Page 28 of Run To You
I shake my head. “Maybe. I mean, it would be an awesome experience. If I go it would only be for a few weeks. Just to help get set up and attend the launch. Bella and Becca are already planning a trip. You—“ It comes out on its own, and for a nanosecond I panic. ”—you should come too. If you want.”
Her mouth opens and closes like she’s doing the alphabet in her head. “You’d want me there?”
I scratch the back of my head. “I wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”
The silence that follows could be one of those heavy ones, like a stone in your shoe, but it isn’t.
Sloane grins at the floor, then at me. “I’d like that.”
And it’s the first time since she’s been back I see her smile with all her teeth—not clamped, not a mask hiding stress and anxiety.
We let that settle while we finish our drinks. My heart is thrashing along to the rhythm of a heavy metal song.
I want to fill every second with more, to not let this slide back into the weird, stilted void of before, so I point at the sliding glass doors. “If I go swimming, are you going to try to drown me?”
I promised myself I would push past…well, the past, and drag Sloane along with me as we start a new phase in our fucked up little lives. Starting with hanging out as friends, pissing about in the pool.
Sloane arches a brow, carding a hand through her new hairstyle. Without a word, she gets up and opens the door, letting in the summer breeze and chlorine of the pool. She looks over her shoulder. “Only if you wear that tragic old swimsuit. You know the one.”
I mock gasp, hand to heart. “Excuse you, the SpongeBob print is aclassic.”
It’s a swimsuit I picked up in the summer before we left for college. I fucking love it to this day.
Sloane snorts. “I still have nightmares.”
We’re already halfway outside when I realise we’re falling into old patterns, which is a comfort, and yet because of how things have been between us, our behaviour is also a little thrilling. It’s a mystery as to where we’ll end up.
The aforementioned awesome swimsuit is back at my apartment, so it looks like I’ll be swimming in my undies. Nothing I haven’t done before. Sloane strips down to her knickers and sports bra, so she’s clearly not fussed about our lack of swimming suits. Following her lead, I shuck off my clothes. We’re wearing nearly identical sports bras, which makes me laugh. I instantly think of lesbian couples who dress the same for some reason.
Wishful thinking, E!
The water’s freezing as I launch myself in with an impressive cannonball. For a second, I kind of want to die, but Sloane’s laugh is so ridiculous and pure that it’s immediately worth it. She follows me in, arms flailing. We’re both yelling at the cold, and my teeth are chattering so hard I might shatter them.
Why haven’t they heated the fucking thing?
For the first time since Sloane smacked herself back into my life, I’m not thinking about the past or the next crisis. Just the deep, bone-warming thrill of being close to her again.
When we haul ourselves out and collapse on the deck, she looks at me, water streaming off her nose. “Thank you for not hating me.”
I shake my head with a rueful smile. “You make it impossible.”
We dick about for a few hours, alternating between swimming and sunbathing. Nothing more is mentioned in regards to the past, and I’m happy with that.
I’m just getting dry again when I hear a door to the main house open. Craning my head, I look straight into Mrs Bishop’s eyes. Her smile widens significantly, and we both know what it means that I’m here.
“Eden, look at you,” she gasps, power-walking her way towards me. I jump to my feet just in time to be caught in a strong hug. My eyes shoot to the side, and I see Sloane smiling at us both.
“Hey,” is my lame arse reply.
“Welcome back,” she says before letting me go and turning to Sloane. “We’re grilling again this evening. You could invite Becca to join us now that Eden’s here.”
I can see Sloane weighing it up. She’s trying to figure out if it’s too much too soon, so I try to take the pressure off.
“That sounds like a great plan. Is it cool if I invite Pia, too?”
Mrs B knows all the players in our weird little gang.
“Oh yes. A dip in the pool might help relieve some strain on the poor girl.”
