This summer

chapter 3:

When I enter the house, mom and the mysterious boy are standing in the living room, looking at me while I take my shoes off.
"So are we just going to stand here or are you gonna explain to me what's going on ?" I shake my head in confusion.
The boy smiles.
"Well, I was meant to tell you sooner but, this is Jack." mom says with a smile.
"Yeah, we met." I said, rolling my eyes.
"You know each other ?" mom asked in surprise.
"Well, I accidentally bumped into her on her run, and she found out I was going to her house." He answered. His British accent was strong, I could barely understand what he was saying.
"So can someone finally tell me what he's doing here ?" I ask.
"He's here to stay for the summer." Mom says.
I just stand there in disbelief.
"For the summer ? Mom do you know what day today is ? Are you trying to make this harder for me ?"
"That is not what I was planning on sweetheart."
"What's the problem ?" He asks. Mom is about to answer but I interrupt.
"Nothing. Don't tell him mom." I make eye contact with him one more time before
taking my stuff and going upstairs.
"Kiana, this is not the way to treat your guests."
I stop in the middle of the staircase and look down at them.
"Sorry, he's not a guest anymore, welcome home." I say sarcastically.
"What's her deal ?" he turns to mom.
"She's just having a rough day. Hint, it's her birthday." she smiles and walks back to the kitchen to start cutting the vegetables.
As I got out of the shower, I got a knock on my door.
"Who is it ?"
"Jack."
"No. You can't come in."
"Why not ? I won't look, promise."
Is that his way of flirting? Because it won't work on me. I can't let that happen.
"I said no." I say in a stubborn way.
"You flatter yourself too much, you know that right ? I told you, i'm not a perv." he chuckles.
"Fine, but promise to not look." I groan.
"Already promised." he says with a wink and walks in. I change in the bathroom and blow dry my hair. As I come out, I open the drawer with lingerie and feel someone behind me.
"Nice seeing you in something other than work out clothes." He smirks. I suddenly turn around to face him.
"Whatever you're trying to do, stop, it's not going to work." I say and he takes a step closer.
"I was just complimenting you for wearing something nice, nothing more." At this point, we are closer to each other than ever, he doesn't break eye contact.
"Well thank you then. Now if you don't mind, I want to go get some lunch." I say and push him out of my way.
"Perfect, i'm starving. Its a great way to get to know each other." He says with a smile.
"You just don't know when to stop do you ?" I ask.
"I can't take hints, not from girls like you." He says as he exits the room, "i'll be waiting downstairs. He is so intimidating. I can't help but think about his words. not from girls like you. what is that even supposed to mean ? He knows me for what, 2 hours and now we're soulmates ? I can't overthink this, not on the day I found out my cause of death is what i've been dreading my whole life. I try my best to ignore him on my way out of the house, but he catches up to me in the middle of the street.
"So, what should we talk about ?" he asks, clearly not knowing my answer.
"Stop playing nice, I know what type of person you are, and I don't need to risk anything for myself." I say and make my attempt to look away.
"So you're a judge-mental one, are you ?" he chuckles and I can't help but smile at him with innocence.
"All i'm saying is i'm not going to play games with you, and you seem like the type of guy to lead me on."
"Proving my point of accusing me of something i'm definitely not." he says.
"Whatever." I say, rolling my eyes and turn away, as if trying to find a good place to eat.
"Cmon, what do I have to do to get you to talk to me ?"
"I don't know, maybe rob a bank for example." I grin and he rolls his eyes.
"Something realistic would be nice."
I stop in the middle of the street and he does the same.
"Why are you so eager to talk to me ?"
"Because we are going to be spending the rest of our summer together and-" But I interrupt him kid sentence, "No, you and I will not be spending any time together, so stop trying." I say and start walking again, but he catches up once again.
