I keep quiet as Hardin continues down the gravel road. He turns the music off finally so the only noise is the gravel crunching beneath the tires. We are out in the middle of nowhere. I am nervous now, we are alone, really alone. There are no cars, no buildings, nothing.
"Don't worry, I didn't bring you out here to kill you" he jokes and I gulp. I am more afraid of what I might do when alone with him than if he was to actually try to kill me.
He continues to drive for another mile and finally stops the car. I look out the window and see nothing but grass and trees. Granted, it is nice and serene out here. There are yellow wildflowers littering the land, and the breeze is perfectly warm. But why did he bring me here? "What are we going to do here?" I ask him as I climb out of the car.
"We have a bit of walking to do first" he informs me and I groan. So he took me here to exercise? He must notice my sour expression because he says, "Not too much walking" He begins walking along a part of the grass that is flattened, almost like a trial from being walked on many times.
We both stay quiet for most of the walk, except a few rude remarks from Hardin about me being too slow. I ignore him and take in my surroundings. I am beginning to understand why he likes this seemingly random place, it is so quiet. I could stay here forever as long as I brought a book with me. He turns off the trail and goes into a wooded area, I am a little suspicious but I follow. A few minutes later we emerge from the woods to a stream, or maybe a river, I have no idea where we are but the stream is quite big and looks pretty deep.
Hardin doesn't say anything as he pulls his shirt over his head then bends down to untie his dirty black boots. "Why are you undressing?" I ask and look at the stream. Oh no. "You are going to swim? In that?" I say and point to the water.
"Yea, I do it all the time. You are too" he unbuttons his pants and I have to force myself to not stare at the way the muscles in his back move when he bends down to pull his pants through his legs.
"I am not swimming in that" I don't mind swimming, but not in a random stream in the middle of nowhere.
"And why is that? It's clean enough that you can see the bottom"
"So.. there are probably fish and god knows what in there" I realize how ridiculous I sound but I don't care. "Besides you didn't tell me we were going swimming so I have nothing to swim in" he can't argue with that.
"You're not wearing a bra and panties?" he smirks and I gape at him. So he thought I would come out here and take all my clothes off to swim with him? My insides stir as I think about being naked in the water with Hardin. What is he doing to me? I have never, ever had these types of thoughts before him.
"I am not swimming in my bra and panties you creep" I say and sit on the soft grass. "I will just watch" I tell him and he frowns. He is now only in his boxer briefs, the black material is tight against his body. This is the second time I have seen him in just his boxers and he looks even better this time.
"You are no fun. You're missing out" he says and jumps into the water. I keep my eyes on the grass and pluck a few blades out, playing with them between my fingers. "The water is warm Tess" Hardin calls from the stream. From my spot on the grass, I can see the drops of water falling from his now black hair. He is smiling as he pushes his soaked hair back and wipes his face off with one hand.
For a moment I find myself wishing I was someone else, someone braver, like Steph. If I was Steph, I would strip down and jump into the warm water with Hardin. I would splash around and climb up the bank just to jump back into the water. I would be fun and carefree. But I am not Steph, I am Tessa.
"This friendship is beyond boring so far" Hardin laughs and swims closer to the bank. I roll my eyes and he chuckles. "At least take your shoes off and put your feet in, it feels amazing and pretty soon it will be too cold to swim in"
Putting my feet in wouldn't be so bad. I take my shoes off and roll my jeans up enough to dip my feet over the edge and into the water. Hardin was right, the water is warm and clear. I wiggle my toes and can't help but smile.
"It's nice isn't it?" he asks and I nod. "Just come in"
I shake my head and he splashes me with the water. I scoot back and scowl at him. "If you come in the water, I will answer one of your always intrusive questions. Any question that you want, but only one" he warns.
Curiosity gets the best of me and I tilt my head in concentration. I always have so many questions for Hardin and for once he is offering to answer one of them.
"My offer expires in one minute." he says and disappears under the water. I can see his long body swimming under the clear water. It does look like fun and Hardin drives a hard bargain, using my curiosity against me.
"Stop overthinking everything, just jump in"
"I don't have anything to wear, if I jump in in my clothes I will have to walk back to the car and drive back soaked" I whine. I almost want to get in the water. Okay, I know I do.
"Wear my shirt" he offers and I am shocked. His offer is way out of character and I wait a second for him to tell me he was joking, but he doesn't.
"Go on, just wear my shirt. It will be long enough for you to wear in here and you can keep your bra and panties on, if you wish" he says with a smile. I take his advice and stop thinking.
"Fine, but turn around and do not look at me while I am changing, I mean it!" I try my best to be intimidating but he just laughs. He turns around and faces the opposite direction as I lift my shirt over my head and grab his as quickly as I can. He was right, his shirt hits the middle of my thighs. I can't help but admire the way his shirt smells, like faint cologne and a smell I can only describe as Hardin.
"Hurry the hell up or I will turn around" he says and I wish I had a stick to throw at his head. I unbutton my loose jeans pull them down, stepping out of them. I fold my jeans and shirt neatly and put them next to my shoes on the grass. Hardin turns around and I tug at the bottom of his black t-shirt trying to pull it as far as it will go.
