“Can I get a burger, please?” she asks James.
Her hair’s wet, and she’s ditched her shorts. In their place is a damp towel wrapped around her waist, and a smattering of goose bumps trail her arms. James places a perfectly prepared burger on her plate, and she slides a step closer to me and stoops next to the cooler at my feet to remove a can of Sprite.
“Looks like you have a little fan club over there,” she says in a low voice as she dangles the cold soda can dripping with condensation by her fingertips.
We both peer back at the group of teenage girls, now about six of them, still stealing glances in our direction.
I smirk, too awkward for this type of attention.
She hums thoughtfully. “Are you shy?” she teases, an amused smile lifting the corners of her mouth.
“No,” I answer in a low whisper, looking away and busying myself with my food.
She fakes a shocked gasp. “You are!”
I narrow my eyes in her direction. “No, I’m not.”
“You totally are,” she taunts with her voice at a near whisper, poking her finger in my direction. “Oh, Everett. That’s no good. We can’t have the hot new guy be a closeted recluse.”
One corner of my lip turns up. “You think I’m hot?” I ask, the whisper in my voice matching hers.
We’re interrupted by a loud splash. Josh grabbed one of his cousins, one of the giggling girls on the other side of the pool, and threw her in. Along with Andrew, who willingly jumped in with one of the other girls, they’re all creating chaos in a big water fight.
“I’ll jump in if you will,” I dare Teeny.
“I just got my food.” She holds up the plate in front of me.
I take the plate and the unopened soda can from her, and she lets me, watching me as I place it on top of the cooler.
“It’s going to get cold.”
I ignore her, stooping down to grab her by the waist. Her towel falls to the ground, and I rush into the pool with my arms still wrapped around her and her screaming into my ear. I see Teeny’s arms flail under the water while we’re both submerged and when we break the surface, she gasps in shock in my direction.
“Everett!” She laughs, splashing water at me, and I do the same. We’re joined with a slew of happy screams and squeals, all drowned by the violent sloshing and splattering of water.
I feel hands on my shoulders followed by the pressure of weight pushing me down. It’s not heavy so I’m able to fight it off, and when I turn around, I find Teeny attempting to climb me. I duck into the water and lift her from her hips and flip her over my shoulder. We’re creating a show, and people start laughing at us before Teeny’s mom announces that it’s time for cake.
The pool starts to empty, but I wait for Teeny. She finds me and splashes a testy wave of water in my direction. “That was so not fair,” she sulks, though a smile peeks through her anger.
“How so?”
“You’re like twice my size,” she states. “I’m at a huge disadvantage.” She flicks more water at me, and I dodge it with my shoulder. We’re the only ones in the water now, and we move around each other, wading in the deep end in circles.
“Yeah, but you speak French better than I do.”
She laughs. “How does that help in this situation?”
“You could’ve always outsmarted me.”
She rolls her eyes and starts toward the edge of the pool to join the rest of the party. “I’ll get you back,” she says over her shoulder. “You better sleep with one eye open, Hayes.”
“You’re last naming me now?” I ask, following her out.
“Only when you’re in trouble. And that”—she waggles a finger in the direction of the calmer water—“was definitely last name worthy.”
She hands me a towel from a stack that was set aside, and we both dry ourselves. Everyone else has gathered around a large folding banquet table near the lawn area, and we slowly make our way.
“Teeny! Mommy got me a Death Star piñata!” Andrew shrieks, running to tug Teeny toward the cake. It’s a large sheet cake decorated with various Star Wars characters and figurines on top with a large number eight candle.
