Page 136 of Faking Forever 1
FAKING FOREVER
with a robust laugh right from the gut as I lift her out of the water, dropping the ball. Trudging deeper into the water, I spun us around, listening to the music that was her laughter.
The more I spun, the more music I got. I could spin for hours for a chance to listen all night.
We get so deep in the water that we stop spinning and smash into it, going under. Opening my eyes does nothing when it’s dark outside, but I couldn’t help but take my chances. Somenights, the moon was so bright that it was like the Earth’s very own night light. Tonight was one of those nights—and her beauty was worth taking the chance at seeing the view. Her eyes were already on me, her hair floating around her head like we were in space instead of water. She smiles, using one finger to push me away, swimming away from me and leaving me behind.
I follow her, waving my arms through the heavy forces around me until she goes for the surface with us meeting at the top. Feeling the seal of water break over my head, I push the water from my hair with my hands, taking in a wad of air. Paisley pushes her hands over her hair all the way to her neck, looking at me as her hands fall back in the water while she catches her breath. Her lashes were pinched together in different sections from being damp and her face was perfectly dewy, glowing from the silver lighting.
“How crazy is it that this is us now?” she asks, rubbing her lips together afterward.
“I’ve been manifesting for quite some time. It’s not as crazy as it seems.” I smile at her.
“Manifesting?” she sneers. “Manifesting what, exactly?”
“You, doofus.” I chuckle.
“Oh…” Her head drops down, hiding her smile. “Right.”
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A LITTLE MORE TIME
She swims closer to me, snaking her arms around herself.
“You’re cold now?” I embrace her, chuckling more at how quickly she regretted her decision.
“Shut up. We aren’t being as active as I thought we would be.” She nuzzles her face into my chest.
“We’ll go back.” I hold an arm around her, using my other arm to direct us back to shore.
Now that she’d mentioned it, itwaspretty chilly outside.
She was about to go somewhere where it’s most likely like this more often than not; it never dawned on me until now. That didn’t mean she needed to arrive there with a cold, though.
Back at the truck, we both sat inside with the heat on blast, for her sake only. I was already sweating balls, but it wasn’t as big of a deal as long as she was comfortable. Neither of us could find a valid reason to go home. We were fixing for any excuse to have a little more time alone before there was no more. I focused on drying my hair instead of how warm it was, cracking the window slightly.
“Just turn the heat down,” she says, reaching for the dial.
Thank fucking God.
“I don’t want you to get cold, that’s all. I suffer in silence all the time.” I smirk, peeking at her from before dropping the towel on my head.
“You’re such an idiot,” she says, rolling her eyes and smacking my bare stomach. “I don’t like when you make self-deprecating jokes about you being unwell in the head.”
“Ah, Pea, I’m just kidding, baby…” I trail out my last word.
“It’s only a joke.” I wiggle a finger at her side, to which she bends away.
“I know…” she says softly. “But it’s serious to me. I’m worried about your mental health.”
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The smile starts to fade from my face and I lean over the middle console. “Paisley, I’mallgood. What’s bugging you out so bad about it?”
She lightly flares her nostrils, pushing hair behind her ears.
