"Where's Sabrina?" Scarlett asks as soon as she comes out to the pool.
"She's changing into her swimsuit. I don't know what's taking her so long." Hayden says while swimming to the edge of the pool. He crosses his arms and rests them on the edge.
My eyes glance over his tan skin that is glistening with water all over it. His man bun is still in, only it is wet and stringy. Somehow he still makes the hairstyle look good. His green eyes meet my brown ones, making my heart skip a beat. I quickly look at Scarlett as she begins to speak again.
"I would go check on her, but she'll probably come out soon." Scarlett says, taking off her flip flops.
She walks over to the steps of the pool and steps in. She winces as the cold water hits her skin. I normally just jump in the pool to get used to the water right away. It only seems colder if I take my time getting in.
"Play some music." Hayden says to me.
"Alright." I nod my head and connect my phone to Scarlett's outdoor speaker. "What do you guys feel like listening to?"
"I would say The 1975 but you're probably tired of them by now." He laughs.
"What? No, I've only just begun with my binge of listening to their music." I hold my hand over my chest. "It's a pretty good band."
"I wanna listen to some summer songs!" Scarlett says.
I scroll through my music app, stopping on a pop playlist. Pop songs make a person feel good, especially the ones that are upbeat and have a great tempo. I know they make me feel good. There is nothing like being worry free and feeling like you're on top of the world. That's what music does for me. It makes me forget about everything for a while and I get to live in the moment.
"Oh, this is my song!" I exclaim as Lush Life comes on.
I'm not a shy girl at all, under any circumstances, I'm very outgoing and sociable. I love meeting new people and I'm not afraid to try new things. So, as I stand up and start dancing and singing, I don't really care what Hayden or Scarlett thinks. I clap my hands to the beat and sway my hips. I flail my arms in the air and a wide smile is displayed on my face as the sun shines down on me. This is what I mean when I say music makes me feel good. An euphoric and infinite feeling surges through me.
"All you do is dance, sit down." Scarlett laughs.
"Nope." I shake my head at her.
I look at Hayden for a split second and I notice that he is watching me attentively. Sometimes I am flattered when an attractive guy looks at me—especially if he looks like Hayden—and others I am completely anxious. What else did I expect would happen? I am dancing around like a fool, of course he is looking at me.
What does it mean when a taken guy stares at you? Is it supposed to make you run a million scenarios through your head? Honestly, I'm thinking of so many things right now. The way his piercing eyes are set on me makes me want to take my chance and fly away with it. I'm not one of those girls who flirts with another girl's boyfriend just because I find him attractive. I have self-respect for myself; I can never do that without feeling bad. But he keeps staring at me, so of course it makes me question things.
We're all thrown off track when Sabrina walks outside with her arms wrapped around her stomach. She doesn't have on her swimsuit, instead, she still has on yesterday's clothes. She has this sorry look on her face. I kind of feel bad for her.
"Sabrina, what's wrong?" Scarlett asks with worry.
"I just threw up, I don't feel good. Sorry guys, but I'm not gonna go for a swim. Hayden, can you take me home?" She says with a soft voice.
Hayden looks at me for an unknown reason—as if I can give him the answer to her question—and gets out of the pool.
"Yeah, I'll take you home." He nods his head. "Just let me dry off and get my stuff."
We all watch Hayden as he takes one of the towels off the table and dries himself off. Well, I know why I was looking at him—I can't say the same for the others. He's just so damn handsome. I swear I must've broken a sweat watching him dry his muscles off.
"Thanks for having us, Scarlett, but we gotta go now." Sabrina waves at her. She doesn't even acknowledge me.
"Anytime! I hope you feel better." Scarlett waves back.
"See ya guys." Hayden says.
"Bye."
The couple go into Scarlett's house. I'm sure Hayden goes back downstairs to grab his things, before he and Sabrina leave.
"You gotta stop lettin' people walk around your house like that. I just thought about it." I say to Scarlett.
"It's not like they're gonna steal anything." She chuckles.
"You barely know them." I shrug my shoulders.
"Sabrina's my friend, first of all." Scarlett points out. "And Hayden seems harmless. Especially to you."
"What you mean? Is there some kinda double meaning here?" I tilt my head to the side.
"Come on, don't play stupid. I saw how you were looking at him." She shakes her head with a smirk. "You like him."
"I do not like him." I scrunch my face up in disgust.
"Lie again."
"I'm not lyin'!" I get defensive.
"I'll admit, he is cute, but he's taken. Sabrina and Hayden are really happy." She says.
"They can stay happy, nobody want his ass." I chuckle. In reality, I'm actually kind of sad that the couple seem genuinely happy. Maybe I am jealous, but I can't really be jealous over someone who isn't mine.
"You don't think he would play her or anything, do you?" She raises her eyebrows.
"No, why?"
"I don't know, sometimes I see him being really friendly, if you know what I mean." She says.
"Girl, we all know that one guy who flirts with other girls even though he has a girlfriend. And they love their girlfriend very much." I wave her off.
"Yeah, but it makes me think sometimes. Like, should I tell Sabrina?" She frowns.
"No, that's none of your business. Let them be. She probably flirts with other guys too. It's human nature." I shrug my shoulders.
"So, you would be okay with your boyfriend being too friendly with girls?"
"Hell no." I shake my head and laugh.
"Okay, then I should tell her."
"Nah, because then you'll be starting unnecessary drama. Clearly, they like each other. They're just both really pretty, so of course other people are gonna flirt with them and they probably flirt back. Be honest, if you know someone finds you attractive, you flirt with them, don't you?" I say.
"Yeah, I guess." She nods her head.
I do it all the time—flirt with guys that I know find me attractive. It keeps me entertained and I don't have to feel bad about anything. They get what they want, which is a little banter with me and I get what I want, a little attention. Flirting is just a part of human nature; we need some kind of attention to keep us going. It's practically harmless.
Or maybe I'm just trying to convince myself all of these things.
•••
This story has now reached #248 in romance. Thank you to everyone who reads it, comments on it, shares it, and votes for it!
I really do appreciate it!
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