Learning To Swim For Real

Chapter 13: Kelsey and Jack Have a Snack

Jack and Kelsey went downstairs to forage for food, Jack in his board shorts, Kelsey in her underwear and tank top, which Jack found unbelievably sexy. He couldn't stop staring at her.

"What?" she asked as she stood in front of the open refrigerator.

"You look incredible," he said, swallowing.

She looked down at herself. "Really?" she asked, pleased in spite of herself. "I don't get it, though. You've seen lots of better built girls than me in way less, you know? You've seen me in way less, in fact." She grabbed some ice cream and moved out of the way so Jack could grab some blueberries. "All those times in the pool when I was in that tiny, skin tight racing bikini, you never gave me a second glance."

He shrugged and grabbed her around the waist from behind so he could kiss her neck. "But I didn't like those girls, I didn't think of them in any way other than platonic," he said. "And how do you know I never gave you a second glance, huh?" He turned her around and sat her on the counter so he could really kiss her. "I mean, for all you know I went back to my house and jerked off all night long while I thought about you in the pool." He raised his eyebrows at her.

She laughed and fed him a spoonful of ice cream, shaking her head. "I can tell when a guy's into me, or into my looks or my body or whatever." She leaned in and kissed him, sucking some of the ice cream she'd just fed him back into her own mouth, making a comfortable "yum" sound as she did. "You, sir, couldn't care less about me. It really hurt my feelings terribly. And confused me, too."

"Confused you?" he repeated as he kissed her again, sliding his hands under her top so he could feel her back. "Why? How?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Usually guys like me, or are at least a little starstruck? You didn't give a shit who I was, I could tell. I even wondered at first if you might be gay." She looked down. "Wow, that sounds really fucked up, huh?"

"Nah, makes sense, I guess," Jack said, rubbing her thighs comfortably. "But if that's how I seemed, then why did you kiss me? What made you think I'd go for you today? Did something change?"

She hugged herself to him so she didn't have to look at his face. "I don't know," she said, slightly uncomfortable. "We just got to be such good friends, you know? We developed a--a--" she stuttered as she searched for the right word.

"Rapport?" he supplied, laughing as he gave her a little shake.

"Yeah, a rapport, there you go," she agreed, nodding her head. "You seemed to get over your disdain of me, and you stopped acting like I carried a bad smell--"

"Oh, come on!" Jack let go of her and took a step back so he could really look at her. "I was never disdainful of you, and I never, ever, acted like I thought you smelled bad, Kelsey Carlisle!"

"You did, you did!" she insisted, sliding off the counter, still holding the ice cream and starting to walk upstairs. "You looked just like a finicky cat every time you saw me, Jack LaGuardia!"

"Well, I don't now," he said, grabbing her with a jolly laugh, making her shriek.

"Jack! Jack! You're going to make me drop the ice cream!" she screamed as he sprinted up the stairs while holding her. "Stop! I'm too heavy for you to run up a flight of stairs, Jack! Oh my god!" She just concentrated on keeping the tub of ice cream in her hands as he gained the top of the stairs and ran into her bedroom.

He set her carefully on her bed, and knelt in front of her, grinning.

"What?" she asked, spooning another bite of the now very soft ice cream into her mouth. "What are you smiling about now?" She fed him the next messy spoonful. "And why are your eyelashes so long? It's not fair."