Page 30 of The Lie
Roman gives off a deep chuckle, and I can’t wipe the grin from my face. I love that sound.
“It’s that one day, we played this game and went home. And that was the last day we did that. Without knowing, it was the last day you played with your friends like that. No more fun with fake swords or dress up tutus. It became all about makeup and football, parties, and drinking. And just like that, no more innocent fun like a sword fight with friends.”
There’s only silence as we all look at each other, processing my words. Because it’s true. Hunter’s mom kept these things for next time, only there wasn’t a next time. And none of us saw that coming. How could we have known that was the last time?
“This is that moment, right now.” Roman is the first to speak. He pulls up some shards of grass and throws them as he looks over at the pool. The sun shining on the blue looks like glitter, so inviting.
“Yeah, this is it,” I reply. The fun and laugher are gone. I killed the happy mood.
“Wanna go swimming?” Hunter asks, changing the subject. I give him a puzzled look. “What? You can borrow something to swim in.”
That’s what he thinks I’m worried about? I hold up my arm, showing him the cast.
His brows raise and he shakes his head. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that. We can wrap it in a plastic bag.”
I smile at him. It would be nice to swim before the weather changes and it gets too cold. Today’s nice, but storms are expected over the next week. So, it’s maybe the last chance I’ll have.
“Yeah, okay, go get a bag…and a t-shirt. I’ll swim.”
Hunter jumps up and runs to his house, leaving me alone with Roman.
Roman reaches over and holds my fingers with his right hand. I hold still, my pulse picking up at the touch. He moves closer and runs the tip of his index finger over my cast. I realize he’s looking at the drawings. But I can’t think straight, the butterflies in my belly intensifying at his touch. He runs a finger over a few drawings, and I see the smirk on his face when he finds a hidden cock and balls. I designed around them with the intention of blending the vulgar drawing into the surrounding images so you have to really look for it. But teachers won’t call me out on it at school.
“Did Hunter draw all these?” he asks.
I snort. “And Asher. The two of them had a dick-drawing competition on my arm. I would have preferred anything but dicks. But boys and their junk.” I shrug. Could have been worse, they could have drawn boobs too.
Roman laughs. He actually shows teeth.Holy shit. I need to find more things to make him laugh again. I’ve missed that sound and I want it back.
Hunter comes running back toward us, holding up a black trash bag and a white t-shirt. I shake my head.
“Really? White? You didn’t happen to have any other colors?”
He looks to the tee in his hand, and I watch as the light bulb goes off inside his head and he chuckles to himself. “Ah, yeah. Actually, I wasn’t thinking. You can have the one I’m wearing now.”
Dropping the white one and the trash bag, he takes of his tee in one swift move. Holy shit. That was smooth. No idea why, but that’s the sexiest way to take off a t-shirt.
“Okay, both of you turn around, and I will pop this on.”
I take off my tee and shorts. My bra and underwear will be fine getting wet since I can dry them in the sun after. Plus, I can always borrow some boxers from Hunter if I need too. But I don’t want to give anyone an eyeful, or for Roman to see my bruises. Hence, the tee to cover me and for them to turn around. Hunter’s shirt smells just like him, and it’s warm. I hug my waist and take a deep breath of his scent. His cologne is yummy.
When I turn around, both of them are facing away from me in their boxers, blue for Hunter and black for Roman. Those are some tight asses. I chuckle to myself.
I spot the fading bruises on Roman’s back, but I don’t linger on them too long. If this is truly the last day he will give us, I’m not going to bring up anything about the day of the accident.
“Ready.”
They turn. Roman holds out the trash bag, and Hunter grins widely with duct tape. Oh god. Really? I look at my arm and hope it won’t rip out hairs.Or skin.
“All right, cover me up.” I hold my arm out, and they work together to make it secure. I’m still a little worried, but I don’t want to miss out on this. This has been a really nice afternoon, and I don’t want it to stop.
Hunter is the first to run and dive in. He’s gotten much better at that. Roman holds out his hand to me, and I take it with a smile. He leads me around to the stairs, helps me in, and I sit on the first step. I’m a little worried the bag won’t hold and I will mess up my cast.
“Just wait there,” Roman instructs, and he dashes off to the garage. It doesn’t take long before he emerges with a purple pool float lounger. It’s all pumped up and ready to go.
He jogs back over and places it in front of me. With Roman holding my hand, I stand, and he helps me on so I don’t fall off. I wiggle to sit up, the plastic sticking to my thighs and making horrible sounds as I try to get comfy. I laugh; it sounds like I’m farting. I lie my head back and close my eyes.
“Ready?” Roman asks and I hum. I haven’t been in a pool in ages, and I haven’t been in this one in four years. I forgot how much I love the water.
