Scarlett
The bell rang which signified the end of the school day.
It was Friday. I was supposed to hang out with my friends but I got a last minute call from Mrs. Crawford asking me if I could babysit Thomas.
I could only imagine how irresponsible James would be if he babysat Thomas, so I took the offer.
"How come you can't hangout with us tonight," Ian whined as we walked side-by-side down the sidewalk across from school. Ian had to walk home because he didn't have his car today for a reason I do not know.
"I already told you. I'm babysitting."
"Does the kid have a older sibiling that could watch them?" he asked.
I hesitated. "Um...yeah, but-''
"But what?"
"His older sibiling is irresponsible. And besides, I love babysitting. Unlike his brother, he's really sweet and nice."
Ian looked at me. "His brother? Who's his brother?"
"Uh... ," I scratched the back of my neck, "James."
I looked down at Ian's clenched fists, but nonetheless, he had a smile on his face.
"That sounds fun," Ian mumbled. "Will James be there?"
I shrugged. "He was the last time, but I hope he isn't." This whole being 'friends' with James was kind of new and weird to me. I was hoping I could enjoy the weekend without seeing him.
"Does he know you're going to babysit his brother?" Ian asked.
"His mom probably mentioned it to him."
"Pfft," Ian scoffed rudely. "Then he's for sure going to stay home."
My eyebrows furrowed. "Don't say it like that," I snapped.
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. The dude's in love with you anyways."
Stopping in my tracks, I turned to face him. "Don't ever fucking say that again, Ian. Nobody is in love with me, and nobody will ever be in love with me, you got that?!"
Ian's eyes sparkled as the cool breeze blew his hair. He didn't say a word, but rather stared at me. His eyes held emotions I never expected to see from him; or maybe I just haven't noticed it before.
"Umm." I felt the awkward tension. "Ian..."
"Is that really what you think?" He sounded hurt.
"It's how I protect myself," I told him softly.
"Someone will fall in love with you one day, and you will be too damn stuck up to realize it." His eyes bored into mine. "Wake up, Scarlett. Not everyone is cruel."
Ian pushed passed me and walked down the empty sidewalk alone.
I peered over my shoulder and saw him stomping away into oblivion.
Ever since James made an appearance in my life, Ian has been acting so strange.
I know Ian never liked James, but his attitude made me believe it was more than just dislike.
***
I got to the Crawford's house at around six o'clock. But now it was eight o'clock and so far James had not been in sight. Thomas told me that James was out with his friends probably doing typical teenage boy stuff.
Meanwhile, Thomas and I were the only ones home so I decided we should go for a swim in their pool. The pool in the Crawford's backyard was a humongous rectangular pool and even the hot tub was big as well. What was even cooler was that the pool had a water slide that was about seven feet tall.
Thomas and I played Marco Polo, tag, colors, and we even went on the water slide a couple times. I've always wondered if it was fun to have a younger sibiling and after this I definetly would say it is.
"Tonight was so fun!" Thomas said as he slipped into his nice, cozy bed sheets.
"Yes it was," I agreed as I tucked him in to bed.
"You're the best baby sitter I ever had," Thomas told me as he shut his eyes.
My heart warmed at his words. "Aw, thank you, Thomas. Sweet dreams."
"Sweet dreams."
I shut off his light and closed his door so I was on the outside.
Complete silence.
I smiled in satisfaction.
I had no idea when James was going to get home so I decided to enjoy the tranquility while it last.
I walked down stairs and out the glass sliding doors until I reached the hot tub.
Taking off my cover up that I put on before I tucked Thomas in to bed, I stepped in one step at a time into the burning jacuzzi.
I let out a sigh or relaxation as I felt the jaccuzi jets hit my back.
Closing my eyes, I let my head fall back. Ahh, this is the life.
Sadly, my peace was cut short after fifteen minutes.
My eyes squinted open when I heard the sound of the sliding door open.
My back was facing the door, so I wasn't able to see unless I turned around.
It's probably Thomas coming to tell me he had a bad dream.
"Thomas, you're supposed to be in-'' I turned around but froze once I saw a shirtless James standing in the doorway.
Tilting his head, he smirked at me. "Hey, Scarlett." My name always sounded so elegant whenever he said it.
I wanted to roll my eyes at his appearance.
Remember, he's your friend.
"Hey, James," I greeted him nicely.
"What are you doing in my hot tub?" he asked.
"Well, you see, Thomas and I went swimming and then I tucked him in for bed and..."
