Iris was in the water, swimming end to end with such speed it caught me off guard. Apparently her parents had forced her to take swimming lessons and swim club. She was amazing at it, even though she no longer swam as an actual sport.
“You can ask all you want,” Gi said. “You already know the answer.”
She handed me a bottle of something to drink as she called it. I figured if we enjoyed ourselves and just stayed at the pool, we were fine. When we got tired or bored then we’d go up to my room and crash. My bed was big enough for the three of us to sleep in.
Iris popped her head up near the steps and stood up.
Water dripped down her face and her body. She was absolutely gorgeous too. Like she had the most amazing body ever hidden under her clothes. Toned and cut, proof that she knew how to swim and still swam quite often. Even if she tried to play the rotten bitch card - not to mention she was really good at playing that card.
Iris pulled her hair to one side and squeezed to let the water drip back into the pool.
“Here,” Gi said as she pulled a hair tie off her wrist and flicked it at Iris.
“Thanks,” Iris said.
She hurried to put her soaking wet hair up into an uneven bun.
“Someone needs to tell me what’s happening,” I said.
“No problem,” Iris said with a grin.
“See… you take pleasure in this,” I said.
“Is that a problem?” Iris asked.
I dipped my right foot into the pool and kicked water at her. “That’s why you’re a bitch and nobody likes you.”
Iris looked at Gi. “Did she just splash me? I’m in the fucking pool already.”
“Maybe I’ll just go get a screwdriver,” I said.
“Catch me,” Iris said.
She walked back into the water, putting her arms out.
I stepped forward, going down to the third step when Gi touched my arm.
“Before we go carving bitch and whore into each other’s faces…”
I looked at Gi. “What?”
“I don’t know,” Gi said. “I didn’t have anything after that.”
She snorted and started to laugh.
“Oh, great,” Iris said. “Here comes Gina.”
“Gina?” I asked. I looked around. “Who the hell is Gina?”
“Nothing,” Gi said, laughing.
“Yup, there she is,” Iris said.
Gi slowly sat down on the edge of the pool, teetering on hysterics.
“I’m lost,” I said.
“Gina is her drunk self,” Iris said. “She gets lit and then starts giggling at everything. You’d swear she was smoking something instead of drinking.”
“Shut up,” Gi said. She gasped for a breath. “Sorry. I just… I thought I had something so tough to say. But I don’t.”
She laughed again.
I smiled.
Iris shrugged her shoulders.
“And who do you become when you’re drunk?” I asked Iris.
“Iris my I-legs are w-wide o-open!” Gi yelled and laughed even harder.
She fell to her back, clutching her stomach.
I eyed Iris even more. “Ah… you lose all control, huh? You like the rich boy dick.”
“At least I can get it,” Iris said.
“You think I can’t?” I asked Iris. “Am I mistaken or do I not have the three hottest guys in BFH after me?”
“You think they want your ass?” Iris asked.
“What else would they want?” I asked.
“Slow walks on the beach and ice cream,” Gi said.
She laughed even more at herself.
Iris walked to Gi, putting a finger to her lips telling me to shut up.
So I did.
Iris got to Gi and grabbed her by the ankles.
She pulled and Gi let out a yell as she was dragged into the pool.
Gi plopped down into the water and started to thrash like she had never touched water before.
When she stood up, she gasped and looked down at her clothes. “What the fuck?”
“I have clothes for you,” I said.
“Poor girl clothes,” Iris said.
“Fuck you,” I said.
“You’re a bitch,” Gi said.
“It’s just water,” Iris said. “And now it looks like Gina is gone.”
“Good,” I said. I leaned against the railing to the pool. “Someone tell me what the hell that was.”
“Me pulling Gi into the pool?” Iris asked in a cocky voice.
“You know what I mean,” I said.
I stepped to the bottle of something and was thankful Gi didn’t drop or break it when she fell to her back laughing like a fool.
I grabbed for it and treated myself to a drink that I told myself I deserved and needed.
“It’s what you saw,” Gi said. “Okay?”
“That Claire was going out with Pres’s father?” I asked.
“Exactly,” Iris said. “They’re both businesspeople. Who cares?”
“That’s sarcastic,” I said.
“So?” Iris asked.
Part of me really wanted to drown her in the pool.
“Everything in this town has two views,” Gi said. She stepped up the steps, her clothes clinging super tight to her body.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you get what you see up front,” Iris said. “The clothes. The hair. The jewelry. The cars.” She looked around. “The fucking house.”
“Right,” Gi said. “And then there’s the other view. The one you can’t see right away.”
“Which is usually the truth,” I said. “Everyone hides the truth.”
“There you go,” Iris said.
“So am I to just assume that Claire is sleeping with Pres’s father?”
“Who knows,” Gi said. “That’s the truth. Pres’s father is rich, powerful, good looking, and he travels a lot. I mean a lot. Maybe they really are going out for a drink and to talk about a new business deal or something.”
“Or maybe she’s riding his face until he can’t breathe,” Iris said.
