by H G Lynch
“I’ll see you soon,” he murmured. She wasn’t sure if it was threat or a promise, but it freaked her out anyway. And then he was gone, leaving her confused and angry. The dream dissolved around her and she faded into the normal blackness of sleep.
Chlorine Dreams
“No, I’m not coming out!” Ember was curled on the bench in her changing room, knees tucked up to her chin.
“Ember, come on. You agreed we could go swimming! And you didn’t have a problem with being seen in a bikini before! Why now?” Sherry called to her, rattling on the door. No doubt she was trying to unlock it with a coin. Ember shivered in the cool air blowing down from the air-conditioner, and curled her toes against the smooth wood she sat on. Why now? She thought bitterly, because now I have a boyfriend, and he might not like what he sees.
“Because!” Ember replied shortly. She was feeling queasy, nervous that… well, that Reid wouldn’t be so impressed when he saw her in a bikini. She wasn’t as full-figured as normal teenage girls, and next to Sherry’s curves, she’d look like a stick. It normally didn’t bother her, but she had someone to impress now and being stuck in the middle of two gorgeous guys and one beautiful girl, she was bound to look like a scrawny twelve-year-old.
“That’s not an answer. Come on, nobody’s going to say anything. I wish I was as skinny as you, you know that!” The door rattled again and then a clinking, like a coin being dropped on the slippery tile floor.
She heard Sherry whisper, “Damn it.” And saw a hand reach down to pick up the coin from the small gap under the door. One of the boys murmured something too low for Ember to hear, but it suddenly flew open and she flinched. Sherry grinned at her and Reid arched a brow at her, smirking. Damn it!
“Are you going to come out on your own now, or will I have to carry you and toss you in the pool myself?” Reid asked, crouching slightly as if ready to pounce at her. He looked stunning, in simple black swim shorts, with his smooth chest bare and his blond hair tousled. His hipbones curved teasingly into the waistband of the shorts, and Ember averted her eyes, feeling warmth rise to her cheeks. Reid’s eyes, though, seemed to hold a spark of mischief as he grinned at her and she half expected him to flash his fangs.
When she didn’t answer him, he sighed and took a step toward her. She stuck out a foot to hold him back, uncurling and pressing herself into the corner. Her foot pressed into his stomach and he just glanced down at it, then back at her with an, ‘are-you-serious?’ expression.
“Don’t. No, don’t. Don’t!” she warned him as he grabbed her ankle and pushed her leg to the side, reaching for her with his other hand. But her pleas went unacknowledged. He grasped her arm and, with a deftness and quickness that startled her, flung her a foot off the bench and caught her in his arms. She let out a yelp of surprise and then hissed at him, struggling against him pointlessly. “No, put me down! Put me down! I’ll walk!” I’ll run. Away from here, she thought as she tried to prise his hand off her knee. She felt a prickling at her temples and cursed the vampire holding her.
“You’re not running anywhere my little demon. You are going in the pool whether you want to or not,” Reid murmured in her ear, his breath touching her hair, making her heart flutter for a second.
“Stop riffling in my head!” she snarled as they approached the edge of the pool, slamming up her mental walls to block him out. They were at the deep end of course. Fabulous.
“I wouldn’t have to if you were more cooperative. I had to know if you would really walk to the pool or if you were lying again,” he muttered, his mouth still close to her ear. It was very distracting, made it hard to stay indignant.
“Well, I have no choice now do I. So you can put me down now.” She looked up at him with fierce blue eyes, trying to look innocent but failing. Her lip curled angrily, despite her efforts.
Reid smirked at her and pressed a kiss onto her lips before whispering. “Put you down? I don’t think so.”
Ember scowled. “Put me down right now or I’ll screeeeeeeeeeeeee-” She broke off with the promised scream, but not because he didn’t put her down. He did. In a way. He threw her into the pool.
She plunged into warm, chlorine-bleached water and swirled about helplessly. Her hair swam around her face, feeling like silk on her shoulders and neck. It took her a second to reach the bottom of the pool and she instantly whirled upright, pushing off with her toes and bursting to the surface. She gasped and choked, flinging her hair off her face and rubbing water from her eyes. I’m going to kill him for that.
