BEAU • [9:47 a.m.]
Splash.
I dived right into the pool, feeling more alive as soon as my body hit the glistening, cold, water.
I instantly started with some powerful strokes, kicking my feet faster as I progressed towards the very end of the pool. It was such a perfect day to swim at our backyard pool on a warm Sunday morning that I decided to invite Lucas to join me and bask under the sun. Being alone at home could be such a bore sometimes, but one friend was just enough for me to keep me company for today.
After emerging from the chlorinated water, I was greeted by Lucas who was sitting by the edge.
"Spill," he said.
"Spill what?" I asked, pretending like I didn't know what he was talking about.
Lucas rolled his eyes as he kicked water on my face. "Spill the drink—oh you fucking know what I meant!"
"Is this about the concert last night?"
"The concert and Piper last night," he corrected.
I sighed, shaking my wet head. I wanted to evade his question but I also wanted him to know that I didn't ditch her. That I actually hung out with her—that I actually had fun with her.
"I can't."
Lucas raised a brow. "What do you mean you can't? Just tell me dude—"
I cut him off. "No. What I meant was I can't do this anymore. Maybe I don't want her to hate me."
He kicked water on my face again. "Bro, what are you talking about? What about prom with Callista?"
"She'll understand. I'll try to talk to her. It's not like I didn't take her to junior prom. Or last year's winter formal. Callista and I pair up at almost anything."
"But this is the prom of all proms, bro! It's the last prom of our high school year, and you'll blow it off by taking her," said Lucas, with a hint of distaste.
"What do you mean by her?"
"You know what I mean. The school's weirdo, the bottom of the social ladder...do you get me?"
"She's not that weird."
Lucas huffed. "Look, she's in my Economics class, right? One time we were partnered together for an activity, and right in the middle of writing down our answers, she randomly asked me why a 'doorknob is called a doorknob, not a marshmallow'. What the hell do I answer to that?"
I chuckled as I raised myself out from the pool and sat beside Lucas. "That's actually something you should think about."
Lucas gave me a weird look. "No, it's strange and out of the blue. And why are you defending her? She has no friends for a reason."
"But she was my friend for a reason, too."
His reaction suddenly dropped. "Oh, yeah." He shook his head as he sent me a questioning look. "Sorry. Why the sudden change of heart, bro?"
"Her brother told me that Piper has this crush on me."
He rolled his eyes. "As if Hartsmith High's female population don't."
"And it'll be cool if I could give Piper a night she'll remember, you know?" I added.
"You're just saying that because of what happened last night, right?" Lucas mentioned, as I didn't say a word.
Maybe? Last night was different. Sure, I was ecstatic back in that concert, but her company amplified that feeling—and that was just one night. One freakin' night.
Lucas smirked, narrowing his eyes at me. "You didn't ditch her, didn't you?"
"I didn't." And that was initially my plan all along. She already treated me to one of the best concerts I've ever attended to, and I didn't want to wipe the smile from her face.
Lucas's jaw dropped as soon as I answered him. "Wow. You actually hung out with her."
"We slept together too," I mentioned. "Fuck," I muttered to myself, suddenly regretting what I just said since it didn't sound right, and I knew for sure Lucas will take it out of context.
His eyes were wide as saucers. "Bro, shut the hell up—"
I frantically waved my hand at him. "Not like that! We slept inside my car—"
"That's even more scandalous—"
I cut him off. "Yo, stop! Nothing freaky happened, alright?! I was at the driver's seat while she was at the passenger's. She was so fast asleep I didn't bother to wake her up."
"Don't act coy. You liked it," Lucas teased, wiggling his eyebrows.
"I didn't—"
"Shut up. You did," he interrupted. "You're dead to Callista. So, what happened awhile ago?!" Lucas cried and scooched over closer to me, playfully punching me in the chest.
I rubbed my temples. Lucas was slowly giving me a migraine. If he could just calm the hell down, I could've told him what actually happened—and it was pretty surreal.
Piper slapped me.
Yes, she slapped me. I think I've underestimated her petite and seemingly harmless figure. Piper could slap someone like she was the boss.
"Ow! Damn Piper!" I cried, holding my now-sore face. "Good morning to you, too!"
"W-where are we?!" she demanded to know, as if I brought her to some sketchy alleyway.
