Close As Strangers

Twenty-Eight.

Now Playing... Dancing On My Own 

"Molly, hurry up!" Nova hollered from the kitchen. "We're gonna start tag without you!"

I slid on my bathing suit before running downstairs and out the back door. Wes was swimming laps, while Nova sat on one of the chairs, playing with her Barbies. Wes swam to Nova, and she pointed to me, so I pretended to be looking at the sky, but I had to admit, my heart went haywire when I saw the look Wes gave me. His jaw dropped, his eyes grew wide, and a light pink tinged his cheeks.

Not to brag but... I won.

I sat on the edge of the pool, dipping my feet into the warm water, relaxing as the cool breeze rippled through my hair. Wes swam to me, placing his arms on either side of me, and I looked down to see him smiling.

"What do you want?" I asked, smiling, and he smirked before pecking my lips.

"Get in." I shook my head, crossing my arms, and his smirk grew bigger as his lips brushed against my ear. "Then I'll just have to help you in."

He grabbed my waist, throwing me over his shoulder. As much as the view was enjoyed, I started to hit his back. "Wesley Grayson, put me down!"

He barked out a laugh as he threw into the water. When I reached the surface again, I swam after him, but he was faster than me, so I never reached him. I gave up as I swam to the edge, letting out deep breaths. Two seconds later, his arms wrapped around me.

"Hey." Wes whispered, planting a kiss on my cheek. I glanced at him before rolling my eyes, but nothing could hide the smile creeping on my face. "Did you ever open the envelope?"

I sighed. "Not yet, but I will. I promise."

He frowned, but quickly replaced it with a smile. I narrowed my eyes, facing him. "Are you sure you don't like Olivia?"

"Why?" He smirked. "Jealous?"

"N-no... I just wanted to know. You have so many girls, I'm surprised they haven't started a cult to end you as much as you fool around."

"I could fool around with you, but you're stubborn."

"I am not stubborn!"

"Then come have some fun with me."

"I hate you."

He busted out laughing before kissing my forehead. "Point proven, love."

***

The next day at school, after our first lecture, Wes and I started walking to our next class, until a girl smiled at him. "Hi, Wes."

He smiled brightly at her. "Hey, Mikayla."

"Who's this?" She motioned towards me, her smile disappearing, and I couldn't understand why the universe was so keen on me not hating Wes' prospects.

"That's Molly."

She glanced between the two of us. "Are you together?"

Wes paled. "N-no... She's.... Um...."

"We're friends." I cut him off, forcing a smile. It hurt to know that Wes had to actually think about what we were. He couldn't even decide himself.

Mikayla raised her eyebrows. "Oh, I was just wondering cause you guys are kind of holding hands..."

Wes and I glanced down at our intertwined hands before we pulled away quickly as if we had burned each other.

"Well, I'll see you later, Mikayla." Wes smiled, hugging her, and I took that as my cue to leave. Just friends? Yeah, okay.

The saddest part was, he didn't even follow me.