Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
RILEY
Word traveled fast that I was with the Tritons. I was getting looks of both envy and piqued interest as the homecoming dance got underway.
The gymnasium was all decked out to match the Under the Sea theme. There were giant lanterns hanging from the ceiling that looked like jellyfish, and hanging from strings were clear balloons that looked like bubbles. The lighting was a soft blue that made me feel like I was under water.
After a few dances with Morgan, I went to find Ivy. My gut told me I needed to repair the damage I had done by keeping things from her. I found her sitting at a table, texting with a grin on her face.
I sat down next to her. "You look happy."
She finished her message and slid her phone away. "So do you. How quick one falls for the enemies."
"They aren't so bad." I snorted. "Look, Ivy, I don't want to lose you because of my choices."
Ivy turned toward me. "It's like I don't even know who you are anymore. You're hiding something and all I want to do is make sure you're protected."
"You're hiding something too." Her eyes widened and then cut across the room to the staff table where Mr. Gale was sitting with the other chaperones. I put my hand on hers. "When did it happen?"
She pulled her hand away, placing it in her lap.
She kept her eyes locked on the other table, but Mr. Gale wasn't even paying attention.
"I met him on Sunday on the way home from your place when I stopped to get coffee.
I didn't even know he was going to be working here.
He's only twenty-five." She put her cheek on her fist and sighed. "He's perfect, Riley."
I bit my inner cheek to stop myself from saying anything negative. He gave me a bad feeling, and even the Tritons said he was up to something.
"Just... be careful." She looked at me in disbelief. "I know, I know. But he's older and he works here. Isn't that against some rule?"
"We're being careful." She looked back to the table he was at and I followed her stare. He was gone. "Are you being careful with your... harem?"
I laughed. "I wouldn't call them that. I'm having fun."
"Well, so am I. If you have three boyfriends, I'm allowed to have one that's a little unconventional." She sat up straighter as Blake, Jax, and Morgan came to the table and sat.
"We’ll talk tomorrow, okay?" I wanted to tell her everything now, but a dance wasn't exactly the best environment for having a heart to heart.
"I'm going to go dance." She stood and looked down at me. "Tomorrow after the swim meet. You, me, and a gallon of ice cream."
She walked away, and I smiled, feeling hopeful that everything would be fine between us. It had to be because I was unwilling to lose her.
"What was all that about?" Blake picked up a water bottle and practically drank the whole thing in one go.
"Just girl talk." I stood just as an upbeat song came on. "Who wants to dance?"
"I need to go talk to Ryan about the race next Friday." Morgan headed off toward a group of guys that looked like they were up to no good.
"The three of us can dance." Blake shot me a wink and took my hand. "What do you say, Jax? We can make a Riley sandwich."
"Have you two ever... you know..." I looked between them.
"What?" Jax brought his water to his lips.
I stifled a giggle. "Been with each other?"
Water spewed across the table and Jax started coughing. Blake threw his head back and laughed before pulling me onto the dance floor.
"We haven't, and we haven't shared a girl. Jax is a solo type of man." Blake spun me and then wrapped his arm around my waist. He put his mouth against my ear. "So am I, but I can be persuaded to have a threesome if that's something you're into."
I buried my face against his shoulder as we moved to the music. The mental images in my head were sexy, but I could barely handle one dick, let alone two.
Warmth surrounded me as Jax came behind me and put his hands on my hips. These two were literally too much for me to handle, and my thighs clenched together as my body reacted to their closeness.
They weren't as good at dancing as Morgan, but that didn't matter with the way we were pressed together. Blake's chest pushed against my breasts and his leg slid between mine. If I lowered just slightly, he'd hit just the right spot.
Jax's hands moved down and his fingers brushed the crease where my legs and hips connected. His length pressed against my ass and I suddenly felt overheated.
I stepped out from between them. "I'm going to go use the restroom." I walked off the dance floor and headed out into the main hallway that connected the basketball facility and the aquatic center.
After taking care of business and calming down, I exited the bathroom and headed back down the hall.
"Riley." My name echoed down the hall and I turned at the sound of it. No one was there. "Come to me."
I shook my head, trying to clear the fuzziness that had suddenly fogged up my brain. "Who's there?"
"Riley." The voice was male and pulled me forward toward the aquatic center. "Good girl. Keep coming."