"Beside your house, geez!" Damn, my head was spinning like crazy. Her slap stung! She checked her watch and whipped her head back up, followed by a surprised expression that registered on her face. "It's already seven in the morning!"
"I know! But I didn't want to wake you up so I decided we just sleep in my car until sunrise!"
She turned to my face and look at me apologetically. "Beau, your cheek is swollen."
"Because you smacked my face—" I almost choked on my words when she reached out and soothed my cheek with her hand. Piper pushed herself back, unsure of what she just did.
"Why did you do that," I blurted out, a shocked expression spreading on my face.
A dazed and confused Piper yelped, mad blush searing through her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Beau! I'm not with myself today!" She looked down and discovered my sweatshirt on her lap. "Is this yours?"
"Y-y-yeah," I stammered, still not recovering from her touch. I glanced at my rear view mirror to check my face, and apparently it was growing redder, like my face was on fire—and it wasn't because of the slap.
She gasped for a moment. "Wait a second; I'm still a virgin...right?"
I shot Piper an incredulous look. Did she just really ask me that? "I can't even stress how ridiculous that question is. Yes, you are."
She held the palm of her hand to her chest and breathed a sigh of relief. "Okay, I'm gonna um, g-g-go now, sorry Beau!" she said, opening the door and stumbling outside. I watched her rush to her house and struggled in opening the door with her keys. After she finally unlocked it, she immediately rushed inside and slammed the door.
I shook my head and let out a chuckle as I massaged my cheek. No girl ever slapped me when I slept with them. Unlike Piper, who I didn't even touch.
This morning sure was a comedy of errors, but I'll just cut the long story short.
I dragged a sigh. "She...freaked out." I eventually said.
"Why wouldn't she?! I know you, and you never sleep with any girl that's not getting something some action...if you know what I mean."
"Because I have no intention to get some action with Piper...if you know what I mean," I said, imitating Lucas.
"Sure." Lucas said.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Let's just not sabotage her life any further, alright?"
"If you say so, Mister Nice Guy. If you really want to keep this up, why don't you invite her to Diane's party tonight?"
I crossed my arms and lifted a brow. "Is this some kind of a challenge?"
"No, but we had a plan, bro—a plan that could still maintain your reputation at school at the same time getting the money you needed for your dad's car," he said. I mentally groaned as soon as he mentioned my dad's car. It was still in the works and I wish they would repair it soon enough already.
"But I'm surprised you wanted to be friends with her...again. So I figured inviting her to a high school party wouldn't hurt," Lucas added.
"Fine. I'll call Piper right now." I stood up and walked to the deckchair to retrieve my phone. Lucas followed as soon as I hit the dial button and heard a soft voice on the other end of the line.
"Hello?"
"Yeah, Piper, hey," I said. Lucas nudged me to put it on speaker and I hesitantly pressed it.
"If this is about what happened this morning, I'm sorry—"
"No, it's not about that. It's cool. I just want to invite you to Diane Evigan's party tonight," I told her. I heard Lucas snickering behind me and I shoved him away.
"Oh," we heard Piper respond.
"Oh?" I echoed.
"I have uh, yearbook stuff that I have to do right now," Piper said, providing me a lame excuse. "Plus I don't even know where she lives," she added.
"We'll pick you up!" Lucas chimed in. I glared at Lucas and punched him in the arm. "Ow, what was that for?!" Lucas yelped.
"Who's that? Lucas?" Piper asked.
"Yeah um, we'll pick you up at eight, is that cool with you?" I asked. It didn't really matter to me if she said yes or no.
"I don't know...I mean...Diane doesn't even know me," she said.
"Then we'll introduce you to her!" Lucas intervened the second time around. I cupped the speaker of my phone with my hand and cursed at Lucas through gritted teeth. He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Okay then. See you later." Lucas and I looked down at my phone in unison when we heard Piper agreed that she would go. I said goodbye and clicked my phone shut, tossing it back at the deckchair. "There you go, bro."
He laughed. "That wasn't so bad—hey!" I didn't let him finish what he said as I pushed him towards the swimming pool without warning. "What was that for, Beau?!" he yelled, spitting water from his mouth and nose.
I smirked. "That's what you get for meddling with our phone conversation. Now move the hell out!" I ran and did a front flip towards the water.
I would need to refresh myself for tonight's party.