It Started with a Party

Chapter 6

I stood in front of the mirror of the bathroom of Tyler's house inspecting myself. I had chosen the cutest bikini I owned, but even that wasn't exactly making a statement. It was a neon pink two piece, with the top being a halter that didn't show too much cleavage, and the bottom being boy shorts. The bikini wasn't very sexy overall, and looked more like something a pre-teen as opposed to a seventeen-year-old girl would wear. I silently chided myself for not taking the time to check out Victoria's Secret for once. Truth be told, I just never thought that one day I'd be going swimming with the hottest guy at school.

I felt another kind of embarrassment as I became self-aware of my body. I didn't work out very much, if it wasn't already obvious from how un-athletic I was, and unfortunately it showed. I didn't have the perfect curves yet simultaneously long and thin body like a supermodel's, but I knew for a fact that Tyler's body was toned to perfection. It wasn't fair! Now I felt unworthy of being in his presence—plain and simple me compared to ridiculously gorgeous Tyler.

Sighing, I finally reached for my over-sized t-shirt and put it on. It had been over five minutes since I'd gone into the bathroom, and by this point Tyler was probably wondering what the hell was taking me so long. Tying my hair in a sloppy bun, I finally left the bathroom and searched for Tyler.

Tyler's house was unsurprisingly really nice as well as huge. With six bedrooms and four bathrooms and décor that looked like it could have been picked out from actual interior decorators, it was more of something you'd expect to see on HGTV. Despite that, however, it actually felt very homey—as picture-perfect as it all was, the place still had the feel of somewhere you could feel comfortable enough to just sit back, relax, and put your feet up on the couch.

Knowing that Tyler was most likely already out in the backyard, I headed towards the back of the house. Large windows interspersed along nearly the entire wall gave a complete view of the huge backyard. Sure enough, Tyler was already out there waiting, his back turned to me as he seemed to be taking something out of the pool with the net. Pausing a moment to calm my nerves, I took one last steady breath before finally opening the glass door and stepping outside.

I was instantly hit by the bass of upbeat music that was playing from hidden speakers. Listening carefully, I recognized Foster the People as the band playing. Smiling to myself slightly, I finally walked up to Tyler before stopping next to him. He looked up at me as soon as he noticed my presence, before giving me a bright smile. Despite how nervous I still felt, it succeeded to wear off the nerves a little.

Tyler sported red swimming trunks and a gray sleeveless shirt that really helped to emphasize his biceps. Even looking like that he still looked more like a male model as opposed to a teenage boy.

"Hey you," he finally said, the corner of his mouth lifting a little.

"Hey," I replied, suddenly feeling shy and very aware of how secluded we were.

"I was beginning to wonder if you'd fallen asleep in the bathroom," he joked, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

I blushed in mortification. "Err, yeah, uhh my bad," I responded lamely and instantly wanted to slap myself.

Tyler, however, paid no mind to my awkwardness and simply laughed before going to put away the net. I went to one of the pool chairs and sat down.

"So, you ready to swim?" he asked after joining me once again.

I bit my lip, wanting desperately to say no but knowing that that wasn't an option. At least, not if I wanted to maintain this comfortable relationship he and I had. So it was with that thought that I forced a smile and said, "Yeah."

The corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile that caused my tummy to do a little flip in response. In the next moment, he reached for his shirt and began to tug it off, before finally dropping it to the ground. I had to physically restrain myself from gawking and openly staring, although it probably didn't matter either way because the blood that immediately rushed to my face most likely gave me away anyway. This was especially apparent when Tyler raised an eyebrow at me and his smile suddenly turned into a smirk.