Okay, so no real excuses as to why this one wasn't up sooner other than no motivation. Sorry. Thanks to everyone who continues to read.

Chapter 26: The Pool

Sunday morning for the Robertson family usually meant church if one didn't have to work. However with Dwayne's friends in town, Dwayne got out of going and used the time to sleep in like any normal teenager. Since Mr. Robertson had done all his work the day before, and Bess Ann had the day off, that meant that they would be joining Mrs. Robertson in church. Chrissy on the other hand had been asked to cover a shift at her job and would be working instead. It was creeping on 10:30 by the time the Ducks were getting up so they weren't surprise when they found a brunette, who looked an awful lot like Dwayne, in the kitchen with Lizzy and Goldberg. There were stacks and stacks of waffles on the dining room table with plates and silverware next to it. Goldberg, Lizzy, and the brunette, who Dwayne introduced as his oldest sister Rose, had an assembly line of sandwich making at the kitchen island. Goldberg was pulling bread out of a bag, slapping on the meat and cheese before handing it to Lizzy, who would consult a piece of paper, add condiments, and toppings, then slide it over to Rose who would slide it into a plastic sandwich bag, mark something on the outside, and put it in a big, red cooler behind her.

"Morning, boys, ladies," Lizzy greeted. "You might want to get some breakfast before it gets cold. For lunch we're having sandwiches, ham, turkey, bologna, peanut butter, with cheese, without cheese, mayo, mustard, almost any way you'd like it. Mama R bought a big box of chips and there's soda, juice, water, and sports' drinks in the bottom of the cooler. That should be everything we need for lunch, right?" She ran through her mental list.

"Sounds about right," Rose added.

"Napkins?" Charlie asked.

"Bag with the chips," Goldberg nodded to the tote bag on the counter next to the sink. "Along with extra sunscreen and bug spray and towels; which apparently you can't have enough of."

"Ain't that right, D?" Rose asked. Her eyes lit up with a smile even if one didn't cross her lips.

The tips of his ears turned a bit red. "It's not my fault," Dwayne laughed.

"How many times did they throw you in?" Lizzy asked, smirking.

"Three, but I needed four towels and that last time was Ben's fault," Dwayne answered.

"A couple summers back, my dad threw a party for his coworkers," Lizzy explained to the rest of the Ducks, "Dwayne's family, a bunch of my friends, Ben's friends, and the rest of my brothers. After dinner, Seth tripped Dwayne and sent him face first back into the pool we had out back with his towel wrapped around him. The second time—"

"The second time Seth threw me in." Dwayne said as Lizzy struggled to remember what happened. "The third time I wasn't paying attention and tripped over my own two feet and the last time, Ben conned me into teasing Lizzy's brother Chris and he threw me in."

"Where were you when all this happened?" Fulton asked as the team began to fill up on breakfast, some not even bothering to hide their laughter at his misfortune.

"At the picnic table with his sisters, laughing my butt off. Thankfully after the second time he just changed back into his swimsuit and I was admiring the view but he should have known better than to tease Chris about his girlfriend. Chris threw him and Ben into the pool. The chlorine ruined Ben's new hat, though, to this day, Ben says it was because Chris threw bleach in the washer when he went to wash his hat. St. Louis Cardinals. Chris is a Kansas City Royals fan, one of the biggest rivalries in the MLB," Lizzy answered.

After the dishes were done and everyone had changed into their swimsuits they stood in the foyer trying to decide who would go with whom. "It's your car, Liz, you pick first," Rose told her.

"Uh ... wow, I hate doing this. Uh ... okay. Fulton, Adam, Charlie," Lizzy said after a moment, thinking purely of leg room.

"Well then, Portman, you'll be riding with me. My passenger seat has more legroom than his and I can take three more," Rose said.

"Your Durango holds seven," Dwayne said.

"But we took out the back seats to take Bear and Smokey to the vet yesterday since my fiancé's truck is still in the shop," Rose answered.

"Fiancé?" Lizzy asked in shock.

"Jimmy proposed. Four months ago. Dwayne you're supposed to tell her these things." Rose cuffed her brother across the back of his head. He ducked his head, slightly embarrassed. Jimmy was a good man who loved Rose almost as much as Mr. Robertson loved his wife.

"Right, well, we're going to go. Y'all figure out who's riding with whom." Lizzy smirked then she, Fulton, Adam, and Charlie were out the door. Dwayne shut the door behind them and turned back to level his friends with a glare.

"Right, so I know we got this tradition," Dwayne started, looking among his friends, "ever since the Goodwill Games and all, that we throw the girls in to whatever body of water we're near and they get angry but they mostly let you do it all in good fun and what not, but you even think for one second about doing it to Liz, and, well, let's just say I'm really good at Cowboy Roundup for a reason. That and I'm not above using Fulton to get back at you for throwing her in."

