Phil shrugs. “Only if you want to.”
The boys all take their notebooks and put them away in their cabins, and Phil breaks up group, sending the young men off to do chores. He stops me, though, with a hand on my shoulder. “You did really well talking to them.”
I shrug. “I have a lot of brothers. It’s what we do.”
“Some of these boys have never had a male presence who will actually listen to them.”
I nod. “I can tell.” I look at the group as they spread out around me, going about their chores. “I might learn as much from them as I can teach them, though.”
He squeezes my shoulder. “No doubt.”
“Where do you want me to go now?” I ask.
“Check in on Karl. I think he’s at the pool.” He looks up at me.
I lift up the leg of my jeans and look down at my tracking bracelet. “Can I get this thing wet?”
He nods. “That model can be submerged, yes. So, feel free to jump in any time.” He grins at me. “Hey Pete,” he says. I turn back. “Tonight, we’re going to let the youth boys use the pool. I’d like for you to be there in case any of them want to talk. After dinner, try to get free of whatever you’re doing?”
“Yes, sir,” I say.
I start for the pool. But at the last minute, I turn back and change into a swimsuit. I can’t help but look around for Reagan on my way. But she’s not there. Then I find her. Wearing a bathing suit and sitting in a lifeguard chair with a whistle between her lips.
I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s watching the pool with the trained eye of a professional. Then she sees me, and her face colors.
God, she’s pretty. I’m a guy, so I take in the very serviceable bathing suit she’s wearing. It’s red, and it covers all the parts of her that should be covered and then some. But she might as well be f**king nak*d as far as my nerves are concerned. And my dick, for that matter. I did mention that I’m a guy, right?
She has her legs crossed, and she has a big funky straw hat on her head, goofy white glasses and her nose is creamed with white paste. She’s f**king adorable. She blows her whistle and one of the boys running on the side of the pool slows down, looking up at her sheepishly.
Something hard bumps into the backs of my legs, making my right knee buckle. I look back to find Gonzo grinning at me. You look like you were on the wrong side of a gang fight, he signs, and then he points to my eye.
I shrug. That’s what happens you grab a girl the wrong way. Take note: Some of them can kick your ass.
I thought the other kids were lying, he says. Then he laughs. She really hit you? He looks toward Reagan and grins. That’s what you get for putting the moves on my girl. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. He points a finger at me in warning.
“Why aren’t you swimming?” I ask, using my voice.
He points to the piece of plastic. Kind of hard to breathe when it’s full of water.
“You can’t swim with that thing? Really?”
His face falls. I should have left it alone.
“Then what are you doing here?” I ask. “You could be riding horses or doing something fun.”
He looks toward Reagan. And miss seeing her legs? Absolutely not. I’ll stay right here.
I chuckle and shake my head. The boy’s funny. I’ll give him that. I pull a chair up close to him and sit down. “Just so you know,” I say. “I’ve called dibs on that one. So you can stop dreaming.”
Dude, she punched you in the face. He laughs.
I pat my chest. “I can be charming when I want to.”
When will that start? He grins.
I punch his shoulder. “Do you have any siblings?” I ask.
He shakes his head. You want to apply for the position?
This kid is a lot wittier than I would have guessed. “I already have four brothers, thank you very much. I don’t particularly want any more.”
What’s it like having that many people in one house? Must be a big house.
I shake my head. “No, it’s actually a really small apartment.” I shrug. “But it works for us.”
Do you miss them?
I nod. Particularly Sam. “I do miss them. I only got to spend one night with them before I got drafted to be your mouthpiece.”
At least I put brilliant words in your mouth. He pats his chest. I could be boring. Where would you be then?
“My life could be worse. I’m sitting by a huge pool looking at a beautiful girl with a boy who’s pretty smart.”
Careful or my head’s going to start to swell. He looks toward Reagan. Is that longing in his eyes?
“Stop scamming on my girl,” I warn.
He doesn’t take his gaze from her, but it looks less lascivious and more…needy. Do you think… His hands stop moving.
“What? Spit it out already,” I prompt.
Never mind.
“What were you about to say?” I ask, turning to face him completely. “Ask it. I won’t be able to sleep tonight unless I get to hear what’s going in that head of yours,” I tease.
I was just wondering… He looks toward Reagan again. Do you think there will ever be a girl that looks at me like she looks at you?
I glance toward the lifeguard stand. “How does she look at me?” I ask.
Like she wants to jump your bones. He laughs. But I can tell this is serious to him. More serious than he wants me to know.
I tap his leg with my foot to get his attention. “That’s not the question you should be asking yourself, doofus.”
I’m in a chair, Mr. Mentor Man. You think it’s a good idea to call me a doofus? You might affect my self-esteem.
I roll my eyes. “If you had any ego problems, I’d already know it.”
Forget I asked, he says. He looks everywhere but at me.
