Chapter Twenty-Two

 

Colton

 

 

 

Elle and I wave the bus with the knitters goodbye and go change out of our costumes into our own clothes. By the time we head back out again, the park is deserted. Every guest has gone home, and apart from a handful of crew members walking to the exit and the cleaning crew doing their jobs, there’s not a soul in sight. Perfect.

“Ready?” I ask.

Elle entwines her fingers with mine and nods. “I am. Unless you’ve planned something… weird?”

I laugh. “You sound just like Maggie, always suspicious about everything.”

“Aren’t you afraid she’s going to get suspicious about us not coming home on time?”

“I called her this afternoon to tell her I had to work overtime. There’s no harm in staying out later since I’ve already missed dinner with her anyway. It’ll be fine.”

Relief crosses her face. She’s so concerned about Maggie accidentally discovering we’re together. Thank goodness we’re telling her soon. It’ll be much better to have everything out in the open, and to be able to enjoy each other’s company without worrying about getting caught.

I lead her to the outer corner of the park where a staff building connects to Splash ’n Fun, the adjoining water park that Frank acquired three years ago. I begged him to let me use the indoor pool tonight. He caved when I told him I’d reconsider his offer of managing the park.

“We’re going swimming?” Elle throws me a surprised look.

“Uh-huh.”

“But I haven’t got my bathing suit. Not even a towel.”

I swipe the key card Frank gave me and open the staff corridor. “There are clean towels in here.”

She arches an eyebrow. “And bathing suits?”

“There are none. I mean, there’s a shop here, but I don’t feel like stealing something.”

“We could pay for it.”

I shrug. “I don’t know how to operate the cash register without setting off the alarm. Look, it’s no big deal.”

“I don’t think I’m comfortable swimming in the nude.”

“Who said anything about skinny-dipping? I thought we could just go in our underwear.”

“Oh,” she says. “Okay. I’m wearing a sports bra, so that will work.”

I turn toward her and take her hands in mine. “Elle, I’d never force you to do anything you’re not comfortable with. You do know that, right?”

The corners of her mouth lift and her features soften. “I do. Thank you. So, does this mean I won’t get to see your tomato butt?”

“What? Who told you about that?”

She laughs in that adorable way of hers. “The knitting club ladies. Apparently, you made quite the impression on them. Not only today, but when you were still wearing diapers as well.”

I shake my head and grin. “Unbelievable.”

She catches my eye and I know there’s something she doesn’t want to say. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s silly,” she says.

“You can tell me.”

She sighs. “I don’t mind swimming in my underwear, but I don’t exactly have a dream body. I don’t want you to laugh when you see me.”

I put my hand on her cheeks and caress her lips with my thumb before kissing her. “Stop it. You’re beautiful. I would never laugh at the way you look.”

“I guess, but I’m not sure you’ve noticed the fat that—”

I silence her with another kiss. “Shh. I don’t want you to finish that sentence, okay? You’re the most beautiful woman in every room and in every pool.”

She kisses me back, long and hard. At this rate, we’ll never even make it into the water. Not that it matters. A pool, a dumpster, a sandy beach, or a construction site… As long as I can be with Elle, I don’t care where we are.

“Will you show me the dressing rooms?” she asks.

I point her in the right direction. While she disappears into a dressing room, I pick out some songs on my phone and stream the playlist to my portable music player. It’s waterproof so if the device gets wet, it won’t be a problem. I strip down to my boxershorts, then lower myself into the warm water and turn my body to face the ceiling. I love how silent it is in here. Nothing but the soft music playing and the gentle splashing of my feet in the water.

A few minutes later, Elle joins me in the pool. I wrap her in my arms, and we bob up and down without speaking.

“I wish we could freeze time and stay here forever,” I whisper in her ear, breaking the silence between us.

Her breath tickles my earlobe as she replies. “Same. I don’t know how I got to be so lucky.”

All I want is to kiss her repeatedly, only coming up for air to catch a breath. Since no one else is around, that’s exactly what we do.

As soon as our lips lock together, it’s like time and space warp and no longer make sense to me. The way she kisses and touches me lets me know she feels the same way. The moon casts a gorgeous shadow over the water. For this moment to be even more perfect is impossible. It already is perfect, giving me the kind of oxytocin high that will carry me through whatever life throws my way. I don’t want to think of the future, though. All that matters is right now. Us. Together.

