Title: Swimming

Disclaimer: I do not own Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys.

Note: Yes, I know, I need to update faster.

Summary: Megan wondered if it would be socially acceptable to wear a parka to the town pool.

XXX

"Oh my god, why is it so hot out!"

Megan looked up from her magazine to glance at Ria. Pearl and Jenna rolled their eyes while Aimee shook her head.

"You're being a drama queen."

Ria slapped Aimee's arm indignantly. "Dude, don't even kid. I'm dying over here."

Megan smiled and went back to her article on Chris Hemsworth. Her new friends were one of her favorite things about living in Massachusetts. Along with the nice weather. Apparently Ria disagreed.

"It was hotter last summer!" Jenna said, lifting her sunglasses to the top of her head.

Pearl, tired of the ongoing debate, stood up and dove into the deep end of the pool.

The girls had decided to kick off Spring Break with a trip to the community pool at the end of Aimee's street. They had all made a trip to the mall prior to their plans, their shopping list consisting of sun screen, flip flops, sunglasses, and new bathing suits.

Megan glanced down at her green bikini dubiously. She had a perfectly good blue one piece hanging in her closet that she had used frequently when she and Tracey decided to head to the beach in Galveston, but Ria and Jenna overpowered her and convinced her to invest in this new one.

It took them over an hour to convince her to buy it and then an additional thirty minutes to get her to remove the shirt she was wearing over it. The battle for her to strip out of her shorts was better left unsaid.

Now Megan was sitting in a beach chair in between her friends, hiding behind a magazine and her new Aviators.

"Are you still being self-conscious? You look great in that!"

Megan looked up at Aimee, hoping that her blush could pass as heat from the warm day.

"I just…it's been a while since I've worn a bikini."

Which wasn't a lie. She had borrowed one of Tracey's swimsuits all of one time a few years ago and was paranoid because it was loose and she thought it would fall off.

Aimee laughed. "That's more times than me. You're in shape and have an awesome figure! There's nothing to worry about."

Megan couldn't help but scoff. "You're in shape too yet I'm not the one wearing a one piece." She left off the part about wishing that she was wearing one.

Aimee wore a blue one piece and still had her blue jean shorts on over it. She pouted.

"Are you kidding? I came here with my poster model sister. If we were both wearing bikinis, it would be an embarrassing comparison."

Aimee's sister Hailey was on the other side of the pool in a skimpy string bikini, no doubt flaunting her figure.

Jenna overheard this and rolled her eyes. "Hailey is scrawny. You're full figured. You are way hotter, hands down."

Aimee didn't look all that convinced so Megan decided to give up the argument and try for something else.

"Seriously though, I can't believe you guys convinced me to get this. Let alone put in on and leave the McGowan's in it."

Megan didn't even want to think about what any of the McGowan boys would say if they could see her now. She almost left the house in full blown winter garb less she risk them catching a glimpse of what lay underneath.

Ria made a purring sound. "I'd like to see those boys in some swim wear. Why not give them a call, Meg?"

Megan almost choked. "Absolutely not!"

When she left the house all of an hour ago, the boys were still rolling out of bed. She had wanted to get out of there bright and early to avoid any sort of explanation. Honestly, if she wasn't worried about passing out from heat stroke, she probably would have worn a parka.

Ria made a tsk sound. "Too bad. I mean, everyone has seen Evan shirtless at lacrosse practice. But I would pay good money to see someone like Finn without a top.

Megan jumped up from her seat and threw down her magazine and sunglasses before walking briskly to the edge of the pool.

She had to fight the redness on her cheeks at the mental image that Ria had created.

She was already thinking enough about Finn and her parents and school and soccer and life. This was her day to chill out and relax with her friends by the pool.

Megan saw the diving board and made the sudden decision to go for it.

She waited in the short line of people before taking her turn to climb the ladder and walk to the front of it.

The water looked blue and crisp and so refreshing. Megan smiled, imagining that as soon as she broke the surface her layer of stress and all of her tense muscles and chaotic thoughts would strip off and be left to float behind her.

