"You sure you're not too tired?"
"Too tired to sit by the pool for a couple hours? Never."
Adam chuckled on the other end of the line, holding the phone between his ear and shoulder while trying to put Hannah's goggles on her.
"We'll pick you up in a little while then. Bring sunscreen."
She chuckled and hung up the phone, pulling a pair of shorts on over her bathing suit. She didn't think there were many outdoor pools in the city, but Adam had managed to find one that was clean and cheap and wasn't that far of a drive if they took the right route.
Hannah had been staying with Adam for four days and had yet to lose any energy. She was constantly moving, chattering, exploring, asking questions. She was her brother, through and through.
Lindsay sighed and looked under the couch for her flip-flops. She could never find them, especially not together. She never lost anything else but these stupid shoes. It was enough to make her want to brave a store, just to get some new ones. She fought her hair into a ponytail and looked under the coffee table with no luck. She stood with her hands on her hips, surveying the room and trying to remember the last time she had worn them.
She wandered around, looking under furniture and cursing herself for having six pairs of boots, four pairs of dress shoes, two pairs of plain flats, and only one pair of sandals. It really was ridiculous as the latter two were definitely what she wore more often.
She finally found the sandals under her bed and pulled them on, then went back out to the kitchen, grabbing three bottles of water out of the fridge. She was almost certain Adam would forget to bring any. As she closed the fridge, something caught her eye. It was a post-it note stuck to the door and she grinned as she recognized Adam's handwriting.
I love you, beautiful!
Seeing those words was almost as good as hearing them, and she swiped at a tear that had started to dribble down her cheek before moving the post-it to where she would see it more often.
The buzzer rang and she went to it, still with a smile on her face.
"Yeah?"
"It's me."
"You never use the buzzer."
"I'm too lazy to go all the way upstairs."
"You made good time."
"We got off the phone half an hour ago."
"I've been looking for my shoes for half an hour?"
"Apparently. You coming down? This child is getting antsy."
"Be right there."
She grabbed the water and the bag with a towel, a change of clothes and sunscreen in it. She took the stairs quickly and came out the door to find Adam double parked in the street.
"Traffic misdemeanor," she said, sliding into the seat. "You're so bad."
"You like it?"
She just smiled and buckled her seatbelt.
"Hi Hannah," she said, looking in the back seat.
"Hi Lindsay. Guess what?"
"What?"
"I ate seven ice-pops today."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Brudder ate way more than that. Probably like 20."
"Is this true Adam?"
"Kind of."
"Hannah, did your brother feed you anything healthy today?"
"He made me eat green beans at lunch time," she answered, crinkling her nose. "I hate green beans. Plus they were cold."
"Adam, did you make her eat green beans straight from the can?"
"Well I didn't know how to heat them up!"
"A pot on the stove?"
"Didn't seem right."
She just chuckled.
"And you know what else, Lindsay?"
"What else?"
"We went to the park again, 'cept it was a different park this time. And brudder taught me how to do the monkey bars. And I did really good. I only fell like three times."
"That is pretty good. But don't your arms hurt now?"
"Oh yeah. But it's the kind of hurt you get when you worked hard, so it's a good kind of hurt. That's what daddy calls it."
"Well you're quite the little optimist, aren't you?"
"Yeah, I guess," she answered, playing with her diving sticks. "But only if that's a good thing!"
An hour later, Lindsay was settled in a deck chair next to the almost deserted pool, watching Adam and Hannah play some game involving chasing, giggling, and lots of roaring. At one point she had thought they were supposed to be water dinosaurs, but now she wasn't sure.
Adam scooped Hannah out of the water and she giggled, kicking her legs to splash in his face.
"Hey, ragamuffin!"
She squealed as he dropped her into the water and for a split second, Lindsay thought they were playing a little too rough. But Hannah came out of the water sputtering, with a smile on her face.
"I am gonna get you back for that."
"Oh really?"
"I'm gonna splash you when you don't think I will."
"What if I always think you will?"
"Then that could be a problem."
He chuckled and she grabbed onto his shoulders as he swam over to the side.
"Linds, are you going to join us?"
"No way."
"Why not? Are you being a party pooper?"
"No, I'm just tired."
"Aw, come on."
"Yeah, come on Lindsay!"
"No way."
"Think we should splash her, squirt?"
Hannah nodded, her eyes large behind her lime green goggles.
"Don't you dare, Adam Ryan Ross."
"I'll just make Hannah do it. You won't get mad at her, will you?"
"Nah, I'll still be mad at you."
Adam and Hannah looked at each other with a grin.
"Guys…"
Her warning came too late and they splashed her for all they were worth, soaking her from the waist down.
"Well you're wet now, gotta get in."
"I reject your logic."
"Again I say, party pooper."
He made a face and turned away, swimming to the other side of the pool. Lindsay chuckled and stood from her chair, shimmying out of her shorts and t-shirt. She stood there in just her bikini, modest enough for a family pool, but still revealing enough to make him look twice. Quietly, she slid into the water and made her way over to him, waiting for just the right moment. It came a lot faster than she thought it would, and with the quickness of a ninja she reached up and dunked him. He flailed under the water for a moment, then reached up and grabbed her wrists before she let him surface. He turned around and glared at her and she knew what was coming, but didn't have time to deflect it.