My head is spinning. I’m so in love with her that I might explode.

“This feels so great,” she murmurs. “I don’t ever want to stop kissing you.”

“Then don’t,” I say with a laugh. “Please don’t.”

She bites her lip. “But you might leave soon.”

I shrug and grin at her while wiping a wet strand of hair from her face. “I think I’m going to stay right here with you, Elle. You’re way too important to me to jeopardize our future.”

We kiss and swim and chat in the moonlit pool. I can’t remember the last time I felt this good and at ease. It’s been years, that’s for sure.

Right when I pull Elle close again for another kiss, a door slams. My heart skips a beat. No one knows we’re here, except for Frank, who took off hours ago. What’s going on?

Elle and I turn around as the door to the pool opens. Dread fills my veins. At the edge of the pool, the intruder comes to a standstill.

“Maggie, this is not what it seems,” I mumble. “I mean, it is, but…”

She’s fuming so bad, I’m afraid she’s going to go up in flames any moment. “What the actual heck, Colton? Is this why you were being held up, huh?”

“Maggie, please, it’s not your brother’s fault,” Elle interjects.

She harrumphs. “Yeah, nothing ever is.”

“We were going to tell you tomorrow,” I try.

My sister throws her hands in the air. “I don’t care. You lied to me.”

“How did you even know we were here?”

She taps her foot on the ground. “I ran into Zeke on my way home. He was taking his grandmother to the dentist in our street. Apparently, she damaged her teeth during a roller coaster ride with you.”

“Myrtle is Zeke’s grandmother?” I ask in surprise.

“That’s not the point! He told me the tour ended hours ago. I thought you’d be home soon after. Remember how you told me you’d be home by nine? Well, when neither of you showed up, I got worried. I tried calling you both, to no avail, so I had to call Frank, who did tell me the truth about where to find you. I came straight here, saw the lights were on, and thought you’d drowned.”

I frown. “Drowned? Seriously, stop watching those crime shows, sis.”

She growls like she’s a wolf ready to devour me. “That. Is. Not. The. Point.”

“Are you mad we’re dating? Because it’s our life and you don’t have a say in it.” I pull Elle even closer to emphasize my words.

“I do when I’m the one taking calls about Vermont. All while my best friend thinks she’s got a future with you right here in Summerville Creek,” she spits out. “That’s right, don’t look so surprised. I put two and two together long before tonight. You two were always disappearing somewhere or having work meetings. I’m not blind, you know. I can spot a person in love when I see one.”

“What’s in Vermont?” Elle asks, looking terrified.

Oh crap.

“You didn’t even tell her about Vermont, did you? By the way, your offer on that house got accepted. At least, according to your realtor who called me on our landline with the news a few hours ago since he couldn’t reach your mobile.”

I turn to Elle, who has gone as pale as a ghost. She pulls away from me, and it feels like a punch in the gut. I don’t like this distance between us. “Don’t jump to conclusions, Elle. “Please.”

“You’re leaving? For real? But you told me nothing was set in stone yet. In fact, you told me you were staying right here just an hour ago. Was that a lie?”

“I meant it. Look, I made an offer on that house right before things got serious between us.”

She swallows and moves away from me. “I knew you were set on leaving, so I can’t be mad about that, but you told me your plans had changed.”

“I know, but now that the offer on the house got accepted… I don’t know what I want anymore. I’m sorry.”

“Are you going to do it? Move to Vermont?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. Probably. I mean, it’s been my plan all along.”

“You don’t know? What about us? Do we still have a future together?”

“I don’t know. I want us to be together, but… I’m sorry, I need time to process all of this.”

She swims away from me, pushes herself up to exit the pool, and grabs a towel. “Will you take me home?” she asks Maggie. “I’m going to get dressed.”

Elle scurries away before I can stop her. Maggie turns to me again, her face cold as stone. “This is exactly why I didn’t want you two to date. I’d like nothing more than to see you two ride off into the sunset, or in this particular case, Vermont, but you blew it. I knew you’d sweep her off her feet, only to break her heart. I can’t believe you did this to her. She’s my best friend. What am I supposed to do now, huh? If I take her side, you’ll hate me, and if I side with you, I might lose my best friend. You promised me nothing like this would ever happen again. You’re such a liar!” She stamps her foot. “Ugh, I’m going home. Don’t bother talking to either of us again tonight.”