Dear Caleb

A Chris Guy

It's so damn hot.

Even with the AC on I feel like my internal organs are slowly cooking inside me. The pool is a definite bet today though, thankfully, I don't have to drag Brody along with me this time. He's at a friends house while I...I kind of don't want to invite the guys to come hang out.

Groaning, I throw my hands over my face, childishly kicking my legs in the air while I think over the dumb plan I have. I was going to send Preston a facebook message, since that's the only damn social media he has, and see if he wanted to go swimming. That's stupid right? Didn't I say the other day that I didn't want a response from him? Yet here I am fretting over the idea of inviting him while wondering if I even should.

The answer is obvious, I shouldn't. What if I'm actually hurting his feelings? If I confessed to someone and they didn't respond but then tried to hang out with me I think I'd be hurt.

The thought of that makes me frown.

At the same time, it would hurt if that person treated me differently. If they avoided me or stopped being friends with me I'm pretty sure I'd hate myself because of it.

Sitting up, I decide the hell with it. If Preston doesn't want to hang out he'll say no. If he does want to spend time with me then he'll say yes. It's as simple as that, all I have to do is give him a choice so, with a deep breath, I quickly type out a message and press send before I can change my mind.

U busy? Want 2 go swimming?

I don't know whether to sit my phone aside or hold it in my grasp like it's the holy grail. I end up doing the latter because I'm too nervous that I'll miss his response. A minute passes then five then ten then twenty and my hope has slowly dwindled away. I guess no response is its own kind of response. Frowning, I lower my phone into my lap just as it lights up to say that he responded to me!

I am not smiling like an idiot when I read the message, however, I do laugh when I see how different we are. I shouldn't be surprised that Preston doesn't use shorthand.

I'm not busy. When do you want to go?

Pool opens @ 1, lets go now, I reply seeing as it's 12:30 so we'll be early but whatever.

Preston quickly agrees to meet me down there, it will take him a little longer to walk since he's in the other direction but I'm bolting out of the house without even thinking about it. I actually think I set a record for how quickly I get the park, sitting on the swings while looking to the left of the parking lot, which should be where Preston is coming from.

A couple minutes pass before I see him come into view. He's slowly making his way over to me, waving slightly when he catches my own frantic wave. Upon realizing how dumb I likely look I drop my hand, gripping the chain of the swing while kicking my legs to propel me. By the time Preston arrives I'm airborne, swinging back and forth quickly enough to cause the chains to catch and my swing to shake when I fly back.

"What a rebel," Preston teases, leaning against the metal of the swing with a slight smirk. "Careful, you may fall off."

"I have fallen off these swings more times than I can count."

"Why am I not surprised?" Preston looks around, seeming to be searching for something. He mustn't find it because he turns back to me. "When are the guys coming?"

"Oh, d-did you want them to come?" I didn't think about that. Maybe he was only ok with hanging out if there were other people? Quickly, I bite my lip, ready to apologize for not telling him sooner but Preston shrugs it off.

"Not really."

Ok, maybe my cheeks go from 0 to 100 real quick but I rather not think about it. Preston isn't so great either, that light dusting of pink returns beneath his eyes that I only saw once before. It doesn't help my blush and I doubt my blush helps his. Well shit, it's a blushing fest up in here.