Page 18 of When Our Stars Aligned

“What?” She pops out of the water and moves her goggles to the top of her head. “Are you going to tell me that I’m hogging your lane again?”

“No.” I roll my eyes and duck my head under the rope into her lane. “Come here,” I tell her, but before she can respond, I place my arms around her waist and spin her so her back is flat against my chest. As soon as her body is flush against mine, an overwhelming and very foreign feeling comes over me. I can’t quite figure out what it is, but I like it. I grab her right hand and place it up against the side of the pool.

“Wh-What are you doing?” she stammers. Shit. I think I accidentally scared her. It wasn’t intentional, but I’ve quickly realized that being around Aly throws me off-balance.

“Put your hand right here.” I slowly move her hand up and down the side of the pool. “Do you feel that?”

“I…umm…oh wait!” I feel her do a little hop when she realizes that the wall isn’t as smooth as it should be.

“There’s a flaw in the liner. It’s faint, but once you know where it is, you can’t unsee it. It goes straight down and ends near the middle.” She tries to turn to look at me, but I can’t let go of her waist…not yet. Even though we’re surrounded by chlorine, I can still detect the scent of her shampoo, some type of coconut-vanilla mixture. I lean down close to her ear. “When that comes into view, start counting. It takes three strokes for me, but it might take five or six for you. As for the deep end, try using the filter as your guide. It’s a bit of a pain in the ass since it’s in your periphery, but you get used to it eventually.”

“Thank you,” she says in a near whisper. The sound of her soft voice and her body up against mine send me into overdrive. I release her waist and quickly duck back under the lane line to continue my swim. I don’t stop until she finishes her workout and leaves the pool area.

13

Jax

Tonight, we are celebrating Alex’s birthday. It’s not for a few more days, but today is the only day everyone could get together. Gabby made Alex his favorite empanadas for dinner, then Michelle made him a double chocolate almond raspberry cake. Now, the girls are primping to go to The Local for a few drinks.

I managed to ignore Aly throughout dinner. I know I need to be careful; the girl is doing strange things to me. I got too close to her at the pool the other day. I could’ve easily shown her the mark in the pool without touching her, but something about her makes me want to be as close as possible. We ended up in the elevator the other day and I purposely reached for the button at the same time just so I could brush my hand against hers. Yeah, I find myself drawn to her, but this shit has to stop. There are a ton of reasons why we’re not right for each other.

“So, what are your big plans for the actual day?” Carter asks Alex while we wait for the girls to get ready. He turns towards the counter and starts eating some baked stuff Michelle has made.

“Work, man. Smitty’s wife just gave birth, so he’s out on paternity leave. Everyone is taking turns filling in for him. But I’m going home to visit my family next weekend.” He stretches his arms and places them behind his head. “My parents miss their golden child.”

“Their golden child?” Aly asks as she walks out of her room. I notice she’s a minimalist when it comes to her looks. She doesn’t overdo her makeup and wears small, simplistic jewelry. That short denim skirt and the deep purple halter top that wraps gracefully around her neck do absolutely nothing for me. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

“Don’t you know? I’m the youngest of seven, Legs. My parents stopped once they had me…’cause why mess with perfection?” He gives her a wink.

“Yes, I’m sure it had nothing to do with the fact that your mom was exhausted after having all those kids.” She spins around to face the kitchen area. “Geez, Carter! Are you eating again?”

Carter holds up a plastic container. “I saw these when I was cleaning. I figured it was fair game,” he says with a full mouth of…what the hell is he eating?

Aly walks over to Carter and pulls out something that looks like a giant piece of male anatomy. She busts out in a fit of giggles. “Michelle! What are these?”

“Yeah, they are my latest Pinterest fail.” Michelle sighs, coming out of her room. “They’re supposed to be biscotti, but something went wrong.”

“Oh, something definitely went wrong.” Aly giggles, still holding the phallic cookie.

“Dude! Put that down! You’re literally eating dick!” Alex yells at Carter.

“Well, it tastes delicious!” Carter takes another bite. I cringe. Something about this scene feels cannibalistic. “Try some, Aly!” he encourages.

I let out an audible gasping sound and everyone swings their head to look at me. For some reason, the thought of this wholesome-looking girl eating a pornographic cookie makes me cringe. Also, I think I may be jealous of the cookie.

Aly takes the cookie, looks me straight in the eye, and breaks off a piece. All three of us guys wince in vicarious horror. I take it back; I am no longer jealous of the cookie. She pops the cookie in her mouth and her eyes go wide. “Oh my God! Michelle, these are fantastic!”

“Really?” Michelle asks with wonder. “I was so disappointed with how they looked that I didn’t even try one.”

“Oh, yes,” Aly gushes. “They’re definitely not the texture of biscotti, but they could make a good butter cookie. Do I taste vanilla and…lemon?”

“Orange, actually!” Michelle corrects. “It was supposed to be like a creamsicle!”

Alex begins to choke on air.

“Oh, Alex, grow up.” Aly rolls her eyes, takes another cookie, and hands it to him. “Here, try it.” We watch as a small showdown goes on between Alex and Aly. Alex clearly does not want to try it, but Aly won’t back down.

“Oh, come on, Alex.” Gabby comes up from behind Aly. She must’ve been watching the shit show from the hallway. “I would figure a tough man like you would be secure enough in his manhood to try a cookie shaped like…well, his manhood.”

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