9. Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
Then
I look like a six-year-old on her way to her first swimming party. The bright blue of my one-piece swimsuit in combination with my substantial lack of curves, reinforces my point even further.
The longer I stare at myself scrutinizing every little detail, the worse it gets. My hands drop heavy to my sides, and I let out an upset groan. This sucks.
My feet drag on the carpet as I make my way over to my closet. Please, for the love of God, let there be some sort of cover-up in here that can salvage this unfortunate situation.
I flip through item after item, and nothing immediately stands out. Gosh, this is so dumb . Why can’t I just wear a cute little bikini like everybody else? I growl in frustration and fling my hands up in the air.
Oh, right, because my mother actually threatened to kick me out of the house if I ever wore a two-piece. “If you think that I would ever let my only daughter out of the house, wearing only her bra and underwear, then you obviously don’t know me very well, Jane. If that’s something you want to do, then you don’t need to live under my roof with my rules.”
She really said that. Over a swimsuit. The worst part is, I have no doubt in my mind that she would have done it. She really would have kicked me out of the house if I went against her rules and wore a bikini instead of this Little House on the Prairie smock that I’m currently sporting.
I move back to the mirror and gaze at the reflection staring back at me. Whatever minuscule feelings of wanting to go to the lake I had in the first place have all been entirely erased.
I look like a blueberry. An Amish blueberry.
Another moan escapes me as I rush back to my closet, hoping something cute appeared in the ten seconds since I last checked.
Nope. Nothing new. I let out a string of silent curses while again moving through item by item in my closet. I pass over a “cute-as-a-button” shirt my Nan got me sophomore year and end up with a plain black tee and jean shorts. It’s nothing special, but at least it covers my suit.
Jordyn said that boys are going to be there. However, she failed to mention if she knew the boys, or if we’re both going into this blind. Wait, scratch that, she’ll have Tyler and I’ll be the awkward third wheel.
I take one more look in the mirror before I head out. I look fine. Totally fine. My long blonde hair falls loose down my back, and my freckles peek through on the bridge of my nose.
I’m not terrible-looking by any means, so if any of these new boys don’t talk to me today, it’s their loss. I cock my head and shrug my shoulders. That would leave me with more time for my homework, anyway.
We pull up to the lake, and it takes my breath away. The deep blue water juxtaposed with the vibrant green of the pine trees is something right out of a nature book. I’ve lived in Fort Collins all my life, and I can’t believe I’ve never been here before. It’s stunning.
Jordyn spots Tyler the minute we get out of the car, and they run into each other's arms like two long-lost lovers reuniting after years apart. She was literally just over at his house before we came here. They’ve only been apart for, like, three hours tops.
When their attention shifts to me, I dramatically roll my eyes and pretend to gag myself. Jordyn flips me the bird and gives Tyler a big sloppy kiss.
“Hey, Jane! Glad you could make it!” Tyler smiles, grabbing me in a full-on bear hug and lifting me off the ground.
“Thanks! Jordyn promised I could work on my homework if I came.”
He gently drops me back down and pats me on the back. “Oh, Jane, there are some guys here who would be happy to keep your mind occupied on much more exciting things than homework .” He wiggles his eyebrows up and down and grins wide at Jordyn. “If you know what I mean.”
“Ew, Tyler!” Jordyn shoves his shoulder. “Jane doesn’t even know any of the guys here. She can do her lame ol’ homework if she wants to.” Jordyn links arms with me, and Tyler gives her a little smack on the butt. She sticks her tongue out at him as we start making our way down the rocky beach.
“This is it,” Jordyn says. “If we sit right here, I can stare at Tyler’s perfect ass while he plays volleyball.” She sets her bag and towel on the ground, then proceeds to take off her swimsuit cover.
Safe to say I don’t need to worry about us wearing the same swimsuit. She’s in a tiny, hot pink bikini that compliments her warm, brown skin perfectly. Her assets are clearly out to play, and all the boys around us pause what they’re doing to admire the show. I instinctively hug my towel tighter to my chest.
“Let's go get in the water and cool off before we lay out,” Jordyn says.
“You go ahead. I’m going to set up my stuff first, then I’ll jump in.”
She nods before running down to the water, as I slowly take off my shorts. When I can see that no one is paying attention to me, I quickly take off my shirt and hope that everyone is still staring at Jordyn.
I stand on the beach, my blue one-piece swimsuit on full display, and no one even cares. Huh . I smile to myself. Maybe I do overthink things sometimes.
I begin to fan my towel out in front of me, bending over to smooth out a folded corner. Just as I’m about to stand up, someone runs into my bent-over bum and knocks me face-first into the sand.
I quickly stand up, brush the dust off my face, and turn around to see who so rudely bumped into me.
Noah Riley. Fucking typical.
“Oh, Jane! Jane? I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to… Uh…” his apology is stopped short as he looks me up and down.
The heat rushes to my cheeks, and I debate digging a me-sized hole and crawling deep inside of it to hide. I snatch up my sand-covered towel and wrap it tightly around myself. “Noah, what the hell are you doing here?”
“Well, hello to you too.” He drops the volleyball he just caught and rests his foot on top of it. “I’m here with my brother, Tyler, and some of our friends. We come here every weekend to play some volleyball, at least until it gets too cold. Hey, I really am sorry I bumped into you, are you okay?”
Tyler ? Tyler…Riley? The realization hits me over the head like a thousand-pound brick. “Of course you’d be Tyler’s brother. The same Tyler who’s been dating my best friend, Jordyn, for months.”
“Wait, Jordyn’s your friend?” he says, seemingly surprised.
“Yes, why? Is that hard to believe or something?” I clutch my sandy towel tighter.
“No, not at all. It’s just that she’s over at my house, like, every second of every day. I didn’t think she could have time for a friend, because she’s so obnoxiously all over my brother all the time.” He dribbles the volleyball back and forth between his feet.
“Um, excuse me? Tyler is all over her just as much as she’s all over him, thank you very much. Also, I will have you know that in those few and far between moments when they’re not all over each other, Jordyn is at my house doing all sorts of fun things.” Why am I justifying myself to him like this? I sound like a third-grader.
“I don’t doubt it,” he says, the corner of his mouth edging up slightly.
The silence that follows is damn near unbearable. I shuffle my feet trying to think of something snappy to say to make him go away, but before I get anything out, he cuts in and says, “So, um…this is the best time of year to jump in the lake. Most people would say that summertime is the best time, but I’ve been coming here since I was little, and September is where it’s at. The water feels great and the sun is still warm, but the trees are just starting to turn colors.” He smiles at me, and my knees wobble slightly. “If you want, I’d be happy to show you the places with the least number of rocks.”
“Oh, nope, sorry. I was just about to leave. That’s what I was doing when you, you know, bumped into me.” Remembering this fact, my knees suddenly feel very steady.
Noah opens his mouth to reply but is cut short as a pair of cold, wet arms wrap around my middle and take my towel.
“Where are you going? We just got here?” Jordyn says, drying her wet body with my towel.
Noah dips his head, trying to suppress a smile. After a beat, he lifts his eyes to mine and says, “I’ll catch ya later, Jane. Oh, by the way, I like your suit.” With this, he turns and begins walking away toward the rest of his group.
That hole of embarrassment, that I thought about digging earlier, better be big enough for me to live in for the rest of my life because, at this point, I don’t think I’ll be able to move from this spot ever again.