I lost my train of thought once I noticed James stalking towards the hot tub.
He fully submerged in the water, sitting on the side opposite from me. "And...?"
Why was I so nervous? He was just a friend.
I leaned over the ledge to look for my cover up that I threw on the floor. "Well, I was going to get out anyways so- hey, where's my cover up?!"
"I'm really enjoying the view," I heard James say over my shoulder.
My eyes bulged out of their sockets when I realized he had a full view of my ass since I was leaning over the ledge opposite from him. On top of that, I was wearing my only pair of bottoms — which is a black thong.
"Oh my god," I gasped and immediately sat back down.
There was a naughty glint in his eyes. "I hid your cover up."
I glared at him. "Are you serious?!" I exasperated, slamming the palms of my hands on the surface of the water which made a tiny splash.
"Yup." He was enjoying himself.
"Great. Now what am I supposed to do?"
James lifted one arm up and let it rest on the ledge. "You could stay and we could hangout like normal friends do."
Steam was coming out of my nose from all my anger. "Fine."
"So..." he started as he watched me get comfortable. "Where did you get your bottoms from?"
I splashed water in his direction. "You're such a pervert!"
Wiping the water away from his eyes, he chuckled. "It's just a question."
"Yeah, a perverted question!"
We continued to talk and laugh until the jets in the hot tub came to a halt as the timer for the bubbles finished.
A wave of silence awakened in that moment, invading James and my personal space.
James grew quiet as he watched my every movement, analyzing.
His eyes made me very shy. It's almost as if I was afraid to do something wrong in front of him.
Clearing my throat, I shifted nervously as I felt his eyes heat my skin up more than the heat of the jaccuzi did.
I felt this sudden power of tension as the air in my lungs tightened. It was a tension I'd never felt before with any guy or any person.
"Don't look at me like that," I mumbled.
His hair flopped in front of his face as he tilted his head. "Am I not allowed to look at you?"
This tension, was not designed for friends.
"Y-You are, but just not like that." I hated being nervous. It made me feel powerless.
He turned his head to the side. "Ok. I won't look."
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out.
No, I want you to look.
What the hell? What am I thinking?! No, I do not want him to look!
I was at war with myself when it came to him.
I realized that now.
Althought his head was turned to the side, I noticed the mischievous smile on his lips as he moved closer to me.
My eyebrow lifted in confusion. "James...what are you-''
His strong hands grabbed on to my waist and –without warning – he tossed me into the pool.
I shrieked as cold water hit me and I shuddered at the feeling from the sudden change in temperature.
I quickly swam to the surface only to find James bursted out laughing.
"What the hell?!" I screamed.
James responded in between giggles. "You should have seen your fa-'' He stopped laughing once he took in my body.
My arms were crossed over my chest and that's when I realized that my top fell off when he threw me into the water. Shit.
"Oh my god, turn around!!" I squealed as I desperately looked for my top. This was so embarrassing.
But he couldn't look away. He stood still, biting his lip as he watched me squirm around in the water.
The dimly lit light in the water shined on my top which was on the bottom of the floor in the deep end.
Aha! Yes, I found it!
But there was one small problem: I couldn't get it without using my arms to swim, which means I would be exposed to him.
I slowly turned around to face James. "C-Can you please get my top? It's over there." I pointed with one hand to where it was while my other hand was wrapped tightly around my breast.
Snapping out of his trance, he responded. "Of course."
James jumped into the pool with a gigantic splash. I watched as he swam all the way to the deep end and picked it up.
He emerged, holding my bathing suit top in his hand. His wet hair stuck to his forehead. "Here you go."
Grabbing it from his hold, I sighed with relief. "Thanks for helping me."
James winked. "Anything for my friend."
I glared. "Just because we're friends doesn't mean you get to watch me change. Turn around."
He laughed but nonetheless turned around. "Alright, alright."
Once I finished putting on my top, I tapped his back.
He took that as a signal to turn around and face me.
We remained silent as we stared into each others eyes for a brief moment.
A trickle of silvery moonlight ran down his cheek. "It's getting late. Do you want to go inside?"
"No." I didn't even think before I spoke. It was an immediate response.
He wasn't expecting that to be my response. "No? Man, you confuse me."
"I wasn't made to be simple, James." A child's smile was plastered on my face as I slapped his chest softly. "Tag! You're it!"
"Oh, it is so on!" James swam after me.
I dove deep into the water as the thrill of being chased by James overwhelmed me.
The night was young as we played like kids under the glistening moon.
And for once, I didn't want it to end.