"Morning," I say with a yawn, as Isa comes into the kitchen. Of course, it was Pearl who opened the door for her. Once again, I didn't get the chance to get up and do it myself.
"Hi." Leisurely, she sits down in the chair across from me. There's a small smile on her lips and humour sparkles in her eyes.
I halt, the spoon with cereal suspended mid-air. "Something up?"
The smile broadens. "What? Can't I want to spend time with my boyfriend?"
As if on command, Pearl's head pops past the doorframe, wide-eyed and all.
"YOU'RE A COUPLE??"
My heart jumps.
Seconds later, she's at my side, jumping up and down like a rubber ball, pulling my arm with violent excitement. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"
Another few seconds later, she has run out of the room, apparently looking for Mum and Dad.
"Timmy's got a girlfriend! Timmy's got a girlfriend!"
I get up. "Great. Very well done." I say it with a grin, I'm not annoyed. How could I be, seeing Pearl get so excited over my apparent well-being?
I leave the bowl of cereal on the table and make my way to the shoe rack. Isa follows.
"So you're not gonna wait for your parent's reaction?" she asks with amusement as I tie my shoes.
I shake my head. "Certainly not." They won't be just all over me, but her as well. Uncomfortable isn't even a word for it. I know there's no way around this, but right now I can delay it a little, so I will.
The heat outside is pressing. The air is heavy, but I don't mind much. I'm in a good mood.
Yes, I haven't heard of Alex yet, and I'm pretty sure he isn't doing too well, but I know we'll get through this together. If only I manage to keep my shit together.
And in that department, things are looking good.
As sweat begins to accumulate under my arms and in my neck, Isa and I make our way to the lake and around it. We talk about everything and nothing, we joke around and laugh a lot. We get along great and I can't help but feel like we've known one another for ages already.
"Is it always this hot around here in summer?" Isa asks as we arrive at a small forest and I can see energy stream back into her body, when before it had hidden away from the heat.
I shake my head. "Isn't it like that all over the country? Heat waves, draughts... Usually, it's barely warm enough for the water to be comfortable."
"Do you like swimming?"
She stops and I turn. My heart stops when I see excited curiosity in her eyes.
Despite knowing what she's on about, I say, "I guess." I'm not quick enough to come up with a good lie. If she should find out that I lied to her... I imagine that wouldn't end well.
"Wanna go for a dip, then?"
My heart is racing, thinking is hard. It's like my emotions have caught somewhere and my brain can't properly process them.
Fuck
Yeah, that's a pretty good way of putting it.
"But we don't have bathing clothes with us," I say lamely. What arguments could I possibly offer against swimming? The weather's great, I feel like my skin's melting off my bones any moment now.
She laughs. "But you do have underwear. C'mon, we're pretty much alone here, and anyway, we're boyfriend and girlfriend now. I don't mind if you see me in my underwear."
YOU ARE READING
Moonlit Waters
Romance"I'm just scared somehow that you're not even real." "And what if I wasn't? What if I wasn't, but wanted to be?" When Timothy Crow gets the ability to turn into a girl whenever he goes swimming, his first reaction is to panic, resulting in his near...
