Seeing Blind (Rough Draft)

Chapter Thirteen

Avery wore a skimpy, orange bikini to the pool the next night. She only owned bikinis, most from three years ago since it's not like she ever really used them, and her body hadn't changed at all.

She still had a little girl's body, in her eyes.

Ambrose was thirty minutes late, but Avery wasn't surprised. She probably would have done the same thing in his position. She stood as far away from the pool as she could with the entrance still in sight.

If only she could see a light or something. She was getting nervous. What if Ben, LeBron, and Ric were out walking around? What if they came for a night swim? What if they saw her here and decided to finish what they started last week?

Avery shivered. Ambrose better hurry the hell up.

After ten more minutes of waiting for Ambrose, Avery walked to the entrance, intending to leave but she just ended up bumping into a tall body instead.

Their hands steadied her, and a deep voice said, "whoa there. Sorry, I'm late."

Ambrose.

"You're forty minutes late. What took you so long? I'm about to go back to the house."

"Ollie needed me to work an extra shift at the restaurant. There's a huge crowd tonight, and you'd know that if you were working."

Avery's cheeks reddened. "I work tomorrow night. And the whole weekend. So there. I'm getting eased into it."

"Well, that's surprising."

Avery glared up at him, though his face was shadowed.

"I can feel the burn from that stare through my skin," he said sarcastically. "Come on, you want the lessons or not?"

"I want them."

"Good, then follow me."

Avery reluctantly followed Ambrose to the pool. "You do know how to swim, right?" She should have asked yesterday. She just assumed.

"I wouldn't have agreed if I didn't."

"Oh."

"Come on, let's get in the pool."

Right, they needed to be in the pool for their arrangement to work.

Ambrose had taken his shirt off and was already in the pool, staring up at Avery, his dark skin blending into the night. "Well, get in already Princess."

His ease with the water annoyed Avery. Everyone who seemed one with the water annoyed her, being afraid of the water after swimming for hours at beaches and pools annoyed her. She was just annoyed these days.

"Fine." Avery took off her plain, blue tank top and jean shorts, showing off her skimpy, orange bikini, and stared down at the water. Could she go in? She knew nothing would come out of the water and bite her, dragging her down.

But that didn't stop her heart rate from picking up.

"Chicken, Princess?"

Scared, actually. She would never tell him that, though, it would give him too much animutation. "I will! Hold your horses!" She needed to come up with a nickname for him if he was going to keep calling her princess.

Avery sat on the ledge, slowly easing her way into the pool. She always loved the feel of the water on her skin, she almost thought she forgot the feeling. She was in the shallow end, testing the waters (literally) before venturing out where Ambrose stood, tall and shadowed in the middle of the pool.