She bounced once, raised her hands over her head, took a breath and dove right in.

The sound of the water rushing around her ears silenced the world. Megan opened her eyes and saw the tile of the pool walls and various sets of legs spread out around her.

Megan smiled and let a few bubbles escape from her mouth, carrying her imagined laughter to the surface.

She stroked her arms and legs, swimming through the people. She could see the far end of the pool, knowing that her friends lay just beyond there. She would surface then.

Swimming was almost as good as running. It allowed Megan to use her speed and to exercise her muscles, but it also left her feeling weightless. It was how she imagined flying would feel.

She touched the wall of the pool, bracing her feet against it and pushing upwards. Her head broke the surface and she took in a breath of air.

Her friends clapped and hollered.

"Nice dive!" Jenna said, giving her a thumbs up.

Aimee was standing right above her, offering her an arm. Megan grinned and accepted it, being lifted back onto land.

Pearl handed her a towel, already rubbing her wet hair with another. Megan took it, drying her arms off.

She surveyed the pool goers, trying to match the faces to the legs she saw while she was underwater.

Ria stood from her chair. "I'm going to get snow cones, anyone want one?"

Everyone shouted which flavor they wanted, laughing when Ria threw her hands into the air in an exasperated gesture.

Megan tossed her towel onto her chair, saying, "I'll come help you."

She felt a little better about walking the length of the pool in her swimsuit. She didn't think that she was unattractive or anything, but there was something unappealing about seeing some of these people at school in a week and knowing that they've seen her in next to no clothing.

Relax, she thought. They've seen lots of their classmates in less than me. No one's even looking at me.

Ria placed their order at the snow cone stand. Megan stood next to her, bracing her hands on her hips and idly looking around.

The stand was right next to the parking lot and a particular minivan caught Megan's eye. There was something so familiar about it…

"Hey, girl. How's it goin'?"

Megan spun around, her spine rigid. She knew that voice.

Doug stared at her, recognition and horror masking his face.

"Holy crap! Megan?!"

She didn't respond. Her mouth was wide with shock and disbelief.

Doug just tried to hit on her! He was staring at her in her bikini. The minivan was from the McGowan's driveway—

A chill washed over Megan.

"Doug, are you here alone?"

Ria seemed to take notice of Doug, looking surprised herself.

"What are you doing here?"

Doug was smacking his forehead repeatedly with his hand. He finally stopped to narrow his eyes at Megan.

"This never happened."

"Doug—"

"Never. Happened."

Megan flushed. "Trust me, I'm not going to be the one to say anything. What are you doing here?"

He scoffed, trying not to look embarrassed. "It's a nice day and we decided to come to the pool."

Ria said the word before Megan could, though she sounded more excited. "We?"

They followed where Doug looked, spotting Sean, Miller and John sitting in beach chairs. Regina was in the pool close by with Caleb and Ian. Evan and Finn were nowhere to be found and Megan prayed that they weren't here to save herself the humiliation.

Megan took some of the snow cones from Ria. "Well, we'd better get back to the girls."

Ria nodded but her eyes were scanning the crowd, no doubt searching for the rest of the McGowan clan.

She elbowed Ria hard.

"Ow! What?"

"Come on…" Megan left the threat to hang.

Ria nodded and said, "It was nice seeing you, Doug."

Doug only groaned, ducking around them.

Megan began to stalk back to their seats as Ria ran to keep up. "Megan, what is your deal?"

"Doug just tried to pick me up."

Ria made an unflattering face. "Oh, gross."

"Exactly. And it's only going to be worse if any of the others see me. So we have to—"

Megan ran into someone, narrowly saving the snow cones. She opened her mouth to apologize but suddenly found it hard to breathe.

Evan squinted down at her, shirtless and donning a pair of swim trunks.

"Whoa, Megan? Is that you?"

Megan wanted to cry. Really, what did she do to deserve this?

Ria wiggled her eyebrows. "Why hello, boys."

