The Girl he Wants

10- Only One Way to Find Out.

   School on Thursday and Friday whizz past in a blink of an eye. Before Elizabeth realizes it, she is changing into her swimsuit and nervously combing through her long, brown hair in front of her bathroom mirror.

Her bathing suit is a lime green bikini that shows off her skinny body. The silky fabric covers her chest, and that's it. There is one strap that wraps around her back, and one that wraps around her neck to hold it up. Her bottoms are comfortable, green, and at her hips, they are only connected by strings that tie together.

   She slips on dark jean shorts and a hoodie that has no sleeves and is cut at her belly, displaying her stomach. As she wonders what will happen at the party, she quickly packs an extra set of clothes in a sling back with some deodorant and a hairbrush. She stalks over to the bathroom closet as she begins to hum, and yanks out a pool towel. Shoving it in her bag and listening to the adrenaline sing in her heated veins, Elizabeth exits the bathroom and rushes into her bedroom.

   She shuts the door behind her, just as her phone begins blaring Lindsey Stirling; her ring tone. When she doesn't recognize the number, she raises an eyebrow, but answers it anyways. "Hello."

   "Hey. I'm outside your house." Jay's voice flushes in her ear over the sound of the crickets chirping outside her open window.

   "What?!" Elizabeth's gasp takes her breath away.

   "You're going to Asher's pool party, right?" Jay asks casually.

   "Yeah. But..." Elizabeth runs to her window and sticks her head out into the dark night. Sure enough, a black Porsche is parked along he curb in front of her house and Jay is inside of it, gripping an iPhone in one hand and his wheel with the other. "But... Don't you have to visit your dad?"

   "No." Jay's voice hardens, and Elizabeth sees him shift uncomfortably.

   "I'm not sure about this." Elizabeth sighs.

   "I can take you home, too." Jay assures her calmly. "I just thought I would offer a ride to the new girl."

   "Wow, Jay." Elizabeth mutters under her breath as she walks over to her door, locks it, flicks her light off, and begins to climb out her window. "Are you growing soft on me?"

   "Ha." Jay laughs at her. "Good one."

   "I know right." Elizabeth plays along, her smile shielded under the dark clouds of the black sky. She presses the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she uses both hands to swing off the tree by her window. She shuffles through her yard with her heart in her throat.

   Just as she reaches the car, Jay hangs up. She slips inside his ride, and to her surprise, no music is playing. He just nods to her, slams on the gas, and stares at the road in front of him with his twinkling emerald eyes. He says, "You ready?"

   "For what?" Elizabeth wonders aloud. She runs a few fingers through her dark brown hair, and gazes at Jay in confusion.

   "The party." He answers her, turning down a street Elizabeth recognizes.

   He steals a glance at her, and she responds. "Sure..."

   "I don't really know what we would do at a pool party, besides swim." Elizabeth adds under her breath.

   Elizabeth watches Jay's shoulders hang. "I can't believe you've never been to a pool party. I mean, how else could you have spent the summer?! Reading?" Jay chuckles.

Something about the way Jay's green eyes glint at her makes her offended. "Actually, yes."

"Really?" Jay glares at her as he halts the vehicle in front of a stop sign. "You're kidding, right?"