Nicole's POV:
"Come on," he said.
"I don't know about this," I said.
"It'll be fine I promise," he added.
"It's cold," I complained.
"You'll get used to it," he said.
Okay it's so not what you think.
~~Flashback~~
"Tell me something else about yourself," he said.
"Like what exactly?" I asked.
"Anything," he replied.
Couldn't we just walk around in silence? I mean it was awkward enough that the dress I was wearing kept getting blown by the wind exposing my legs. I couldn't help but feel a bit self-conscious.
"Want to go for a swim?" he asked out of nowhere.
"No thanks I'm good," I replied.
"Why not? Live a little," he said.
"I um.. can't swim," I said.
Yes I owned several bikinis which got destroyed along with the rest of my things. Living in LA it was kind of essential to own so I still bought a few. Whenever I went to the beach, with was not that often, I usually stayed on the sand.
"Want me teach you," he said.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," I said.
"What? You don't trust me?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"This is weird," I blurted out.
"What is?" he asked.
"This!" I gestured between both of us. "I mean here we are talking like normal people," I said.
"I'm sorry I didn't realize we were aliens," he replied sarcastically.
So now he was being a wise guy.
"You know what I mean, you're my boss, the owner of this big company and here we are acting as if we're old friends," I said.
"You know what I think you're stalling," he said reaching for the hem of his t-shirt and pulling over his head.
"And if you want to continue our little chat you're going to have to get in the water," he added.
"Demanding aren't we," I said raising an eyebrow and he just shrugged his shoulders.
"You seem to be forgetting that we're not at work, which means I don't take orders from you," I said with a smirk on my face.
"But you will," he said.
"And why would I do that?" I asked.
"Because I'm going to ask nicely," he said.
Now I was curious and I'm sure it was prominent on my face.
"Will you please get in the water?" he asked with the hint of a smile on his face.
I have to admit that was cute but there was no way I was going to tell him that.
"Wow you actually sounded like a gentleman that time," I replied.
Truth being part of me didn't want to get into the water because I couldn't swim but the other part of me came to the realization that Xavier would see me in nothing but my bathing suit. And I couldn't chicken out and say I didn't have one either because it was pretty obvious I was wearing one.
"When have I ever been anything but a gentleman?" he asked.
"Fair enough," I replied.
"You're wasting time," he said.
~~End of Flashback~~
Which brings us back to my dilemma.
"Look there's no need to worry the water is barely reaching my knees over here," he said trying to convince me and I finally gave in.
"Okay okay," I said taking off my dress and placing it on sand.
Then I slowly got in the water and made my way towards him. It wasn't as bad as I thought.
"Alright before you to learn how to swim, you basically have to learn how not to drown" he said.
"Easier said than done," I replied.
"Lean back,"he said.
"What?" I asked.
"I'm going to teach you how to float," he said. "Trust me, now lean back," he added.
I leaned back as slow as I could. Then I felt the water coming up over my ears. I panicked momentarily before I felt Xavier's hand on my back pushing me upward enough to keep my head above water.
"Now lift your legs," he said his voice a bit muffled by the water.
He placed his hand under my knees as I lift my legs off the ground. But I quickly put them back down.
"Just relax," he said reassuringly. "Close your eyes," he added.
"Okay," I replied nervously.
Then I did it again but I didn't stand back up this time. I was floating, sort of.
"Were you in any sororities in college?" he asked randomly. His voice was still muffled by the water but I managed to understand what he was saying.
"Uh no the whole sisterhood thing just wasn't for me, college was more about studying and graduating rather than partying," I replied.
"Can't say the same, college was the only place I got to do my own thing so of course I had to take advantage of it," he said. "The work was easy because I already knew most of the stuff," he added.
"So you could have graduated early?" I asked.
"Yes but I chose to do it the normal way," he replied.
"Because you had an abnormal childhood?" I said but it sounded more like a question.
"I guess you could say that," he said.
"Sorry I didn't mean to pry," I replied.
"No it's fine, you can open your eyes now," he said.
I looked up and saw both of Xavier's hands in the air and I immediately started to panic. And I was under the water. I quickly stood up, coughing up salt water.
"What happened you were doing so well on your own?" he asked.
"How about a warning next time?" I suggested.
"Alright let's try again, just remember to stay calm," he said.
I leaned back in the water again and kicked up my legs. His hands returned to my back holding me up and I was able to relax again.
"What about back in high school any clubs or hobbies?" he asked.
"Well there were a few things," I said.
"Oh really, like what?" he asked sounding intrigued.
"I used to dance," I replied. "What about you," I asked to change the topic off myself.
"I did kickboxing until my mom made me quit she said and I quote 'you can't be the face of the company if you don't have a face' so that was that," he said.
I guess he was more than just a pretty face then.
"I'm going to let go now," he said and I nodded so he knew I heard him.
I opened my eyes and tried my best not to sink.
"You're doing it, you're floating," he said smiling down at me.
I was floating! All by myself. I started enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face and I returned the smile.
"Okay what was something you hated to doing," he asked standing near me.
"I was a cheerleader," I replied with no thought.
"You're kidding right?" he asked sarcastically.
"Sadly no," I said.
"You just don't strike me as the cheer-leading type," he said.
"Neither do I, my mother forced me into it," I explained.
"You're still lucky my mom forced me into cotillion," he said making me giggle.
"Oh you think that's funny?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
"Nope," I said trying to hold in my laugh as I stood up.
He brought his hands against the water and I felt it splash on my face. Then we began laughing and splashing each other like a bunch of five year olds. I have to admit I haven't felt this relaxed in a long time.
With two strides he grabbed my wrists. And for a moment we were completely still, just staring into each other's eyes. I was desperate trying to steady my breathing.
"We should probably head in, it's getting late," I said but he didn't say anything.
"Plus we have work in the morning and I don't think my new boss would appreciate me being late on my first official day," I added.
"I don't think he'll have a problem," he said. His eyes not leaving mine for a second.
He finally let go and started walking out of the water. I was still breathless. Then he turned back around.
"You coming or what?" he asked.
What the hell just happened?
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19K!!!!! WTF you people are awesome. So my plans didn't turn out as I had hoped and I took like forever to update I know but I did some editing. I changed Nicole to a blonde (in case you missed that). Thanks so much for reading and voting your little hearts out :)
➳ 1387 words
Picture of Xavier at the top