Blackout

Ch 21 - We're Naked

I burst into laughter. Catching my breath, I told him, "That's a good one, Ash. You had me worried there for a minute." For some reason, no one was laughing with me. Calum was shooting death glares at his friend while Alexis, Michael, and Luke were watching us carefully. Now I was confused. "Wait. You're joking, right? You don't seriously expect me to skinny dip with you?"

"I most certainly do." His smirk couldn't get any wider.

"Ashton." Calum said his name like a curse word. "Stop."

"Oh, come on, man! Lighten up! It's not like I just asked her to have sex with me and let all of you watch. It's just swimming!"

Michael spoke up then. "I, personally, think it's a great idea. As a matter of fact, I think Alexis should join, too." This earned him a slap in the head from my friend.

A few more tense moments passed before I decided to settle this debate. "You're right, Ashton. A deal's a deal. I'm down."

Calum immediately turned his attention to me. "You don't have to. It's just a stupid game. Just tell him to fuck off."

"Cal, it's fine. I promise. Like he said, it's just swimming. It'll be fun."

I gave him a tiny kiss on his nose before standing and walking towards the lake in the distance. The alcohol in my system must have kicked in even more at that point, because I removed my shirt and tossed it at Calum's head with a laugh. Once I was far enough away from the group that I knew they wouldn't be able to see anything but my outline, I removed the rest of my clothes. I said a silent prayer to myself that I wouldn't regret this when I sobered up, and dove into the peaceful water. The lake was warm, and it actually felt really nice to take a swim. I broke the surface and wiped my eyes to clear them, looking back at the bank to see four tall figures standing stiff as a board facing the water.

Alexis, on the other hand, was laughing her ass off. "How's the water?" she shouted towards me.

"Perfect!" I yelled back. "You should come in!"

It didn't take much to convince her. She immediately started running towards the water, shedding clothes as she went. Within a minute, she dove in and swam up beside me. Both of us were laughing now. It was the middle of the night, we were drunk, we had just stripped in front of four strangers who just so happen to be in a famous band, and we were now swimming naked in a public lake. How could you not laugh?

The boys were still standing on the bank, still as statues. I'm not sure if they were in shock or awe. Probably a little of both. I decided to give them a little prompt. "Hey, boys! Are you just going to stand there and watch us like a bunch of pervs, or are you gonna join us?"

That was all it took to snap them out of their trance. They started running towards the water like a herd of cattle, their clothes flying everywhere. It seemed to be a race between them of who could strip the fastest and be the first in the water with us. Michael shoved Luke as he was hopping on one foot attempting to remove a sock, causing him to lose his balance completely and topple to the ground. Calum fell over on his own as he was struggling to remove his pants. I thought I could make out the words "fucking skinny jeans" as he laid on the ground wrestling with them. Not surprisingly, it was Ashton who finished stripping first, and he jumped into the water with an excited yelp.

Once he surfaced, he began swimming towards where Lex and I were. Calum took notice of this, though, and let out an angry yell. "Oi! Hands off my woman, Irwin!" He began to tug on his jeans frantically, letting out a shout of victory once he finally untangled himself.

Michael and Luke ran past him as he stood up. They jumped in ahead of Calum, also making their way to us. Once Calum finally made it over, he started pushing the other guys away. "Out of my way, bitches!"

He stopped in front of me, and turned around so I was facing his back. "Uhn uh. Go feast your eyes elsewhere. And not on Alexis, either."

The boys pouted and went off towards the deeper water, Alexis following behind. The two of us stayed back where the water was shallow enough for us to stand on the bottom but still be mostly covered.

"Thank God they're gone," I said, turning Calum to face me. "Now that were naked, we may as well fuck." His eyes got big, his mouth dropped open, and he took several steps back from me. With all his sputtering and fumbling around, I couldn't keep a straight face very long. "I'm kidding!"

He immediately relaxed. "Oh. Yeah. Yeah, of course. I knew that. Duh."

He was obviously embarrassed, so I decided to pick on him a little more. "But now I'm a little offended. Do you not want to fuck me?"

"What?! No! Yes! I mean, no, that's not what I meant. And yes, I do. I mean, yes, that's something I would consider. Fuck, I don't mean I'd have to think about it, I just mean..."

There were practically tears rolling down my face from laughing so hard. It was time to let the poor kid off the hook. "Calum! Chill out. I'm totally messing with you. I'm not having sex with you in this lake, so you can calm down." He seemed to relax again, and I took this opportunity to fully take in his features. The kid really was beautiful. His dark hair was stuck to his forehead, and his deep brown eyes were focused on me. His shoulders were broad and muscular, his chest toned and defined. Couple all of that with his tanned skin, and he was honestly the most beautiful boy I had ever seen.

"Whatcha thinking about?" he asked with a slight smirk.

I chose not to answer his question. "Come here."

"Are you sure? I mean, we're, well... we're naked."

I gave him a little laugh. "Yes, Calum. I realize that. Come here." He carefully made his way towards me. As soon as he was close enough, I reached out and placed my hands around his neck.

He closed the remaining distance and tentarively placed his hands on my hips, resting his forehead against mine. "Hi," he whispered.

"Hi yourself."

I lost track of how long we stood there. It could have been an hour, or it could have been just a few minutes. But it didn't matter. Even in my most exposed and vulnerable state, I still felt completely comfortable with him. And as he leaned in to close those last few inches between us, I knew with all my heart that the thing I had been trying to deny all night was really true.

I was falling in love with Calum Hood.