Page 25 of Trusting You
“Put me down!” she demanded just as we reached the pool. “Put me down now!”
“Ok,” I shrugged, causing her to jostle around. “If you’re sure that’s what you want.”
“Yes! Put me down!” she pounded her fists against my back. I have to admit she’s strong for a little thing, but she couldn’t hurt me if she tried.
“Hold your breath,” I shouted as I jumped into the pool on the deep end. We sank below the surface together, and I released her so she could swim to the top. She shoved at me before breaking the surface and coughing.
“I can’t believe you did that!” she snapped as she splashed water in my direction.
“Oh, believe it,” I grinned as I watched her. She swam to the side, and gripped the edge as she coughed and sputtered the remaining water out of her lungs. “Don’t ever doubt me,” I swam over to her, caging her in against the side of pool. “I always keep my word,” I lowered my voice as I leaned in right next to her ear. She shivered as she kicked her feet around, but just as I was about to kiss her again, a giant splash interrupted us.
“Brock Foster! What the hell was that for?” Emma screeched from somewhere behind me. “You are so dead,” she grumbled.
I turned around just in time to see her surface, and push her hair out of her eyes. Mel’s eyes swung up, bringing my attention to a grinning Brock.
“You cooled off now?” he snickered.
“Uh huh, you better cool off, too. You might not be grinning like that later,” she taunted as she swam toward the steps.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” he walked over to the edge and dove in.
When he surfaced, Emma laughed, “You’re on your own tonight.”
My head swung back and forth between them as I watched them volley threats. “Don’t threaten me,” Brock warned.
“Or what?” Emma taunted.
“I’ll just have to torture it out of you,” he snickered as he dipped below the surface and swam towards her.
“We’re not having any of that in the pool,” I waved my finger at them as Mel sidled up to me.
“It’s my pool. Go somewhere else then,” she giggled as she wrapped her arms around Brock’s neck.
“Seriously, guys,” I growled as Mel giggled.
“Ignore them,” she whispered as her hands settled on my shoulders. “I mean… if you can’t beat ‘em, then join them,” she leaned in and pressed her lips against mine, causing me to forget why I was disgusted in the first place.
“Who are you?” I pulled back after a few seconds, breaking the kiss.
“What do you mean?” her hands dropped and she put distance between us. I could feel the cool water widening whatever space she was creating.
“I don’t know how to say this without sounding like an ass,” I sighed as I shook my head.
“So try,” she nibbled her bottom lip.
I watched as the plump flesh slowly slipped from between her teeth and a small crease appeared right between her brows.
“Fine,” I sucked in a deep breath. Here goes nothing. “I like that we can talk to each other, so I want to be honest with you. I like you, a lot. I think we’ve established that. I’ve been trying to get you to loosen up since we met. Last summer I thought I was getting somewhere, but then you shut me out.” I watched as she scowled. “I know, I know that was my fault. We’ve already discussed that. Anyway, every time I try to push things further with you, you pull away so I’ve been going really slow. Painfully slow at times,” I grimaced. She didn’t know that every night after we got off the phone I had to go rub one out. I hadn’t gotten laid in months because of her, and it was slowly killing me. “I’m willing to wait for you, but I feel like I’m talking to a different person right now. I wanna know that this is you, the real you, not the you that you think I want.”There, I stopped; now it was her turn.
She swallowed before glancing around. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, and I’m not ready to share it yet either. Let’s just say that I’m a different person now. I went to Eastman to get away from the me I used to be, and now I’m not sure who I am. I thought I could change everything, be someone new, someone that was respected, but you mess all that up. You make me want to be the girl I was before, the one that didn’t care what other people thought of her, and was willing to do whatever it took to get what she wanted. She wasn’t very nice, and she didn’t respect herself.”
It was all starting to make sense now. All the times she pulled away, but looked longingly at me. The kiss that had heated up only to burn out just as fast. The embraces that she shoved herself out of. The way she seemed so skittish at my apartment yesterday. They were all signs of her battle within herself.“You’re not a bad person for wanting to be around me.”
“Yes, I am,” she shook her head as she pushed up on the side of the pool and hoisted herself out. She sat on the side with only her feet in the water. “You’re exactly the guy that could drag me back to the place I worked so hard to escape from. Can’t you see that?”
“Ouch,” I leaned back away from her. “Tell me what you really think of me.”
“I’m not trying to hurt you, but like you said… I’m not like the girls you “date”,” she used finger quotes. “I can’t be like them, and I don’t see you changing for me.” She slid back and stood up, leaving me there bobbing in the pool. I watched as she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself before walking to the beach.
