Chapter 16 Wren #2
AS the ground turns to coarse sand beneath our shoes, we all head to the dock that sticks out across the water, beside the lake house.
The boathouse is a couple more minutes walk down the shore, but seeing the number of paddle and motor boats there makes me so proud of my friends for getting this all put together.
The air is humid and even close to the water there isn’t any relief in the form of a cool breeze.
My curls start to stick to my forehead and I grab the back of my t-shirt, pulling it over my head in a fluid motion.
The guys follow and we dump our things on the wooden slats, forming a huddle right at the end so we can dip our toes or dive in later.
I remember Mum being adamant I learnt how to swim young, but the funny part that was so Mum, was that we'd lived in a third floor apartment in Hackney.
Perching on the edge, I kick off my converse and lower my long legs into the water as giant forms leaped in next to me.
Bran and Jay shoot up after a brief pause, shaking their long hair and aiming the spray at the girls.
Merle has already settled further away and pulls out his book, whilst Phin is down to his briefs ready to jump in.
“C’mon Mae, the waters warm.” Bran wagglings his eyebrows, but she remains hesitant to join them. She looks between both men, before sighing and starts to take her towel off. The idea of fun seems to repel her.
“You too Wrenny.” he beams up at me next, swimming forward till he's close to where my feet dangle over the edge. “If you don’t come in, I’ll drag you in.” Pretending to nibble my toes, I no doubt have the weirdest bunch of friends, but I love them all.
Without giving him warning I let go of the deck and dive the short distance feet first, sliding under the surface and lingering there whilst my head clears.
The water is cool on my burning skin, the lines of my tattoos feeling hotter than the odd patch of bare skin.
Before my lungs can start to protest, I swim back up and give him a taste of his own medicine, shaking my wet hair directly into his face.
“You dick!” He shouts and I bark out a laugh. This might have been the best idea to let off some steam. The water is shallow enough here the water laps at my collar bone and I welcome the steady motion.
“Wrenny, can you help me get in?” Willow asks in a purr and it crawls up my skin. She’d left me alone five minutes ago, so I’d hoped she finally got the hint. I guessed wrong.
“Hard pass. You can get in yourself.” I say, moving further away from the dock and shrugging my shoulders. Maybe I was being spoiled spending time with someone who saw me beyond a superficial level, but the idea of even entertaining this conversation started to piss me off.
“I don’t want to sacrifice a nail.” She whines, holding out her hand to twiddle them at me. Why was she pressing this so much?
I'm knocked backwards under the water's surface as her slim form barrels into me; my immediate reaction is to catch her. I can’t recoil fast enough, just as a pair of sandals hit the wooden deck and I realise why she was suddenly interested again.
Letting go of her, I push myself back into the open water and float as I look up at the furious tiny woman.
If I scramble up and grovel on my knees, I wonder if that’ll erase this entire nightmare that has been the past twenty four hours.
I could do a lot of things on my knees, but she probably wouldn’t approve in front of everyone.
“Baby girl you came!” Phin raises his arms above his head and waves her over, but she doesn’t move from the dock, hands on her hips. Last night when I'd pushed, she’d shut me out and I dreaded it was for good. Right now, I can’t tell if she wants to drown me or consume me.
“Did the detective speak with you?” Willow asks, lingering close so I swim even further out into the lake, sinking deeper until just my eyes peer up at her above water level. We silently exchange everything we can't say right now.
“No, they’re both speaking with Lil. She’s offered them the pool guest house when the weather turns bad, so they’ll no doubt be flooded in with us for the rest of the week.”
“Surely we won’t be here for the full week?” She snipes, like it's Robin’s fault we’re all stuck here.
Merle comes to stand beside her and asks for more information on the sleeping arrangements, running a palm through his coarse hair.
He grumbles, clearly pissed she hasn't consulted him about housing them. Typically it was just like Phin’s sister to do as she pleased, a key reason I stayed away from her as much as possible.
“The weather is going to get pretty bad from today, so we’d better prepare to be locked in till it clears up,” he informs us. “Unfortunately we're on a flood plain so Nightingale and the adjoining village will get the brunt of it.”
“Yorkshire is so fucking weird. Why does a full city flood every year?” Bran says in the middle of wrestling with Jay in the water, whilst his girlfriend chews her lip, more engrossed in our conversation.
“Hey, Yorkshire is beautiful! Other places flood, its nature.” Phin says, rolling his eyes.
“Either way, the roads won’t be accessible and we’ll be here till the storm ends.” Merle repeats, but Willow continues to scowl and swims to meet Mavis next to the guys. I can finally stand to suck in air, my lungs stinging a little.
“Robbie, we’re going to throw a dinner party in the lake house later and we can play games. Oh, did you find the next clue?” Phin asks her.
“Sounds fun.” She says almost sarcastically, clearly in a foul mood but keeping her cool with him. “I did, it’s a bad one.”
Putting aside that I think she might like to drown me, I peer around to see how this piece of information goes down.
We're all suspects, so maybe someone will give themselves away.
Merle shifts from foot to foot and Mavis turns from the group, encouraging both guys to swim with her.
Bran starts a butterfly stroke, but Jay apologises because he needs to go grab his inhaler from his stuff on the patio.
He wades out, and I swim closer to the dock. “Wanna come in?” The gravitational towards her grabs me by the throat once more.
“Oh you actually want to see me now?”
Phin whistles.“Boy you fucked up.”
I shrug my shoulders. “Never stopped. It's Roo’s world and I’m just living in it.”
