Slamming the front door behind me, I sighed gently. My shoes squelched as I slid down the other side, my back against the wood and my legs curling beneath me as I sat. Footsteps thundered about upstairs, and moments later, the sound of Claire and Mark's bickering reached my ears. They were speaking too quietly for me to hear what they were saying, but their voices sounded equally annoyed at each other. I couldn't believe they were still here.
Quickly standing, I smoothed down the bottom of my top. Not that it helped at all. My clothes were still soaked, clinging to me like an uncomfortable second skin. Claire hurled herself at me, seeming not to realise that I was drenched until it was too late, and crushed me in a giant hug. Pulling back, her cheeks were pulled up in a wide grin, which hadn't wavered despite the water now dripping down her top from my hair.
"Is he in love yet?"
The dazed smile slipped right off my face as I remembered the actual purpose of the date, and the promise I'd made Claire. Annoyance rose inside of me for falling for his games so easily this time. He was probably laughing right now. Amused by my pathetic breakdown and my immediate belief of his equally saddening sob story - a sob story he'd no doubt made up on the spot.
What the hell was I supposed to do now? Not only did I like him more than I ever thought possible, but I'd just pretty much ruined my only chance at winning this stupid game. After all, what self-respecting guy could fall for a girl who breaks down crying on the first date?
"Lola... Lola?" Claire's questioning voice vaguely registered in my mind as my thoughts raced.
"Lola!" Her hesitant questioning soon became an angry yell, and I came to with a start.
"I'm sorry, what?" I questioned guiltily and she rolled her eyes in amusement.
"I asked you how it went." She looked at Mark with a little laugh, as if to say 'she's hopeless', and he grinned back, his eyes slightly darker than usual.
I smiled as I recalled what had happened after our depressing little exchange.
Throwing the final grape up in the air, I laughed when he threw himself on his back to catch it in his mouth, toppling into the lake with a splash. My eyes widened momentarily in panic before he emerged. Water poured off him in streams, flattening his hair to his head. Droplets ran down his t-shirt, which now clung to him more tightly than it had before, revealing the outlines of his muscles through the fabric. Involuntarily, my tongue darted out to wet my lips at the sight. He growled, and walked towards me with outstretched arms, like an animal stalking its prey. No longer caring about muddy shoes, I stood and ran, despite knowing I had no chance at out-running him. In mere moments his arms wrapped around me from behind, almost completely soaking me along with him. Picking me up as though I was weightless, he threw me in the lake, stripping off his shirt before jumping back in after me. I thanked god that I'd already thought to take off my jacket, but there would be no recovery for my shoes. Swimming up behind me, he pulled my hair back as I broke the surface, kissing his way gently along my neck. I leaned back into him, my legs mingling with his as we both tried to stay afloat.
Even though we'd had pretty much no choice but to come home after that, I could honestly say it was something I was never going to forget - even if this did all end badly.
"Uh oh." Claire's eyes widened at my delayed reply and she began to pace, muttering to herself under her breath. When she was younger, she'd used to do this all the time, not even realising she was doing it most of the time. At one point, she'd been utterly convinced that Mark and I were psychic, because we could always know exactly what she was thinking. This time, she was muttering far too quietly for us to hear anything that she was saying.
"I knew this would happen; I knew it!" Finally the muttering stopped, and she came to stand in front of me.
"Lola, you have to snap out of this. Remember who he is. Remember why you hate him so much."
I tried to think back, but all that I could think of was that date. Somehow, it had taken less than a week for him to erase every ounce of hatred I'd had towards him. Logically I knew that he couldn't possibly undo everything he'd done. I should probably still hate him for all of it, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't bring myself to.
"Claire, it's not like I meant for this to happen. It's just... when I told him about my dad he was-"
I didn't get a chance to complete the sentence before Claire interrupted me. She had begun pacing again almost immediately after talking to me, but now paused in her tracks, shrieking in horror at me.
"You told him about your dad? Are you out of your mind?"
"I think this is my cue to leave." Quite honestly, I'd forgotten Mark was even there up until that point. Grabbing his jacket from the coat rack, he slipped past us both awkwardly to the front door.
"Good luck." He muttered under his breath as he passed and I smiled gratefully. We both knew that it was unlikely Claire was going to let this go for a while. I envied him for being able to escape.
Claire was still breathing heavily as the door slammed behind me, and I could tell just by her expression how much control it was taking her not to yell in my face.
"Did you kiss him?" The calm tone was somehow scarier than the yelling.
I didn't reply, but my sheepish expression no doubt gave away the truth.
"Nooo." She drew the word out painfully.
"I'm sorry. It's just, he was so sweet about the whole thing, and then he started telling me about Chelsea and-"
Claire interrupted me once again.
"Who the hell is Chelsea?" Her voice rose incredulously and I tilted my head curiously.
"He didn't tell you when you were dating?" I asked thoughtfully, and she shook her head.
"So it's not just a story he uses to get girls?" A smile began to form on her face as she shook her head.
"You know, maybe you haven't completely screwed things up. You still willing to do this?"
I was surprised to find that the immediate answer I thought of was actually no. However, Claire didn't wait for a verbal reply before seeming to mentally imagine the answer she wanted to hear.
"Great!"
I swallowed guiltily as she looked me up and down in confusion.
"Why are you so wet?"
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[EDITED]
So, they're both trying to beat each other at the same game, wonder how that will turn out?!?! Hope you enjoyed:
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