Gift of a Lifetime

V

When we were outside, I noticed the sun was already starting to go down, and Jayden had to turn the pool light on. He took his glasses off and put them safe on a dusty glass table next to the back door. I froze when he took his shirt off. I hadn't went swimming with him since that night. I shook the thought from my head. Why was it such a big deal?

I got taking my own shirt off over with, threw it over onto one of the chairs that Jayden had thrown his on. We stood side by side, facing the deepest part of the pool.

"Who's going first?" He challenged.

He both gave each other a look and, at the same time, began backing up from the edge so neither of us could get pushed in. He began grabbing me by the arms and trying to steer me back towards it, and, though he was taller than me, we had even strength.

When I had released the pressure on him to attempt to spin him around, he shoved me backwards, jerking his arms back. But before he had gotten far enough I grabbed his forearms and dragged him in with me.

We hit the water with a big splash, and bubbles surrounded me. Suddenly I felt him grab me and drag me up. When I resurfaced, he shouted out, hair in his eyes, "You shithead!"

He dived after me, sending us tumbling downwards, kicking out and struggling, laughing whilst under the water. He broke free from my grip and I lost him. I felt around, my eyes closed shut to keep the water out, and then when I ran out of breath I rushed back up.

Instantly I searched for him, looking left and right when suddenly a weight from behind me took me back underwater. I managed to turn around and accidentally blew a smack to his face, which didn't hit that hard because of the water. I felt him let go of me and swim back up, me close behind.

• • •

By the time night had fallen, we were sharing calm conversation over in the shallow end. There was not one awkward moment then.

After a few moments of staring at the stars when we concluded our last conversation about our parents -which I had found out that his mother had cheated on his father and he became an alcoholic, but he was calming down now- I finally decided to start another chat. What it was going to be about I didn't know.

"Jayden," I could see the beauty of his illuminated face, a bright blue green glint coming from inside of the water. Sharp nose and jawline, and his freckles were more noticeable in the light. When he looked at me, announcing his attention silently, I didn't know what to say.

"Look how many stars are out tonight," He said after a few silent moments.

When I looked up, I could see at the bottom of my vision him looking at me, the sky was a beautiful indigo, lit with speckles of all sizes. "Wow," I whispered.

"I didn't know you were interested in stars."

"No," I looked back down at him, "I've just never seen the sky like this before. I never really pay attention."

As I was gazing at him, I noticed how close we were. I couldn't help smiling.

"What?" He smiled back, a chuckle in the back of his throat.

When I didn't answer, he bent his knees so he was down to my level and wrapped his arms around my waist. I hugged him around his shoulders, still not used to the feeling of his bare skin on mine, yet all the same so comfortable with it.

"When do you wanna get out?" I mumbled after a few seconds, letting him go.

He shrugged. "We can stay out here all night if we want. Looks like my dad won't be home tonight."

"Wanna get out, then?" I suggested, "I'm getting kind of tired."

"Sure."

• • •

His bed was a bit small. When we both noticed this after walking in, he looked at me. "Let's sleep on the sofa." He pointed out the door, rushing me out in a playful way.

"Oh, wait here, I'll get blankets and pillows," He left me in the living room for surprisingly just a few seconds and arrived with two blankets and two pillows.

There was only one couch, but it was big enough for both of us. "So here's what we're gonna do," he began, setting one pillow on one end of the couch, "My head is going to go here, and then," putting the other pillow on the opposite end, "Your head will be here. You get me?"

"Yeah, yeah."

Once we got all the lights off, Jayden grabbed the TV remote and laid down with me, finding a good position on his back and sorted out a blanket on top of him. Again, the dumb glare on his glasses stopped me from seeing his expression.

Already closing my eyes, I told him, "I don't care what you put on."

"Godzilla it is, then," Then I heard the click of a button on the remote, and the distant sound of the intro played. "Oh, cool, it's barely starting."

He set the remote on the ground, and then the room was silent except for the faint roar of the giant lizard on the screen, usually followed by a human-like scream. After a few minutes of going in and out, I finally fell asleep.

It felt like 5 minutes before I felt weight fall on my chest gently. When I opened my eyes I immediately recognized Jayden. I held my arms up, not knowing what to do.

"It's just me," he murmured sluggishly. I rested my hands on his bare back, feeling the familiar build of his torso.

"Night," I muttered back.