Warmth from the afternoon sun enveloped my being, rays of heat and light dancing across my skin. Even behind my sunglasses and closed eyes, sunlight strained to blind me as I leaned into the lounge chair, facing the, no doubt, bright blue sky.
In nothing but my board shorts, I welcomed the heat, though, enjoying the week of higher than usual temperatures in the middle of February. With temperatures hitting the low 80s, a pool party just seemed to make sense. And people still think global warming isn't real?
In the background, the music of 'Handclap' by Fitz and the Tantrums blasted through bluetooth speakers, interspersed with giggling and laughter from the others as they played in the pool. First was the soft chuckle of Jake, then the loud happy scream of Sam followed quickly by a splash.
Before I could even open my eyes, strong hands pushed at my legs, parting them before my feet touched the warm stone tiles of the poolside. I popped an eye open and raised an eyebrow, seeing Evan moving to take the place of my recently departed legs. Leaning back into me, I smiled, draping my arms across his chest as he nestled himself to me.
Evan had become a lot more comfortable with showing me affection in the company of my friends. After all, we had been 'secretly' dating for more than three months so that was probably a given. Come to think of it, I can't even really call the gang just my friends anymore either because Evan had definitely already warmed up to them to be classified as such anyway. I mean, he was the one who suggested a pool party anyway, at his house no less.
Sure, the gang had known about where he lived for a while now, but he had never once invited them over. When he had asked me if I thought a pool party was a good idea earlier in the week, I was shocked.
"You're inviting them to your house?" I had asked, eyes wide as I waited for his answer.
"Well, the weather's been good so I just thought..." he said, trailing off, his cheeks turning the lightest bit pink as if it was embarrassing that he had asked.
"I think it's a great idea," I quickly reassured to which he had given me a shy smile.
It wasn't so much that I didn't think that Evan wanted our friends to be at his house, but I kind of found out that his home was his safe space. A place where he could be comfortable, to not wonder about his insecurities. I only saw him that way when he was home, only ever shedding his walls around me when we're completely alone. So, in a way, his invitation to the gang was just another of his walls coming down.
That's not to say that he didn't have his reservations, though. As far as the rest of the world knew, Evan and I were just really good friends. When Evan started having lunch with us, gossip naturally took off as the rumor mill started up. At first, most students were just surprised that the mysterious Evan Trevorrow was finally hanging out with other human beings, but expecting teenagers not to gossip is just plain stupid.
The initial rumor was that he was simply hanging with us because of some school assignment, which wasn't really that far off, to be honest, but then things started getting a little...far-fetched. I mean, people actually thought that Evan was just trying to become popular which was kind of ludicrous seeing that Evan never seemed to care about stuff like that. I guess, in a way, it just kind of reinforced the idea that nobody in school really knew Evan.
But the, should I say, funniest rumor was that Evan and Jake were hooking up just because someone saw Jake and Evan talking at the pool that one time. I had to roll my eyes at that because of how close and yet how far they were. Of course, the gossip died down once it became clear that Evan was staying and he ceased being news.
"What are you thinking about?" Evan asked, his voice knocking me from my thoughts as he ran his fingers up and down my arm that was laid across his chest.
"Nothing," I replied, tilting my head down to see him looking up at me. I gave him an innocent smile when he waited for me to give him an actual answer, but I wasn't about to tell him how I was contemplating my life with him. Now, that is embarrassing.
When it became clear that I wasn't going to tell him, he rolled his eyes and turned back to the front, leaning into me again. I chuckled, leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his hair. I was glad that neither his dad nor Carla were home or Evan wouldn't have been as affectionate as he was being. He hadn't told his family about us and I wished he did because I'm pretty sure that Eric would have been cool with it. But alas, that wasn't my decision to make. I tried to stay clear of the whole coming out topic because Evan got slightly pissed every time I brought it up, so I just let it be.
Looking down at my somewhat secret boyfriend, I noticed that he was dressed in nothing but a pair of board shorts, much like my own, his tanned muscles bulging in all the right places. To be honest, I had been kind of hoping that he would be wearing his tight speedos, my mind going to dirty places ever since he suggested a pool party. Then again, I would much rather not have him flaunt what was obviously only meant for my eyes. Wait...was that over protective or, heaven forbid, jealous?
"You finished with your work?" I asked, knocking myself out of my own thoughts. The party's been in full swing for over an hour and Evan had just joined us, claiming that he had some homework for an AP class that he needed to get done before even thinking about enjoying himself.
