy?”

  I frowned. “I didn’t want the UPS man to see me in my undies, and the bacon candy was just a one-time craving.”

  “A one-time craving that you’re going to ask me to buy some more of when I go to practice?” He raised an eyebrow.

  I nodded.

  Johnny smiled, putting his hand out to help me up. “I guess next time I’ll call ahead to warn you when the UPS guy is at the door.”

  I followed Johnny out to the living room where at least twenty boxes of different sizes were all stacked near the couch, practically taking up the entire sitting area.

  “Are these all the gifts people sent in early for the shower?” I asked, staring at the wide display of brown.

  Johnny shrugged. “I dunno. How many people did Lia invite?”

  “Not this many,” I muttered, picking up a small box from the top.

  Taking off the tape, I removed the bubble wrap and saw a gift receipt on top, so I took it out with a small card. “Congrats Johnny and Sofie on your future Olympian. Jerika and Jenika from TwoPalsAndAPullBuoy,” I read.

  “Uh, do you know these
girls?” I asked Johnny, pulling out the baby blanket and onesie set.

  “I think they’re some swim bloggers. I talk to them on Twitter, I think,” he replied, taking the piece of paper.

  “Are these all from random fans of yours?” I asked, staring at the boxes.

  “Maybe.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Does this have anything to do with the ad and why my social media has been blowing up?”

  Johnny rubbed his hand over his face. “That and I may or may not have posted that picture you sent to Lia with me and the baby Speedo and given a link to our registry.”

  I widened my eyes. I couldn’t be hearing him right. “What? Why would you do that? Are we going to have some crazed swim fan girls knocking down the doors now?”

  Johnny laughed, shaking his head. “Sofie, I’m not some sort of celebrity. Just some people out there who wanted to show their appreciation and send baby gifts. Emily said she didn’t think people could see our address if they mailed it through our registry, so I sent people there.”

  “And you just listened to Emily? What if she was wrong and there was some crazed swim fan or even an enemy? Like when that one blond swimmer dude was ambushed on that reality dancing show?”

  He listened to Emily. She came up in conversations more than I liked and more than one’s ex-hookup should.

  Johnny shook his head and walked slowly toward me, putting his hands on my hips. “You’re overreacting, babe.”

  “Am I, though, really? This is the age of social media. You can easily find anything about anyone by stalking their pictures. Like I know that you really like snowboarding but haven’t done it in a while for some reason.”

  Johnny raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve posted anything about snowboarding in a long time.”

  “Well, you know some of us may sit around on social media while their boyfriend’s at the pool or did that for a year before, you know, they got pregnant against a goat pen.”

  Johnny laughed. “Did you just admit you totally internet stalked me?”

  “Maybe,” I muttered, my cheeks flushing. I had no idea why in the hell I admitted that one out loud. It was obviously the candied bacon's fault.

  Johnny wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me to his chest. “Well, I know that you’ve always wanted to be an actress, even though it’s just your minor, and you secretly watch aristocracy documentaries and mimic their accents.”

  I opened my mouth wide like a fish then closed it like I was puffing for air. “You would have to go pretty far back in my tweets to know that, so who’s the stalker now?” I asked, poking his chest.

  Johnny held my hand in place and looked down at me. “I don’t know that from internet stalking. I know that because I know you, Sofie. And you know me. More than anyone else does.”

  I licked my lips, looking into his eyes. I’d never had this feeling before or had someone care about me this deeply. I wanted to tell him exactly how I felt, and I probably would have if his phone didn’t buzz. Instead of ignoring it, he slid it out of his pocket and looked down at the screen, grinning. “Hey, it’s Emily. She’s in town and wants to come by and ride with us to the shower since she’s never been here before.”

  It’s not like Friendship was a big metropolis. Conti’s wouldn’t be hard to find if she put it in her GPS.

  “Um. I guess that’s cool,” I half muttered.

  “Great,” Johnny said, barely looking at me before he turned and opened the front door. “Hey, Speedy, way to warn a guy!”

  My eyes widened. Holy shit, she was already here?

  I barely had time to run down the hall, okay more like a waddle, and put on a pair of pants before I heard her high-pitched voice carry through the living room. “You were right about this town, Johnny. But you didn’t tell me I’d get lost in your living room. What’s with all the boxes?”

  He laughed. “I did what you said and posted that pic and gave our registry info. People totally went nuts for it.”

  She giggled a genuine, flirty giggle. “I told you!”

  I slowly crept toward the kitchen, and that was when I saw the way she looked at him. The same way I looked at a piece of bacon candy: like she wanted to devour him.

  At that moment, I realized how dangerous having a girl like her around was. And I had absolutely no way to get rid of her.

  A year ago, I had a make-out session with Johnny at a bowling alley, and he didn’t ask for my number because he was with her. Now that the shoe was on the other foot, I couldn’t help but wonder if all of her friendliness with us had an ulterior motive.

