"Did you want something else? Loser has to go to their reunion?"
"Hell no. Fine, the loser jumps into the pool. Make it a belly flop to spice up the night."
"Deal. Ready?"
"Wait, are you trying to get me buzzed because I'm more fun that way?"
Theo doesn't respond but flashes a brief smile and becomes serious again. "No, why would you think that?"
I open the can as Theo twists off his lid. The hiss of his drink and the pshh of mine makes my tummy flip. I'm going to get a stomachache.
"Go!" I say as we tip our heads back.
I finish within seconds as Theo takes two more huge gulps.
"What the hell? Is that your party trick? You were so fast," he tells me.
"I can open my throat; it's pretty easy. You basically let gravity do all the work."
"Wow, open your throat…"
I can't deal with these innuendos. I'm creating enough made-up ones in my head, and now Theo's catching on.
"All right, you better show me the loudest belly flop I've ever heard."
"You got it."
Theo gets out of the Jacuzzi, shaking off some of the water from his arms and legs.
"The pool isn't even that cold," I complain. "This is so lame. It's probably sixty-five degrees."
"Hey, these were the terms you agreed to."
"All right, let's get going, we don't have all night."
As Theo walks to the pool, I have the sudden urge to sign up for anatomy classes so I can analyze all the muscles moving on his back. Even his thighs look built solid.
When he reaches the edge of the pool, he looks back at me. I stand on the ledge we were sitting on so I can get a better view.
"Better hit it hard," I tell him.
"Hang on, I'll go higher."
He walks over to the stone waterslide and climbs the rock to the edge where the waterfall would be spilling out and into the pool.
"You don't have to go that high," I mutter, realizing this might be painful. I've heard stories where if you hit the water just right, it can be like face planting onto asphalt. "In fact, Theo–"
But before I can finish my sentence, his body plunges over the side and falls into the water abs first.
The splat is terrible. I felt it in my own skin when his body made contact.
Cringing and rubbing my arms, I wait for him to emerge like the moron he is. But when I see his body still floating face down, my heartbeat increases and my blood runs cold.
"So typical. Of course he pretends like he's drowning."
But as the seconds go by, I realize how long he'd have to be holding his breath.
I get out of the Jacuzzi and dash over to the pool in hopes by the time I am closer to his body, he'll already be laughing at my gullibility.
