As Lola got the bathing suit she had borrowed from Frankie slipped onto her body with only minor difficulty, she worried about whether or not she was going to be able to keep a clear mind. The image of floating around in the pool with the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen seemed like a recipe for a total brain wipe, but as she went over all of the stuff that had went down recently, her mind was going to be a tough slate to wipe clean, she thought. But she was going to do everything in her power to focus on Miles. He deserved that much and more.
Lola checked her phone once again before hobbling to the pool. Still zero messages. What on earth was happening? She looked to see how her signal was and was met with a symbol at the top of her screen that she hadn't noticed earlier and had never seen before. What did this mean? She threw her phone to the side when she realized that she had been standing in a doorway for at least a couple of minutes. The sun was going up and she was missing what was sure to be a beautiful sight all to stare at her phone. Her priorities were clearly not straight.
With her crutches digging deep into her bare armpits, Lola headed toward the pool at last. She stepped outside and was met with the most pleasant air she thought she'd ever breathed in. The temperature outside was perfect. And as she looked at the beautiful sky, then to Miles, who was busy blowing up a hot pool float shaped like a heart, she thought this may be the most at peace she had ever been. Every single thing that was plaguing her mind melted away like a bar of chocolate on a hot day. She felt nothing but pure bliss.
This was what she had spent years pining for. This was true happiness, like she'd seen in all of those romantic comedies. Maybe Kate Hudson wasn't a total liar.
"This is the best." Lola said, hobbling over to Miles.
"You're the best." Miles replied, plugging up the pool float and pushing it toward Lola. "I figure you can sit on it and I'll just move the float into the pool. Cool?"
"The coolest." Lola smiled. She set her crutches aside and finished the walk toward Miles and the float putting the bare minimum of pressure on her injured toe. She probably looked ridiculous hopping and hobbling, but again, she was truly too happy to pay that thought any mind. Miles helped Lola lower herself onto the float and then scooted the hot pink floatation device into the Hollingsworth pool. Lola felt a small splash of cool water on her skin as the float impacted the water and became overwhelmed with the urge to just jump into the water. The little bit that she felt was so refreshing. If only she hadn't hurt her stupid toe.
Miles entered the pool after Lola, cautiously lowering himself into the cool water, bracing himself by gritting his teeth and inhaling sharply. As he stepped further into the pool, though, Lola noticed his face begin to relax and a sense of ease play across his features.
Every moment she looked at him he became more and more beautiful, to the point where it almost hurt Lola to see. Miles was different than anyone Lola had ever met. He made her feel things that she had never even gotten close to feeling with any person, romantic or platonic. He just seemed to fit into her life in a way that she didn't even know she was missing.
"I love you." Lola said suddenly.
Miles swam over to her and grabbed her hand. "Lola..." He began, but Lola cut him off. She wasn't done yet.
"When I'm with you…" She paused to think, but the words weren't coming out. She was just going to have to shut off her brain and let her heart do the talking. "When I'm with you my heart feels like a piñata hanging on a tree at a birthday party. It feels so full and so… surrounded with anticipation for the future? I know that sounds dumb, but do you get what I'm saying? Like… the rest of my body is just standing back, looking at my heart as it hangs by this string. Every fiber of my being is so full of excitement and nerves to see what my heart is full of. And it's amazing, because you know… my heart is full of love for you, so it's great."
Lola stopped for a moment to gauge if Miles was even comprehending what was going on. Whenever she tried to express her feelings to Tiny, he always had this puzzled look on his face. Like how Lola looked in math class. But Miles was just standing there intently listening, so invested in what Lola had to say.
"But it's also scary. Because you know, I'm hanging by this string… And in order to break open that piñata I have to risk breaking my heart. I feel so vulnerable, like I could just be smacked down onto the ground at any minute."
Lola avoided looking at Miles for a moment, simply staring at the rising sun and enjoying the view. She had let herself get so caught up in these intense feelings she was having for Miles and the metaphor that had come out of nowhere that she had barely taken a moment to take in how gorgeous the Hollingsworth pool was at sunrise. She could wake up here every morning.
"So…yeah." Lola trailed off, realizing that a few moments had gone by where neither of them had said a word. Awkward. Maybe this wasn't the right time to whip out 'I love you'. Or maybe he thought she was insane because she compared one of her internal organs to something people beat open with baseball bats at birthday parties for five year olds. Her eyes met Miles's as she tried to figure out his reaction before he spoke.
"This is the best moment of my life so far." Miles said. "No doubt in my mind. I have never been happier or experienced as much beauty than I am in this moment, right now."
Lola felt that too. All she wanted was to hop off of the pool float into the water, wrap her legs around Miles's waist and kiss him until the sun finished rising and began beaming down on the two of them. There was nothing in the world that could possibly feel better than this felt right now.
"I think we made the right decision to go for a swim, don't you?" Lola said, gripping and squeezing Miles's hand with what felt like all of the power of the love inside her body. She was surprised she wasn't breaking his fingers.
Miles stood on the tips of his toes to reach his lips up and kiss Lola's. "I think you've never been more right."