“Reid!” she shrieked up at the laughing blond, still watching from where he’d thrown her from. Sherry and Ricky were laughing too, and if she’d had something to throw at them, she would’ve done so.
“How’s the water Emz?” Sherry called down, grinning. Ember flipped her off and proceeded to turn and swim away from the giggling group, heading for the shallow end. She heard a splash and a yelp behind her as she swam, meaning that Sherry had been pushed in, too. Another splash a moment later, followed by a chuckle and Sherry’s scandalous giggles. Ricky had jumped then.
Ember reached the shallower water and turned, sitting on the tiled pool floor to watch her friends. She noticed there weren’t many other people here, surprisingly. A few elderly people, a handful of young couples with infants and a couple of kids their ages, but that was all. And of course Ricky and Sherry, splashing each other in a sickly sweet show of love. Ember rolled her eyes, and then focused on the gorgeous blond boy still standing on the poolside.
Just as she flicked her attention to him, Reid met her gaze, grinned and lifted his arms over his head. She got a great view of his chest that way and she bit her lip, wondering if he could hear her heart skip from here. Then he dove from a standing position into the warm, rippling water. He looked wonderfully graceful as he did it, landing with only a minor splash and popping to the surface a moment later. He flipped his wet blond hair out of his eyes and ran a hand over it. God, he could pose for a ‘Beach Babes’ calendar, she thought, tilting her head back to look at the ceiling. It was arched and mirrored, reflecting her own pale form back to her. Just for a moment, she thought she really didn’t look all that bad.
“Something fascinating up there, or just trying to avoid looking at me?” Reid asked, playfully dripping water over her shoulder. She hadn’t noticed him coming up next to her, too fixed on her own reflection to detect his right beside her, and she jumped a little, sending ripples of water flowing. Unhappily, she turned to him and glared. He was grinning at her.
“Jerk,” she accused and glanced away.
“I’ll take that as the latter,” he said nonchalantly. Ember frowned.
She watched her own fingers swirling in the water as she replied. “You’re mean for throwing me in. I would’ve rather jumped myself or stayed in the changing room,” she pouted, hoping for some apology. For a while, Reid didn’t reply, and she assumed he was thinking of something witty to say.
Instead what he said eventually was, “Why?”
She looked at him, confused, “Why would I rather have jumped myself? So that I didn’t choke and nearly drown. And because I hate-” She started, arching a brow at him, but he cut her off.
“No. Why would you rather have stayed in the changing room? You agreed to come swimming, albeit reluctantly, and from what Sherry was saying up there, it sounds like you enjoy swimming. I mean, you wouldn’t have done five years of lessons if you hated it, right?” He sounded confused now. His eyes were probing her face, looking for answers she doubted he’d find.
“I do like swimming. Usually. But this is meant to be a double date. Not one of the many things that was on my bucket list.” Ember rolled her eyes, but he frowned at her, his blue eyes intense. She tried to ignore the way he looked so cute with his wet hair ruffled and sticking to his forehead.
“Again, you agreed to it. Why the last minute change of heart?” he insisted. Growing more embarrassed by the reason for her reluctance, Ember wished he’d just drop i
t. The way he was looking at her was starting to make her think she’d been stupid to imagine that he wouldn’t like her body; there was plain desire on his face as he lazily looked her over, as if he hadn’t really noticed her lack of clothing until now.
“Why all the questions? I’m here and I’m in the pool now,” Ember shrugged, watching Sherry and Ricky banter on the metal ladder bolted to the wall at the other end of the pool. Feeling uncomfortable and unconfident, seeing Sherry’s lovely figure and the way Ricky clung to her, Ember chewed her lip and resisted the urge to curl into a ball to hide herself. She wasn’t resentful of her friend for looking that way, but she was a little jealous. She wished she could have a real, girly figure. It wasn’t something she often thought about, because she usually liked the way she looked, and she didn’t care that guys didn’t undress her with their eyes like they did the other girls. But just sometimes, like now, it got to her.
