Cursed

Ch. 17

I focused on the patio out back, imagining myself standing there, and the familiar warmth spread through me. The next thing I knew, it felt as if I were surrounded by nothing, then by everything once again. I slowly opened my eyes to see that I was by the pool just as I was imagining just moments before. A smile came to my lips, and I hugged Kai tightly.

"Great job. And only on your third try. I'm impressed." He said, gently ruffling my hair. "You have really gotten the hang of this. And only in three days."

"You're a natural" Suho said, but was tackled by Baekhyun and Sehun, causing water to splash into the air. After a few seconds he resurfaced, smiling. "Great job." He grinned, then barely dodged Luhan who tried tackling him back underwater.

I was busy training with Kai while everyone else was either swimming or laying by the pool. Kai smiled, happy with the progress I had made.

"Okay, now you can go swim if you want, you've earned it." He said, but I already had my shorts off and jumped into the deep end before he could finish. I had already planned on swimming after practice, so I decided just to wear my bikini and my shorts so that I could jump in quickly once I finished.

I surfaced, only to be tackled by Sehun, pulled into their little game as well. The was no real objective, just to tackle everyone you could. I didn't do very well when it came to tackling though. I was too small to knock anyone off their feet, so I was mainly dodging Sehun and Suho, teaming up with Luhan and Baekhyun to take them down.

"Be careful with Khristi. Don't break her." Xiumin called from the side of the pool where he laid on his towel reading. I knew he was just teasing, but the possibility was quite real, so the guys took the tackling down a notch.

Tao just sat on the edge of the pool, watching with an amused look on his face. I glanced over at him, giving him a small wave, then I turned to Baekhyun, whispering something in his ear before swimming over to Tao.

"You just going to sit there?" I asked, distracting him as Baekhyun got out of the pool and snuck behind Tao.

"I'm enjoying just watching." He smiled, kicking his legs around in the water.

"You don't want to get in?" I said, lifting myself up so that my face was right in front of his, only inches away. I grinned when Tao's face grew red. "Oh well." I smiled and sank down into the water, moving out of the way just as Baekhyun pushed Tao into the water.

I resurfaced just in time to see Tao come up for air, his blonde hair completely soaked, dripping water down his face. Everyone laughed, enjoying the look of shock on his face.

"So..." He began, running a hand through his hair, brushing it from his eyes. "That's how you want to play, huh." He grinned, and came after me.

I laughed, dodging behind Suho, using him as a shield, only for the both of us to get tackled.

We spent the next few hours playing around in the pool or enjoying the sun, then went inside for lunch after we had all showered and changed.

"Oh, dear." Mrs. Wood said when I came into the kitchen to help set the table. "There is this thing called sunscreen. It helps prevent sun burns." She sighed, taking in my lightly burned skin.

"Eh, I'm fine." I said, shrugging. "It'll turn into a tan by tomorrow." I smiled, and she shook her head.

"What am I going to do with you child?" She asked herself, grinning. "At least put some Aloe Vera on after you eat."

"Okay." I replied, already having gathered the plates, cups, napkins, and silverware onto the trolley and making my way to the dining room.

I had the table set withing minutes, and Suho came in to see if I needed help seconds too late. He smiled, but his face turned to shock when he saw me.