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“What’s mine is yours, my friend.”
We both started bursting out laughing, probably loud enough for the entire hall to hear.
The sound of a knock on the door interrupted our amusement.
“Anyone up for a bath?” called a voice from the other side of the door.
Amica and I quickly glanced at one another, our eyes smiling just as much as our mouths. We rushed off the bed, Amica beating me to the door as she opened it to see Miles standing there with four towels piled in his arms.
Amica squealed with excitement. “Okay, hold on Miles, we’ll change into our swimwear and meet you down there.”
“Let’s ditch the clothes tonight,” I blurted out.
Two pairs of eyes stared back at me as if I had just claimed to be a Red Bones member.
Miles was the first to come out of his shock. “Do my ears deceive me, or did I actually just hear that come out of your mouth?”
Amica’s jaw was on the floor, probably because she always tried to convince me to go without clothing and I’d only said yes on two occasions, both times being her birthday, so I felt obligated to agree.
Both of them knew about the burns on my back from when I fell into that fire at the circus, and I knew they couldn’t care less about them, but it was still something I was insecure about. However, I wanted to start appreciating them as marks of what I’d survived, as opposed to scars that told of my burdens. Now seemed as good a time as any to start embracing that.
“Are you sure?” she asked.
“Yes! You’re the one always trying to convince me the water feels better on bare skin.”
Truthfully, it did. Without the clothes it was simply more relaxing, as if the lake would wash away the darker parts of me I wished to keep hidden.
Miles looked a little nervous when he added, “Would you hate me if I said I already invited Mendex to come?”
Mendex peeped from behind the door and waved. Amica blushed and I started to immediately regret my earlier statement.
“By all means,” Mendex said, “don’t let me be the one who keeps you from taking your clothes off.” He chuckled and Miles shoved him.
My heart was beating a little faster now. Miles and Amica were one thing when it came to seeing my back, but Mendex? This was the real test of my previous statement, and I really did want to be rid of my insecurity. Perhaps this was the best opportunity for me to do just that.
“Mendex,” I said, “could you get in trouble for being out with us when you’re supposed to be Bennett’s personal guard?”
“Bennett gave me the night off.” He shrugged. “Plus, I’m twenty-two years old, I should be having fun, being reckless and doing things I’ll probably end up regretting. I don’t want to look back on my life and regret things I wish I did in the moment.”
That was all it took for my anxiety to simply disappear. Mendex was exactly right, and I often forgot that I was still only twenty and deserved to act like it.
“Plus, I can’t pass up the opportunity to give you the honor of seeing me in all my glory.”
Miles and I burst out laughing while Amica just rolled her eyes, trying to hide the hint of pink that appeared in her cheeks.
???
I held my breath until my lungs burned, then broke the surface of the water, gasping for air.
Miles gaped at me as I said, “I win,” with a proud smile written on my face.
“How do you do that without drowning?”
“I don’t know why you always ask.” I chuckled, a bit breathless. “I beat you every single time, and you’re always just as shocked.”
“Because that’s not natural!”
“Just admit defeat, Miles. I’m the world champion of underwater breath holding.”
