Swimming Beside Me, page 4
Alex: Why not? LOL
Emma: The same reason I didn’t want you to see the book I was reading LOL
I guess it was a show about lesbians? I didn’t know too many shows about lesbians, other than maybe The L Word.
Alex: Come on, tell me.
Emma: Promise not to laugh.
Alex: Promise
Emma: Orange is the New Black
Alex: I’ve heard that show is good
Emma: It is, you should totally watch it. Fair warning though, it has lesbians in it.
Alex: Yeah, I figured that Kenner LOL
Emma: I’m not gay though
I had to laugh at that. I think she was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince me.
Alex: Yeah, I know.
Emma: So, AJ?
Where was she going with that? What about AJ? Great, she probably thinks we’re dating now. I guess we kind of were. Not that I wanted to.
Alex: Yeah, AJ
Emma: When did that happen?
Alex: He wouldn’t leave me alone until I agreed to go on a date with him.
Emma: He’s nice. A lot of girls think he’s hot.
Alex: Yeah, I guess. He seems nice, he’s just not usually my type.
Emma: Then why are you dating him? LOL
I was asking myself the same question. I still didn’t know the answer to it.
Alex: Like you said, he’s nice. He’s probably the kind of guy I should be going for.
Emma: You want my honest opinion of AJ?
Alex: Sure
Emma: He’s so dumb. Like the dumbest of dumb. I’m not trying to be mean, he’s just not all there.
I laughed. She was right about AJ being dumb. Having any kind of intellectual conversation was impossible with him.
Emma: But, he is pretty to look at. So, there’s that.
Alex: Yeah, I guess.
Texting wasn’t enough. I wanted to get to know Emma more and this wasn’t how I wanted to do it.
Alex: Hey, want to come over to swim tomorrow? I could use a timer and Chloe isn’t very good LOL
She took forever to respond. So long that I started to get sick to my stomach. Maybe I was coming on too strong. Great, I ruined everything!
Emma: Sure. What time?
I jumped up from my bed with a huge smile on my face. She said sure! I didn’t ruin everything!
Alex: Around two?
Emma: Perfect! Just text me the address.
Emma was coming over to my house. My stomach couldn’t decide if it was more nervous or more excited. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep tonight.
Chapter 12—Emma
Last night Alex and I texted until I finally passed out. I think that was some time around two. Once we got talking, the conversation just kept flowing. We had so much in common.
For starters, we both took piano. We both also sucked at it. Though, I find it hard to believe that Alex could suck at anything. I was pretty sure she was just saying that to make me feel better about sucking. She was so thoughtful when she wanted to be.
“Hey!” Alex said when she opened her front door. She was already dressed in her swim suit. Did she have to wear a bikini? I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on swimming with her looking so…hot.
“Hey,” I smiled.
“Come on in.”
I followed Alex into the house. Chloe and Principal Blake were in the kitchen. Principal Blake was cutting fruit, while Chloe drew at the table.
“Chloe, you remember Emma?” Alex asked her sister.
“Hey Emma!”
“Hey Chlo! How’s school?”
“Good! I get to take art!”
“That is very cool.”
Chloe was a really sweet little girl. I was starting to see where she got it from. As much as Alex didn’t want to admit it, she was nice. Nicer than anyone I’d ever met. It was hard to find people that were genuinely nice.
“I’m not sure if you’ve met my mom yet,” Alex said.
“No,” her mom said. “Which is a good thing if you think about it.”
“It’s nice to meet you Principal Blake.”
“Oh, please, outside of school it’s Alicia.”
Alex laughed, walking over to the refrigerator. “Mom, this is Emma.”
“It’s nice to meet you Emma. Alex won’t stop talking about you.”
“Mom!” Alex exclaimed, stopping to look at Alicia in horror.
“What? You won’t.”
No wonder Alex and Chloe were so sweet. They’re mother was amazing. It was hard to imagine her reprimanding anyone.
Alex sighed and looked at me. “Do you want anything to drink?”
“No thanks.”
“Okay, let’s go outside.”
“Have fun!” Alicia said. “Alex has a hard time doing that sometimes.”
“Mom!”
I laughed as I followed Alex out back.
“Sorry,” Alex said.
“It’s cool. Your mom seems really cool.”
“She is. She could use a filter though. And she really flips out if I violate curfew. Like seriously, I was late by one minute one time and she went ballistic. I think she had her period though, so technically she gets a free pass.”
Talking to Alex was becoming so easy. It was like we knew each other our whole lives.
“You are so lucky that you have a pool right out back. No wonder you’re so good at swimming. You probably practice all day when you can.”
“Yeah, but we’re closing it soon. I had to beg Mom to keep it open until October. Now she thinks it’s getting too cold and she’s worried I’m going to get hypothermia.”
“She’s probably right.”
“No, don’t ever say that again,” Alex said. “I’ll have to use the pool at school like everyone else.”
“I swim there all the time, so we can always swim together.”
“Definitely.”
I wanted to spend as much time with Alex as I could. I was suddenly happy to have the new competition on the team.
