finding you

ten

I grab the beer and look up at him. "Uh... sorry, I thought you were Ashton."

"Yeah, I know." He smirks at me and it makes me feel incredibly shy. The heat is returning to my cheeks. Damnit. "He's helping Nial set up the wakeboard and stuff."

I nod at him while I take in his god-like structure looming over me. The sun is shining behind him making him a perfect silhouette. Get it together.

I crack open my beer and Rhys just remains standing in front of me. Staring. Am I supposed to say something? I really suck at conversating. Oh boy. I hate myself. Oh my God. What if he's looking at my body? I should have kept my top on. Oh my God. I take an awkward sip--maybe more like gulp or two. Maybe I'll just keep drinking until he walks away... but he's not walking away. Why isn't he walking away? Ugh. I am so the one making this awkward right now.

I look up at him just in time to see his lips relax from being pressed into a hard line. Ummm.

"You wakeboard?" he suddenly asks.

"Uh... no." I sip my beer again. "But I do snowboard... I know that's not the same thing but maybe it could be, like, similar." Shut up, Theo. Just stop talking.

"It's definitely easier to learn if you already know how to snowboard. I got up the first time that way."

"Because you snowboard?" Of course he snowboards. Rhys Collins is like the sports guy.

Chuckling lightly, he nods and takes a sip of his beer. "We're gunna tube, too. But you should try wakeboarding, too."

Yeah right. Not only am I sure I don't want to involve myself in a sport that is performed completely out of water so I would have my whole body on full display, but also, I would need to get up and out of the water first, and I don't feel like looking like a complete idiot trying to do so in front of three boys today. No thanks.

"Haha... I don't think so." A nervous giggle suddenly escapes my mouth and I mentally curse myself out.

"I'll teach you, don't worry." He smirks and something immediately flutters in my stomach. That sounded flirty. It was definitely flirty.

"Uhh..." I don't know what to say. I'm awkward at this. "Maybe later? I think I just want to relax first." I try my best to say no, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't sound like I did.

He studies me for a moment before answering me with another smirk. God, when he acts like this... I low key understand why girls act the way they do around him. I want to knock myself out for having that shameful thought. I'm very disappointed in myself.

"Theo!" I hear Ashton yell my name from the other end of the boat. "You want a go?" He has a huge smile plastered on his face when I turn around to see him. What are you up to, Ash?

"What?"

He points to something in the water and I cautiously stand up to see what it is.

A tube. A bloody tube. It's like not even lunch time yet. Can we just chill for a couple minutes? No? Okay.

"Euugh," I groan a little bit too dramatically, completely forgetting Rhys standing behind me. I feel him laugh. Yes, I feel him laugh. He is so close to me that I feel his breath tickle the back of my neck and I immediately shudder under him. Oh my God. SOS. I think he notices because when I turn to look at him, he is smirking at me--but more so a knowing smirk. I feel my stomach heat in a way it has never done before. I need to get out of here. What is he doing? I don't like it, I think.