AN: This has been hanging around as a WIP for a few weeks now. I thought I'd finally post it. Hope you enjoy. I'd love to hear what you think.
"Lizzie, are you ready?" Becky stuck her head into her roommate's bedroom. "What the hell? Elizabeth Adams!" she yelled, snatching the book from the blonde's hands. "We are supposed to leave in ten minutes. You promised you would go with me. So get up and get ready right now."
Elizabeth reached up and snatched the book back before pushing herself up off the bed. "Right, uh huh, what kind of festivity am I participating in again?" she asked.
"Back to school pool party at the country club. Wear your blue bikini. Ten minutes." Becky slammed the door on her way out.
Elizabeth flopped over on her back and groaned. She wondered if getting a roommate in order to have a nicer apartment was really worth it. Now she was subject to Becky's social whims. "Pool party, ugh!" she groaned and held her leg up in the air to inspect it. "I'm not shaving for this," she muttered, hauling herself off the bed.
Eleven minutes later she emerged wearing the blue bikini under her ratty UVA Freshman orientation t-shirt and a paint of short shorts with paint spatters on them. Her hair was pulled back in a bun and her flip flops had seen better days. She held her sunglasses and rolled up towel. "Are you happy now?" she asked, not even bothering to hide her annoyance.
"Would it even be possible for you to try less than you're trying now?" Becky said in dismay. "And what really pisses me off is how you can dress like total shit and still look hotter than I do. I hate you. Let's go." Becky huffed out the door and Elizabeth begrudgingly followed.
The country club was teeming with college aged kids and Elizabeth quickly identified a pool chair somewhat off to the side and made a beeline to prop herself there for the duration of the afternoon. She grinned as she pulled her book out from under her towel, feeling a little devious because she knew Becky would throw a fit if she brought a book to a party. But, now, Becky was preoccupied across the way with several frat guys and didn't look like she was thinking about her standoffish roommate at all. Popping her glasses on, Elizabeth lay back and settled into her book.
Elizabeth was unaware of her surroundings, living completely in the 18th century British social scene when someone snatched her book. She looked up, her eyes narrowing beneath her sunglasses. She quickly cleared her expression knowing anger was not the way to deal with this situation. "Brad," she said, sweetness dripping from her voice. "I didn't know you'd be here." She eyed him, trying to decide if she was quick enough to grab the book before he took off with it.
"Lizzie, you're at a party. Maybe you should party instead of doing-" He eyed the cover of the book. "Whatever it is you are doing."
She shrugged nonchalantly. "Eh, Brad, you know parties aren't really my thing. I came because Becky wanted me to. She's over there. I'm sure she would love to lavish all sorts of attention in your direction. But, I would just like to pass my afternoon with my book, so if you'll excuse me. I'll just be doing that." She held out her hand, silently praying that he would just hand her the book and move along to annoy someone else.
Brad chuckled and with the edge his voice had, she knew it wasn't going to end the way she'd hoped.
Henry McCord stood along the fence watching. He'd been working at the country club pool parties all summer and he was happy this was the last one. He was tired of rich, drunk people thinking they could boss the help around. He shifted and sighed. He needed to change how he was thinking about this. He wasn't usually this judgmental. It had been a long summer, and if he thought about it, he had met a lot of really nice people. It wasn't fair to lump everyone into the same boat.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall, lanky man holding up something away from the woman in the pool chair. Turning his head, he groaned. "Brad," he muttered. He had dealt with this jerk more than once over the course of the summer. He was tolerable sober, but once he'd been drinking, he turned into a giant ass and now he was giving grief to some lady. He walked over to see if he could direct Brad elsewhere.
Getting closer, he heard the patronizing tone Brad was using and it made him cringe. "Hey Brad," he said, quickly closing the distance, clapping the man firmly on the shoulder. "I heard some guy over there saying he had the biggest biceps. I thought you might want to go put him to shame." Brad turned, his ego stroked.
"Really? Where?"
"Uh, over by the cabana. You should go check it out." Henry plucked the book from Brad's hand and Brad flexed his biceps grinning.
