"Austin!" I giggle-squealed to my best friend, who was lifting me off the ground. "Put me down!"
Austin laughed and carried me to the edge of the pool, holding his arms out, pretending to drop me in the water. Several of our friends were smiling and chuckling to theirselves as they watched Austin and I act like we were little kids.
"I don't wanna get wet!" I squealed at him as he lowered me closer to the water, the hem of my white sundress dragging on top of the chlorinated water. "Austin!" I was laughing. I knew he was bluffing. That is, until he lifted me up, spun himself around and fell backwards into the pool, taking me with him. Water splashed up all over the hot, paved ground outside his house.
It was the third pool party we'd held this summer together, as neighbours. And since we had been best friends for six years, this was the thirteenth pool party we'd held.
When we surfaced, I sputtered for air. I knew that m hair was matted down and my makeup was probably smeared, and there was a good chance that when the water seeped through my thin dress, it'd be see-through. He still held onto me, I realized that I was clutching onto his desperately. I hadn't quite got my balance in the water and probably wouldn't be able to swim for a minute. The drop had scared me, my heart was beating in my chest, like I had just run for hours. One of my girlfriends, Zoë, was smiling. Her arm was holding her pink iPhone, probably taking a video of us. "Really, Zo?" I asked, still holding onto Austin, who had paddled us over to the shallow end of the pool.
Zoë giggled. "Why don't you just date already? It's obvious you like each other." Zoë Banks was great at making people feel awkward. I could feel my face get red as Austin chuckled. One of my other friends, Paige, was laughing a bit too. I caught her eye and she winked at me. I giggled. She could always lighten the mood. Austin stood up and lifted me out of the water, placing me on my feet on the hot ground. I quickly stepped into the shade, where the ground was cool. He'd walked over to get a Coke from the cooler. He tossed me a Pepsi. I sat beside my friend and cousin, Ty.
"Emily." He teased.
"Ty." I teased back. It was something we'd been saying for years, like a really weird greeting. Just as I popped the tab on my Pepsi, Ty took it from my hands and took a long drink from it.
"Ty!" I scolded, taking the can away. It was a quarter empty. He laughed. "Go play with lover boy. He looks lonely." Ty said to me, motioning to Austin. He was the only one that knew about my crush on Austin, so I blushed and glanced around to see if anyone had heard. Nobody had. I handed him the pop can and peeled off my dress to reveal a neon pink and green ruffled bikini. I dropped the dress on the ground, the soaked cotton making a wet slap as it hit the ground. "Keep the pop." I said to Ty as I shuffled over to Austin, standing on his feet. He was wearing sandals, and the ground was still really hot. He was shirtless, in navy blue and white swim trunks. His wet hair was somewhat matted down, but had dried the slightest bit in the sun, making it curl. He looked up at me, face-to-face. I was standing on his feet, after all.
"Emily. Hey." He said to me. I could hear Zoë yell something along the lines of 'Just kiss him!' We ignored her. I smiled at Austin, wrapping my arms around his neck for balance. He grinned. "Wanna go out back for a bit? I think Zo's running the place well enough," he teased. I smiled. "Okay."
He walked me over to the sliding glass door, picking up a random pair of pink foam flip flops in my size. Dollar-store flip flops were everywhere. We'd always buy a few pairs so that people didn't have to run around on the hot ground to find their shoes. Gently, he wrapped his arm around my waist as we walked to the shed. It was air conditioned and the crisp air felt lovely against my hot, tanned skin. We sat down on a pair of white plastic lawn chairs. The legs wobbled as we sat. I smiled to myself. We sat in silence for a while, until I caught Austin staring at me, his eyes twinkling warmly. I kind of smiled until suddenly he was out of his chair and leaned over mine. His lips hit mine with a soft passion, they were warm, as was the rest of his body. His tones arms were pinning me to the chair as I let out a small whimper in surprise. I kissed him gently, slowly standing up. He wrapped his arms around my waist and he stepped towards the wall, pushing me against it. His lips were soft, and the kiss wasn't forced or rough. He was gentle and smooth and sweet. His lips tasted like Coke. Eventually he softly pulled away from me, not looking at my face. His head was turned.
"Emily... I'm so sorry." He mumbled to me, walking towards the door.
"Austin~" I began. He looked at me. I walked over to him. "W-why did you kiss me?"
I didn't have any complaints, but I was curious. He shrugged, then walked out. I sat in silence for a while, until soon, Jacob, Austin's friend, came in. "Emily?" He asked. I waved halfheartedly. He sat beside me. "Austin just told me what happened. Are you okay?"
I nodded, staring at the ground. Paige stepped in after. Jacob and Paige had been dating for two years. She walked over to me. "Something wrong? What happened between you and Austin? He looks so stressed out~ ohmygod, did you kiss?" She asked. I nodded my head. "He didn't even reply. He kissed me, then walked out." I said to him.
"Em, I'm sorry." She hugged me. "But hey- he kissed you!"
I smiled. She was right.
Austin Mahone finally kissed me.