"We got it," Russ said. Dwayne looked over his friends again as if to judge their sincerity and when he reached Portman, the pair locked eyes and he just knew the enforcer knew and would keep an eye on his friends. Dwayne nodded and finally led them out the other two cars. Soon they had dumped their stuff on lawn chairs that lined the entirety of one side of the pool and noticed Adam and Charlie were already horsing around but Fulton and Lizzy were talking on her lawn chair. Connie and Julie grabbed the two chairs closest to Lizzy's left, just as she gave Fulton a blindingly, happy smile. Fulton patted her leg then shucked his shirt dumping it on the lawn chair to Lizzy's right before tackling Portman into the pool. Keeping an eye on the boys from behind her dark blue sunglasses, Lizzy leaned towards the girls as they worked in sunscreen.

"So what took you so long? One of them have to go or something?" Lizzy asked.

Out of the corner of her eye, Lizzy saw Julie and Connie share a look. Connie nodded. "Dwayne was—encouraging the boys not to throw you in. It's a tradition the boys have had since the Games. They throw us in once they get tired of us having girly talk," Julie supplied.

"You mean threatened. Something to do with Cowboy Roundup?" Lizzy asked.

"Yeah." Julie nodded. Lizzy pushed her sunglasses up to the top of her head just in front of the messy bun she had tied her hair into. She surveyed the boys in the pool and seeing none close enough she motioned the girls over. They leaned towards Lizzy but she didn't do more than lean towards them.

Her voice was quiet when she told them her darkest secret. "I can't swim," Lizzy said, her eyes focused on where Fulton and Russ were ganging up on Portman. "Fulton knows, Dwayne knows, Portman knows. I'm not sure about anyone else." She sighed as she shifted back into her chair as the girls dragged their chairs closer but leaving Julie between the two brunettes. "Charlie and Adam wouldn't try it, Adam's too nice and Charlie I can manhandle into leaving me alone. It's no big deal, I just never learned." Lizzy dropped the sunglasses back over her eyes and leaned back against her chair.

"We all have things we can't do," Julie said. "Me, it's horror movies. Connie, it's backwards roller coasters. Doesn't make you less of a person." Lizzy looked over and saw the smiles on the two girls' faces. She nodded her thanks.

"So, does seeing any one of them with their shirt off change their rating?" Connie asked.

Lizzy and Julie looked over the pool of boys. So far it was just the Ducks at the pool but Lizzy knew that as it got hotter, there would be more families arriving. "No," Lizzy said.

"Me neither," Julie said. "Doesn't mean I'm not enjoying the view though."

"What are we talking about?" Adam asked, shaking his head all over Lizzy, flinging drops of water all over her light blue tank top. Then he dropped his cold hands onto Lizzy's bare legs.

"Get those cold hands off me, Ads," Lizzy sassed, whacking at the back of his left hand. He withdrew it but didn't stop with the 'tell me your secret' look. Lizzy pushed her sunglasses down her nose as Julie and Connie did the same and shared a look.

"Our rating system," Connie said.

"I know it's a little sexist and demeaning to rate our teammates but we couldn't help ourselves one weekend while y'all were working out in the gym," Lizzy said.

"And what's this scale based on?" Adam asked.

"By a purely girly standpoint, scale of one to ten with one being "wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole" and a ten being "I'd tap that in a heartbeat", how would you rate our male teammates?" Julie answered using air quotes.

"Oh? And how'd the team come out?" Adam teased as he sat down on Lizzy's lawn chair, with his legs between her chair and Julie's. His eyes locked with the blonde's and she stared in shock.

"Yeah, good boy most of the time but he can have a really twisted sense of humor," Lizzy added, smirking at the other two. "Well, only one rated higher than a nine and no one ranked lower than a six. Right, girls?" Julie and Connie nodded. They all pushed their sunglasses back up and got comfortable.

"Tell me you haven't done the same with the three of us between you boys?" Connie pushed.

"Maybe one night when we were running on too little sleep and not enough good sense," Adam agreed. "So, tell me. Who's the only one hot enough to tap without knowing a thing about him?"

"It's not who you think," Lizzy said.

"Not me?" Adam asked.

"You ranked a solid eight. You're not going to guess it, Banksie," Connie said.

"Please tell me it's not Averman," Adam begged.

"He ranked a solid six," Lizzy confirmed tucking both hands behind her head and shimming to get more comfortable. "He's above average because of working out but he's a little pale and the nerd thing isn't really a turn on."

"Luis then?"

"Luis is a nine," Lizzy confirmed. "I told you you're not going to guess it."

