Day 5: Night Swimming/Skinny Dipping

I Know Places

He doesn't immediately go to talk to her, but instead opts to hang out by the refreshment table near her house.

Taking a sip of punch from the red cup, he watches as Maka talks to some of her close friends, her laughter ringing out across the yard toward him. It reminds him of bells on a Sunday morning. Bright, cheerful, full of life. And a familiar warmth creeps along his skin, spreading from his toes up his legs, torso, along his arms until it reaches the nape of his neck. It's the same feeling he gets anytime he's near her, and seeing her know, it isn't surprising.

Three months.

Three months have passed since the last time he saw her, and his heart is beating wildly in his chest. And it isn't because of nerves. It's because he's seeing her beauty for the first time in so long, the curve of her neck as she tosses her blonde hair over her shoulder. The faint dimples on her cheeks shine in the faint light from inside. Every bit of her body is intoxicating, and he wants nothing more than to walk over and touch the small of her back. To gently kiss her in front of everyone.

But he can't. He needs to first confess that he loves her before doing anything like that.

Throwing his cup into the trash can beside the table, he makes his way over toward, a determined look in his eyes.

He can do this.

He knows he can.

Xx.

Ever since they were little, Maka had had a knack for fabricating very intricate plans that involved them breaking into some random place. When she found out that Sea World kept beluga and orca whales in tiny tanks that were bad for them, she had wanted to pull a Free Willy and save them. But her and Soul didn't make passed the front door before her dad burnt down that bridge. If that hadn't stopped them, the fact that they lived nowhere near a Sea World might have put a stop to their plans.

Maka's scheming only increased as they grew older, and her need to fulfill them had grown after her parents divorce.

When he was thirteen and she was twelve, Maka had the bright idea that they should break into a corner store because she wanted some ice cream and neither of them had any. Soul told her she was crazy. She claimed it was logical. He protested quite a few times. Somehow they still found themselves outside the store near their house while Soul complained the entire time about getting caught. But not once did he leave her alone because if she was going to jail over this, then he'd join her.

They did end up spending the night in a jail cell.

Lucky for them, the owner of the store was good friends with Spirit so there weren't any charges pressed on them. Unlucky for them both of their parents were pissed off that they had to wake up in the middle of the night to pick them up. Wes didn't let Soul forget about the incident until he finally left for college, following his younger brother around everywhere he went. Soul wasn't allowed to leave the house unless he gave his brother a detailed outline of his plans for the day. It was the worst two years of his short life up to that point.

But spending a night in jail didn't stop Maka from continuously dragging Soul along with her when she had the urge to create mischief. He probably could have stayed home or locked himself up in his room to prevent her pestering him about it, but it was Maka who was asking. his best friend since he was five and she was four, the girl who cared about him when he thought there was no one. The girl who had held his hand and cradled him in her lap when he was having a mental breakdown. He had to make sure she remained safe; he owed her that much.

Which was how he found himself climbing over the fence surrounding the outdoor public pool while she encouraged him on the otherside.

Her long hair flew in the wind as she ran in front of him toward the pool, turning around every few seconds to laugh. It was exhilarating and freeing. A rush he had never felt before, and a laugh bubbled up from his own throat as hers rang out into the empty night air. The moon shone down on her like a spotlight, and this was entirely her own show. She was the ring leader, he was her sidekick, and their target audience was misfits exactly them. People who needed an escape from reality because the confines of the real world were too strong.

Green eyes lit up as she reached the edge of the pool, and her smile was intoxicating when she looked up at him. Maka didn't waste any time as she pulled her shirt over her head, rid herself of her shorts, and slipped her feet out of her sandals. She walked back a few inches and made a quick dash to cannonball into the pool. Water sprayed up over the edge and wet his feet, but Soul didn't pay much attention to it.

His attention was instead focused on the girl in front of him, and the fact that she had definitely grown since he last saw her half-naked.

The last time he had seen her in a bikini it was her first year of high school, and they had taken a trip down to the beach on weekend. She didn't have much to show compared to the other girls they were with. Maka had spent most of her time wearing Soul's t-shirt, and complained to him about the fact that she was so flat-chest with nothing appealing about her body.

But, shit, did that change.

He didn't stare at her chest a lot when they were younger, but from his vantage point now and the way the moonlight covered her body, it was obvious she had something. There was a slight curve to her body as she floated on her back in the cooling water. Her eyes were closed, and he heard a faint humming sound coming from her. Soul quickly thanked the heavens that she wasn't paying attention to him because his pants were becoming more uncomfortable the more he stared at her.

Toned stomachs, nice chest, and even nicer thighs were a dangerous combination.

Soul shed himself of his own clothes, and quickly dipped into the water to conceal his very obvious boner from her. Maka remained in her own world as she casually floated around while he doggy paddled around, hoping his issue would die down.

It didn't.

It only it became worse once she grew tired of lounging around and swam over toward him. She stood on tip toe on the concrete ground below, her chest just barely over the waterline. Soul had a very nice view of the curve of her small boobs as they peaked out from the bikini top. And when she spoke, his attention was fighting to remain on her face rather than the fact that he was able to see her hardened nipples.

