Touched

4

My feet dangled carelessly over the edge of the dock, grazing the surface of the water every now and then. The smell of cedar and citronella tickled my nose as I knotted my hair into a braid. Dragonflies danced about, flitting a little too close to my face here and there. I had to ask myself why I thought it'd be a good idea to go to the lake in the first place.

"Would it kill you to actually get in the water?" I had to shield my eyes while looking up to find the source of the voice, it was my brother's friend Kyle. 

He stood towering over me with a sly smirk on his face. They'd played basketball together in high school and hung out every now and then when they happened to be home at the same time. Kyle was tall and muscular with lean shoulders and a strong jawline. His dark blonde hair and blue eyes made him the real life depiction of a Ken Doll.

"You know...it probably would, who knows what's creeping down at the bottom of that lake." 

His low chuckle made my stomach do a small flip as I stood to my feet, tucking my hands in the back pockets of my shorts. He was clearly sizing me up with those blue pools of his. You had to be careful with guys like him, he was all smooth words and flirtatious grins, it'd be too easy to get caught up in his net of charm.

"Charlotte, right?" His smirk was tantalizing, as if he didn't already know who I was. He'd seen me around school and at home on the occasion when my mom would host the teams after practice meal. 

"Who wants to know?" Where was the harm in playing his game? 

He chuckled. "James is your brother right?"

"As I'm sure you already knew." I let out an airy laugh while picking up my towel, deciding it was time to take camp near the water's edge with everyone else. 

I didn't have to look back to know his eyes were still on me. I could feel them watching every step I took as I put distance between us, no longer under the spell of his eyes...he was trouble any smart female knew she didn't need.

"See you in the water little Hale." He laughed before jumping in. 

A few hours later I had the tan of a lifetime and a stomach full on borderline burnt hot dogs. The heat of the day had been exhausting, leaving me flushed and ready for a cold shower. I let the coolness of the water unwind my mind and relax my body as I stood there humming along to the song coming from my speaker.

Today had been relaxing and completely uneventful, yet I still couldn't stop my mind from wandering to Carter. A few hours without thinking of him and now here we were again, I had to know what was up with him. 

I was pulled from my thoughts by the sound of my speaker suddenly blaring static and white noise before shutting off.

"What the hell?" My mutters were cut short as it suddenly began playing again, my phone lighting up as it connected to it's Bluetooth. It was time for my parents to get the entire house re-wired because it was definitely overdue. 

I couldn't stop myself from shivering as I wrapped myself in a towel, followed by a plush bath robe. The steam from the bathroom did little to warm me as I ran a comb through my hair, twisting it up piece by piece. It was barely 9 o'clock, but after a day spent in the sun, my bed had been calling me.

******

"Char, give it a rest, the guy obviously ghosted you, it happens to the best of us." Amanda didn't even bother to be even remotely sensitive. I didn't want to hear it, but she was probably right.

"Yeah, maybe, but...I just wanna know if he's okay or not. Can you blame me though, he completely freaked out on me for no apparent reason." I spoke into the speaker of my headphones while walking back home. Most of my afternoon had been spent down at the farmers market people watching while I sketched.