-Bennett-
Against my better judgment, I let Riley stick around near the end of my shift. She barged in uninvited and decided to stay, declaring this a safe haven after Marissa tried to make her clean the bathroom just because the janitor was busy elsewhere. I was a bit perplexed at first, only to realize our dearly beloved manager wouldn't do much more than glare at us through the window... clearly trying to avoid me.
I couldn't help but wonder if Mr. Phelps scolded her as well.
As for Riley, she was pleasantly helpful, providing an extra set of eyes to ensure the kids weren't getting into any trouble. Her energy nearly surpassed that of the kids, but they almost seemed to cancel each other out, such as when they all managed to tire themselves out by having an impromptu jump rope competition. Riley ranked 11th place, which she was only a bit salty about.
She did ask for a recount, blaming one of her long braids for getting caught on the rope. None of the participating kids believed her though, since she'd tied her hair back into a ponytail before going. And thus, her nostalgic dreams of channeling Keke Palmer as Mary Thomas in the 2007 Disney Channel original movie Jump in! were unequivocally crushed.
"You're still Mary in my heart," I promised Riley, which she at least seemed thankful for.
"I am, aren't I?" she agreed, nudging me playfully.
Still, the liveliness did help the time go faster. One moment we were in the middle of Riley getting brutally outjumped by children, and then the next the final student was being picked up and we were finally putting the equipment away.
"Who's that?" Riley pointed out while sauntering over after a bit of clean-up, casually settling an arm on my shoulder. "D'you know him?"
"Huh?" I huffed at the added weight, briefly sinking down before I gently shrugged her off. There was a light, resurging ache along my ankle, but it was more tedious than anything. She apologized upon realizing, but I waved it off and frowned questioningly. "What are you talking about?"
"Someone's trying to get your attention," Riley elaborated with a sense of urgency. "At two o'clock."
I peered up at her with knitted brows, attempting to use my hands to simulate the arms of a clock before having my body impatiently turned towards the large window. "I swear I was getting there—"
The rest of the words cut off as my jaw clenched shut, my darting eyes widening in bewilderment as I caught sight of Mason and his friend.
Just like Riley had mentioned, there they were on the other side of the grimy glass, casually walking down the main hall on their way to the lobby. I'd clearly pushed Eric's invitation to the farthest recesses of my mind, given that it wasn't until I met his gaze that my body grew tense anew, suddenly floored by the tiresome realization that my day was far from over.
Eric beckoned me over with the tilt of his head, a knowing smirk present upon his lips as he pulled Mason closer, roughly tousling his hair before yanking him forward by the neck. And then they both disappeared around the corner... just as quickly as they'd shown up. I tried to follow with my eyes regardless, noting the tedious blurriness caused by the dozens of small fingerprints scattered across the glass, most of which heavily congregated near the borders.
Or maybe it was my own vision? I did feel somewhat lightheaded, though that could've been the exhaustion. It wasn't too far into the night, but my body already felt quite heavy and tense after a long day.
"That guy totally called you over," Riley pointed out.
Alright, so Eric clearly hadn't forgotten. And he'd found a way to make it Riley's business too, surprisingly enough.
"You've been watching too many dramas again," I replied dismissively.
"Sure, sure. Sooo, who is he?" she questioned once more while picking up another one of the forgotten jump ropes, and placing it back inside the metal cart that I'd dragged into the room at the start of my first class. This one carried the jump ropes and mats, both of which we used today.
I shrugged non-committedly, still debating whether to hide in the back or make a run for the main exit while they were still in the locker room. Except, of course, Riley's incessant poking of my arm reminded me why I'd been considering staying after work in the first place... I needed Jonah's laptop.
"You're just as stubborn as him," I grumbled while swatting her off me, trying to think this through.
"Who?"
"Jonah," I replied while biting the nail of my thumb, sighing under my breath. "Is he still here?"
Riley nodded her head. "Yep. Marissa probably sent him to clean the bathrooms," she pointed out, and I chuckled in response.
I still had a few assignments in different stages of completion, ranging from some that I just needed to proofread to others with instructions I hadn't even bothered to download yet. Although, I could always head back to campus and use the library's computers. Not that heading back to campus sounded all that efficient, but it was always an option. I had my school id on me, so—
"Bennett?" Riley called out, nudging me with one of the rolled-up mats. "Who was the dude we just saw?"