“But you’re not happy. What’s wrong?” Reid persisted with his questions and she almost wanted to hit him, but she had a feeling the lifeguards wouldn’t like that much. She just shrugged, hoping he’d let it drop now. But when she felt her temples prickle, she slammed up her mental walls and glared at him. He wasn’t going to drop it then. Damn him and his insistent curiosity. “If you’d talk to me, I wouldn’t have to try and pick answers out of your head,” he smirked, but it looked forced. That was when Ember realised that he wasn’t asking out of curiosity, he was asking because he cared. He truly wanted to know why she was unhappy, perhaps so he could fix it. She could see it all in his eyes, a lovelier, bluer blue than the pool water. She sighed, half-realising that he knew she’d give in all along - him and his damned good looks were irresistible. Maybe eventually she’d stop cracking whenever he gave her that deep, intense stare that made her feel like her soul was melting inside her.
“If I tell you, you’ll laugh at me,” she muttered, feeling his fingertips running over her arm lightly. He was watching his own hand, which made it easier to speak. He shook his head, a silent promise not to laugh. “Fine. I just… I-I’m not…” She couldn’t work out how to word her explanation without sounding like a total loser, so she scowled at the water for a moment and then held out her arms, “Well, look at me,” she said simply, frowning. Reid’s eyes flickered to hers for a moment through his dripping blond hair.
“I already have. And if I do it again I’m afraid we might get kicked out for what I’m likely to do to you,” he said quietly, a smile playing about his mouth as he returned his eyes to his hand, tracing her arm again. It took her a second to understand what he meant, her mind working slowly as it sometimes did in uncomfortable situations.
“What… What are you likely to do?” she asked in a shy whisper, glancing between him and her toes stretched out in front of her. Now Reid really grinned, a bright mischievous grin, and his eyes glowed as they met hers again.
“Trust me, I shouldn’t say those things in a public place. You might get embarrassed and blush. And then I’d really have a problem containing myself.” Ember bit her lip and felt the heat colour her face as she imagined the kinds of things he might say. Her skin felt suddenly acutely warm all over. “Mh-hm. Just like that,” Reid murmured, brushing his fingertips up the side of her neck to her cheekbone. “You’re so goddamned sexy, you make me feel like-” She shut him up by putting a hand over his mouth.
“Shut up. I get it,” she mumbled, giggling. She was pretty sure she didn‘t need to hear the rest of what he was going to say; It would only make her feel more bubbly and squirmy inside. And they were in a public place. His eyes bright, Reid licked her hand childishly and she yipped. “Ew, Reid!” She wiped her hand on his shoulder and he laughed. “Childish much?” she added, splashing water over him.
“Well, you don’t want it be a double date so let’s make it a play-date.” He grinned at her and splashed her back. She hesitated, trying not to laugh but he’d successfully cheered her up and gotten her over her bout of self-deprecation, and he’d done it without being condescending or rattling off mushy compliments. Eventually she gave in, giggled and leaned in to kiss him. Once her mouth was just few centimetres from his lips, she pulled back abruptly and sent a huge wave of water spraying over his face, and tried to crawl away quickly. Reid made a disgruntled, surprised noise and growled.
“Hey! That was just plain mean!” He caught her ankle as she made her getaway and dragged her back through the water to land across his lap. “I think you should apologise for that,” he whispered, his mouth right at her ear, his arms wrapped round her, warm and solid compared to the swishing water.
The sharp blast of a whistle pierced the air, but Reid didn’t even look around as he released her and held up his hands as if in surrender, so the lifeguard could see clearly he’d let go of her. The lifeguard did not look like a happy woman. Ember bit back laughter and scrambled off his lap, standing and splashing her way to deeper water. She had no idea where Ricky and Sherry had gone, probably around the back of the little diving platform at the far end. It was private behind there, and out of the view of the lifeguards.
Ember waded into waist-deep water and took a deep breath, holding and ducking under the water. She blew out the breath and sat on the bottom of the pool for seventeen seconds - she was counting - and then rose up again. She swept her wet hair off her face and turned to look for Reid. He’d disappeared too. Hmm. Ember was about to go in search of him when a hand caught hers, dragging her off toward the jacuzzi.
