Above Water ✔️

32 - f*ck me goodbye [m]

Three weeks came and went. I finished the summer with a sun burn, no thanks to Dallas missing a large spot on my back while lathering sunblock on me before we spent the day on the beach. Carlos and Scott grilled burgers and dogs and we feasted back at the house, reminiscing on what might have been the best summer yet.

We knew we wouldn't all be able to get together like this again for a few years. Erick's parents still rented the place out on a weekly basis every summer, so they couldn't lose the passive income by pawning it off to their kids every year.

It was hard to swallow the fact that I was going to be getting on a plane in the morning, saying goodbye to this house and my friends and . . .

And Dallas.

He seemed more vibrant than ever since he told me he was accepted for the internship. I was happy for him, and we spent one night looking at bedrooms for rent in the area. He got in contact with some guy named Joe who was renting out his guest house behind his property.

It seemed to be working out well for him. He would be flying back to New York with Phoebe and she was going to help him pack when they got back.

Since it was the last day, we were all feeling extra chummy. And drink. Me, especially. I was so drunk, I wasn't sure I could climb the stairs. I was grateful to my past self for packing earlier in the day so I wouldn't have to do it last minute, like Dallas.

"So what's the plan for Deek?" Carlos asked.

"Deek?" I said, unimpressed.

We were all sitting around the pool deck, half of us in the pool and the other half lounging around. It was late, the sun long gone, and we all squinted to see each other under the moonlight. I was floating in a orange slice inner tube with Dallas hanging off the side between my legs.

Dallas chuckled, his hands holding onto me at my waist. "Not us having a couple name," he said, catching my eye.

"Yeah, Deek. You guys going to elope when we get back home, or what?" Carlos teased and threw back the rest of his beer.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, letting Dallas take this one. We'd received so many nosy questions about what was going on between us over the past month or so that we were used to it. We were at a mutual standpoint of just telling people that we were just casual for the summer. It was easiest that way. And more polite than my way of doing it—telling them to fuck off and mind their own business—according to Dallas.

"Who's to say we haven't already?" Dallas joked and hooked his fingers under the waistband of my swim trunks. Carlos giggled like a child, making me roll my eyes behind my eyelids. "I'm actually moving down here for a bit for a school thing."

"Wait, so you're breaking up?" Jasmine asked.

"We aren't together," Dallas replied, his voice a bit sharper.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. He looked back and raised an eyebrow, but I just shrugged. I liked the way he looked when his hair was wet. It always fell a bit messier than when it was dry and gave him a more rugged, human look.

Without warning, I tucked my limbs in and sunk into the hole of the inner tube, sending Dallas backwards with the splash. I was pleasantly intoxicated and wanted to end the night with the hot blonde on top of me, so when I resurfaced, I gave him the look.

He told me it drove him crazy. When I gave him a hazy-eyed stare with my lips slightly pouted. I didn't even know I did it until he pointed it out, but then I started using it to my advantage. What was better than having a hot guy at my heels, ready to give me what I wanted?