"Just tell him, put him out of his misery," Julie goaded.

"Fine by me," Connie said.

Lizzy sighed, leaned up and whispered one name in his ear. Adam's jaw dropped and he quickly spun around to stare at the boy in question. "No. Him?" Adam asked. "I never would have guessed that until I ran through every guy on the team. Hell, probably every guy in school."

"There's just something about the way he walks. You can tell a lot about a guy from the way he walks."

"I get that but really? Kenny? I mean ... how did he rate higher than Portman or Dwayne or even Luis?" Adam asked. He looked at all three girls inquisitively.

"Luis has too much of a cocky swagger which knocked him down a point, Dwayne is missing something but we couldn't quite put a finger on it, and Port ..." Lizzy trailed off.

"Port opens his mouth and it's a little turn off," Julie added.

"It was rated based on first impressions and those three got a nine," Connie finished.

"And me?" Adam asked.

"We already told you that you ranked an eight," Lizzy told him.

"But you didn't say why," Adam nearly whined. All three girls stared at him. "Uh ..."

"It's not that bad of a score, plus you ranked higher than Charlie," Connie told him.

"I still want to know why. I mean, come on, I think I'm pretty good looking," Adam pressed.

"And no one is denying that you are," Julie said.

"Tell you what," Lizzy leaned towards him and dragged a finger up his bare spine before flicking his ear, "you tell us what you boys rated us, and I'll tell you why you got an eight."

He shivered at her finger on his bare back but nodded. "It wasn't really a number rating system; it was more of a comparative thing."

"To?" Lizzy asked.

"Each other. The consensus was Julie was the most beautiful followed by Connie then Lizzy. Not that I agreed. You're all beautiful in your own way."

"Relax, Banksie. We all know most of our teammates have a thing for blondes and traditional girlie-girls," Connie said.

He waited patiently but Lizzy never spoke up. "So?" he prompted.

"The innocence factor," they all agreed.

"The what?" His lips parted and his brow furrowed trying to figure out what they meant.

Lizzy finally took pity on him. "The innocence factor. You look at some guys and you can just tell that they're more innocent than others. Like we said it's based purely on first impressions and looks and you just have that look that says if we said anything above PG-13, your face would turn redder than Black Widow's hair or Luis's shorts." Luis's current choice of swim trunks was as red as their school colors.

"But you all know better than that?" Adam pushed.

"Yes, Adam, we do," Julie reminded him.

"If we rated you guys on what we knew about you, it would be a completely different rating," Lizzy says.

"Oh? Really?" Adam asked.

"Yes, and I'm not answering how." Lizzy smirked.

"Okay, I'll accept that," Adam agreed. He stood and walked to the end of the lawn chairs. He reached down and ran a finger up the bottom of Lizzy's foot, which had her squirming away from him then ran and dove back into the pool. The girls watched as he swam under water towards Charlie and pulled the boy's feet out from under him. The captain came up sputtering for air as Adam popped up on the other side of the pool. The rest of the team, including the three girls, laughed.

It was almost an hour after lunch that the boys got tired of the girls' secretive girlie talk and ganged up on them. Russ and Dwayne grabbed Julie's arms pulling her up and to the pool's edge before throwing her in, Fulton scooped Connie out of her chair and jumped in with her, and Portman motioned Lizzy over to the pool. She sighed but stood and walked over to the pool plopping down on the edge. She swung her feet over and slowly lowered them into the pool. Once she finally sank down all the way, the backs of her thighs resting against the tile surrounding the pool, the water reached just a few short inches from her knees and she noticed that Portman was just at the right height to cross his arms over her lap then rest his head on top of them without bending his knees or crouching in the slightest. Then she noticed all the Ducks watching them as she threaded her fingers through his dark hair.

"So?" Lizzy prompted.

"So ... you just got underwear on under this or do you actually own a bathing suit?" Portman asked.

"If you're thinking about pulling me in, Goose, I'm going to think about kicking you the stomach," Lizzy answered.

"I would never do that to you, you know that. I promised you that. Now, answer my question."

"Yes, I do own a swimsuit. Yes, I am currently wearing it." Portman pulled back slightly and Lizzy's hands fell from his hair.

Before Lizzy could even ask, Portman was calling over his shoulder, "Eden Hall Ducks, ready, aim, fire!" Then he was underwater and she was being hit with a wall of water from a shockwave sent by 10 Ducks aimed straight at her. Lizzy choked on the water for a second then glared at her friends.

"That's how you're gonna play it?" she asked. "Could you get any more juvenile?"

"Yes, yes, we could," Russ answered.