He dunked her quickly and then let her up, sticking his hand out for her to shake.
"Even?"
"Even. And now I am getting out of here."
"Aw come on."
"Chlorine gives me a headache. Would you rather have me cranky or tan?"
"Okay, get out."
She smiled and swam over to the ladder, climbing out and grabbing a towel. The chlorine made her skin itch, and she preferred a river or a lake any day of the week, even if it did have snakes and bugs and other unknowns swimming in it.
"Hey, did you ever finish blowing up that beach ball?"
"Yep," she answered, tossing the ball over to him. "There's all my hot air."
"Certainly not all of it."
"You're so amusing."
He chuckled and she didn't miss his glance as he looked her up and down. She smiled a little and sat down, stretching out in the chair, letting the sun warm her back up.
"Hannah, what do you think about grilled cheese for dinner?"
"I think it goes best with tomato soup!" she shouted from the bathroom. She'd wanted to keep swimming even after it got too dark, so Adam said she could leave her bathing suit on and go swimming in the tub. She'd agreed, much to Lindsay's amusement.
"Do you need one of us to come in there and wash your hair?"
"Could Lindsay do it? You get soap in my eyes."
"You've been requested," Adam remarked with a grin. Lindsay jumped down from the counter where she had been sitting eating strawberries, and headed towards the bathroom. He grabbed her wrist partway there and pulled her back into his arms.
"Hello."
He smiled and pressed a kiss to her lips.
"You're lucky that was a family pool," he said, his thumbs running up and down her side.
"Says the man who is still shirtless," she replied, tracing a small circle on his shoulder.
"You'd better get in the other room before I kiss you breathless."
"Thanks for the warning," she retorted, peeling herself away from him, albeit reluctantly. She pushed the bathroom door open and found Hannah in the tub, surrounded by bubbles.
"Uh, Hannah?"
"Yeah?"
"Where did all these bubbles come from?"
"From the jar, silly."
"How much did you pour in?"
"Not much."
"Adam, you should come and look at this."
He poked his head in the door and laughed.
"Well, that was a good idea."
Lindsay shook her head and leaned over to drain the tub so she could add fresh, non bubbly water.
"You have fun with this," Adam said before leaving the room again.
"Hey Lindsay?" Hannah asked, pouring a cup of water over some of the bubbles.
"Yeah?"
"Are you and brudder boyfriend girlfriend?"
Lindsay smiled and plugged the tub before running new water.
"Yeah, we are."
"Does that mean you're getting married?"
"Not necessarily."
"But why not? Don't you love each other?"
"Yeah we do. But getting married isn't just about love sometimes. You can love someone and want to marry them even if they're the wrong person for you. That's why we have boyfriends and girlfriends, to see if we should get married or not."
"Oh. Well do you want to marry him?"
"Just between you and me? Someday, I really, really hope so."
"Linds, can I confess something to you?" Adam asked as she ran her fingers through his hair. She tipped her head to the side and looked down at him laying with his head in her lap.
"Of course."
"I um… I have this problem."
"What kind of problem?"
"I'm an unabashed eavesdropper."
She chuckled.
"And here I thought it was going to be something juicy."
"I wasn't done."
"Okay."
"I heard what you said to Hannah earlier."
"When…? Oh."
"So, does that mean I'm doing a good job?"
She smiled and let her fingers run over his chest.
"Yeah," was all she could think to say.
"You know, we haven't really talked about…"
"No, we haven't."
He sat up to face her, using his arm to prop himself up.
"Did you really mean what you said?"
"I don't lie to children Adam."
"I figured as much."
"You're not thinking the same thing?"
"No, I am. I just… Linds, you're amazing. You're beautiful and perfect and smart and you make me laugh like I've never laughed before. You're everything I ever wanted and more that I didn't even know could exist in one person. I want you to be as happy as I am. And I just worry that I can't do that for you."
"Adam," she started, her eyes boring into his. "I love you. And I know how much you love me. That's all I need."
"You're easy to please."
"No Adam, I'm really not. You just so happen to be the one I want."
"I love happenstance."
"I do too."
He smiled and leaned in to kiss her, but his current position made that kind of hard, and they ended up tumbling against couch, their legs in a tangled heap. She giggled against his mouth and he pulled away.
"What?"
"I hit my head," she said, reaching up to rub the spot. "Ouch."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. No real harm done. As you were."
He smiled and kissed her again, gentler this time, but still desperately trying to put into action the feelings he had revealed just a moment ago. His hand ran up and down her side then pulled her closer wanting to shut out the rest of the world and just exist with her alone.
"I love you," she breathed, breaking the kiss. "And I really don't want to have to say this, but I gotta go."
"That late already?"
"Yeah."
"You called a cab already?"
"When you went to check on Hannah. It should be here any minute."
"I wish you didn't have to go."
"Believe me, there is nothing I would like more than stay here and make out with you all night long-"
"You're so candid."
"-but I have to work."
"I'll try and become independently wealthy so we never run into this problem again," he said as she extracted herself from the couch.
"Excellent. Night Adam."
"Night Linds."