“Sherry and Kee are at the jacuzzi. They want us to come over before we cause trouble.” Reid grinned, clearly not adverse to the idea of making trouble.
“How do you know that? Telepathic link to Ricky?” Ember trailed after the blond boy, slyly eyeing his back; the way the muscles moved smoothly and the water ran in rivulets down from his shoulders. She let her eyes follow a drop all the way from the nape of his neck to the rim of his shorts, following the supple curve of his spine, and took the chance to look a little lower. She bit her lip, admiring. Nice butt, huh? Reid’s smug comment sounded in her head and she flinched in surprise, feeling a fresh blush rise to her face.
“I thought I told you to stay out of my head,” she hissed, embarrassed at being caught ogling.
“I wasn’t in your head. I just know you, and I know you like what you see.” He smiled brazenly back at her as they reached the edge of the jacuzzi. Ember stuck her tongue out at him. He was right, of course, but he didn’t need to know that.
“What’re you two talking about?” Sherry was snuggled against Ricky’s chest on one side of the jacuzzi. It was a big jacuzzi, round and large enough for ten people. And they had it all to themselves. Nice.
“Nothing. Reid was just being an pest,” Ember chirped, sliding into the bubbling water and settling across from Ricky and Sherry. The water, she was pleased to note, was very warm, almost hot, and the bubbles sprayed against her spine from one of the jets.
“Liar. Ember was checking out my butt,” Reid laughed, ignoring Ember’s glower.
Ricky chuckled, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t encourage him, Ember,” he said lightly.
“Why do you always choose the worst times to be truthful?” Ember glared at Reid, who rolled his eyes and slipped in beside her, slinging an arm over the edge of the jacuzzi, behind her shoulders.
“So, Sherry, how you handling the whole vampires-werewolves-witches thing?” Reid asked, curious but casual. It was obvious he wasn’t fully paying attention to her answer; he was stroking lines over Ember’s shoulder, playing teasingly with the strap of her bikini top.
“Um, OK. I think. I haven’t run screaming or lost my mind yet so I think I’ll be fine.” Sherz smiled, her gaze flicking to the brunette boy beside her. Something tells me she wouldn’t cope so well if not for Ricky, Ember thought fondly. Despite Ricky being one of the unnatural, he still had a calming effect on her friend. Ricky, she supposed, was just one of those innately soothing people.
“Oh, and Ricky filled me in on th
e telepathy thing.” Sherry was talking to Ember now, and Ember remembered they had been about to discuss that yesterday before her mother barged in. “I just wish I knew when he was reading my mind. I have to be careful with what I think now.” The green-eyed girl glanced at Kee, who only smiled innocently. Ember frowned. Sherry couldn’t feel it when Ricky was reading her mind, but Ember could always tell when Reid tried to read hers: that prickling sensation. Reid had said, when she’d first discovered her ability to feel telepathic intrusions, that it wasn’t normal for a human to feel it, but having that confirmed made Ember feel a little freakish.
“Ricky, could you just try something for me please?” Ember asked politely, sure that this was going to sound very strange to him. Ricky looked confused, but happy to help as he nodded.
“Sure,” he agreed amiably. Ember hesitated, thinking of tricky but innocent things like maths calculations.
“Could you try to read my mind? I just want to test something.” Ember smiled lightly, and Ricky gave her bewildered look. But he obliged. Ember felt a prickling at her temples and put up her mental blocks; Might as well test two things at once, she thought. Ricky looked taken aback, more bewildered than before, and Sherry looked almost as puzzled. But Reid was looking at her questioningly, though he knew exactly what she was doing now.
“How did you do that?” Ricky asked quietly. He stared at her intently, searching for an explanation on her face, like it might be written on her forehead in red ink.
“You mean I blocked you, too?” Ember asked, knowing the answer, but needing confirmation.
Ricky nodded, pursing his lips thoughtfully, and then blinked. “Wait, ‘too’? What do you mean ‘too’?”