“There’s a lid for every pot, Karl. Some fit better than others, but there’s one made just for you. You should be asking yourself if she’s good enough for you. Every single time. Don’t ask yourself if you’re good enough for her because when you find the right fit, you won’t doubt it.”
He grins. I think he likes that answer. And I mean it.
So you think she exists?
I nod. “I think she’s just waiting to find you. So don’t f**k it up by being a smart-ass.”
He points to himself. Me? Never!
Karl’s mom approaches from the other side of the pool. She just happens to have a bucket full of water in her hand and she’s tiptoeing, so I try not to smile. But I can’t help it when she dumps the water down his back. He leans forward, wincing, but he’s also laughing.
“That’s what you get for being a shit this morning,” she says with a smirk. So this is where he gets it from. I like her even more now. She pulls a water gun out from behind her back. She hands it to Gonzo. “Reagan looks like she could use some cooling off, don’t you think?” She winks at me.
Gonzo is suddenly a man on a mission. He hides the gun down by his leg and rolls around to where Reagan is sitting. He stops below her and claps his hands together. She looks down at him, smiles, and says something, but I can’t hear what she’s saying. He grins, pulls out the squirt gun and proceeds to soak her. He doesn’t hit her in the face, but he gets the rest of her pretty well. She puts her hands up to shield herself, and it’s really pretty amusing. Suddenly, his pistol runs out of water, and she climbs down the ladder of her chair. She has a wet towel in her hand, which she proceeds to flick at him until it cracks against his knee.
“Ouch!” I whisper to myself, wincing. But he f**king loves it. He grins and throws his gun to someone in the pool to fill up. The whole time, she’s chasing him around the edge of the pool with the towel, until her dad has to come and send her back to the stand. Mr. Caster points his finger, and she pretends to pout. Then she flicks him on the ass with the towel too. He turns around, picks her up, and tosses her into the water. She floats to the surface and sputters. Her big, floppy straw hat floats there beside her. And her glasses have sunk to the bottom.
That shit’s funny. I can’t stop laughing. I laugh until my sides ache from it. She looks in my direction and narrows her eyes. She swims over to where I’m still sitting, completely dry. “You’re looking a little too amused, there, Pete,” she says. She fills her mouth with pool water and spits it from between her teeth at my foot. Damn, that’s hot. But, again, I’m a guy. We tend to get a little orally fixated. She could spit a goober and I’d still probably find it sexy.
“What are you going to do about it?” I ask, sitting forward with my elbows on my knees. She looks startled for a second. Then I realize she’s plotting. I can almost smell the gears in her mind burning, they’re working that hard. Gonzo rolls up next to me. They must have warned everyone about Gonzo’s tracheostomy tube because no one tries to get him wet and he’s careful about the edge of the pool. Next thing I know, he’s beside me, and he doesn’t take the same care with me that he took with Reagan. A blast of water hits me in the face.
I put my hands up to block him, but dammit, he’s having so much fun with it that I don’t want to stop him. Instead, I let him squirt until the gun’s empty. Then I blow water from my lips and open my eyes. She’s grinning like hell, and Gonzo’s almost as happy as she is.
“You so deserved that,” she says.
I stand up and point to her. “I’m coming for you, Reagan,” I warn. She squeals and backs away. She looks a little panicky, but then I realize she’s having fun and she’s panicking because I’m going to dunk her rather than because I’m going to touch her.
This shit is like foreplay. The really good kind. I go in the shallow end and stalk her all the way to the rope that sections off the middle of the pool. I want to touch her so badly I can taste it. “Come here, little girl,” I taunt. “Let me show you what happens when you mess with a real man.”
She laughs and ducks under the rope. She comes up smiling, though. I go under and reach for her, and she almost slides right by me, but I grab her at the last second. I slowly and gently pull her against me. We’re so close together that I can feel her heart beating against my chest. She stares into my eyes, and then her gaze drops to my lips and moves back up. “Pete,” she warns. She kicks her feet to stay afloat.
“Reagan,” I mock.
“It wasn’t my fault,” she says, but she’s a little breathless. “It was Gonzo. He planned the whole thing.”
“Liar,” I whisper. Her face flushes. I tread water with one hand and hold her against me with the other. This feels so good that I don’t want to let go.
“Reagan,” her father barks.
She looks up at him, as if she’s being dragged from a trance. I let her go, but she doesn’t move away from me. Her arm touches mine. “I want to kiss you,” I say impulsively, right beside her ear. She shivers lightly.
“You better do it soon,” she warns. “Or I’m going to have to replace you with someone more willing.” She kicks off from me and goes to the side of the pool, where she pulls herself up and climbs back into her chair. She crosses her long, tan legs, and her foot waves in the air as she fidgets. Then she looks at me and says loudly. “It better be epic, Pete. That’s all I’m saying.” She points to a place beside me. “And throw me my hat.”