“Ohmygod what is wrong with you?” Gi yelled.
“What?” Iris asked.
“Wait,” I called out. “Wait… wait… here’s the question of the night…”
My eyes looked to the right and I saw my phone glowing on the table.
I walked toward it as Iris let out a whistle.
“Ask the question,” she said.
“Is Pres’s father married?” I asked, looking back as I reached for my phone. “I mean… his mother and father… are they together…”
“Yup,” Gi said.
My heart sank.
Fuck.
I looked at my phone.
There was a text from Beth.
Wanting to hang out.
But there was another text.
One I hadn’t seen come through.
“Oh shit,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” Gi asked.
“Kip texted,” I said.
“Oooohhhh,” Iris said. “What’s it say?”
“They’re on their way here,” I said.
“Uh, Ti, they’re not on their way here,” Iris said as her face dropped.
“How do you know?” I asked.
She pointed and I turned.
They were walking through the house toward the door to come outside.
Holy shit… they were already here…
* * *
Gi scrambled to get out of the pool but it was too late.
“What is this?” Kip asked. “Wet t-shirt contest?”
“Wait a second,” Barr said as he coolly smoked a cigarette. “Ti isn’t wet.”
“Yet,” Kip said with a wink at me.
“Funny,” I said. “To what do I owe this visit?”
“Just saying hey,” Pres said.
I looked at him and thought about his father. His father’s hand touching the small of Claire’s back. What that could have meant. W
hat they could have been doing right then. What I saw. What I knew.
Which seemed to be my thing.
Always seeing.
Always knowing.
“And then you have the mermaid just floating around,” Kip said.
“Mermaid?” I asked.
“She used to be chunky,” Barr said with a laugh.
“Yeah, fuck you too,” Iris called out from the pool.
“Come on, love, don’t hate on me,” Barr said. “You had a run and you ran out of steam.”
I swallowed hard.
“At least she didn’t lose the weight up top,” Kip said.
Iris dipped down into the water to cover her chest.
Gi finally got a towel around her body and stood far enough away, looking almost afraid.
“You don’t get to come here and insult my friends,” I said.
“Then maybe we can just insult you,” Pres said. “You good with that, sugar?”
“Try me,” I said.
Barr looked at me. “How’s Mom?”
I curled my lip. “Fine. Are you back here because you missed me? Or are the other two jealous that you and I were kissing.”
“Heard about that,” Pres said. “I mean if shutting down Mommy’s little rehab stint gets a kiss then I’ll blow this fucking house up to get one myself.”
Pres stepped toward me.
I inched back.
“Holy shit,” Iris whispered from the pool.
She and Gi were basically useless at this point.
They were scared of the Rulz. Or intimidated. Or turned on.
Like me.
A mix of all three.
Staring at all three of them…
I walked back so far I ended up bumping into Gi.
She let out a gasp and thrust her hip to the right to let me know she was there.
Pres stopped walking.
His eyes moved from me to Gi. “How are you tonight?”
“Fine,” Gi said.
“You fall in the pool?”
“Something like that.”
“Why hide behind a towel?”
“What do you want, Pres?” I asked.
“Think I should jump in the pool?” Pres asked Gi.
“That’s up to you,” Gi said.
“We actually came to steal you away, love,” Barr said.
“Steal me for what?” I asked.
“Since you seem to be digging into who we are,” Kip said, “we might as well show you, right?”
“We all could go,” Barr said. “Three on three.”
“I know who I’m picking for the night,” Pres said as his eyes shifted to mine.
My body started to melt.
My mind flashed images of Barr though. The way he held me and kissed me. The taste of his lips and tongue. Leaving me wondering what Pres tasted like. Or even…
“Cannonball!” Kip’s voice boomed.
He dumped his phone and keys and other stuff to the table and ran toward the pool.
As he dove through the air right at Iris, she screamed and started to swim out of the way.
Kip stuck his tongue out at me as he came down to the water.
His messy blonde hair and his bright blue eyes…
Total surfer looking boy.
He smacked the water and popped up, swimming toward Iris.
That forced her to hurry out of the pool.
Her black bathing suit against her perfect body… her perfect cleavage… water dripping everywhere… all three of the Rulz staring at her.
“Get the fuck out of here,” I ordered Pres.
“What was that?” Barr asked.
“You heard me,” I said. I walked by Pres, leaving him along with Gi. “Get out of here. I didn’t say you could come here.”
“We didn’t ask, love,” Barr said.
“You going to call the cops?” Kip asked. He took a mouthful of water and put his head back, spitting the water out like a water fountain.
“This isn’t a game,” I said. “Or a joke.”
“Figured since you were so interested in the ditch, might as well give you the tour,” Barr said. “You were already spying up there.”
“Wonder how you found the place,” Kip said.
He rose up from the water and his light gray shirt was beyond soaked, hugging his body, leaving nothing to the imagination as to what his body looked like.
He walked through the water with ease, causing waves to scatter around the pool.
