Late Night Talking

Chapter One: The Pool

I'm home alone. My mom is out of town on a girl's trip and my dad is in Europe for work. I call my best friends, April and Callie, to see if they want to come over and hang out. April is busy with family stuff but Callie said she would love to spend time with me.

It's around 7 pm and Callie and I are sitting on the couch, watching Scream 6. We had ordered pizza for dinner and I made some salad on the side. I don't handle horror movies well, so I'm clutching a pillow. Our dishes remain on the coffee table, untouched since we placed them there. Ghostface lunges out of the closet and attacks one of the characters. I jump out of my seat and scream. Callie laughs and pauses the movie, watching me run to the bathroom while still holding onto the pillow. She follows behind me and leans on the doorframe.

"You know we don't have to watch the rest."

"No no, it's fine. I want to finish it." I say, still scared shitless.

"You sure?"

I wash my hands and walk back to the living room with her. "Yeah, it's fine. Besides, we're only like 30 minutes in."

We find our seats on the couch and press play. Jenna Ortega is on screen and I feel my face go flush. Goddamn, that woman is hot. Ghostface attacks them again and I remember why I was holding the pillow. Someone is screaming bloody murder (pun intended) on the TV but I don't see anything as I've covered my face with the pillow. The screams stop and I'm too scared to look up. Then I hear my favourite sound in the whole wide world: the intro song to Bluey. Smiling, I remove the pillow and see Callie grinning stupidly at me.

"You're too stubborn for your own good."

"Oh please, as if you can say anything." I may tease her, but really I'm grateful she stopped the movie.

We end up watching three or four episodes of Bluey before we decide to shut off the TV.

"We should probably clean up" I sigh.

Callie gets up and stands in front of me holding out her hands: "C'mon, up ya go"

"Nooo but I don't wannaaaa" I whine. She talks to me as if I were a dog. (Though I wouldn't mind being her bitch)

"Come on Arizona."

I roll my eyes and stand up. "Good girl" she smirks. I blush, feeling my cheeks go red.

Shortly after, the counters had been cleared and wiped, the dishwasher was loaded and run, and the blankets were neatly folded and put away. The house was clean and the sun had set. The moon shone brightly through the back windows.

"It's so clear out... can we go outside?" Callie asks me, her eyes lit up in the darkness.

"Yeah sure" We make our way to my backyard and sit on the side of the inground pool. I watch her watch the stars in awe.

"So pretty," I say breathlessly.

"It is"

She didn't notice that I wasn't talking about the stars in the sky. Callie looks at me with gentle eyes. She smiles softly; her lips look so kissable in the moonlight. What I wouldn't give to kiss her right now... We hold eye contact for what feels like an eternity. I snap out of it.

"Do you want to go swimming?" I abruptly interrupt our heartfelt moment with the question.

"But I didn't bring a swimsuit". Her head cocks to the side, like a dog when you say w.a.l.k. or t.r.e.a.t. I raise my eyebrows, giving her a suggestive look.

"Oh okay" She bites her bottom lip and stands up. Bringing her arms above her head, she strips herself of her top. Her skin, soft as silk, revealed like a secret. No one dares to speak. Slowly, I lift my hoodie above my head and off my body. The cold night air gives me goosebumps as it touches my skin. I feel her watching me. Her eyes hungrily take in every inch of my exposed skin, basking in my presence. I reach behind my back to undo my bra clasp. The red lacy piece of garment falls, joining my hoodie on the floor. My nipples go noticeably hard at the drastic temperature change.

"Enjoying the show?" I say, my voice raspy, suggestive.

"Very much so" She licks her lips, bringing the bottom one in between her teeth.

I smirk, and pull down my pants, over my ass. Lower, down to my knees, and lower, to my ankles, until finally, they're completely off my body. I discard them into the pile of clothes that has gathered on the ground. My lacy red panties are all that's left. I take them off as well and see Callie's face flush.

"Your turn, honey." She follows suit and strips herself of her clothing, one piece at a time, taunting me as if she knows I've dreamt about her doing this very thing. We stand there, fully nude, staring at each other's bodies. We make eye contact.

"Ready to go for a swim?"

"After you," She says.

***

The warm water glides swiftly against my bare skin. Callie looks stunning in the moonlight. I swim to the deep end and float on my back, gazing at the stars. They really are incredible. My hair floats around me, enjoying the freedom of the water. The tips of my breasts are exposed to the crisp night air, making my nipples harden once again. Falling In Love by Cigarettes After Sex starts playing quietly in the background. Callie must've connected to the speaker. She swims next to me and floats on her back, our bodies close together. I feel her hand grasp mine. We're holding hands underneath the moonlight.

"If we were in a book, what do you think the readers would be thinking right now?" I ask

"They would probably be begging for us to get together" She answers earnestly.

I look over and face her. A smile pulls at my lips and I can't help but oblige. "I love your smile. It suits you."

She smiles back. "Well, I love your smile, and your face."

"I love your personality, how you can always make me laugh."

We compliment each other back and forth like it's a competition. "Well, I love your tits." I retort.

She snorts "I love your ass"

"I love your-" I pause "All of you, I love all of you." My tone shifts, vulnerability seeping through my words. I see her gaze flicker downward to my lips, and back up to my eyes. We hold eye contact and don't let go.

"I love you too," She says, her voice a quiet whisper. The song changes. Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol starts playing. This song always makes me cry. Callie hums along to the tune and I join her. We sing in unison: "If I lay here, if I just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world"

The song comes to an end and a tear runs down my cheek. Callie tells me I sing beautifully. I say it's because we were singing together.

"I guess we're just made to be, you and I" Callie surprises me with her words.

A soft smile finds its way onto my face and my cheeks go flush.

A twig snaps in the distance, drawing our attention to the trees and interrupting our moment-- or whatever the hell that just was.

A baby raccoon scurries across the lawn. Two others follow behind it. "Okay that was adorable," I state the obvious

"You're adorable," I blush at her words. Luckily it's dark enough I don't think she saw me.

"Okay, I'm getting cold. Let's go inside." We get out of the pool and dry off.