I tried to open my mouth to scream for help, but there was a disconnect between my actions and my thoughts. It was like I was in a sleep paralysis dream where I was struggling to wake up, but nothing was working.
My feet carried me in through the lobby and then into the pool area that was dark besides a single light in the competition pool. My brain panicked as my feet drew closer to the edge.
I dropped my purse before coming to a stop at the edge. The front of my shoes were perfectly aligned with the lip of the pool.
"Where is the knife?" The voice echoed in my head, and I fought back against giving an answer. The voice laughed, and the water started to churn in a circle.
"Who... are... you?" I managed to get out between clenched teeth. My fingernails dug into my palms and my head felt like it might explode. An inner part of me wanted to succumb to this man's voice and give myself to him.
"Give me the knife." The water began rising from the center of the pool in a swirl and wind kicked up my dress and blew my hair in my face. Lightning lit up the sky outside and my legs started to buckle.
"I don't have it." I gasped for air as the exertion took my breath away.
What looked like a huge arm made completely of water reached out and grabbed me around the waist, pulling me toward the swirling vortex. "You're lying."
The hand pushed me down into the pool for several seconds before pulling me out. I coughed and tried to pry the hand off me, but my own hand went right through it.
"It's not in your house. Where is it?"
When I didn't answer, the hand took me back under for longer.
"Please, I don't have it!" If he had been in my house, I was glad I carried it with me most of the time. When it wasn't with me, I hid it at the bottom of a garment bag inside my closet.
"You're too calm not to have it close by. Give it to me or-" Suddenly, the hand let go, and I dropped into the pool, the swirling wave of water pulling me under.
The chlorine burned my eyes, and I tried to swim as the water pulled me around. It felt alive and I had no strength to win against it.
My lungs strained not to let out air, and I was taken back to the day I was seven. It felt like an invisible wave was pulling me to my death. I couldn't hold it any longer and exhaled, bubbles coming out in a rush.
Arms wrapped around me, and just as I was about to inhale, my head was above water. I couldn't get air in my lungs and began panicking, elbowing the body behind me as I was taken to the side of the pool.
The doors to the aquatic center slammed open, and I was pulled out of the pool by Jax and Morgan.
"What the hell happened?" Blake was frantically checking me over and began rubbing my back as I gasped in precious air.
Mr. Gale pulled himself out of the pool, his back heaving from exertion. "She must have fallen in. I saw her struggling to come up and jumped in."
Jax took off his jacket and wrapped it around me. "Ri, what the hell happened?"
I brought the back of my hand to my mouth and stopped a sob from escaping. I shook my head because Mr. Gale didn't need to hear about the water monster attacking me. I wasn't completely sure I hadn't hallucinated the whole thing.
"Let's get her into something dry. I have some clean sweats in my locker." Blake scooped me up and headed to the locker room.
My teeth chattered and I clutched onto Blake's suit jacket, trying to pull myself closer to his warmth. Had I imagined everything that happened? It wasn't possible for water to talk or move like a human. But it had, and it was after one thing—the knife.
"Get a towel." Blake set me down on a bench near his locker and opened it. "Do you want Morgan to help you change, since you two have... you know?"
"You can help me."
He looked surprised and then knelt in front of me, taking a foot and removing my shoe. Morgan dropped a towel next to me and walked behind me, unzipping my dress and unhooking the halter.
I shivered harder as the cool air in the locker room hit my damp skin. The dress had a built-in bra, so the dress flapped down, exposing my breasts to Jax and Blake.
Jax's gaze heated and then he looked away. "What happened out there?"
"It was a m-monster." My jaw was starting to hurt from how my teeth were chattering. "A water monster."
Blake pulled me to my feet and the wet dress slid down and plopped onto the floor. Morgan wrapped the towel around me and I held onto the ends of it, covering myself.
"A water monster?" Jax came to stand in front of me and pulled me against him, rubbing my back. "What do you mean?"
"It was a man's voice that lured me to the pool and then the water swirled. A hand that was made of water grabbed me." The guys remained silent, so I continued. "It... he wanted to know where the knife was."
"You didn't tell him, did you?" Jax's hand stilled on my back.
"No. It was hard not to though." I felt like a blubbering idiot. "I didn't have control of myself."