Page 124 of Collision
“And you are still a caveman.” I kick my legs in the air, trying to free myself. “I’m not taking off my shirt.”
When we get to the poolside, he puts me down. “Why not? It looks like shit on you.”
“Lovely,” I scoff, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Who gave it to you?”
“Alex.”
His jaw tightens, but I pretend not to see it.
“All the more reason to get it off your back.”
After thinking about it for a few seconds, I decide to go for it. I take a deep breath and pull up the hem of my shirt. But just as I’m about to take it off, I freeze. I can’t do it. It feels like a thousand eyes are on me.
“What’s the problem?” Thomas asks.
I lean toward him and confess in a low voice, “I’m extremely ashamed.”
Thomas looks at me in astonishment. “What are you ashamed of?”
“Of my body,” I answer awkwardly.
He huffs a laugh. “Bullshit. Take these clothes off or I’ll do it for you.”
I sigh again but gather all my courage and just do it. I am immediately uneasy. I feel exposed. Too exposed. Thomas fixes me with an indecipherable look that makes me want to hide.
I prepare to cover myself again, but he frowns at me. “What are you doing?”
“Getting dressed. This is exactly how I don’t want to be seen,” I mutter.
“Yeah, you should get dressed,” he says, glancing at someone over my shoulder. “Maybe then all these assholes would stop eye-fucking you. But I’m too greedy for that. Because if you get dressed, then I can’t look at you. And fuck, do I want to look at you. I want to look at you ’til it hurts.”
I look down, even more embarrassed. “How deep is the water?” I ask, trying to change the subject.
“Dunno, I’ve never been in. But we’ll find out soon. Get on my back, we’ll dive in together.”
That seems like a really stupid idea, but it does have a certain appeal to me. Mainly because I really want to feel his skin against mine again. With a leap, I cling to his back. His hands reach back to grasp me firmly by the thighs, as I lace my arms around his neck.
“You okay?”
“Yes, why?”
“You’re shivering.”
“Uh, um, yeah, it’s just really cold, that’s all,” I lie. The truth is, the idea of diving into the water scares the shit out of me, but Thomas’s presence somehow manages to alleviate a bit of my fear.
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. We can go back in and play a round of beer pong. Though, fair warning: I will crush you. Or we can even go home. Your choice.” It makes me smile, the way he tries to put me at ease and the way he takes it as read that we will leave this party together, even though we arrived separately.
“The pool is fine, but I warn you: if you leave me underwater to drown, I swear I will return from the afterlife just to slap you!” I threaten, poking his shoulder muscle with one finger.
He cocks his head slightly to look at me. “Are you telling me that I finally have a chance to get rid of you and your big mouth for good?” He clicks his tongue against his palate with an amused air. “That’s very tempting…” I swat the back of his head and we both laugh.
I bring my mouth close to his ear and feel him stiffen. “You wouldn’t last a single day without my big mouth. You’d miss it too much,” I whisper in his ear. He remains silent for a few seconds, seemingly pondering my words.
Then he murmurs, “More than you know.”
I smile shyly. Never did I think I would hear him say something like that.
