RISK & REWARD ✔️

60 | 𝘢 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺

WHEN I not only clumsily come back to the surface, but also cough up a mouthful of water and scrub the chlorine from my eyes, I find Slade silently watching me with wicked amusement in her eyes. Water runs off of her face in thin rivulets; she's still wearing that dangerous smirk, though it's gotten smaller and now rests comfortably on her features. Eyes narrowed, face flushed, chest only slightly heaving; her nostrils flare as I spit out more water and slowly turn to face her.

"We're good?" she asks, breath pushing a loose, soaked strand of hair away from her mouth. "We're good?"

I stare at her with disbelief in my eyes. "We could've been."

"Could've?" She arches a brow. "We're not good now?"

"Not since you dunked me!" I slick the water off of my face, turn towards her with a fresh fire burning in my chest. "We could've been good but no, you had to throw me under!"

"Oh, so we're only good when it's good for you?" Slade takes a step forward, brow arches challengingly. "Is that it?"

"You dunked me."

"You dunked me first."

"And I'll do it again — come here! Come here! You're real confident for someone who's swimming away from me," and I try (and fail) to grab her ankle as she turns onto her back and sweeps away. "Stop swimming away and face me, then!"

"Mm." Slade looks almost like she's dozing off as she propels herself gently through the water, not quickly but just fast enough to stay out of reach. Her eyes are half-shut, and she still somehow knows exactly where I am. She just does loops and figure-eights and I can't catch her.

"Stop!"

"Nice."

"What?"

"Ask me real nice, an' maybe."

"I'm — no! Stop swimming away from me, stop going so fast!"

"I'm not goin' fast."

"You're going fast enough!"

"Mm. Or you're just slow."

"I'm not...slow!" I argue, despite making another failed pass at Slade's leg. "You're messing with me, and—!"

"Mm." My complaints hold no weight. "Yeah."

"Are you scared to?" I try a different approach. "You're scared to stop, aren't you? You know I'll kick your ass?"

"You will?" One green eye opens; Slade regards me curiously, brow quirking.

"Yeah." I mimic her little smirk, mimic her confidence. "Yeah. I will."

"Will you?" Both eyes are on me, now, and I realize I'm turning her around. "You're gonna kick my ass?"

"Yeah. That's why you won't just stop." I hope she doesn't look down at how I can no longer touch the bottom. "You're afraid to."

Slade just hums. She regards me briefly before her eyes flutter shut; lazily, she continues on in her drowsy loop, just out of reach when my fingers stretch for her.

"Just — stop being—!"

Blip. She's gone. Just a flicker of dark skin and little black bikini bottoms and she's gone, reduced to a shadow under the water.

I think I might accidentally say "oh, shit" under my breath.

Like a shark, Slade circles me. Those same lazy circles, except now they're under the surface and I have to crane my head forward to track her and she keeps ducking out of range so I can't reach her or push her or —