Fireworks 1 and 2

Chapter Twenty-Four

    When you had Ryan Silverstein grilling kosher meat twenty feet away from you, OB in all of his red-bearded glory doing cannonballs off of a rock formation to your left, and Drake walking towards you seemingly in slow motion, even if you weren't a fan of his, at some point you had to ask yourself: is this real life?

    Bri swam in front of Mia. "Did you see the way he was staring at you?"

    Mia's gaze remained on Drake, who stood at the edge of the pool looking down at them.

    Bri turned and saw what her friend was staring at. "Correction: Did you see the way he is still staring at you," she murmured. Seeing that she wasn't going to get a response out of her friend, she rolled her eyes and floated away.

    Mia repeatedly curled her arms inward, then outward to keep herself afloat. She didn't take her eyes off of him as he lifted his black tank over his head and tossed it back towards the patio chair he'd been lounging in. Didn't take her eyes off of him as he lowered himself into the pool. As he moved towards her, the look in his eyes was predatory. She held her ground and didn't break eye contact.

    "You looked like you were having so much fun, I had to join you," he said.

    "I'm sorry to pull you away from your friends," she told him, nodding towards the two women who waited for him near the patio chair.

    "They'll wait," he said.

    She narrowed her eyes at him. "Charming."

    "Relax."

    She turned her back to him and swam away.

    He followed her. "I've been meaning to apologize for how I left things back in Toronto."

    "Apology accepted," she said over her shoulder.

    "Just like that?" he asked.

    "Just like that," she confirmed.

    "Look at me for a minute."

    She didn't stop until she reached the pool's edge, the edge farthest away from the patio area. She turned and stretched her arms out across the edge. She looked at him, as he'd asked. "Yes?"

    "I really am sorry."

    "And I accept your apology," she said again. 

    "I want to just...leave that behind us," he went on. "Have a good time, focus on this album, and our collaboration together. Deal?"

     "I want to just...leave that behind us," he'd said. A memory of the kisses they'd shared played in her mind. She plastered a smile on her face and tilted her head to the side. "Sure, buddy," she said flippantly.

    He splashed water at her. "Don't be like that."

    "Be like what, friend?" She splashed water back at him.

    He continued the splashing war, and she returned the water flicks, squealing. "Call me 'friend' again," he said, moving closer to her as he continued splashing water. He didn't stop until he had her pressed against the edge of the pool.

    She looked up at him defiantly. "Well, that's what you are, right?"

    He looked down at her wordlessly, breathing hard with a dangerous glint in his eye.

    She thrust her chest forward, mashing her breasts against his chest, and daringly raised a slender eyebrow.

                                                                      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    "Whoo, check and mate," OB whooped, staring out across the pool at his friend and the girl who was dangerously close to having his friend wrapped around her pinky. OB walked around the patio, holding an updside down baseball cap. "Who wants a part of this?" he called out.

    Ryan, finally taking a break from grilling, reclined in a patio chair. He used his hand to shade over his eyes as he looked up at OB. "What trouble are you stirring up now, man?"

    "No trouble whatsoever," OB said, shaking the hat at him. "But if you want to shell out a C-note, you can be a part of this bet. I'm calling how long our boy Drizzy and this girl are going to last. Two weeks. Anyone feel like they can call it better?"

    Ryan reached over to the table at his right elbow. He dug a piece of ice out of his liquor glass. He chucked the piece of ice at OB. "That's fucked up. You're wrong for that, kid."

    "What?" OB asked innocently. "All it takes to be a part of this is a hundred dollars."

    "Who brings money in their swim trunks, man?" Chubbs muttered, clapping OB on the back as he passed by.

    OB shrugged and clapped the hat on top of his head. "Two weeks," he repeated. "I'm calling it."

    Ryan shook his head. "Rude ass," he remarked, laying his head back and closing his eyes.