“Giving away our secret spot,” Barr said, looking at Iris. “Didn’t you get your cherry popped up in those woods?”
“Hardly,” Iris said. “That happened from a tampon, asshole. You BFH boys think you’re so long and hard… not even close.”
Barr grinned.
He took a drag of his cigarette.
Behind Iris, Kip walked out of the pool.
“God, I wish I was a tampon,” Kip whispered.
“Gross,” Iris said.
“Really fucking gross,” I said.
“Took it too far there?” Kip asked, showing his hands. “My bad.”
“You’re invited to the ditch, love,” Barr said. “Tomorrow. We have something going on.”
“We’ll be there,” I said.
“No,” Kip said. “Not we. Just you.”
“Early,” Barr said. “Before the fights start.”
I side eyed a glance at Iris.
She was frozen. Keeping her normal bitch face as always. But she wasn’t throwing out any more comments. That told me she was nervous too.
“Whatever,” I said.
“If you need a ride, girl, I can give you one,” Kip said as he walked by Iris.
He made it a point to have his arm rub against her arm.
Jealousy hit me and I didn’t like that feeling.
I was also jealous of Iris’s body. Which made me hate my mother even more for being a junkie. If she could have kept her veins clean I could have maybe swum at a pool too. And had a body like Iris’s.
And all those thoughts were petty and useless.
“You can go ride your left hand,” I said.
“Everyone knows I’m a righty,” Kip said with a wink.
“We’ll see you tomorrow night, love,” Barr said. “We’ll let you get back to your girls night.”
“Unless you’re going to get naked and get in the pool,” Kip said as he grabbed his stuff off the table.
“You first,” I said.
I instantly regretted the comment.
Kip put his hands to his pants, ready to drop them.
“Hey, love,” Barr said. “I see you’re having a drink or two. Stay safe. Hate for something to happen to you.”
I opened my mouth ready to tell Barr to go fuck himself.
That’s when I felt something push at my shoulder.
I turned my head and smelled Pres’s cologne as I stumbled, knowing I had no choice but to jump into the pool.
I hit the water fully clothed and jumped up, fighting my wet hair out of my face.
“Don’t drink and drive, sugar,” Pres said. “I like you alive… and wet.”
“Want me to join you for a swim, girl?” Kip offered.
I just stared at them.
Barr took one last drag of his smoke and flicked it into the pool. “Let’s go. She’ll be there tomorrow. She has no choice.”
They walked back into the house and left the way they came.
I stood there in the pool with Barr’s mushy, gross cigarette just floating around.
“Holy shit,” Iris finally said.
“I’ve never seen anything like that in my life,” Gi said.
She was cuddled up tight in her towel, chewing on the edge of it.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“They don’t do that kind of thing, Ti,” Iris said. “They don’t just show up like that. Or talk like that.”
“Or act like that,” Gi said.
“What does that mean?”
Iri
s shook her head. “You better be at the ditch tomorrow when they say.”
“She’s right,” Gi said. “I don’t know if they like you or if they really just want to mess with you.”
“And my guess is there’s no in between,” I said.
“Nope,” Iris said.
I turned my head and looked at Barr’s cigarette in the pool.
What the fuck do these guys want from me?
fourteen
Gi and Iris left after breakfast.
They didn’t talk about the Rulz other than the silent agreement that I would show up to the ditch first as requested. Then they would show up for the fights. Iris sent a few texts and confirmed there were fights planned. So it wasn’t some kind of set up for me.
As they left, Iris gave me a classic bitch grin and whispered to look for the post sex glow on Claire’s face to really know what she had been doing last night. Of course, this was after enduring countless stupid jokes about real estate being compared to Pres’s father’s body.
Which was maybe funny for them… and for me… but only a little. Because that meant Pres’s mother was home while her husband was sleeping with another woman. And that woman was the woman who took me in to help me and my mother.
That made me even more connected to Pres and the Rulz, which I did not want.
There was nothing I could give them. Nothing they could gain from me.
So in a sense I was some kind of toy.
But I had an idea or two.
I just needed to find a weakness so I could fight back. I thought by dropping hints about Barr and I kissing that would do it. But I guess Barr told Pres and Kip about it. And they didn’t seem to mind. Unless they wanted a kiss of their own. Which… if that got them off my back…
My face flooded with red hot heat as I stood in the kitchen thinking about it.
The poor dirty girl with the junkie mother coming to this rich town and going to the rich school and tongue fucking the three hottest, baddest, and richest boys in that school and town.
What a fucking story, huh?
I wasn’t sure if that would make me a legend or just another whore in all their eyes.
Not that I cared what they all thought of me.
This wasn’t my home.
This was just a place to be for the time being.
I didn’t see Claire.
I didn’t see her favorite car either.
It could have been in the garage.
And even if it was… maybe Pres’s father drove.
Maybe they were together in some luxury hotel suite, sitting on a hidden balcony, sipping coffee, smiling at all the temptation and all they’ve done wrong.
UNtouched: a bay falls high novel Page 13
