The Lifeguard Hates You (Completed)

June Chapter 21

Bryce and I are sitting under a tree, just a regular old tree just outside of Polished Elite. We're in this secluded area, this quiet little woodland grove. He has his hand entangled in mine and I've got my head on his chest. I can only describe this feeling as happy. It's been such a long time since I was happy. Since I felt at peace.

"You didn't tell me you live with Jay," Bryce whispers breaking the silence.

My eyes have been closed up until this point, but they're open now. I stare up at him both confused and concerned. "I... uh... does that matter?"

Bryce isn't smiling, and if I've learned anything about him that's a good thing. His smile tends to be fake, but the look on his face right now is one I haven't seen before. "Well, there's not much I can do about it, but I definitely don't trust him," he tells me.

If I have to guess I'd say he's looking serious at the moment. Like he actually thinks Jay might be a threat... smart man. "No, no," I say quickly. "Jay isn't interested in me in the least."

Bryce laughs. "Well of course not!" he cries. The comment stings, mainly because it was obvious to almost everyone that I was head over heels for Jay and he would never be the least bit interested. The happy and peace has been shattered, replaced quite quickly with that soft ache of an old injury. I sit up to mask what I'm feeling but Bryce must have caught my pained look because he softens to me.

"I'm not stupid Rory," he whispers and I turn to him surprised. "I'd be an idiot to not realize that the real reason you don't want to commit to being my girlfriend is not because of what happened between Jay and I. I know that somewhere, deep down, you're hoping that I might make him jealous enough to come to his senses and ask you out himself."

I look away blushing because it's all true and I had really hoped he hadn't guessed that. Bryce takes my chin in his hand and make me look at him. "I'm not mad at you for it, it shows a determination. I just really wish you'd direct that determination towards something other than him. I do, however, know that he's not interested and while that's horrible it's actually kind of a blessing."

"How so?" I mutter bitterly trying very hard not to cry out of sheer embarrassment. And a little bit because all of what he said had been painfully true.

Bryce's smile is definitely a smirk but more of an amused one and less a smug one. "Because if he wasn't blind to that amazing girl who was right in front of him, I wouldn't be with you right now," he tells me and I can't help but break out in these giddy giggles.

I try to play off as coy as I say: "Well I guess you have a point," I flip my hair over my shoulder in what I hope is an attractive way and catch Bryce just smiling at me like he's enjoying the view and happy to be there.

He presses a small kiss to my shoulder. "Let's move on to happier topics hmm?" he asks. "Why don't you tell me about that shirt you were wearing? The extra decal on your uniform."

"Oh my jack-'o-lantern shirt?" I wonder. He nods and I smile to him. "It's something I did when I was chubbier, since I was round like a pumpkin and I look like a fluorescent one I took all my work shirts and put an iron-on jack-'o-lantern face on all of them. Jay hates it, but everyone thought it was funny, all the kids loved it."

Bryce nods at this. "Well you're definitely not chunky now," he says. "And you weren't that bad before either. Definitely not pumpkin shaped."

I bite back the desire to tell him it was Jay who told me I was pumpkin shaped, and Jay who gave me the drive to work out so I'd lose the weight I had put on baking. Instead I say: "Well I'm still out of shape but I'm working on it. The Guard Competition should be a good work out for me though."

The Guard Competition isn't just against EAB and PE, there are other teams from around the area and some from Toronto who come and see how they fair. But really, the biggest rivalry is between EAB and PE. The Competition involves a lot of running and rescues, and there are a lot of volunteers covered in fake blood and acting really well. As Head Guard, Jay is always the leader of our team, just as Bryce is the leader of his. Jay is always screaming at me no matter how fast I am, and giving me the easy tasks because he doesn't trust me with anything else.

EAB hadn't won a competition since they had lost the original second guard and I had become team Captain. Jay very often blamed me, but I always thought it was his leadership skills. The leader wasn't supposed to scream as much as Jay did.

He had been drilling us since last summer. It was going to get worse as the competition got closer.

Bryce is playing with my hair now, twisting a tendril around his finger. "You going to go easy on me this year babe?" he teases and I scoff.

"Maybe you guys should go easier on us."

Bryce laughs. "This year you should do what you think is right. Don't listen to Jay, he has no imagination."

I want to argue with him but I don't. Mainly because Jay doesn't actually have an imagination but also because it's not my place to argue. Who cares if Bryce says awful things? Jay says awful things about Bryce all the time. He says awful things about me to my face on a regular basis. I need to stop caring about Jay, need to stop standing for him and his horrible decisions.

As if sensing where my mind has gone Bryce grabs my chin and forces me to look at him again. He's obviously done with trying to get me to stop thinking of Jay so he goes with the next best option. He slides his mouth on my mind and I let him think that he's kissing Jay right out of my mind, because, even though he isn't, honestly, I really wish he was.