Page 41 of Rot

Jordan got up, but he abandoned his cup, much as I did to mine. He grabbed my hand, and together we left the party, heading away from the clearing and deeper into the woods. I did toss one glance over my shoulder as we went, spotting Elias’s figure again. He hadn’t moved, and because of that, he was even further away now.

I hoped he saw. I hoped he wrestled with the same kind of feelings I did when I thought about him and Dana. Never thought I’d be a petty person, but there was some kind of strange satisfaction in possibly making him furious and jealous.

The lake wasn’t exactly nearby. It was a five-minute walk away from the party. A part of me thought we’d see other people there, but as we emerged from the woods and came to stand on a pebble-lined shore, I saw we were alone. Alone with the moon shining over our heads.

It was a pretty big lake, not some tiny pond full of algae or anything. No docks. Just quiet, calm nature. Objectively, it was a beautiful sight, but I was too busy thinking about Elias to fully take it in.

Jordan’s hand squeezed mine. “You want to go in?” he asked, and I could practically hear his smile, his stupid little grin.

“Aren’t there fish in there? Snakes and stuff?” I asked. I wasn’t fearful of brushing against any fish or even a snakebite or two, but it’s what other girls might’ve said. Every now and then it behooved you to act normal.

He chuckled softly. “I will protect you from any fish that come our way—and I don’t think you have to worry about snakes here. It’ll be fine. Come on.” He let go of my hand so he could take off his shirt. He set it on the ground, a mischievous glint in his eyes. He slipped off his shoes and took off his socks next. When I didn’t move, Jordan added, “It’ll be fun. I’ll keep you warm.”

It was only when he bent to take off his pants and the boxers beneath them that I realized he wanted to go skinny dipping.

That was a real thing people did? Like, it wasn’t just something that was made up? Why on earth would anyone want to bare any body of water that could have anything in it without clothes on? Seemed highly unsanitary.

I pretended to be shocked at Jordan’s forwardness, spinning around to give him my back the moment he got naked—which made him laugh at me. In reality, I didn’t want to see him naked; there was only one body I wanted to see free of clothing, and it wasnotJordan’s.

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

“Tell you what, I’ll go in first, make sure all the fish are scared away. I’ll even turn around if you don’t want me to watch.”

Hmm. Tonight was supposed to be a test, wasn’t it? Perhaps I should get over my nausea at getting naked with Jordan and just do it. Do it, get it over with, and see if anything came of it. It wasn’t like I actually had a thing for Jordan; I was using him. It was that simple.

“Okay,” I spoke after sighing. My ears heard the sounds of Jordan stepping into the water shortly after that, then wading into the water, and then what I assumed was him dunking his head beneath the water’s surface once he was deep enough.

“Water’s a little chilly, but it’s not bad,” he called out to me, and I turned to look at him about twenty feet out. All I could see was the shadow of his head above the water. His back was to the moon, so I couldn’t make out his face too well.

It was now or never.

“Turn around,” I told him, and I watched to make sure he actually did. I wasn’t modest; I didn’t care who saw me naked. But if I was pretending to be a girl afraid of some fish in the water, I’d probably not be too happy to strip in front of a guy I’d only kissed once.

Jordan turned around in the water, facing the rest of the sprawling lake to give me a bit of privacy.

I worked on taking off my boots first. The pebbles lining the shore of the lake were small enough that they didn’t hurt my feet when I stood on them barefoot. I didn’t wear socks. Hated the feeling of socks, so stifling and gross.

Within a minute, I stood before the lake, every part of me naked and bared for the world to see. And then I inhaled a deep breath and started for the water.

The moment my feet hit the water, I shivered. It was a little cold, but not completely unbearable. Jordan probably hoped we’d make our own warmth once I was with him. I… I didn’t know how far I’d let things get. Kiss him, sure. Let him hold me, maybe. Beyond that, I didn’t know.

Without a doubt, though, I could say the only guy I wanted to feel inside of me was Elias.

I took my time in wading out to Jordan, though I had to tread water once I reached him. Growing up with a pool, I’d learned to swim at a very young age. You either swam or you sank; there was no in between. Didn’t want to end up like the girl who’d drowned on my eighth birthday.

Jordan was slow to turn around, and now that I was closer to him, I could see the whites of his teeth as he grinned at me. “See? It’s not that bad, once you get used to it.” Beneath the water, his hands found my sides, and he pulled me closer to him, bringing my body against his. He kept me above the water, one of his hands dipping down to my ass to hold me, so I wouldn’t have to tread water. He was taller than me, so I assumed he was either standing on his feet or on tiptoes under the water.

My chest pressed against his. He was warm, even in the cool water, but his heat did nothing to kickstart my heart and send my body into premature bliss. I felt nothing as he held onto me, nothing at all as he gazed into my eyes and leaned his face into mine to kiss me.

And when those lips pressed against mine? It was all wrong. They tasted wrong. They felt wrong.It was just wrong.

I couldn’t even pretend to kiss him back, but Jordan must not have realized it. Maybe he was too happy to have me in his arms, naked, that he didn’t give a shit that I wasn’t feeling anything. Or maybe his ego was too big for him to even think of the possibility that I didn’t want him like that. The thought might not have occurred to him.

I didn’t know how long the kiss lasted, but it seemed like it dragged on for eternity. His grip on me strengthened, his arms locking around me. I could feel a certain part of him growing excited, even in the cool water, but again, the feeling of that twitching dick did absolutely nothing for me.

What was I doing? I didn’t want Jordan. I didn’t want any of this. This was supposed to be a test for Elias, but, I guess, it had turned into a test for me.

The sounds of footsteps behind us told me someone else had appeared on the lake’s shore, and when I heard a giggle, I knew it was a girl. Two of them, based on the different mutterings and giggles that filled the air.

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