Above Water ✔️

11 - the butterfly

Another week came and went.

Dallas was seemingly unfazed by what I'd said when I was drunk, so that was cool. We spent most of our free time together. Not usually just the two of us, but when the group went to dinner, we'd sit next to each other. Or, like the following Wednesday, when a few of us were out by the pool, he took the lounge chair right beside me instead of the other ten empty ones around the perimeter.

The kids were all inside having lunch so it was just us grown-ups. Carlos and Jasmine were wading in the shallow end, Ashton was sunbathing while Frasier was reading a book–probably with lots of pictures–beside her, and Caitlyn was helping her boyfriend Ben clean the grill to prepare for dinner.

I was trying to focus on writing in my journal but I couldn't over the loud game of Marco Polo taking place not too far from us.

"Marco!"

"Pol–ah!"

Dallas chuckled at the childlike shenanigans and opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately stopped short when we both saw a figure approaching the pool gate. I felt my ears perk in recognition. The pool boy.

He nodded at us politely and did his routine tests of the pool. When he saw me, he smiled a little bigger. I guessed he remembered me, too.

While Dallas was not my usual type–as I made abundantly clear under the influence–Pool Boy was. I loved tattoos and a rugged look. Even though he had a baby face, he still looked like he'd fight at bars, or something. Whatever it was, I liked it. I couldn't get ahead of myself, though.

"Hello, again," I said with a smile.

"How are you?"

I looked around. I was sitting in the sunlight at my best friend's vacation home with a seltzer in my hand. "Can't complain," I said, chuckling. I watched him look at me, then at Dallas, then back at me.

He went back to doing his job without a word. I went back to writing in my journal. Today I wasn't expressing anything of importance. It was mostly just a recap of what's been happening and how I was feeling.

All in all, things were going alright. I was relaxing, eating good food, sleeping a lot. The only thing was how badly I missed Nelly Furtado. Ms. Cline called me and told me she was doing great, just hiding in her favorite spot behind the TV in my bedroom a lot. I knew my absence would freak her out, but the feeling was mutual. Back home, my cat was my most constant form of socialization.

"Uh, Meek," Caitlyn called from the small outdoor kitchenette, "I think the pool boy's into you."

I looked up to make sure he didn't hear that, but he was gone. I was about to protest when he came back with a bottle of some kind of pool chemical in hand. Caitlyn wiggled her eyebrows at me and I just shook my head.

"Have you been to the seafood restaurant down the road yet?"

I looked up, expecting him to be addressing the whole group, but he was looking directly at me. It took me by surprise. So much so that I didn't even know what to say for a moment.

Dallas spoke up for me. "The Crab Shack? We went the other night. It was really good," he said and Pool Boy nodded in agreement.

He finished whatever he was doing and walked away once again. As soon as he was out of ear shot, I was bombarded.

"Go get his number, Meek!"

"He kept looking at you."

"He wants some New York ass!"

The last one was Carlos, unsurprisingly. I rolled my eyes but still considered it. I glanced at Dallas, who was already looking at me. "Do you think he was looking at me?" I asked.