"Yep, just finished it," he replied.
"Why do it today, though? I assumed that when you suggested this thing, you'd be free for the day," I asked. I wasn't complaining, don't get me wrong, because if he had work he had to prioritize that, but I'm just curious.
"Well, I actually thought I would be done with it a few days ago, but I procrastinated. Thermodynamics isn't exactly a riveting topic" he said, blushing slightly.
"Wait," Tim called out from a few chairs down the pool. "You're finished with the chemistry thing?" I raised my eyebrow at my brother's eavesdropping but seeing that we weren't exactly trying to keep quiet, I forgave him.
I felt Evan nod his head, his hair tickling the skin of my abdomen. "You're not?"
"It's only due by the end of next week, right?" Tim asked, pulling down his sunglasses slightly to look at Evan over the tinted lenses.
"Um...Monday actually," Evan muttered. At his words, Tim's eyes doubled in size and he sat up straight, pulling his sunglasses off like that dude in Jurassic Park when he first saw that dinosaur.
"Holy shit, you're kidding, right?" he shouted, panic clear in his features. Evan simply shook his head, but I could see a hint of sympathy for my little brother in his eyes. I, on the other hand, was kind of reveling in my brother's misfortune. "Oh crap, I still have so much to do!"
"Wait, wait, hold up," I said, causing Tim to stop his little panic attack. "The two smartest kids in school waited until the last minute to finish a school related assignment?"
"Well, I don't know about your brother, but I tried working on it many times this last week. I just...didn't have the motivation. Besides, Tim's like way smarter than me so I'm sure he can manage."
Tim scoffed. "Dude, you got like a mark less than me for chemistry the last semester. I'm not that much smarter than you."
"Oh right, but remind me again how old you are? Because I'm 18 and last I checked, you're what? 14? 15?" Evan replied matter-of-factly. I smirked, liking the snarky Evan that came out every time he and Tim go on about each other's smartness. The funny thing was that neither of them wanted to take credit for being the smarter one. At first, I thought it would have been some kind of contest, but it definitely didn't go as I had expected.
"I...just..." Tim stammered.
"Just let it go, lil' bro. You can't recover from that one," I laughed.
Evan laughed too but recovered quickly. "If you wanna borrow my laptop to work, I'd be happy to lend it to you," he said.
"Oh, my god, yes! You're a lifesaver," Tim squealed, almost bouncing in his seat. Evan chuckled, getting up and shaking his head as he returned to the house to retrieve the electronic device.
I took Evan's departure to see how the rest of the gang was spending this fine afternoon. After his scare, Tim immediately returned to his phone, probably checking to see what he needed for the work or whatever, I don't really question him. Further down the poolside was Mitch in a pair of white shorts, sprawled out on the lounge chair with sunglasses sitting on the bridge of his nose, on the table next to him sat a bottle of tanning oil and a jug of lemonade that Evan had brought out earlier. With his mouth hanging slightly ajar, I figured that Mitch had fallen asleep.
Turning to the pool, I saw the other four laughing and splashing up a storm in the cool and clear water. With Melissa on Jake's shoulders and Sam on Brian's, it didn't take a genius to realize that they were playing a game of chicken fight. With the way that Melissa was struggling to stay up, I figured that Sam and Brian were winning this round.
"What's the score?" I shouted over to them.
"We're leading two to one," Melissa shouted back. I don't know if it was my question that distracted her or not, but as soon as the words left her mouth, Melissa took a plunge into the water after a shove from Sam.
"Not anymore, you're not," Sam taunted.
"No fair," Melissa cried, emerging from the water. "Brad distracted me."
"He didn't actually ask you to reply, now did he? I could have answered too but chose not to," Sam shot back. I gave Melissa a look that simply said that she had a point.
"Technicalities," she waved off, splashing water at the opposing couple.
"Hey, don't take it out on me," Brian said, returning a wave of water. He apparently didn't know his strength because the subsequent tsunami caused water to not only spray Melissa but also splash out the pool and onto an unsuspecting sleeping Mitch.
As cool water touched his hot skin, he shot awake, mouth open as he gasped from the shock of the rude awakening. He took a moment to survey his surroundings, only to see Melissa doubling over with laughter. The rest of us were more covert with our chuckling, which made Mitch immediately assume that his sister had been the culprit.
"Mel, I will kill you," he snarled, narrowing his eyes at her over his sunglasses.
"Sorry, dude, that was my fault," Brian admitted, giving him a sheepish smile.