"Please, at least talk to me for a day." He begs, practically getting on his knees in front of everyone, it's so humiliating. As he actually gets on his knees and starts pleading, I say a quick "get up" as I look around, making eye contact with people who are judging us.
"I won't get up until you say yes."
"No, I don't want to have anything to do with you." I say, "Now stop being immature and stand up." He shakes his head.
I give him one more glare and finally say,
"Fine. But just for one day." I say and we puts his pinkie to mine, locking the promise. "So, what should we do ?" he asks and I shrug my shoulders.
He looks around for a while, trying to find ideas, as if trying to make things less awkward.
"We're going to the beach." he finally says.
"Um.. I don't think so." i answer, turning around to walk back, but he grabs my hand and spins me around to face him.
"We're going, end of discussion." He says firmly, then smiles to make him seem less tough.
"Okay, whatever." I say.
When we get to the beach, I take off my sandals and carry them in one hand, he walks next to me, I can feel his hand getting closer to the one that isn't holding my shoes.
"Uh-uh. Not happening." I say, when he reaches for it gently.
"Why not ? I only have one day to spend with you." He answers, I can almost feel pity for him, for some reason.
no Kiana, you can't do this. what if he breaks your heart ? then that's it. he can ruin everything. But then again, I think to myself, how will I know who the right person is, I can waste my whole life on trying to find the right one, and this one could have slipped. Still, I wouldn't risk it. I have my entire life ahead of me.
"Hello ?" he claps his hands in front of my face, making me zone out and back into reality.
"Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind right now." I say as we sit down on the warm sand.
"So tell me, I too have many things to think about." I try my best to not give in and look at him, his eyes are so deep, I want to drown in them, but I can't let myself. I'm zoning out again, this time, strangely staring into his soul. He starts taking his shirt off.
"What are you doing ?" I ask with confusion.
"Going for a swim, you should too." he says with a smirk.
"I'm more of the tanning type." I answer.
He continues taking off his clothes and shoes until he is left in only his boxers. Then he runs into the water, splashing me a bit, and finally diving in, head first. When he comes out of the water, it's like everything is in slow motion, him flicking his hair to get rid of the excess water, him walking towards me, I mean, the towel that's next to me.
"The water is actually very nice, I really recommend it." He says, drying his hair with the towel. I pause and look down.
"What's wrong ?" He asks firmly.
"Nothing, I just- swimming isn't really for me." I pause and he looks down at me, trying to figure out why i'm acting so weirdly.
"Wait a second. Do you know how to swim ?" he asks, putting the towel down onto the sand. I shake my head from side to side awkwardly, still looking down, making eye contact with him would be the last thing I need in this embarrassing conversation.
"Please don't laugh at me." I say timidly.
"Of course I won't. Instead, i'll teach you." he answers. I look up at him but get blinded by the sun.
"What ? there's no way i'm going into the water. I don't even have a bathing suit."
I say pointing at the dress i'm wearing.
"You only live once Kiana. So shall we ?" he says, and reaches out his hand to help me stand up. I take it and he picks me up, running to the water. I can't help but laugh and attempt to make him put me down. But I don't want him to. Something about our bodies touching makes me feel comfortable around him. I only know him for a day, but this is the only day I said I would be spending with him. And he respects my decision. He runs into the water and I start breathing heavily. I haven't been in any body of water since I was like 5.
"Jack..." I manage to say between my deep inhaling and exhaling.
"It's okay, i'm right here." He says, putting me down, and I stand on the sand, the water being up to my thighs. As I walk deeper into the water, he hold out his hands, waiting until I can't feel my feet touching the ground anymore. When that happens, I start going underwater but he holds me up at just the right time. I float on top of the water and within 20 minutes, I manage to swim in at least some kind of way. It made me happy that I achieved something with him that I couldn't with anyone else. Something about him made me want to do it, I agreed to go into the water, it felt nice, I'm comfortable around him. We spend the next half an hour splashing ourselves in the water and finding sea shells on the bottom of the ocean.