His eyes widen and I watch them rake down my body. He takes his lip ring between his teeth and I notice his cheeks flush. He must be cold because I know it couldn't possibly be me he is reacting to.
"Uhm.. come in the water, yea?" he says, his voice raspier than usual. I nod and walk slowly to the bank. "Just jump in"
"I am! I am!" I yell and he laughs.
"Get a little running start" he instructs.
"Okay" I step back a little and start to run a little, I feel foolish but I am not letting my tendency to overthink ruin this. As I reach my last stride, I look at the water and stop with my feet right on the edge.
"Oh come on! You were off to a good start" he laughs. His head falls back and he looks adorable. Hardin, adorable?
"I can't!" I am not sure what is stopping me, the water is deep enough to jump in but not too deep. The spot where Hardin is standing only goes to his chest, which would reach just under my chin.
"Are you afraid?" his tone is calm but serious.
"No.. I don't know. Sort of" I admit and he walks through the water towards me.
"Sit on the edge and I will help you in"
I sit down and close my legs tightly so he doesn't see my panties. He notices and laughs as he reaches me. His hands grip my thighs and once again I am on fire. Why does my body have to respond to him this way? I am trying to become friends with him so I need to ignore the fire. He moves his hands to my waist and gives me a small smile.
"Ready?" he asks and I nod. A second later he is lifting me and pulling me into the water. The water is warm and feels amazing against my hot skin. Hardin lets me go too soon and I stand up in the water. We are closer to the bank so it only reaches just below my chest.
"Don't just stand there" he mocks and I ignore him but walk out a little. The t-shirt flies up from the water going under it and I yelp and pull it down. Once it is positioned, it stays put for the most part.
You could just take it off" he smirks and I splash at him.
"Did you just splash me?" he laughs and I nod, splashing at him again. He shakes his wet head and lunges for me under the water. His long arms hook around my waist and pull me under the water. My hand flies up to plug my nose, I haven't mastered swimming without my nose plugged. When I emerge from the water Hardin is cracking up and I can't help but laugh with him. I am actually having fun, real fun, not watching a good movie fun.
"I can't decide which is more amusing, the fact that you are actually having a good time or the fact that you have to plug your nose underwater" he says through his laughter. I get a jolt of bravery and move towards him, ignoring the t-shirt coming up again and try to push his head underwater. Of course he is too strong for me and doesn't budge, he only laughs harder. Why can't he be like this all the time?
"I believe you owe me an answer to a question" I remind him and he frowns.
"Sure, only one"
I am not sure which one to ask, I have so many. Before I can decide, I hear my voice making the decision for me. "Who do you love the most in the world?" Why would I ask him that? I want to know more specific things like why he is a jerk? Why is he in America?
He looks at me suspiciously, as if he is confused by my question. "Myself" he answers and goes back underwater. He pops back up and I shake my head.
"That can't be true" I know he is arrogant but he has to love someone.. anyone? One of his parents a sibling? "What about your parents?" I ask and immediately regret it. His face twists and his eyes lose the softness I was becoming fond of.
"Do not speak of my parents again, got it?" He snaps and I want to smack myself for ruining the good time we were having.
"I'm sorry, I was just curious. You said you would answer a question" I remind him softly. His face softens a little and he steps towards me, the water around us rippling.
"I really am sorry Hardin, I won't mention them again" I promise. I really don't want to fight with him out here, he would probably leave me out here alone.
He takes me by surprise when he grabs my waist and lifts me into the air. I kick my legs and flail my arms, screaming at him to put me down. He laughs and tosses me into the water. I land a few feet away and when I come above water he is smiling again.
"You're going to pay for that!" I yell and he laughs. I swim towards him and he grabs me again but this time I wrap my thighs around his waist, a shocked gasp falls from his lips. "Sorry" I mutter and unhook my legs. He grabs them and places them back around his waist. That electricity between us appears again, this time more wild than ever before. Why does this always happen with him? I shut my mind off from my thoughts and wrap my arms around his neck to steady myself.
"What are you doing to me, Tess" he says softly and rubs his thumb over my bottom lip.
"I don't know" I answer truthfully and he chuckles, his thumb still tracing over my lip.
"These lips.. the things you could do with them" he says slowly and seductively. I feel that burn deep in my stomach and I am putty in his arms. "Do you want me to stop?" he looks into my eyes, his pupils are dilated so much that there is only a slight ring around the now dark green of his eyes.
Before my mind can catch up I shake my head and press my body against his under the water.
"We can't just be friends, you know that don't you?" His lips touch my jaw, making me tremble. He continues a line of kisses along my jawline and I nod. I know he is right, I have no idea what this is that we are but I know I will never be able to only be friends with Hardin. As his lips touch the spot just below my ear I moan and Hardin does it again, this time sucking the skin.
"Oh, Hardin" I moan and wrap my legs tighter. I bring my hands down his back and graze my nails against his skin. I might explode just from him kissing my neck alone.
"I want to make you moan my name Tessa, over and over again. Please let me?" His voice is full of desperation. There is no way I can say no.