I muttered in protest, quirking my eyebrows in response but not diverting my eyes from the window. How long would it take them in there anyways? Did I have enough time to change before leaving, or would I have to rush out and change when I made it to campus?
"Bennett!"
It wasn't until Riley flung one of the mats at the back of my head that I finally spared her a glare. "Hey—watch it! I already told you; I don't know!"
"He was calling you over," my co-worker countered while threateningly raising another rolled up mat, shifting it from one hand to the other like a make-shift weapon. And it might have been quite convincing... hadn't it been for bright blue PVC foam.
"Me? I doubt it, Riley," I replied defiantly, unwilling to incriminate myself despite how irresolute I felt about any of this. "He was probably just being friendly."
"He waved you over too, before you looked up. And then pointed at me and signaled for me to get your attention—"
"Maybe he needed help from someone who works here!" I brought up... just to haul her back by the scruff of her shirt when she called my bluff and made a beeline for the door.
"If he needs help, I should go, right?" Riley yelled out while struggling in my grasp, reaching back to grab a hold of my wrist and yank me off her.
"He's probably talking to Marissa as we speak; don't even worry about it," I assured her through gritted teeth, apprehensive as ever. "Stop prying, Riley! That's Jonah's job!"
"We share responsibility," she called out while trying to run off, only stopping once I dazedly stumbled against her from the exertion. "Fine, fine. I'll stop... but only because you seem really tired. And your ankle, of course."
Even then, I made sure to stand between her and the main exit.
"He mouthed your name, y'know?"
"I have my nametag," I replied defensively, shaking the front of my shirt for emphasis. "See? It's right here. Now why don't we finish cleaning up?"
"Oh, c'mon, Bennett! Y'know, I would've dropped it like five minutes ago if you just answered truthfully," she retorted, and I scoffed in feigned disbelief. Although, yeah, knowing her, Riley would've likely just shrugged it off if I played it cool from the start.
Damn it.
"You can't possibly—"
"He was also with that friend of yours," Riley retorted, folding her arms across her chest with finality. "The tall ass dude that asked me to get you a chair yesterday."
I sighed. Right. Fine. Whatever. "I don't know him... not really."
"But he knows you?"
I winced. "It's complicated."
Riley snorted under her breath before going back to picking up the mats, rolling up a few more before badgering me some more. "Well, we have time, don't we?"
"I don't know. He burst in here earlier to introduce himself... said he was a friend of Mason's."
Riley nodded her head, processing what I'd said before frowning once more. "Why was he calling you over just now, though?" she asked curiously, tapping me on the back with the end of a rolled-up mat.
I sighed under my breath before replying anyways, but not before signaling for Riley to place the damn mat away in the cart. "He invited me to hang out with them."
"Oh, nice! When?" Riley asked excitedly, flashing me a knowing grin while dutifully placing the rolled-up mat atop the others on the cart. "Look at you making friends."
"Nah."
"Nah?"
"I can't go," I elaborated, avoiding her sudden pout of disapproval. We both knew damn well I was just avoiding socializing, per usual. And yet, if she knew me so well, then why the hell was he pestering me about this?
"Why not?"
"I'm busy. Actually, I—I should hurry. I need to find Jonah and borrow his laptop again. For homework," I explained, which wasn't necessarily a lie. Hell, who knew how many other chances I'd get to access my online materials this week, right?
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah..."
"Hmm, I'll make you a deal."
I quirked up an eyebrow, somewhat curious despite knowing I was definitely walking into a trap. "What kind?"
---
I already regretted agreeing to this.
"It didn't even seem like he knew I was tagging along... ugh," I muttered under my shaky breath, sitting there wet, cold, and uncomfortable while waiting for Mason and Eric to join me at the pool area, glowering at the tepid sway of the chlorinated water.
I leaned back against one of the many benches lining the wall, still drenched from hastily rinsing off in the pool's shower room just moments prior. I shivered despite myself, tightly gripping onto the ends of the towel I'd wrapped around myself. It didn't provide much shelter from the cold, but it still made me feel a bit better.
My eyes kept drifting towards the side exit. It wouldn't been too hard to slip out, right? If I ran into Mason any other time, I could come up with some excuse. This much should be okay, right?