"Isn't this fun?" she asked, her eyes glowing with excitement.

"Yeah, fun. If you think the possibility of getting caught is fun."

Maka's shoulders slumped over a little, and she playfully pushed him. "Don't be such a buzzkill, Soul! Lighten up a little. Besides, isn't being caught part of the fun?"

The warmth against his bare chest where her hand had briefly touched him started to die down, and he missed it immediately. What would he give to have her hands all over him right now? To pull her toward him and press their bodies against the other? To relish in the feel of her chest on his, the hardness of her nipples poking him? His own boner pressed against her leg?

He'd do anything for that.

But like the times before when he became a little more excited than a best friend should, Soul killed his thoughts - or tried - and focused on the conversation at hand.

"If I'm with you, I won't really mind getting caught."

A light pink dusted her cheeks while heat pricked against his neck.

Shit. That came out wrong.

"I-I mean as long as we're together then it'd be cool." That didn't sound right either. "Because we're best friends and all. And best friends stick together, right?"

Maka seemed a little disappointed at his words, but smiled and nodded nonetheless. "Yeah. Of course. Best friends do everything together." She lightly punched him again, her hand lingering longer than it should have as she brushed it down his chest, but he didn't think anything of it.

There was no possible way Maka liked him as anything more than a friend.

"It's colder than I thought it would be, though," she said as she wrapped her around each other and shivered a little. "Maybe we should get out and go home?"

Now that she mentioned it, it was a little cold.

"Uh, yeah."

"Maybe we can go over to your place and watch some movies or something? I think that one channel is doing another Harry Potter movie marathon."

"That sounds good."

He watched as she turned and swam back to where their clothes were, and she pulled herself up over the edge, giving him a very nice view her ass. Her bottoms clung to her skin from the water, and it exposed the small curve of her butt before making way for her very long legs. God his best friend was either the hottest woman on the face of the planet, or he was very horny. Either way, he knew the right person he wanted to release the tension with.

Fuck, why did they have to be only friends?

Soul shook himself out of his daze as Maka dried herself off with one of the towels she had brought for them. He started to make his way toward her, but then he remembered something very important. The last fifteen minutes of his time had been spent staring and admiring his best friends very nice body which had led to all the blood in his body occupying a certain body part. And if he were to get out of the pool now, his boner would be out on display for her to see, and she'd know.

Maka would know he had become turned on because of her.

Shit. What was he going to do?

"Are you coming?" Maka asked.

"Uh," was all that came out. Soul panicked and began to swim backwards away from her. As far away from as possible to prevent her from seeing things she shouldn't. "Nah. I think I'm good for another few minutes. How about you just go ahead of me?"

Her brows scrunched together as she walked along the edge of the pool toward him. "Soul, if you don't get out, you're gonna make yourself sick."

"No I'm not! I have a good immune system."

It was a lie. They both knew it was lie. He got sick at the smallest cough that was thrown his way. But he needed something to prove that he didn't need to get out at that very moment.

"Soul!" she chided. "Get out of the pool!"

"I'm fine, Maka!"

She stomped her foot and balled her hands. "If you don't get out right now, I'm gonna jump in there and make you get out myself!"

No matter how he saw it, it was going to be a losing battle. Slumping his shoulders, Soul wadded over toward her to face his fate.

"Here," she offered him her hand, "I'll help you get out."

And there was his chance.

"Thanks."

But instead of letting her help him up, Soul pulled her back into the pool. As she splashed around trying to collect herself, he took the short time to exit the water and quickly ran toward where his clothes and the spare towel were. He made sure to dry himself off in the area that was the most important at the present moment for turning around. Maka was fuming as she pushed back her sopping bangs from her face and glared up at him.

"You bastard!" she growled.

Soul shrugged and walked back toward her, picking up the towel she had discarded on his way. "Sorry."

Maka exited the pool, and yanked the towel out of his hands. "That was a really dick move, you know?"

"Oh, I do know. Trust me."

Thankfully she didn't catch the implication behind his wording.

"Good!" She wrapped herself up in the blanket as she waited for him to change into his clean, dry clothes. "You better make this up to me. My clothes are wet now because of you. I can't go home because Papa will ask me what happened."

"Spend the night at my place, then. You can take Wes' bed since he's off at college." Her green eyes squinted as she wanted more to the deal. Soul sighed. "We have to boxes of Raisinets left. You can have them."

Her disposition changed immediately and beamed up at him in a manner that reminded him of an angel. An angel who was also secretly the devil.

"Thank you!"

They made their way home, Soul successfully concealing the small tent in his pants from his best friend. When they arrived at his house, he gave her his old Pianoman shirt and a pair of blue boxers to change into while he excused himself to the other bathroom to quickly jack off before heading down to his living room where Maka was already sitting. He waved off her questions of why he took so long by saying he had to take a shit, and she immediately dropped the subject.

They spent the rest of their night on his couch watching Harry Potter movies and eating popcorn. Eventually they both fell asleep on the couch, Maka nuzzled up against his chest, and Soul leaning over the edge of the couch.