Happiness Unending

Chapter Five: Dangerous Waters

"You still want to do this?" I heard now, a slight lilt to his words from the wine. I could only imagine what that could possibly mean. I nodded anyway and followed him outside. It was then that I took in the sights. Los Angeles seemed to glow in the dark from here. 

"It's beautiful out here." I commented to no one in particular. It was a balmy 75 degree Fahrenheit night with a slight breeze coming in from the ocean that sat out peacefully on the far shore. It cooled my face and I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment. I could hear music playing in the background somewhere and boy if I wasn't ready for romance ten minutes ago, I sure was now! 

"Isn't it? The view was what sold me on this place." Jordan commented rather quietly. He was on the opposite end of the pool, already shirtless. Oh boy. It's fine. You're fine. You already saw him shirtless earlier today. What could possibly be different about this? It was inevitable at this point, but I was going to take things slow and enjoy the view from where I stood. 

"You're incredibly lucky. I hope you know that." I commented right back, not really registering that he was still standing there looking absolutely perfect. 

"One might say that you sound jealous." He teased, standing in a rather sassy pose with his hands on his hips. It was extremely distracting to say the least and I moved away from the balcony railing to face him. I was still in my tank top and pants. 

"Then one might say they are correct." I commented back, making him smile. It brought my heart to a full on sprint and I wasn't sure how I was handling this whatsoever. I moved away from the pool and went to set my clothes on one of the lounge chairs. I could feel his eyes burning on the back of my head and I tried to ignore it as best as I could. I struggled with my skinny jeans for quite some time, almost winding up on the floor but I tossed them aside after what felt like forever, sighing in relief. Jordan spoke up again. 

"And suppose that one were to say that you looked absolutely stunning, would you agree?" Oh geez. He stood there, his mouth slightly ajar but his voice was relatively calm. 

"Probably not. You're drunk first of all and secondly that would be presumptuous." I retorted right back. I honestly had no idea why he was speaking in the third person, but it was rather entertaining at the very least. I dipped my feet in by the steps, surprised by how warm it actually felt. It was slightly cooler than the air temperature, but it was bearable. It appeared that Jordan was going in headfirst or he was going to attempt a flip. I was leaning towards the latter since he was so keen on impressing me. 

"Well, in any case I'm glad you could make it. This has easily been one of the best evenings I've had in a long time. Well...other than going to Las Vegas with Craig I suppose." before I could respond, he flipped and landed in the water rather gracefully. He resurfaced where I now stood waist deep in the pool. Ignoring his glistening body would have been impossible and my racing heart seemed to pound faster each minute that went by. The quiet lap of water was soothing, the soft and slow music putting my mind somewhat at ease. 

"I'm glad I was invited." I practically whispered. I could feel tension start to rise and it then came to my attention that we weren't alone just to have fun time in the pool. I tried to think of any other solution, but that dissolved just as quickly as it had appeared. Even standing in this water was enough for me to freak out, but maybe that was just the fan girl in me still wanting to scream. The deepest the pool went was six feet but between the both of us, we couldn't touch the bottom unless we went under. 

"I've got an idea!" Jordan announced loudly. It startled me quite well and I smacked him. He laughed in response. 

"What?" I grumbled. 

"First one to do two laps of the pool gets to pick the movie we watch." Ooh. I did like a good challenge. I thought about it for a moment. 

"Hmm...you're on. But loser has to..." I paused, trying to think of a good punishment. It couldn't be too embarrassing if I ended up losing. 

"Read a fan fiction of the winner's choice. No skipping ahead. It has to involve some action." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and I smacked him again. 

"You're an idiot, you know that?" I teased, though internally I was not willing to lose. Besides, I've read a number of his fan made stuff, so how bad could it be? "You're on anyway, loser." I added, a wide smile on my face. We swam towards the deep end and he gave me some serious side eye. Okay then. This just got serious. 

"3...2..1...go!" he yelled and we were off. Little did he know I took many swimming courses growing up and I always loved swimming, so I had quite the advantage. I beat him by a full lap. I waited by the shallows with a sly smile. He was out of breath, his face half full of rage and yet he was somehow awed, however his loss caught up to him rather quickly. 

"That is so not fair! Did you take swimming lessons or something?" Jordan narrowed his eyes suspiciously and I rolled my eyes. 

"Well duh. I wouldn't be in the water if I didn't. Besides, I like winning." I gloated. I looked at my nails thoughtfully and I smirked again. "Also, I'm not the one who has to read a fan fiction of choice." He splashed me playfully and I did so right back. 

"Shut up. It's probably not going to be that bad." He grumbled. His innocent comment caused me to burst out laughing. 

"Jordan, you have no idea. The internet is a strange and powerful thing. Believe me." I warned, but I tried to play it cool. He has no idea. 

"I suppose so. I did lose fair and square. You just had an advantage that you failed to mention." Jordan whined. 

"Oh stop it you crybaby. I get you don't like losing either, but get over it. You got to lose some things in life." That got way more metaphorical than intended. Oh well. 

"I guess so, but someone didn't understand the terms and conditions." he moved closer to me and I raised an eyebrow. 

"It was just a race, Jordan. You're such a nerd." I shoved him away playfully, but he grabbed my hand just as quickly as I had shoved him and pulled me closer. Dang he was quick and apparently smooth. His face was closer to mine than I was willing to admit and now I believe this was the time when I thought I might die of possible heart failure. 

"Was it really a loss though?" He teased, his voice low and soft. 

"Hmm...I think so. Fair and square. You said it yourself. Plain and simple." I teased right back, my voice lowered to match his. Was this really happening? How? I swear my day couldn't get any better than right now. He was getting a little touchy and I was unsure of how I felt. "Jordan..." I warned, though I doubted it would do me any good to speak out about it. He was tantalizingly close and wanting him was overtaking my mind. Was that enough though? He seemed to want me as well but he wanted to take things at a hundred miles an hour. 

"What?" 

"I don't know..." I just have to ruin everything don't I? Always so cautious, so afraid of getting hurt. 

"Hey, I won't force you to do anything you don't want." he made me look at him, his thumb and index finger holding my chin to face him. 

"I guess, but what if..." I trailed my sentence off. For once, I needed to let things happen. I needed to stop doubting myself and those around me. Stop being so paranoid. 

"If you're really that worried, I won't go any further than you tell me. I swear." I sighed and ran a hand through my wet hair. "Audrey. Listen to me." He turned my chin again and now I had no choice but to look at him. He was being completely serious. "I won't hurt you. I promise." 

***Hello again! Thanks for your support! I still hope you're enjoying the read. I guess I enjoy writing this story a bit much more than I anticipated. If you want me to write something else too, let me know. I might write one about Markiplier...maybe. I'll see how this one turns out.***