Edward
"So, Pool boy, do you have a name, or should I just call you Tom?"
I laughed, but I couldn't keep my eyes off her mouth as she took a long drink of water from the bottle she picked up from beside the lounge chair.
"Tom?" I asked, still dazed by the way her tongue lingered on the tip of the open bottle.
"Yeah. You know? As in the peeping variety."
"I wasn't… I didn't…" And fuck. I was back to being this stammering, ogling asshole.
"Yeah, yeah." She laughed. "It's okay, you know. I mean, it's not the first time anyone's seen my tits. And god, I sure fucking hope it won't be the last. So?" she asked expectantly.
"What?"
"Your name? Do you have one?"
"It's umm…yeah," I said. I was still kind of stunned by everything, and I couldn't seem to shake myself out of the haze I was in. To be honest, I was a little – no, make that a lot – shocked that she was even talking to me. It went against everything I knew to be true about the kind of people who lived in a place like this. "Umm…Edward. I'm Edward."
"Edward, huh? I think I like Tom better."
She was fucking with me. And I didn't quite know what to do with that. I mean, a part of me liked it. It seemed like she was flirting. At least, that's what it felt like. But then I remembered where I was, and who she was… "Don't call me Tom."
"Okay, Tom." She grinned, and I found it hard not to do the same. "Do you mind if I stay here while you work? I promise to keep my clothes on."
"Do what you want," I said. "It's your house."
"It's not actually," she said. And that piqued my interest. But I didn't push it further. She probably only meant that it was her parents' house. But in my book, that was the same fucking thing. She looked at me expectantly, like she was waiting for me to take the bait, but I didn't. "Whatever. You have work to do. You should probably get to it."
She grabbed her earbuds and shoved them back in before lying back down on the chair and closing her eyes. True to her word, she left her top on. But she never said another word. And after a few moments, I realized she wasn't going to. And I didn't know why at the time, but the fact that she was able to ignore me so easily got all the way under my skin.
And it burned.
I was pissed the whole time I cleaned the pool. And even though I didn't want to, I found myself sneaking glances in her direction. Eventually, she rolled over onto her stomach again, effectively letting me know that my presence wasn't even a blip on her spoiled radar. And why should it be? She didn't know me from dick, and the truth was that she had probably been trying to get a rise out of me. Must be so boring to be a poor little rich girl on summer vacation.
Well, fuck that.
And fuck her.
I didn't need this shit.
"Three more months," I said to myself again. I could get through this one last fucking summer. Only three more months.
By the time I'd finished, she was either asleep, or really good at pretending. I wondered if maybe I should tell her that I was leaving, but then I thought, fuck it. She was a smart girl. She could figure it out. I started packing up the chemicals and supplies, but then I made the mistake of looking over at her one last time. And almost like she knew I was watching, she rolled over onto her side.
Yeah, she was definitely asleep. I cursed myself for staring again. But I couldn't help it. Her face was soft, her full lips parted, and the slow in-and-out of her breath drew my eyes back down to her chest. Why had I wanted her to cover them back up when she clearly had no problem with her own nudity? I'd never met a girl like that before. She was so…uninhibited. And just for a second, I wondered what it would feel like to be that free. I'd never known that kind of freedom in my life. I supposed that freedom came with money. And maybe I'd feel a little more liberated if I all I had to worry about was lounging by the pool in my million-dollar home.
Then again, maybe it was just her. Maybe that's just who she was. And without any warning, just from watching her, I'd gone from despising her and her privilege, to wishing I hadn't been such a moronic asshole. Slowly, I walked as close as I could get to her without waking her up. I didn't even think about what the fuck I was doing. All I knew was that I wanted to know more about her. I didn't even know her name.
I stared. I'm not even sure how long I looked down at her. I'm not even sure what I was thinking. And then, I heard her voice. "You're staring at my tits again, Tom."
My eyes shot back up to hers as I stood there, shaken. She wasn't smiling this time. She was biting down on her bottom lip, and looking straight into me. My heart pounded; my mouth went dry.
"I…uh…I was just packing up and getting ready to leave."
"Whatever," she said, standing up and pulling the buds from her ears. "You don't owe me an explanation. I'm not your boss."
And then she went inside, leaving me standing there watching as she closed the glass door behind her.
I should have known then.
But I didn't.
But even if I had… Well, it wouldn't have changed a goddamn thing.
.
.
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A/N
Thank you for reading. Seriously. It makes me so happy.
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xoxo
cosmo