Lizzy sighed and removed her sunglasses then stood and pulled off her tank top to reveal a dark blue bikini top ignoring Averman's crass call. That only caused her to roll her eyes. She stood up and pulled off her shorts as well noticing that Portman was clear across the pool, looking a bit sheepish, almost like he was afraid she was going to hurt him for that. Lizzy only rolled her eyes, scooped up her soaking wet clothes then walked over to her lawn chair and spread them out to dry. She picked up her towel and when she turned back around, Charlie was right in front of her. "Hello there," she answered, shocked.

"You have a tattoo," he stated plainly.

"Had one for years. You've known about it since the truth or dare game in January, right after I joined the hockey team." She was staring at him, wondering why he didn't remember.

"I ... right. Let me see it again?" Lizzy rolled her eyes but turned back around and began to wipe down her arms. She felt Charlie's finger's on her back, they were cooled from the pool water and running over the symbol they had used since the Junior Goodwill Games, the duck mask over crossed hockey sticks, permanently drawn on her back.

"Charlie?" Lizzy asked, looking back over her shoulder as she finished drying the top half of her body.

"Sorry. I just ... you're just now 17 and you already have a tat," he said sheepishly.

"I know. After I was told Matt died, I wanted something to remember him by. And leaving you and the Ducks ..." she trailed off. "The hockey sticks were for him; the mask was for the Ducks. Are you mad?"

"I'm not mad, it just takes some getting used to I guess."

"Come on, goof, the Ducks are waiting." She shoved him back, dried off her legs then led him back to the pool, only to shove him in. He glared at her in disbelief when he came back up. She only grinned. Sitting back down on the pool side she watched the Ducks go back to their games, feeling, not for the first time, a little jealous that she couldn't swim.

"Please, tell me you're not mad at him," Fulton said, jumping up to sit next to her on the pool edge.

"I couldn't be mad—I couldn't be angry at him if I tried," Lizzy said softly.

"That's not what I asked," Fulton told her.

"No, I'm not mad. A little ticked, but not mad. Could you teach me to swim?" She didn't look up, but did lean against him.

"I can't teach anyone anything," he answered, draping an arm across her shoulders. Unlike Charlie, Adam, and Portman, his arm was warm, but that didn't stop the chills running down her spine when he dragged a finger up and down her arm.

"Except bad boy enforcer skills."

"Let you in on a little secret, what I didn't get from roughhousing with your brothers, I learned from Portman. You know he taught me how to punch the first time I met him. Like hard core, hard on, hurt somebody punch. Ben taught me to defend myself and you but it wasn't true offensive until Goose taught me."

"I miss him."

"He's right there; you can still talk to him."

"Not what I meant." Lizzy lifted her head from his shoulder and blinked up at him. "My prince charming from before Crystal." Lizzy sighed.

"I know and maybe one day it can be like that again but for now he's just going to be a friend. I don't think either of you are ready to trust the other like that again."

They went silent watching the water wars and games going on as her head returned to his shoulder. Averman, Goldberg, and Connie were sitting in the shallow end talking, Julie was helping Luis and Kenny battle Portman and Charlie in a wave war, which left Guy as the sole judge for Dwayne, Russ, and Adam's diving contest. "I should have known that relationship was doomed from the start."

"What makes you think that?"

"We kissed the first night I met him in person."

"You told me about that. After you broke up with him."

"Yeah, after you guys left my room that night, he came back in and I was dancing to Sweet Home Alabama. Eventually he kissed me but the music had changed." Fulton made a noise as though questioning 'to what'. "You really want to know what song was playing?" When he didn't verbally answer she looked up at him again and he nodded. "Free Bird." Fulton's arm dropped from her shoulder and he stared at her like she was out of her mind. "No, I'm not kidding." Lizzy pushed her sunglasses back to the top of her head and sighed.

"That's a breakup song. He talks about leaving her because of things changing."

"I know, I do listen to that kind of music occasionally. Besides things were too good not to go bad." Lizzy sighed. When Fulton didn't answer for several long minutes Lizzy turned to see Dwayne approaching. "Oh, did you lose?"

"Guy is biased for Adam," Dwayne said.

"I'm sure he's not. Dwayne, why is it that it's three o'clock in the afternoon in September and 89 degrees on a Sunday and there's no one else at the pool?" Lizzy asked.

"Pool closed yesterday to the public, but my dad knows the owner so he gave us today before he starts renovations."

"Why wouldn't he wait until November for renovations? I mean it doesn't really get colder here until then."

"Don't know, just know what my dad told me," Dwayne grinned.

"You know who you should really ask about swimming? Port, he's a certified lifeguard."

Lizzy stared at Fulton for his response. "I'll think about it," she said after a moment.

So no sure when the next one is going to be up, I still don't have all that much motivation, and I haven't even started writing it. I hope it'll be soon.