summer ardor

chapter 1 | pool flows&car convos

IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER. Lilly could feel it in the air, the slight buzz of the black-and-yellow bumblebees mixed with the dewy air. She could smell the flowers, imagine them in her head, their petals soft and sweet, their buds fresh and new. And as she sat by the community pool, her eyes closed, the sun's rays disintegrating by the touch of her skin, she truly felt the joy that summer brought. It was midday, and the sun was bright and high in the sky. She dangled her legs in the pool and the water slowly rippled out. Lilly didn't know why she loved the pool so much, but she did. The blue of the water calmed her; she remembered as a child every time her mama had gone off into one of her drunken states, Lilly would escape to here, and she sat here 'till her mama would come pick her up again. 

Lilly looked around the pool, and saw there was almost no one there. It was why she liked this neighborhood pool, the lack of other people made it a secluded area for her to gather her thoughts and just, relax.

She sighed.

And she slowly got out of the pool. The water slowly dripped down her legs, onto the pool deck. Her fingers were starting to get all "pruny", and she hated the feeling. Wrapping the towel around herself, she grabbed her phone and her earbuds, while unraveling them and fitting them to her hear. Her earbuds fit perfectly in the crook of her ear, the familiar touch comforting her. And she walked past the fence that surrounded the pool, out onto the road. She looked up and down the street, and seeing no cars, she proceeded to walk in the middle of the road. Lilly just now realized how weird she looked, a black-haired tan-skinned girl with just a towel and nothing else. She also felt exposed, the slight wind nipping at her skin and the suns' rays kissing her face. Looking down at her phone, she hit the "play" button and worried about nothing else. For other people, they always had to choose a certain song to listen to, but for Lilly, enjoying life to any song was fit enough. The music filled her ears as she looked around, the familiar sight of children playing around and parents sitting out on their porches, mothers with glasses of wine and fathers with beer bottles. A small smile took over her face, as she noticed the smiles on the little kids chasing each other around.

Oh, the good old days.

She didn't hear the car driving up behind her, nor did she hear the yell of the driver sitting in said car. Lilly suddenly heard a very loud "HONK", and she jumped while she pulled out her earbud and turned around. She was getting ready to yell at whoever honked at her, before she got a good glance.

And her first thought was that it was beautiful.

It was one of those old Ford mustangs, the creme and white color giving it a beautiful vintage look. 

"You planning on ogling at my car until I run you over or are you going to get out of the middle of the road?" She heard a voice yell, and her attention was directed towards the boy sitting in the driver seat. He looked about her age, with dirty blonde hair and light skin. Lilly could see his jawline from here, and it looked pretty sharp. And damn. He was quite nice looking. Not as beautiful as the car though. 

She rolled her eyes.

"Look, buddy, I was just trying to listen to my music. And I would say nice car, but you're kind of being a dick here." She hollered back at him, feeling the cringe of the parents sitting outside with their kids (that were too young to be listening to her language, mind you). She saw him smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. He lifted his hand up, and slightly moved his hand towards the side, while mouthing "move your ass over."

She slowly walked over to the side, while giving him a not so polite hand gesture. Once again, she felt the judgement in those parents' eyes.

And while the car zoomed off into the distance (albeit being in a neighborhood with a VERY slow speed limit), she couldn't help but laugh to herself about that certain blonde-haired boy. 

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*NOT EDITED*

a/n

haha we love a talkin' back shishtar. and the chapters in this story are gonna be shortnsweet bc im not committed enough to write long ass chapters.