"That guy's going down," he said, sauntering off in the direction of the cabana. Henry hoped that Brad wouldn't be picking a fight with anyone over by the cabana, but that wasn't really his concern.
"Here you go. Sorry you were bothered," he said, handing the book back to the woman and he walked back to his post on the other corner of the pool.
Just when Elizabeth thought the situation was about to get out of control, one of the pool guys walked up and handled Brad expertly and handed her book back to her without incident. She'd been so shocked at the sudden turn of events that she didn't even say thank you. She went back to reading, but kept stealing glances at the young man on the opposite side of the pool. He was handsome, but very business like. He watched everyone carefully, making sure that everyone was having a good time. She smiled and went back to reading.
Before long, Becky was at her side begging her to join them. Elizabeth saw that her opportunity for not socializing had passed and now she was expected to join the party. She shed her t-shirt and shorts and took the bobby pins from her hair, letting it fall on her shoulders. Becky grabbed her hand and dragged her off to a group of people. After hanging out for an acceptable period of time, she made her way to the pool and jumped in. Most people were in the shallow end, so Elizabeth went to the deep end and swam a couple laps before climbing out. She lost sight of Brad, but figured he was off bragging about his biceps or something.
Henry was off to the side watching the crowd. He watched the blonde woman reluctantly get up and follow her friend to a crowd of people and chat for a few minutes before escaping to the deep end of the pool where she swam. Henry would be remiss if he said he didn't notice her when she climbed out. Toned, tanned legs that went for miles and that bright blue bikini was nothing short of sinful, but the wearer didn't appear to be trying to get attention. In fact, she appeared to want to be anywhere but where she was.
Henry was thinking about the woman and what she might be like when he caught Brad eyeing her from across the pool. He made a beeline for her, and Henry immediately moved too. Henry wasn't sure what Brad was up to, but given his interaction with the woman earlier, she wouldn't be receptive. Henry moved in the opposite direction, hoping to move fast enough to cut him off. Henry rounded the side of the pool and passed Elizabeth, giving her a slight smile. He cut in behind Elizabeth and stepped in front of Brad.
"So what are you doing Brad?" Henry said, a little breathless from his hurried walk.
"Get lost pool boy," Brad said, pushing past Henry. Henry fell in step with Brad, walking alongside the pool.
"Don't do anything dumb," Henry muttered. Brad shot him a wide grin as he reached out and grabbed Elizabeth's ass. Before Henry could react, he felt himself flying through the air. 'Shit," he breathed, as the water engulfed him.
The hairs on the back of Elizabeth's neck pricked up, making her uncomfortable. The man who had helped her get her book back earlier breezed by with a determined look on his face. She didn't even register the entire event when she felt it, the unmistakable feeling of a hand squeezing her butt. On instinct, she turned and shoved the person behind her into the pool. It was only as the person was midair that her eyes sent the signal to her brain. It wasn't the right person, at least she didn't think so.
That fact was confirmed when she fully turned and saw Brad doubled over laughing. It was obvious he had been the perpetrator. Drunk and oblivious to Elizabeth staring at him, Brad was shocked when he found himself in the pool as well. "Asshole," she muttered.
When Henry surfaced, he wiped the water from his face, snatched his floating flip flops, and swam the few feet to the ladder. As he reached the top of the ladder, he was face to face with the woman, who looked horrified. "I am so sorry. I thought I was pushing that jerk." She pointed to Brad, who was still sputtering and bobbing in the water.
"He is a jerk and it's no big deal. It was my intention to stop him. I'm sorry I didn't succeed." He looked at her carefully. She had the most beautiful eyes. He could get lost in those eyes. He blinked those thoughts away quickly. "Um, do you think I could get out now?"
She laughed and stood, moving back. Henry had just pulled himself from the water with the country club manager came flying out of the building. He looked furious. "I want that piece of shit fired," Brad screamed from the water.
"What is going on here?" the man boomed.
"Mr. Wilson, please, let me explain," Henry started, but was cut off.
