Chapter 36
Milow
On Monday morning, I woke up earlier than usual to go to the pool with Ashby. He had asked me the night before, and I said yes. But I told him that I didn’t just want to sit around and watch him swim his laps, and he promised to spend some time with me in the water too.
So there I was, with my arms and legs wrapped around him, and my back pressed against the wall of the pool.
Ashby had his hands under my thighs, holding me up.
I smiled at him, admiring the way he looked with his damp face and wet hair.
He’d taken off his cap and goggles after finishing his laps, and there were still faint marks left on his skin.
I lifted my hands and cupped his face, brushing my thumbs along the redness beneath his eyes.
“That’ll go away,” he told me, his smile soft.
I nodded, then wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close, pressing my body against his in a tight hug.
His hands slid along the underside of my thighs, then moved higher until he was cupping my butt. A shiver ran through me, and without meaning to, I pressed my hips forward. His body went rigid, but his hands didn’t move.
“I want to be good, Milow,” he murmured into my shoulder before pressing a kiss there. “Please don’t make this hard for me.”
I knew exactly what he meant. I wasn’t clueless about these kinds of things. But I was still pretty innocent, and I wouldn’t even know what to do. Kissing already felt like a lot for me to handle, mostly because he made it feel so good. But this, the way his body reacted to mine, was new.
He kept kissing my skin gently, trailing his lips up the side of my neck.
His mouth moved slowly, and I felt his tongue brush my skin before every kiss he placed.
My eyes stayed closed as I melted into him.
I hoped no one else would come to the pool.
Ashby had told me he was usually alone and that only one or two other students came by sometimes.
But that was rare. Ruben also hadn’t come today, because Ashby told him not to.
I wanted to wake up early every Monday morning if it meant I could have an extra hour alone with him like this.
His lips moved to my jaw, and his hands gave my ass a gentle squeeze, sending another jolt through me. I slid my hands into his hair, tangling my fingers in it.
When I tugged a little harder, he let out a breath and pulled back, his hands moving to rest on my hips. “Shit.”
I leaned back to look at him, frowning. Had I done something wrong? Had I upset him?
I didn’t need to sign anything for him to understand what I was thinking. My expression said it all.
“Everything’s okay,” he said, a crooked smile on his lips. “It’s just… you can’t move your body like that. And you can’t tug at my hair. That drives me crazy.”
I pressed my lips together, feeling my cheeks heat up. But I felt like teasing him, too.
[I can’t do that ever?]
He let out a soft, nervous chuckle. “No. You can do all of that whenever you want. I just…” He hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I need you to understand that everything you do makes me feel things a thousand times stronger. And I’m worried that when things get… more intense, you won’t be ready.”
Oh. So he thought I couldn’t handle more than making out. Maybe he was right. Or maybe he was trying to protect me.
[We’ll take it slow,] I signed, keeping my eyes on his.
His shoulders relaxed as he nodded. “Yeah. We’ll take it slow.”
He leaned in again, but before his lips touched mine, his gaze flicked upward, and his eyes widened. “Shit,” he muttered.
My whole body went rigid. I was scared to look, but I still turned my head. Jasper stood there in nothing but his jammers, staring at us, frozen just like we were.
“Oh, uh…” He let out a chuckle and scratched the side of his head. “Hey.”
I pressed my lips together. The initial spike of panic faded into relief, though the awkwardness lingered.
“Hey,” Ashby said. Despite the surprise, he didn’t push me away. His arms stayed around me tightly.
Jasper kept looking between us, probably running through a thousand questions in his head. “So… you’re dating?” His tone wasn’t judgmental. Just curious.
“We’re together,” Ashby said with a hint of pride in his voice.
“Cool.” Jasper smiled genuinely. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, dude.”
That was it. Jasper didn’t ask any more questions. He accepted it and moved on without a single weird look.
“I didn’t mean to interrupt,” he added. “I found out I have a free period, so I thought I’d come for a swim.”
“Oh, sure. No worries,” Ashby replied, glancing at the large clock on the wall. “We need to head out anyway. Still gotta shower and all.”
Jasper nodded and headed toward the benches to put his towel down.
I looked at Ashby. He smiled at me and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. “Come on. We don’t want to be late.”
Once we were out of the pool, I wrapped my towel around myself and watched Jasper pull on his cap, tucking his blond curls underneath. When he noticed me watching, he grinned.