“Guess what I started watching last night?” Alex said with a smirk on her face. I loved that smirk.
“Does it involve women dressed in orange?” I asked knowingly.
“It may. It is pretty funny. Lots of interesting scenes though. It’s definitely not a show I would watch with my mom.”
“Oh, yeah totally! No way!”
Alex pulled her long waves up into a pony tail. I couldn’t stop my eyes from traveling down her body. I never noticed how big her boobs were. Much bigger than mine.
She was slim. Definitely a swimmer’s body. She still had perfect curves that complimented her torso. Her whole body was…
Alex was smirking at me again.
Dammit! She saw me staring at her! Way to go Emma!
“You okay?” Alex asked.
I was sure I was blushing. Why did she have to have this effect on me? “Yeah, all good.”
“Okay,” she said. “Ready?”
“Yeah.”
Alex looked at me expectantly.
“What?” I asked.
“Did you plan on swimming with your clothes on?”
Duh.
“Right, I have my swimsuit on underneath.”
I was never like this. I was calm and collected. I wasn’t this kind of girl. The kind of girl to geek out over another person.
“Lose the clothes so we can get started Kenner,” Alex said, diving into the pool.
Alex was perfect. I just had to keep reminding myself that she was a girl. A girl that I needed to be friends with.
Chapter 13—Alex
Emma ended up staying to hang out after we got done swimming. She and I were watching TV in my room. She was catching me up on Orange is the New Black.
The sex scenes were awkward. They would be awkward even if I wasn’t sitting right next to Emma. It didn’t seem wrong to me. Two women having sex. I didn’t see what the big deal was. Why were so many people against it? Just because it’s different, doesn’t make it wrong.
We were laying together on my bed. I tensed every time Emma got closer to me. It felt like she was doing it on purpose, but that could have just been my paranoia talking. Emma made me so nervous. It was like no matter how comfortable I felt, I couldn’t shake the feeling she gave me in the pit of my stomach.
“Blake! Hello, earth to Alex.”
I looked at Emma as she waved a hand in front of me. “What?”
“Are you even paying attention?”
“Yes!”
“Then what just happened?” she asked expectantly.
“Fine, I zoned out for a second.”
Emma rolled over onto her back. “What are you thinking about?”
I was thinking about her, but I couldn’t let her know that. Emma started playing with my hair as she looked up at me on the bed.
“I love your hair,” Emma said.
“I love yours,” I smiled.
“Part of me wishes I didn’t cut it.”
“I like it like that. It suits you. It’s hot.”
Emma grinned at me excitedly. “I had it long up until last year. I just got tired of having to take care of it all the time, especially since it gets wet practically every day.”
I smiled at the image of Emma with long hair. I’m sure she looked beautiful either way. “I think it’s perfect the way it is.”
She was perfect, no matter what her hair looked like.
I mindlessly started combing my hands through her hair, massaging her scalp with my fingers. She closed her eyes in enjoyment.
It wasn’t until Mom knocked on the door that I realized what I was doing. “Come in!” I pulled my fingers from her hair, clearing my throat awkwardly.
“Hey, girls I’m ordering pizza. Emma, you’re more than welcomed to stay for dinner.”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“You’re not, you can come over for dinner anytime.”
Yes! Please come over for dinner anytime!
I was glad Mom was so welcoming. It improved the odds of Emma and I hanging out again. I was becoming too obsessive. I needed to get a grip.
“Sure, thanks Alicia,” she smiled.
“You’re welcome, Emma.”
Mom smiled at me and winked before closing my door. She was excited I made a friend so quickly. She was sure I was going to become a loner when we moved here.
“I’ll just send my mom a text, even though she probably doesn’t even give a damn where I eat dinner.”
I looked confused by this. How could her mom not care where her daughter was? Were things that bad that Emma felt like her parents didn’t even worry about her anymore?
“My parents have a lot of issues right now. They’re not terrible people, they’re just too busy dealing with themselves to be concerned with me. They’re lucky I’m not the acting out type.”
“I’m sorry. I remember when my parents fought all the time. The best thing they ever did was get divorced.”
“When did they get divorced?”
“I was thirteen, so three years ago.”
“Wait, you’re only sixteen?” Emma asked.
“Yeah, I’m always the youngest in my class.”
“Aww, you’re like a baby,” Emma said, brushing my hair out of my face.
“I don’t know if I’d consider myself a baby. Anyway, it can suck when your parents don’t get along. You always feel like you have to choose a side.”
“It’s the worst. I wish they would just get divorced already. Why even bother when they clearly hate each other?”
I felt so bad that Emma was going through this. Luckily for me, Mom tried to keep the arguments down when I or Chloe was home. Chloe was a baby at the time, so she didn’t remember the fights. I did. It’s one of the reasons I wasn’t talking to Dad.
“Some people just aren’t meant to be together, at least not forever,” I said.
“Like you and AJ?” she questioned, smiling at me.
I sighed. I hadn’t thought about AJ all day. He and I were still texting. “That has yet to be decided. We’re supposed to go to Jeff’s party together.”