"This is an absolute outrage. It is unacceptable to be pushing anyone into the water. You'll need to leave, and don't come back." Henry shrugged and took a step toward the building to get his things.
"Excuse me?" Henry heard Elizabeth's voice behind him. "You might want to try getting the story before making snap judgments. That man tried to stop a sexual assault and I was the one who shoved them both into the pool, one accidentally and the other on purpose. Quite honestly, I'm appalled at the way you treat your staff, so I have no problem leaving and never coming back."
Henry watched her turn and walk the few feet to gather her things. Slinging her towel over her shoulder, she slid her feet in her flip flops and walked past Wilson, past Brad, who had finally made it out of the water and past Henry, who stood, with his mouth hanging open. The entire group was silent and when she walked past Becky, she said, "I'll be walking home now." And with that she was gone.
Mr. Wilson crossed the distance to Henry and spoke. "I'm sorry Henry. I should've known better."
Henry shrugged. "Today's my last day anyway, and I have no intention of spending another summer doing this job, so no worries. I'll be by next week to get my paycheck." He started to leave, but turned back and caught Brad by the throat, walking him back to the pool's edge. "If I ever hear that you pulled another stunt like that with any woman, being wet won't be your only problem." With that, he gave Brad and shove and he landed back in the middle of the pool.
Henry went into the changing room and grabbed his bag from the locker and quickly changed. He hopped into his car and started to pull out of the lot. That's when he saw her walking. Henry switched his blinker and pulled out into the street. He parked half a block ahead of where she was walking, and got out to wait.
Elizabeth walked slowly. She was furious and embarrassed and a bit sad too. It certainly wasn't that she thought highly of Brad, but why did guys have to be such dicks? It would be nice if she could find a guy that was as interested in her as a person as he was about getting into her pants. Even as she said it, she smirked at herself. She wasn't in the market. She had no desire to engage in any kind of relationship.
"Hey," Henry said as she was within earshot.
Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts. "Hi." She paused in front of him. "I'm really sorry about what happened back there. I hope you get your job back. That was a ridiculous reaction. And Brad is always a jerk, just more so when he's been drinking."
Henry grinned. "It was my last day. I spent an entire summer dealing with Brad or his act-alikes. I was at the end of my rope with those guys. Classes start Monday anyway. I TA a couple classes, so I don't have to put up with that to have spending money."
"UVA?" Elizabeth asked, her interest piqued.
"Yeah. I'm a second year grad student. You?"
Elizabeth nodded. "I'm a sophomore." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, unsure how she wanted the conversation to go. Did she want it to end or continue? She hated to admit it, but she'd like to spend some time talking to this guy. He seemed nice.
"Can I give you a ride home?" he asked suddenly. Before Elizabeth could evaluate the consequences of her actions, he was holding the passenger door open so she could climb in. It was only six blocks and he looked sad when he pulled into the parking lot "Here we are."
"Thank you," Elizabeth said. She reached for the door handle and Henry didn't want her to go. "My name's Henry McCord, by the way. I'm sorry about that guy. I just want you to know not all of us are like that. Those guys give the good guys a really hard way to go."
"Are you a good guy?" she asked.
"I'd like to think so," he said and the smile he gave her caused all of her insides to catch fire. She was sure her face was bright red, but Elizabeth wasn't one to back down when she felt uncomfortable.
"Elizabeth Adams," she said. "If you aren't doing anything tomorrow, we could get a cup of coffee and I could decide for myself." Her brain was screaming at her, but the part of her that was aflutter was dancing with glee.
"Two o'clock?" he asked.
She smiled. "I'll be ready." She slid out of the car. "Until tomorrow then. Bye Henry." She closed the door and he watched her walk into the building.
Elizabeth had completely disappeared before he remembered to breathe. "Right. Tomorrow," he murmured. He put the car in reverse and headed for home thinking this was the best shift he'd had at that pool all summer.
Madam Secretary Prompt: Elizabeth pushes Henry into a pool on the day that they meet.