“I already learned something in ASL. Watch this.”
He lifted his hands and signed, [Hi, my name is Jasper and I love to swim.]
His fingerspelling was a little shaky, but I understood him perfectly. I smiled widely, that familiar warmth spreading through my chest. [That was great!]
“Good job, dude,” Ashby said.
“Thanks. I watched some videos last night. I also FaceTimed Scottie so she could teach me more. It’s actually really fun.”
That made me happier than anything. I never assumed anyone would learn sign for me. Still, seeing someone care enough to try to learn my language meant everything.
“All right, I’ll see you at lunch,” he said with a wave.
I waved back, then followed Ashby to the changing rooms, where we showered and got dressed separately. I’d kept my hair in a bun so it wouldn’t get wet. I didn’t have time to dry it before class. I brushed it quickly in front of the mirror, packed my bag, and headed into the hall to wait for him.
When he appeared, the first thing I noticed was his sweater. It was the same one I was wearing—navy blue with red stripes.
I smiled and tugged at my own sleeves. He’d kept his word from two Saturdays ago, when I came home from shopping with Mom and showed him what I’d bought.
“We’re matching,” he said with a smirk. “We look great.”
[We should match more often.]
“We definitely should.” He cupped the back of my head and kissed my forehead, then took the bag with my towel and bikini. “I’ll walk you to your locker.”
[Okay.]
I wanted to hold his hand on the way back to the main building, but I kept my arms at my sides. His arm brushed against mine now and then, and that was all I’d get until we were alone again. It was enough for now.
When we reached my locker, he opened it as if it were his own and placed the bag inside. Then, because he knew my schedule, he grabbed the two books I’d stacked neatly on the bottom shelf and tucked them under his arm before leaning against the locker next to mine.
He studied me for a moment, his face gentle and soft. “Did you like it at the pool?”
I nodded quickly. [I want to come every Monday morning.]
“Yeah? I wouldn’t mind.” His smile shifted into a smirk, then faded as his expression turned serious. “But you might become too big a distraction, and I really can’t afford that with all the swim meets coming up.”
My eyes widened. [I don’t want to distract you.]
He chuckled and reached out, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I’m just messing with you, sweet girl. I want you around as much as possible. Living in the same house and going to the same school really isn’t enough.”
I scrunched my nose and gently bumped my fist against his chest. [You’re silly.]
“Silly, huh?” His grin returned. “I don’t care what you call me, as long as you still call me your boyfriend.”
For a second, I was scared someone around us might have heard him. But the students in the hallway were too busy to pay us any attention.
My face burned bright red. God, he deserved an award for how easily he could make me blush.
[I will forever call you my boyfriend.]
“Boyfriend?” Stan suddenly appeared beside us, slinging an arm around my shoulders. “Whose boyfriend are we talking about?”
I glanced at Ashby. For a moment, we both hesitated. Jasper already knew. Stan was our best friend, too. Telling him wouldn’t hurt, and he’d probably figure it out soon anyway.
“Uh…” Ashby scratched the back of his head and looked at me again.
I gave a small shrug. [He can know.]
“I can know what? Just spit it out,” Stan whined, looking back and forth between us.
I smiled at Ashby and nodded, waiting for him to say it.
“We were talking about Milow’s boyfriend.”
Stan frowned. “Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?”
It took Ashby and me a second to realize what he meant. He already knew.
“Don’t look so shocked. Did you really think I wouldn’t figure it out?”
“I figured you would eventually,” Ashby said with a chuckle. “I just didn’t think you already had. We’ve only been together a few days.”
Stan’s frown deepened. “Really? I thought that had been going on for at least four months.”
My eyes widened. Had we really made it that obvious? We had always been close. Ashby had never shied away from showing affection. Still, I didn’t think we’d ever done anything that made it look like we were dating.
Ashby laughed. “Okay, well… you got it right, dude.”
Stan grinned down at me, but his expression quickly twisted. “This means I’ll be third-wheeling from now on.”
I pursed my lips and nudged his side with my elbow. [You have Scottie.]
“Not really. We’re still not a couple,” he said with a heavy, theatrical sigh.
“That’s because you’ve yet to ask me out on an actual date.” Scottie stepped up beside Ashby, her arms crossed over her chest.