Emma turned over onto her back again. She looked pensive. Maybe even bothered. “I thought you didn’t like him.”
“I didn’t say I didn’t like him. He is nice.”
“He’s just not usually your type.”
“Well, I don’t really know who my type is. I didn’t date much in Florida. It was never my focus.”
“Same. We have our whole lives for that.”
“Exactly,” I smiled. It was refreshing to find someone that agreed with me on that for once. It was even more refreshing because it was Emma.
“You shouldn’t date AJ out of obligation. If you don’t like him, just tell him that. He’s a big boy. I’m sure you won’t hurt his feelings, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
If I didn’t know any better, I would think Emma was jealous. She sounded jealous. I know it’s screwed up, but I liked that she was jealous.
I looked into her mesmerizing eyes again. They were like magnets that were impossible to look away from. When I felt myself being pulled closer to her lips, I forced myself to look away.
Emma cleared her throat and turned over to look at the TV. “We should rewind. We missed a lot.”
“Yeah,” I choked out.
We were happy now. We were in a new town with new people and new lives. A fresh start. My mom was happier than I’d seen her in a long time. I even thought she might start dating again soon.
What if whatever this thing was I felt for Emma ruined that? What if Mom didn’t like it and it stressed her out? The last thing I wanted was to cause problems for Mom, not now when our lives were finally good again.
I couldn’t afford to have a sexual identity crisis right now. I admired Emma, that was all. I wasn’t gay. Neither was Emma, according to her.
Emma and I were friends. That was good enough, right? It had to be.
Chapter 14—Emma
“Hey, where’ve you been all weekend?” Katie asked. I sat down at the lunch table with her and Kris.
“Sorry, I met up with Alex to swim.”
I spent Saturday and part of Sunday at Alex’s house. I planned to spend Sunday working on homework, but then she invited me to work on our homework together.
“Alex?” Katie asked in surprise. “As in Alex Blake?”
“Yeah.”
“I thought you hated her,” Kris said.
“I never hated her,” I said adamantly. I didn’t hate Alex. I didn’t think highly of her, but I never said I hated her.
“But you didn’t like her,” Katie insisted. “Why the sudden change?”
“She’s not so bad. She’s actually really nice when you get to know her.”
“She seemed okay when we went for pizza,” Kris shrugged.
“Speaking of which, after you left, Kyle was asking about you,” Katie said.
I looked at her curiously. “Asking about what?”
“He wanted to know if you were seeing anyone, which you totally aren’t so I told him that. He’s probably going to ask you to Jeff’s party.”
I didn’t like Kyle. He was even more annoying than AJ. The only thing he ever talked about was football and how many girls he’d slept with. “I’m not interested.”
“Emma,” Katie sighed.
“What?”
“Is there any guy in school that you’re interested in?” she asked.
“No,” I shrugged.
“No one at all?” Kris pressed.
“I’m really picky.”
“Too picky,” Katie said. “I mean it’s cool, but don’t you want to have sex at some point?”
“Katie!”
“It’s the truth girl!”
“Em, you should think about lowering your standards,” Kris said. “Otherwise you might end up a crazy old cat lady.”
That didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. I liked cats.
I smiled when I saw Alex coming up to us. “Hey!”
“Hey.” She smiled at me and looked at Katie and Kris.
“You should sit with us,” I said adamantly.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah! Of course!”
She sat down across from me. Her hair was up in a messy bun. It made her look even hotter than she usually did.
“Even Alex has a boyfriend and she just got here three weeks ago,” Kris said.
Apparently, we were still talking about that. Couldn’t they just let me be and worry about their own love lives?
“I have a boyfriend?” Alex asked.
“AJ,” Katie said. “You two are so cute together.”
“AJ isn’t my boyfriend,” she said, taking a bite of her sandwich. “We went on one date.”
“AJ really likes you,” Kris continued.
I wished she would drop it. I didn’t want to hear about AJ.
“What do you think of him?” Katie asked.
Alex looked at me uncomfortably. They didn’t have to put her on the spot like that. They meant well, but they tended to overstep. Not everyone was obsessive over guys like them.
“He’s nice. Hot.”
“Very,” Kris smiled.
“You should totally date him,” Katie said.
“We’ll see,” she smiled awkwardly.
Katie was my best friend and I loved her, but in that moment, I wanted to strangle her. She was pushing the girl of my dreams into another person’s arms.
That was the thing though. I needed to remember that Alex wasn’t mine. I couldn’t be jealous over someone I could never have.
I thought about taking Katie and Kris’ advice and trying to find a boyfriend. Maybe Kyle wouldn’t be too terrible to go out with.
How was I supposed to find a guy to date, when all I could think about was the fact that Alex would be dating AJ and not me?
Chapter 15—Alex
Coming to Jeff’s party was a bad idea. I was having a terrible time. AJ wouldn’t leave my side. Talk about clingy.
As the night went on, I started to like AJ less and less. Not only did he keep touching me, but he wouldn’t give me a second alone. It was like he was afraid that if he backed off for even a second I would disappear into thin air.
