“Well?” Felix questions. Drew’s eyes bounce between the two of us, face getting redder and redder. He bites his lip.
“One of you is going to be so mad.” Felix taps the bottom of his foot on top of Drew’s head where he bobs in the water in front of me.
“No, we won’t, now answer.” Drew blows out a huge breath, staring at the ledge of the pool.
“Okay, then yes is my answer.” There are a couple beats of silence before Felix jumps to his feet.
“WHAT?! Look at him! Look at the bruises!” I glare up at him and try to squish his feet with my fists. Felix hops around, dodging me pretty easily.
“Yeah, but he’s like a sexy street fighter, you know?” Drew looks very embarrassed as his defense leaves his mouth. I don’t think he meant for any of us to hear that. I lean back on my palms and laugh.
“Damn Bear, want to fightmein the street too?” Amber pokes, and I realize that she and Aaron can hear everything we say from this distance.
“Depends. How much can you lift? And only if I’m left standing after Drew’s done with me.” Drew’s face flushes further as Amber cackles loudly, hand squeezing Aaron’s bicep what looks to be uncomfortably hard.
“We want to vote too. Give us the paper, Fefe!” Felix hands her the notebook and pen, glaring at Drew.
Drew waves for me to lean down, and when I do, he whispers, “I told you someone was gonna get upset.” Chuckling, I try to ignore the pool water that came from his lips and now sit on the shell of my ear. I lean back a bit so I can see his face, and to stop his hot breath from hitting my neck.
“Don’t worry—after I win and we place a new bet your betrayal will be long forgotten.”
“Oh great.” His response is bland and I laugh at him some more, leaning back up to sit.
Felix is walking back with the notebook, leaving behind a grinning Amber and a stern-looking Aaron who has his arms crossed tightly. Felix starts to count the votes.
“What the fuck.” Felix states, not as a question but as an expression of his distaste. “All threeof you traitors voted for Bear?”
“That can’t be proven—it's anonymous.” Amber says, snarky and defiant as she crosses her arms to match Aaron. He has yet to speak.
“Dude. I saw the sheet when I wrote Drew’s vote. And now there are two more tallies under the ‘yes’ column." He’s giving hera blank stare, unimpressed. Amber purses her lips for a moment before leaning over slightly and saying,
“Aaron, babe, he’s got a pretty solid case. I think he’s onto us.” I stare at Aaron and his stupid dark sunglasses. He could be looking at me, or he could have decided to take a nap. They both voted for me? Why? I mean, Amber—I can understand. She loves stirring up trouble and has always told me how cute I am. But Aaron? He rejected me, is a dick most of the time, and Felix is his baby brother on top of all of those already valid reasons to not vote for me in a vanity contest.
“Youthink?” Felix asks, trying to hide his grin and failing majorly. “Whatever, assholes. Let me count my side.”
I look down at Drew. He’s looking up at me curiously and I realize I might have been staring at Aaron for a moment there. My cheeks flush slightly and I poke his forehead with the heel of my foot. The blue of his eyes matches the chlorine pool water so closely—he kind of looks like a water nymph from a storybook. His hair is wet and pushed back like a surfer from a 2000’s romcom. He raises a brow at my staring, so I give him a lazy smile.
A long, dramatic sigh leaves Fe’s mouth.Oh, yeahhh. “Bear won. Whatever. It seems that no matter how old we get, Bear’s beauty will always be appreciated more than mine.” I grin up at him as he shakes his head with a sigh of fake disappointment. Drew grabs my thigh for leverage and pulls himself close to me.
“So then, what did you win?”
“A ticket to poundtown.” Felix jokes.
“Huh?” Drew looks between the two of us.
“Oh! No, not with me. A girl.”
“It’s just her phone number.” I say, looking down at him. I hear Aaron clear his throat loudly from where he sits but I don’t bother looking up. I’m not using Drew as a tool to piss him off, but I won’t reject Drew's innocent affection to appease him either. It’s only a bonus that it pisses him off.
Felix jumps back into the pool in a cannon ball. Drew pulls himself out again, choking on the cannon ball waves. I help him upto where he sits next to me, patting his back. Our feet dangle in the water and Felix winces when he swims up to us.
“Oopsies.” He says, giving Drew a shy smile.
“No worries.” Drew grimaces, his coughing fit subsiding. I rub his back for a bit longer, then leave him be.
The sun is beating down on us so nicely. I lean back on my palms and close my eyes, letting my face turn to the sky. Nothing else gets to exist now. No dads that hit you. No childhood friends who don’t want you. No suicidal thoughts. Just a calm afternoon, the sound of the water hitting the concrete, the familiar voices of my friends talking to each other. Just… warmth. My skin buzzes with it.
I get a few minutes of that bliss before Drew tugs at the bottom of my swim trunks, knuckles grazing my upper thigh. I jolt at the unexpected touch, opening my eyes to see him peering at me.
