The Souls of Drowned People

Chapter Two

            Cillian was standing beside an open-mouthed Chelsea. For a moment I wondered if my heart and lungs had exploded while I was at the bottom, if I really had drowned.

            “What?” Cillian said, bending down to splash a handful of water into my face.

            “Cillian?” I scrambled out of the water. “What are you doing here? Your flight wasn’t supposed to get in until four.”

            “I managed to catch an earlier one. Now, are you going to just stand there?”

            A puddle was forming beneath my feet. “I’m soaked.”

            “I get to see you once a year, Moira. Things like that don’t matter.” He scooped me into his arms, dripping hair and all.

            “Hi, Cillian,” I whispered, once I smelled the shampoo in his hair and realized that he wasn’t an illusion from the chlorine in my eyes. When the front of his shirt was stained wet, Cillian set me down. He flicked a tangle of hair away from my eyes, and kissed me lightly on the forehead.

            Chelsea was staring as if we had started making out.

            I took Cillian’s hand, spinning him around to face Chelsea. She would murder me if I forgot an introduction. “Cillian, this is Chelsea. Chels, this is Cillian.”

            “Very nice to meet you, Chelsea.” Cillian reached his hand out toward her. All Chelsea seemed able to do was gawk at his arms. They were bigger than they had been last year. He must have been practicing for that rowing team he always talked about joining.

            Cillian, always so smooth, ignored Chelsea’s awkward gaping and turned back to me. “What were you doing down there?”

            “Seeing how long I could hold my breath.” It sounded stupid, childish. But Cillian would understand. He loved the water as much as I did.      

            “I thought you were never coming up.”

            “I thought about it. It’s nice down there.”

            Cillian fidgeted with the collar of his plaid shirt. “Well, I hate to break up such a nice swim practice, but I told your mother I’d bring you home.”

            “You saw her already?”

            “She picked me up at the airport. And since I arrived early without you knowing about it, the idea of surprising you like this was way too tempting. Now go change, I’m only here for a few days and we have a lot to do.”

            Chelsea finally recovered, forcing a smile across her face. “We’ll be right back.” She yanked me into the locker room, throwing open her locker once we were inside. She pulled out a plastic bag filled of clothes, dumping it out across the bench. “Do you think you can fit in my jeans?”

            “What’s wrong with my shorts?”

            “Moira!” Chelsea slapped me once on each cheek. “Shirtless Facebook pictures don’t even do him justice. He’s beautiful. So here, put these on.” She threw a pair of jeans at me. “You guys have such obvious chemistry.”

            I pulled her farther into the locker room, so Cillian couldn’t hear from outside. “We do?”

            “He kissed you.”