Her scowl deepens and I have to repress a smile because she’s so fucking cute. Not only that, but she looks sexy as sin in those little shorts. I don’t think she grasps how effortlessly gorgeous she is, and yep—there goes my dick.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“You’re adorable.” I retort, moving until I’m so close I have to strain my neck upwards. “Get in the water.”
“No.”
“Get in. Swim with me.”
“I’d rather shit in my hand and clap.”
“I mean, I’d rather you not do that and it’s too late.”
She frowns. “Too late for what?”
In one fluid motion I pull myself up against the wooden dock, using my upper body strength to pull myself out of the water.
I knew there would come a day I’d be thankful for arm day in the gym.
Perching my hips onto the edge, I grab her by the upper thighs and wrap around her as I throw us both backwards into the water below.
I can't believe I ever thought it would be safer to keep her at arms length. It’s time I stepped up my efforts and showed her just how much I want her to be mine.
“Sorry Detectives, I had nothing to do with Corbin's death. It however was me who held Wren Hastings face under the water until he stopped breathing. I feel slightly bad about it.” Robin glares, still coughing up lake water that she’d inhaled.
A pang of guilt washes over me, so as an apology I nuzzle my head into her neck and wrap her legs around my waist to keep her firmly attached.
The water is deep enough for myself, so she would go straight under if I let go.
“You’re so sexy when you threaten my life.” I whisper into her neck, unable to hide my smile that stretches so wide it hurts.
Protesting, she tries to unlatch her legs, but I keep my palms against one of her thighs and back, leaning backwards to float away from the dock.
Her arms flail around my neck and she demands me not to do that again.
I can't help but press every inch of her against me, goosebumps rippling across her arms and a flush creeping up her neck.
“I don’t have any more clean clothes and now they’re ruined.”
“You can wear my clothes. Bran might as well have packed my entire wardrobe.”
“I’m not wearing your clothes.” Her nose doing that adorable scrunch.
“Aw but how will everyone know you’re my wife if you’re not wearing clothes that smell like me?” I pout.
“Wren.”
“Roo.”
“Be serious.”
“I’m deadly serious. I’ll start rubbing up against you like a cat to make sure my scent is on you every morning.”
Removing her arms from around my neck, she splashes at my face but ends up clinging to me again when I pretend to let go of her legs.
“I am being serious. If you need anything, please tell me. I’m sorry I was really short with you last night and it was incredibly unfair of me.
Sometimes I just get really overwhelmed and my brain urges me to push people away so I can breathe.
I’m aware when I’m doing it, but I can’t stop myself from talking.
” I admit with complete honesty, putting on my metaphoric big boy pants.
We’re a breath away and if she’d let me, I could kiss her.
“I’ve never felt like this with someone, I’m so scared of messing it up.
” I whisper. The world around us feels like it's stilling, the lake gently laps at our bodies in silent praise. Our friends fall away and I’m just lost in each fleck of colour in her irises.
“I’m not someone you need to push away. Ok? If you want or need something, you have to tell me.”
Not even waiting a heartbeat, I nod. “Ok. I promise and I am really sorry.”
Sighing she leans her head against my shoulder. “I really wanted to be mad at you for longer.”
“I’m just so irresistible.” I smile into her wet hair, predicting another splash.
“No, you're an insane level clinger.”
“My dick’s an insane level–” I’m cut off by loud stomping down the dock, Lily practically blowing a gasket from her golden head. She’s screeching, causing Robin to let go of me in a panic, nearly slipping below the surface before I secure her legs to me again.
“Rob, get out of the lake this instant. Girls, all of you, we need to get ready and set up all the decorations for tonight.” Hands on both hips she blows loose curls out of her face. “I swear to god if you all don’t hurry up, I won’t do your makeup and you can’t borrow any of my clothes.”
Against Bran whines, the girls waste no time swimming back until they can wade out onto the damp sand.
They’re laughing, but the stone cold glare she’s giving us for not moving quick enough confirms she’s against this being a thing.
It’s barely been an hour since I saw them together in the woods and she’s barely calmed down.
“We’re throwing dinner in the lake house, Lil.
” Phoenix grasps his sister by the waist, but she knocks him away with the side of her shoulder, clearly not in a playful mood.
It must be a sibling thing, because he doesn’t even bat an eye at how hostile she’s being.
“Here Robbie, take my towel. You can air dry.” He points a painted nail at me and holds out one of the large white towels with the hotel logo embossed on the corner.
“That's too much work, bringing it all down here. Why can’t we use the dining room?” She asks, a bratty demand to throw the party where she wants.
Taking this moment to carry Robin over to the dock, I shift her up my body and easily lift her by the thighs till she takes hold of Phin's hand to pull her the rest of the way up. A warm buzz flares in some part of my caveman brain because I love the way I can easily lift her, probably something I should keep to myself, for now. I know I’m on thin ice at this point and by some divine fate she’s giving me another chance.
Planting my palms on the flat wood, I heave my entire body out of the water and Merle helps me stand. Lily’s trying to get him on her side for dinner in the hotel, when a chill licks down my spine and I shiver.
The heavens open and rain starts to cascade from the skies, not in little drips but full pelts that strike our bodies.
Everyone gasps and shrieks echo as we all grab our stuff, Bran hauling himself out of the lake and we all run towards the woodland path that will take us back to the house.
Phin leaves with his sister and I must have spaced, because Merle is already disappearing into the trees.
Throwing my t-shirt over my shoulder and grabbing my shoes in one hand, I wrap my arm around Robin who has cocooned herself in the giant towel.
“Wrap your legs around me.” I say, picking her up so she straddles my hip as I make a run for it and carry my little wife back to the hotel.
Imagine if she was really my wife?
Right?
Robin Ottalie Hastings has the cutest ring to it.