head over heels | benny rodriguez

| chapter eleven |

We made the mutual agreement to go home and change, then meet at the public pool in thirty.

I burst through the door, giving Grandma and Grandpa a quick greeting before rushing to my room.

I've never been the biggest fan of swimming, but I love swimsuits.

Flinging my closet open, I pull out a crate filled with bikini bottoms and tops. After fishing through the pile for a moment, I settled on a faded green bikini set, with white Hawaiian flowers. The top had two triangle pieces of fabric and a string that tied around the back of my neck and ribcage, and though the bottoms were simple, it still took several minutes to put on in total.

I kept the gold hoops and necklaces on from earlier, but let my hair down, draping against my shoulders.

Admiring myself in the bathroom mirror, I notice how the set REALLY accentuated my figure - almost too much. So to stay modest in front of my grandparents, I threw a baggy surf shop shirt I got from my mom a few weeks ago as a cover-up.

Before leaving, I threw on my old pair of white Reeboks (as I despise flip-flops), and grabbed a towel, soon heading out the door.

-

I may have been a little late: only by ten minutes or so, as when I showed up the boys were angrily standing near the entrance tapping their feet.

"Took ya long enough!" Squints shouted as he shook his head.

"Never said you guys had to wait for me!" I said as we separate to walk through our respective locker rooms.

After making it out the other side, I spotted the group running toward the water, but I take my time, finding a chair and laying my stuff out. Sitting down, I lean back on the beach seat, resting my towel behind my head as a pillow while I watched everyone cannonball into the pool.

At this point, a few minutes had passed, and all of them were in the water, wrestling each other or flinging each other around. How cute!

I decide to close my eyes to get some sun, but I soon hear someone climb out of the pool and walk toward me.

I open my eyes and squint to see Benny standing in front of my chair. His hair was all messy and fluffy, with his bare chest exposed, only wearing navy swim trunks and a towel hanging loosely around his neck and shoulders.

Panting, he asks me "You gettin' in?" as his chest rises up and down. I glance over his toned figure and he chuckle a bit before I answer.

"Maybe, but I'm not really a swimmer. Never have been." I reply.

"Oh c'mon Elle, it's fuckin hot out here. Besides, the water feels super nice!"

"Eh, I'm good. Thanks for the offer though!" I say as I shut my eyes and nuzzle my head into the towel.

"Please? Only for a little." He begs as I shake my head, but before I can even respond he suddenly grabs my hand. I flinch a bit as his fingers are extremely cold from the water, but I let him help me up.

I sigh as I rub my eyes in defeat. "Ugh, fine. Only for a bit though!" He grins at me and drags me toward the edge of the pool. He swiftly hopped into the water with ease, before holding out his hand to help me get in. Damn, what a gentleman!

"Wait, one sec!" Who does he think I am, getting in with a damn shirt on? I quickly lifted up my shirt, pulling it off to reveal my tan stomach and my swimsuit. Quickly readjusting my top and bottoms to make sure everything was in the right spot, I fling my shirt towards my chair and turn back to the group.

There I see all nine boys - including Benny, with their jaws, dropped, staring me up and down.

"Whatcha guys lookin' at?" I ask as a look around in confusion.