Boys?

Megan took notice of Finn standing just behind Evan, wearing a t-shirt and his own swim trunks. He was staring right at her, mouth slightly agape.

She stared at her toes, her face burning.

It didn't help that Ria wouldn't stop flirting with them.

"What brings you gentlemen here?"

Evan grinned, eying the two of them wolfishly. Megan didn't know whether she should call him a pig, feel flattered, or just feel utterly humiliated. Probably the latter.

"It's a nice day so we thought it would be a good idea to come down to the local pool. Apparently we think alike." Evan winked at them.

Megan finally said, "Why not go to the pool in our neighborhood?"

He shrugged. "It was crowded."

She wasn't sure how it could be any more crowded than this one, but it was plausible given the heat.

"Well, uh…we'd better go before these melt." She gestured to the snow cones that were already starting to drip down her hands. She turned to Ria. "Right?"

Ria nodded, walking around Evan and Finn. "Feel free to stop by and visit."

Megan suppressed a groan. Please stop talking…

She followed Ria, not daring to look back at them. She just knew they were staring. She knew what Evan was thinking because he was…well, Evan. But Finn?

She was debating mummifying herself in beach towels when they approached their friends.

"What took so long?" Pearl asked.

Ria dealt out the snow cones, saying, "We ran into the McGowans."

Pearl and Jenna each made a noise of approval while Aimee looked a little skittish. She was no doubt wondering where Miller was.

She glanced at Megan who nodded her head. "He's here."

Aimee blushed, automatically pulling her towel over her body. "Oh my god, he can't see me like this!"

Jenna, catching on, yanked the towel away from her. "Would you relax? Miller adores you! And I already told you, you look great!"

Ria slid Megan a devilish look. "Speaking of adoration…"

Megan sat in her chair, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Doug wants to pretend that never happened, and I am totally okay with that."

"Oh, I'm not talking about Doug."

When all Megan did was blink, Ria continued. "Did you see the way Finn was staring at you? I am so jealous."

Megan pulled her towel over her head. "I don't want to talk about it. I'm never going to be able to face any of them again."

"Wait, what happened?" Pearl asked.

Megan peeked out to see the rest of her friends looking between her and Ria with interest.

Ria waved a hand. "We ran into Evan and Finn and of course Evan was flirting. But Finn couldn't keep his eyes off of Megan."

Jenna gasped. "So you were right about Finn liking her!"

Megan sighed. "He doesn't—I mean he probably thought—"

"That you're smokin' hot in that bikini! I knew I did a good thing by picking it out for you!" Ria exclaimed.

Megan contemplated throwing herself into the deep end and forgetting how to hold her breath.

XXX

A couple of hours had passed and the pool was now less crowded than before.

Jenna and Pearl were splashing each other in the deep end, Ria was tanning, and Aimee and Megan had both decided to stayed glued to their chairs. Ria called them hermits.

Regina and John had spotted Megan earlier and waved, but so far that was the only contact she had with the McGowans and she wanted to keep it that way. She was even debating staying the night with one of the girls to avoid the awkward confrontation that was bound to follow.

Megan would have encouraged Aimee to go say hi to Miller, reassuring her that she looked great but then she would be a hypocrite.

Aimee sighed. "We are so pathetic."

Megan nodded her agreement. "I may need to live with you for the rest of Spring Break. I don't think I can face them."

Aimee swung around to face her. "Oh come on. It's not that bad."

Megan turned, her legs swinging off the side of the chair and bumping into Aimee's. "Yes it is! Those boys stare at the skin that shows when my shirt rides up over my jeans, and now they've seen me in this!" She gestured to her bathing suit.

Aimee smiled, patting her knee. "You're overreacting. And don't give me that look!" She said when Megan began to interrupt. "Yes, I know, I'm being a hypocrite but hear me out. You said yourself that Doug will never speak of what happened, and Evan would have made a comment no matter what you were wearing. The others didn't even see you and Finn totally thinks you're gorgeous."

