Page 49 of Don’t Be A Stranger

River shakes his head, his eyes still tracing the outline of my legs and hips.

“No.” He swallows. “But usually I have to force myself to look away.”

“And now?”

“Now?” His eyes meet mine. “Now I’m taking full advantage while I have it.”

I look down at the goosebumps forming on my skin, the LED pool lights reflecting off them, and swallow the lump in my throat. Unable to think of anything other than letting River fuck me right here, I decide to dive into the pool, keeping my body flat and moving forward instead of rounded.

I know that this summer is supposed to be about exploring things physically with River, but I can’t jump his bones every moment we’re alone together. I think I’d become way too obsessed.

From under the water, I can hear River jump in after me. I allow myself to remain near the bottom, letting my hair float above me. The pool is a little colder than the one on campus, but I’d take swimming in an ice bath if that was the only water available to me.

River’s hands rest on my hips, leaving me no choice but to open my eyes to look at him. A cheeky grin spreads across his face before he pulls me in so that my legs wrap around his waist, and then he’s pressing his lips to mine. It’s a few quick pecks and we’re floating back up to the surface.

When we resurface, neither of us pull away. River keeps his hands on the curve of my ass and I keep the smile on my face, even though it’s making my cheeks hurt. Being in the water and having River around are possibly two of my favorite things. It’d be infeasible for me not to be in a good mood right now.

River guides us until he’s holding onto the edge of the pool. He brushes his hair away from his eyes. “You always look so happy in the water.” His smile only makes mine wider.

“You little water baby,” he whispers, amused.

That’s what Dad used to call me growing up. Both he and Papi said that I was trying to learn to swim in the bathtub before I even knew how to walk.

There’s just something about being in the water. As if being engulfed and surrounded by nothing but water, nothing can hurt me. If anything tried, it’d drown before it could ever reach me.

Especially at night. The dim lights of the pool. The faint outline of the stars. The quiet rippling of the water. I truly believe I could stay out here forever.

“If you had the money, would you ever come to a place like this?” I ask while my finger follows a droplet of water along River’s shoulder.

River snorts. “I would not spend my money on coming here, no.”

“Not even if you had all the money in the world? You wouldn’t come here for a dip or an overly expensive steak? Or even pretend you know how to play golf?”

“No,” River repeats. “I don’t feel the need to.”

I always thought that everyone wanted to experience things like that. I know that I’m fortunate enough to have been able to grow up middle class. My parents always made sure I had a roof over my head, food on the table, and anything I needed for swimming. But we weren’t exactly fine dining and going on vacations. Our family trips usually consisted of driving up to New York for a weekend.

That’s how I knew I wanted to go to Kingswell. The people in Ellingbrook just seem to have it all figured out. Like they have the world in the palm of their hands and they’re using it to their advantage.

“I would want to,” I admit.

“You’d seriously spend all of that money just to come to a place like this?” River’s words don’t feel judgemental, just surprised that it’s something I’d want.

I shrug and pull away to slowly begin swimming around, unable to keep still. Especially not when I’ve been dreaming about swimming in this pool for almost a year now.

River follows.

“I’d like to experience it at least once in my life instead of being on the sideline and catering to those who can afford it,” I say.

I keep my kicks behind me small, almost like I’m kicking into a bucket. All of this due to muscle memory.

“Yeah?” River smiles. “Well, when you have all of those sponsors from your Olympic success for being the fastest swimmer in the world—” he exaggerates and I let him. “I’m sure you’ll be able to do anything you want.”

“You’ll be there though, right?” I can’t help but ask.

River swims in place, water droplets falling from the ends of his hair. He watches me for a moment. I’ve never found myself feeling self-conscious under River’s gaze, but something about admitting out loud that I want to experience the luxury of artificial things makes me worry that River will think less of me.

I can’t help but want a taste of a little bit of luxury in the world and I’d love to experience it with him. I’d even add Lily to that equation, but having a hockey legend as your grandfather already puts her in a different tax bracket than both River’s and my families.