  “Sofie!” Johnny yelled, the big goofy grin still on his face.

  I walked into the living room, and he put one arm around me and the other around Emily. “My two favorite girls in my house going to a baby shower. Who the hell would have thought we’d be here right now?”

  I sure as hell didn’t.

  ***

  Somehow, the Contis agreed to let Lia use the entire back room of the restaurant for a baby shower.

  By Lia, I mean Dana because I was sure Lia didn’t make the lavish ‘under the sea’ decorations. Neither were the giant mums with whales on them that said “Mom to be” and “Dad to be” that Dana pinned on Johnny and me as soon as we walked through some green ribbon I was guessing was supposed to look like seaweed draped over the door.

  “Is this what a normal baby shower is like?” Johnny whispered, running his hands over the fishnets on the table then tapping the fish bowls with floating rubber duckies.

  “This is nuts,” Emily whispered.

  What was nuts was that I had to spend a car ride listening to the two talk swimming terms and for her to lean into the front seat and hit his arm every chance she got.

  “Uh, I haven’t been to many baby showers, but I also haven’t seen floating ducks or wore a mum to one,” I said, letting the long blue ribbon of the mum fall through my fingers.

  “Is that what this thing is?” John asked, looking down at his giant blue ribbon flower.

  “Yeah. You don’t know what a mum is?”

  “Like the flower? I didn’t think they looked like this.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t have these for homecoming in high school?”

  He laughed. “I mean I didn’t actually go to my school football games or dances, but I do know we didn’t have these giant ribbon flowers. It must be a Texas thing.”

  “Johnny! Sofie!” Lia’s voice boomed through the entrance to the kitchen.

  My best friend had always been the gorgeous curvy Mediterranean girl in my mind, but California had pushed her into bombshell status.

  Her long dark hair curled in waves down to her chest, which the blue maxi dress accentuated even more.

  I was never on the same level of cute as her, but now, I felt downright frumpy in my coral cotton dress I was sure was actually a swim cover-up, but I would not complain since it came free from Johnny’s sponsor.

  “Lia!” I squealed. It had been so long since I’d seen my best friend, and I embraced her in a hug, but she quickly pulled away.

  I raised an eyebrow, and she laughed shaking her head as she looked down at the giant ribbon flower pinned to my chest. “I think I just got attacked by ribbons. I can’t believe y’all are actually wearing those.”

  “Hey, I just do what I’m told,” Johnny said, putting his hands up in surrender.

  “Spoken like a true boyfriend,” Jay said, sidling up next to him. The blond-haired, blue-eyed golden boy swimmer appeared out of nowhere, patting Johnny’s back. “Congrats, by the way! Totally thought it would be Scotty to knock someone up first.”

  “Jay!” Lia hissed.

  Jay shrugged. “What? It’s true.”

  Emily pushed her way between the two boys. “Hey, give Scotty a break; he isn’t here to defend himself.”

  Jay put his arm loosely around Emily’s shoulder, but her eyes kept flitting toward Johnny as if she was afraid if she didn’t look at him for a moment he wou
ld disappear.

  “Yeah and if Scotty was here, he’d be in the back, trying to hook up with one of the waitresses or even a cousin,” Jay said, laughing harder.

  Lia rolled her eyes. “Sorry, his filter has been burned by too much chlorine and the California sun.”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure people are saying way worse online,” I muttered.

  “So, Speedy, Johnny. How’s the center in Fort Worth?” Jay asked as the trio turned away from us.

  I kept my eyes on Emily and on exactly where her hands were going. They might have been high on Johnny’s back now, but they could easily trail lower.

  “Well, this isn’t awkward at all,” Lia said with a nervous laugh.

  “And it just got more awkward,” I whispered, my attention going toward the door where Stephanie and Abbey appeared, carrying a big white cake box.

  “Did you invite them?” I asked, staring at Lia wide-eyed.

  “Your dad told me I should. Which, by the way, I don’t remember you telling me that your dad moved in with his girlfriend or that his girlfriend was Abbey Dillinger’s mom,” Lia said, nudging my shoulder as we watched Mama Conti and Dana approach them. They all smiled and hugged before setting the cake box on a table decorated with an ocean scene complete with seashells and balloon jellyfish hanging from the ceiling.

  “Yeah...I guess I should blame pregnancy brain or just being a shitty friend on that one,” I muttered.

  “So...I guess I should apologize for not telling you everything that’s been going on sooner,” I said, tracing a circle on the floor with my foot.

  Lia sighed. “I should probably say the same thing. I was so focused on leaving Friendship, Texas, behind that I kind of forgot my best friend still lives here and still has a life I was ignoring.”

  “You weren’t ignoring me.” I sniffled.

  Lia laughed. “Are you going to cry right now?”

  I couldn’t help but laugh and swiped my finger under my eye, thanking myself in silence I bought waterproof mascara. Everything was turning me into a blubbering mess. “No, totally dust.”