Megan sputtered. She was going to deny everything but she thought back to Finn's painting of her and how she wondered if he really thought that she was as beautiful in real life as she was in her portrait.

She shook her head. "I don't know."

Aimee smiled. "I know we joke around about it, but I seriously do think that Finn likes you."

Megan gulped.

Aimee suddenly looked up at something over Megan's shoulder. She turned and saw Miller with Finn and Sean right behind him.

Aimee summoned the courage to speak first. "Hey guys."

Miller stared at his feet, red in the face as he said, "Hi…you look really nice, Aimee."

To her credit, Aimee's face didn't turn completely red.

Megan smiled. She loved Miller and it felt silly for her to feel embarrassed around him. "Hi, Miller. Would you like to sit with us?"

He nodded, boldly taking a seat next to Aimee on her chair. He smiled shyly at Megan.

"You look nice too."

Megan flushed. "Thanks…"

She felt a pat on her shoulder and turned to see Sean.

He nodded at her. "Green looks nice on you."

It was far easier to be embarrassed in front of Sean. "Thanks. I like your…trunks." She wondered where he managed to find trunks with the Harley Davidson logo.

He grinned, patting her arm again. "I'm going to get some food. Anyone want something?"

He left after placing a few orders. Megan was suddenly very self-conscious of Finn standing next to her chair.

He cleared his throat. "Is this spot taken?"

Megan slid over on her chair to make room, not daring to look at his face. "No, please, sit down."

The material depressed as he sat and Megan was incredibly aware of how close his leg was to her bare one.

Aimee cleared her throat to break the silence. "I think I'm going to go swimming…"

She stood and was surprised when Miller followed suit.

Megan shot her a desperate look but if Aimee noticed she couldn't tell.

She was left alone with Finn.

"So—"They both started at the same time.

Megan stared at her lap and Finn ran his hands through his hair. She recognized it as his typical nervous gesture which only made her feel creepy for knowing this knowledge.

"Okay, here goes." Finn said.

He moved to sit in Aimee's chair, directly across from Megan. She stared at him in surprise.

He cleared his throat and looked up to her face. "I'm…sorry about earlier."

Megan rubbed her palms against her knees. "No, I realize this is weird and—"

"It's not. I just—"Finn sighed. He rubbed his hand over his mouth, turning his head but still watching her from the corner of his eyes.

Megan squirmed.

"I never meant to make you feel embarrassed or awkward."

She sighed, looking away. "I…I know. I just know this must be weird since I'm living in your house and you've seen me in my sweats. And now this?" She laughed humorlessly. "I know it's not a very attractive thought to have to live with."

She looked up at Finn to see him staring at her in disbelief.

"You think that…" He smiled, shaking his head.

Megan blushed, feeling like she was being made fun of. "What's so funny?"

Her breath caught at the way he was looking at her.

"Megan…I'd be lying if I said you're not beautiful."

She stared at him. She wasn't embarrassed or shy or anything except baffled.

The corner of Finn's mouth lifted. "And Doug can always back me up on that…"

Megan groaned, hiding her face in her hands. "He swore he was never going to speak of that ever again!"

Finn laughed. "Yeah well, I kind of tricked it out of him."

Megan couldn't help but smile, and for the first time that day things felt comfortable.

"Hey!"

They turned towards the pool, seeing Ria and Jenna at the edge. Pearl, Aimee, and Miller were a few feet behind them.

"We're playing Marco Polo, want to jump in?" Jenna asked.

Finn and Megan looked at each other and grinned before Megan said, "We're in."

They stood and Megan had to bite back a noise as Finn removed his shirt and tossed it on her chair. He caught her stare, his cheeks noticeably pinker.

"Uh…ladies first?"

Megan grinned.

Finn gave her a questioning look and she said, "I'd be lying if I said you're not beautiful."

She ran to the edge and dove in rather than waiting for a response. When she surfaced she spotted Finn beaming at her.

He ran to the edge and jumped in, splashing her.