"I had an emergency," I practiced under my breath while tugging at my wet tank top, scrunching up my nose in displeasure.
Maybe he'd even be grateful.
The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth, even if it did make the most sense. I knew better than to overthink about this sort of thing, yet my mind kept wandering back to Mason's conflicted expressions.
There was the one he'd let slip milliseconds before forcing a polite smile. Or even the scowl he'd firmly plastered across his face while physically blocking his friend with his own framel, all so that I wouldn't see him naked.
What the hell was that about, anyways? I knew they were close, but...
They were probably wondering why I'd bolted all of a sudden, but it'd felt like the best choice in the heat of the moment.
"At least I can do my homework later." Which, yeah, that was a small comfort. Riley had promised she'd convince Jonah to let me borrow his laptop for the whole week, which was just too good of a deal to pass up. And yeah, I could've easily asked him myself, but Jonah was ten times more likely to say yes if Riley asked and she knew it.
I was a bit taken aback when she walked into the locker room while I was rushing to change and smugly told me Jonah said he didn't need it until next month. She'd slipped the laptop and its charger into my locker as I'd hurriedly changed into my swimming trunks in one of the stalls. All I could do was thank her and muster up some courage.
"Do I have to?" I'd asked her once I was done changing and stuffed my work clothes into my locker, pleading with my eyes. "I think I still have time to run away."
Jonah suddenly walked in, encouragingly patting my shoulder whilst walking past me on the way to the freezer in the back. "It'll be good for you to make friends!"
"I have friends," I yelled out to him before turning back to Riley, slightly distressed. "I have friends, Riley."
"I didn't say you didn't!" he retorted while walking back past me, waving an ice pack in his hand. "Good luck, Bennett!"
Riley just shrugged. "What's the worst that could happen?"
And so, I took the bait, because what else was I supposed to do?
It was a damn good deal, and there was no way Riley was letting me not keep up my end of it. However, that didn't mean it hadn't taken more courage than I'd care to admit to walk into the locker room and approach them, especially when the main exit was right there.
But alas.
"Just drown me instead," I murmured, recalling Mason's frustrated scowl as he threatened his friend in the locker room. And even the glimmer of fondness with which he looked at him regardless of his irritation, as if he'd forgive any one of his mistakes. I knew I didn't know him too well, but I couldn't help but notice that I'd never seen such a look on his face before.
What if there was something more there?
The thought was a bit distressing; even if part of me had been subconsciously hoping for Mason to swing that way, that didn't really change much of anything. Regardless of whether Mason was into men or not, it made sense that he'd be into someone as jacked and charmingly intimidating as Eric, who was as attractive as he was unreservedly charismatic.
It was a bittersweet epiphany, really. That, even if Mason was somehow playing for the same team, we were still on entirely different leagues.
---
It became more obvious the longer I paid attention.
From the way they stepped out to the pool area, Eric's arm casually thrown over Mason's shoulders as he whispered into his ear, one could easily tell they were closer than most friends. He rubbed Mason's waist with his free hand before playfully yanking him in the direction of the pool, roaring with laughter despite nearly being flung into the water. They were both wearing the same brand of swimming trunks, though Mason's were black while Eric's were an intense, bright red.
"I'll drown you," Mason warned, and Eric let him go.
"You better get in. And you too, Bennett." Eric glanced over at me with a beaming smile, insistently pushing his shirt and towel into Mason's hands before turning on his heels and leaping into the pool.
Mason quickly stepped back, only just avoiding the large splash as it seeped into the ground. And I was meant to comment on how jumping in like that wasn't allowed, but the surveillance cameras in here were hardly ever supervised and I was already off the clock.
Eric sighed contentedly when he came back up to the surface, his eyes bright and mischievous as he splashed some water in Mason's direction. It didn't quite reach him, but Eric seemed rather satisfied with his friend's offended scoff. He approached the edge of the pool after splashing the ground before Mason a few more times, settling his arms on the side of the pool before looking up at me rather expectantly. "You're getting in, right?"
"In a bit," I replied, even though I still hadn't made up my mind.
That seemed like a good enough answer, as Eric pushed himself off the side and swam away from us.
---
A/N: Thank you for reading. Please consider voting and commenting; I appreciate it immensely. I'm very glad to be back. I missed writing so much.