Living In The Shallows (UK Crush #1)

Chapter Twenty-Five

Teddy had been right; the overwhelming heat was the biggest issue, and when the filming had ended, all I could think about was getting out of the kimono and into a cold shower. The film crew had followed the boys all the way back to their rooms, so we'd called out good night to each other, and I'd slid my door shut and begun the process of unwinding my obi and carefully removing every layer of my kimono. All of the various hangers had been put on hooks in my room and I hung everything up as quickly as I could before stepping into a completely cold shower; I think the elapsed time between sliding the door shut and getting under the nozzle was less than seven minutes. Considering how much clothing I had to remove, that had to be some kind of record.

I stepped out feeling mildly refreshed. It was still humid, and I doubted my hair would be dry by morning, but at least I wasn't sweating under all those layers any more. I brushed my hair and put on my sheerest, gauziest pjs, pure cotton, shorts and tank top, what else?

As I was pulling the shirt over my head, I got a text from Teddy. "Pls come and meet me by the bridge IMMEDIATELY. LIKE RIGHT NOW."

"Gimme a mo to get dressed."

"NO, RT NOW, PLSPLSPLS!"

"Are you drunk? Gimme a sec!"

"DONT GOT A SEC, MUST BE RT NOW!!!"

"Dude, I'd be dressed already if you'd stop arguing!"

"COME NOW OR I WILL DIE AND DO YOU WANT THAT ON YOUR HEAD????!!"

Jesus. I grabbed the first thing I touched to cover up, which unfortunately was a sweater, and put it on as I slipped on my flip-flops at the steps and ran to the path that led to the little bridge. It was farther away than I thought, but there was a quarter moon rising, and just enough light so I could see my footing and not trip over the stones on the path.

He turned and watched me approach, hands in the pockets of his ripped up cutoffs. He was wearing a tank top from President Obama's 2012 campaign.

"So I see you gave yourself enough time to get some clothes on," I commented.

He looked down at himself. "Oh, yeah? What do you mean?" He asked.

"'Come now or I'll die'?" I asked. "What the hell?"

"I wanted you to come right away, is all," he explained.

"What the hell are you wearing?" He asked suddenly. "Is that a sweater?"

"Yes, it's a sweater," I said impatiently.

"Why?" He asked. "It must be, like 30 degrees Celsius out here."

I hit his chest in frustration.

"Oi! What the fuck?"

"I know it's hot, you ass!" I said in exasperation. "I had just gotten out of the shower when you texted me. I'm in my pajamas! That's why I wanted to get dressed! I can't just wander around outside in my pjs, no matter how dark it is. But you made it sound like it was some kind of emergency, so I grabbed whatever I could find to cover up so I wouldn't look indecent, and I came." This last part sounded like a near hiss, I was so frustrated. And I was hot. The humidity must have still been in the nineties. And I was wearing a sweater. Jesus.

He turned to look out over the pond, and I could see his smile. "Oh. Sorry. Would you like to go back and change? I'll wait."

I just stared at him, and he wisely covered his areas from possible attack. "Okay, I guess not."

Out in the pond, a koi jumped, probably at a low flying night bug. If you could forget the heat and humidity, it was actually a very lovely spot. And somehow, miraculously, there were no mosquitos. I turned to lean on the railing and look out over the water, enjoying the reflection of the moon and the sound of the rustling of the bamboo. He hooked his arm companionably through mine, and we stood in silence for a minute.