Pretty Boy [bxb] | ✔️

Chapter forty-five: Leaping out of my comfort zone

𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙯𝙤𝙣𝙚

"Let's get naked!" Kenzie exclaims excitedly as soon as we arrive at Squam Lake, and is out the car in an instant.

Jake laughs and practically jumps out the car, taking his shirt off in the process. Alex gets out at a normal place, chuckling along too. I, however, take my time, nervous to my very core. I'm about to get naked in front of my friends. Oh my God.

Kenzie is so excited, she does a cartwheel.

"In all my years of knowing you, I had no clue that you could do a cartwheel so well," Jake says with his eyebrows raised, impressed by Kenzie's surprising gymnastic skills. I'm too nervous to be impressed.

She bows in response, "I am a man of many talents."

"You're a seventeen year old girl." Jake states.

Kenz waves her had dismissively, "That is just a technicality." She says. Jake snorts in amusement.

At first, I wanted to rain check on the skinny dipping as I didn't want to leave Alex when he was clearly not in a good state of mind, but when I told him that I was going to stay home with him, he said that he wanted to go skinny dipping too. He thinks it will help him take his mind off of everything that's happened today, and I have no right to tell him no. If he thinks it will make him feel better, then so be it. I want him to feel better, but I also don't want him to store away his emotions.

After we were able to compose ourselves, splash water on our faces, and make it look like we hadn't just been crying, we went downstairs and told Kenzie and Jake of our plan. Then we got into Kenzie's car, Alex and I sat in the back, and we drove the whole one hour and twenty minute journey to Squam Lake.

Throughout the journey, my hand never left Alex's, and couple of times, we'd catch each other's gaze, smiling. Alex doesn't seem at all down about his mother blocking his number anymore, which I find concerning because I don't know if this is on purpose or if it's due to his positive emotions about me telling him that I love him overlapping the previous negative emotions that he was feeling.

In case he was simply hiding it, I made sure to sneak him a kiss, or squeeze his hand, or rest my head on his shoulder now and then just to remind him that I am still there for him.

The buzz of finally telling Alex about my love for him doesn't wear off, even as I get out the car and have to swallow down my nerves.

"What are you waiting for, Matty?" Kenzie asks me, already stood in her underwear. Jake is working on taking his jeans off, while Alex is still pulling off his shirt. I'm stood stock still, making no move to remove any piece of clothing off my body.