20. Hazel
TWENTY
Hazel
The freak storm from yesterday is gone, and Jade, Easton, and I are at the community pool so that she can see her friends and we can all enjoy the weather again.
I suggested it this morning at breakfast. This morning that followed last night…and everything Easton and I did.
We haven’t talked about it. However, we haven’t had much of a chance to either. Jade has been with us, and it’s not like either of us is going to bring up the sex we had in front of his niece.
I know that Jade was eager to get out of the house. As much as she is a reader and a homebody, she loves to be outside hanging with her friends.
And this time of year, when it's hot as hell outside, they all turn into fish.
So we headed down to the community pool. When we got there, it was as bustling and as busy as I'd ever seen it.
“Wow, it’s really busy!” Jade looks around us. “I’m glad we have passes.”
“Me, too.” Easton nods. “I think we’d be waiting in line for at least an hour if we didn’t.”
Easton holds my hand as we walk inside, showing them our wristbands that get us in all summer long.
Even though it seems silly, he warms my body with just his touch.
I know that it's a simple thing. Easton's just holding my hand, for christ's sake. We had sex last night. That means way more, doesn't it?
But something about being out in public with him, having him hold my hand, makes the butterflies in my stomach go wild.
I have to remind myself that this is all for show.
We're supposed to be like this in front of people. We're faking something that everyone needs to believe.
But what exactly are we?
We can't say that we're just friends with everything that's happened, and we can’t say we're just colleagues with everything that's happened.
I know that Easton did this to protect me, to keep me safe from the threat of Neil and his thugs that still looms over my head every minute.
But I also can't help but wonder if we both agreed to it because there's something here. There's something between us.
As much as neither of us wanted to admit that, as much as the past hangs over us just as heavy as the threat of me getting hurt again, we can't seem to stay away from each other.
“Alright, go have fun.” Easton takes Jade's towel as she flings it at him, running off towards the pool to be with some friends she found right away.
I decide to lay out, sprawled on a towel, soaking in the sun, with my laptop nearby so that I can get some work done. It doesn't take long before Easton sidles up beside me and asks how everything is going.
“You making any progress on that there novel?”
I smile, closing my laptop. “It's going okay. I wouldn't complain if I got a little bit more done before being interrupted.”
He chuckles, winking at me as he cocks a brow. “You are supposed to be enjoying time at the pool.”
“Yes, yes. I know, but it's not like I've been able to get as much work done lately, now have I?”
He doesn't miss a beat, picking up on my insinuating tone, and I wag my brows at him.
There are enough people at the pool whom we recognize from town that I'm not about to try anything right here, but considering we are supposed to be a couple, there's no harm in teasing him, right?
Easton laughs, pulling me close and laying a kiss on my forehead. “Well, has everything been saved? Do you think you can take a break for a minute?”
I look at my laptop. Deciding that I'm absolutely not going to get anything done while I'm here, I slide it into the beach bag, and I give Easton a nod.
“Yes, I can put it away. I'm sure I'll have time to work on it soon , right?”
He shrugs with a nod. “Of course. I would never keep the busy author from getting her words in.”
When he leans in this time, I expect another kiss on the forehead, but instead, he throws me over his shoulder and heads toward the pool.
“Ah, put me down! Oh my gosh, Easton, what are you doing?”
All he does is laugh, bouncing me playfully on his shoulder, which nudges me in the stomach.
“I am taking you to the pool. It's time to get this landlubber wet.”
Now I hear his innuendo, and all I can do is blush and giggle as he strides into the pool.
The water is surprisingly warm in this section, and as soon as he can, he sets me down on my feet. As I face him, a grin the size of Texas covers my face. Then, I lean up on my tip toes and give him a quick kiss.
“There.” I raise my brows. “Wet enough for you? Can I go back now?”
He squints at me. “Hardly.”
With that, Easton hauls me up into his arms again, and then we’re headed toward the rear section of the pool. I can tell there’s a drop-off here, and Easton just jumps in, me still in his arms.
We’re submerged in the water, and it takes a few seconds for us to surface and swim back to the shallower section.
As I shove my hair out of my face, I glare at him. “You're totally a bum.”
He smiles, and damn, it’s so pretty. Easton is all grins and mischief, and he seems like his real self. I can’t help but be enamored by it.
Still, that does nothing to stop me from scooping up a massive amount of water and splashing him in the face.
Easton recoils, laughing and spitting out the bit of pool water he got in his mouth, and I am all giggles.
The sun sparkles against the blue water, so clear and clean, and the din of people having conversations and their own good time around us is comfortably loud.
I know that Jade is off having the time of her life, and I see Mason and Bridget on the other side of the pool. I give them a wave.
Then, Easton comes back at me, splashing me so much that I end up tripping. He reaches out and catches me with his hand, pulling me back towards him.
I crash against his chest, slick and slippery from the water, and all we do is laugh and laugh.
The air between us charges as I'm there against his bare chest, and he stares down at me.
After a moment, everything goes still and quiet around us like we have our own private bubble of reality, and Easton leans down and kisses me.
I'm helpless to stop him, and I don't want to.
As much as I know that people are watching, and as much as I know there are so many things to be worried about right now, all I can do is be in his arms and enjoy the way this feels.
It's incredible to feel like this again, having this time together I never thought we would get back.
Once Easton was gone, that was it. I was going to move on with my life. I was never particularly skilled at that part, having failed royally. But I didn't think he would come back, and I didn't think that if he did, it would be like this .
Because this is amazing.
“Cannonball,” Jade shouts, jumping into the water right next to us and splashing Easton and me right in the face.
We laugh, and as soon as his niece resurfaces from the water, we splash her right back. Then, Easton wanders over, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her up before dropping her right back down into the pool.
This is the type of family outing at the community pool that I had always dreamed of when I was younger, and now, I get to see it really happening.
I know that I shouldn't get wrapped up in all this. I know that it's silly, but right now, all I want in the whole world is for this to be real.
Jade tries to get away, and I watch, my heart swelling with happiness, as Easton and Jade play around in the water.
Everything inside me is telling me to trust this man because he’s doing everything right, but a small part of me can’t help but be cautious.
This is a lovely distraction, but I know that Easton and I have to talk. I just…I have no idea what I want to say.