"I got dumped like two months ago, I think I can handle myself." Wow, between arriving home and the blur of living in a hotel for when I had nowhere to go, I can't believe I've survived this long without Beckett.
But then I remember Scarlet, his fiancée, and how Theo is the one person who knows this detail. Normally, I would tell my dad everything, but I'm distancing myself from him and confiding more in Theo since I've been back.
Theo returns with a white shirt and a glass of Kool-Aid.
"Mom, you spiked this? Good for you."
"No?" Molly questions as she looks at his drink.
"Ahh, that's mine."
Dashing to Theo's side to reclaim my drink, I trip on the hose my dad was using earlier. My feet stumble right as I crash into Theo's arms.
He drops the drink to the floor after it has successfully spilled all over our white tops.
"See, this is why I always suggest plastic cups by the pool." My dad appears, always the logical one.
It bounces near our bare feet, and I laugh at the mess.
"Sorry, I didn't mean—" But before I can finish my sentence, Theo scoops me up in his arms and carries me over to the pool.
I don't have to put on a show as I laugh hysterically. "Theo, no! Stop!"
I'm kicking my legs like a child as he stands at the edge of the pool. Our parents laugh along with me, and my dad eggs Theo on.
"Throw her in!"
"My phone is in my back pocket," I shriek, because, priorities. I can't afford a new one right now due to water damage.
He manages to support me while using one arm to fish it out of my back pocket, tossing it on the grass.
I'm holding on tight so he can't drop me into the water without coming in with me.
Benny enters the side gate entrance with his husband right as Theo leaps in the air.
I'm still enveloped in his arms, holding on for dear life when the butterflies in my stomach come crashing down as we hit the water together.
"I give it a six," Benny's husband, Chase, judges as we rise for air.
"I give it a nine," Benny says with a conspiratorial smile. And okay, he must know right off the bat something is up between me and Theo.
My dad and Molly clap as we come out of the shallow end.
"The party has started," she cheers.
Asthehourspass,more friends arrive and join us in the backyard. Everyone is wearing festive red, white, and blue attire and drinking.
I'm able to keep my distance from Theo in case the sexual tension is as palpable as I believe it to be.
Most of the guests hanging out in the backyard are enjoying themselves with a plate full of food. A few are on rafts in the pool while the rest of us mingle on chairs and catch up on lost time. I've been able to disguise my misgivings as an opportunity to start over, and I've told the story so many times, I'm beginning to believe it.
When I get up to refill my glass inside, Benny corners me.
"Spill. All of it. What the hell is going on with you and that, that—I can't even form words—hunk?"
"Nothing. And keep your voice down." I peek over his shoulders to make sure no one can hear our conversation.
"Girl, don't lie to me. I see the way he looks at you."
