Emily couldn't sleep well that night. She kept tossing and turning wondering why she couldn't get Alison out of her head. She wasn't gay. She was straight. Wasn't she? Thinking back she never really felt that attracted to guys. She's dated a few but it never went too far. Maybe she just wasn't ready for a boyfriend yet. That had to be it.
She was startled awake by the sound of her cellphone. She had a text from Spencer.
S: would you like to go swimming with me and the other girls?
E: sure! Let me find my swim suit.
S: Great! I'll meet you outside of your house in 10.
Emily got out of bed and looked through her closet trying to remember where she unpacked her swim suits. She quickly remembered, grabbed one and rushed to the bathroom to put it on. She got a towel and went downstairs to tell her mom about her plans.
"Okay. But make sure you're phone isn't on silent and don't drop it in the pool!" Her mother exclaimed.
As soon as Emily walked out the door, Spencer was walking up.
"Hey. Let's get going we are meeting Hanna and Aria at the pool" Spencer said.
When they arrived at the swimming pool, Hanna was laying out on a chair. Aria was on her phone texting. They both looked up when they heard the gate open.
"What took you so long?" Aria asked. "I was just texting you."
"I stopped at Emily's on the way. I figured since she's a swimmer she would want to swim with us." Spencer explained. "Why aren't you guys in the pool yet?"
"Uh, hello? The water is cold and I need to get my tanning on. It feels too good in the sun to jump in the water." Hanna remarked.
"You're a big baby, ya know" joked Aria.
"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Emily screamed while jumping in the pool.
Aria rushed to jump in while Spencer pulled Hanna up and pushed her in. Everyone laughed except for Hanna.
"Damnit Spencer! You're gonna pay for that!" She says as she tries to dunk the stronger girl underwater.
"Just give it up Hanna. You're no match for me."
Emily laughed as she watched the three other girls splash and try to dunk each other. She enjoyed talking with them about random things. They kept asking questions about what Alabama was like and would get surprised at how different it was.
Suddenly, they heard the gate to the pool open. Alison walks in with Noel, one of her boy toys. Emily can't help but glance their way while Noel rubs suntan lotion onto Alison's back. Their eyes meet for a few seconds and Emily's stomach drops like she's on a roller coaster.
Act normal, Emily thinks to herself.
"Emily are you okay? You got really quiet" Spencer asks concerned.
At that moment Emily sees Alison smirk at her and she could see in her eyes that she knows her darkest secrets. It was an unnerving thing.
"Uh, I gotta go. My mom wants me home." Emily jumps out of the pool and goes into the locker room to dry off and change.
As soon as she finishes putting on her clothes she runs into Alison, bumping into her shoulder.
"You really should watch where you're going. We keep meeting like this" Alison grins mischievously.
Emily hates the way that she's looking at her. It makes her want to slam the girl against the locker and kiss her just to make her stop staring into her soul.
"Sorry" Emily stutters.
Alison smirks again and gets close enough to Emily to kiss. Then she whispers in her ear. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." Then she turns and walks out of the locker room.
What the hell was she talking about, Emily thought. She can't know how attracted I am to her. I've barely spoken to her at all and it was to apologize for being so stupidly clumsy.
Emily said bye to Aria, Spencer and Hanna. On her way home, she couldn't get Alison out of her mind. The way she smelled like sun tan lotion mixed with vanilla. The way her whispering in her ear sent chills all over her body.
This is not good.