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I set my laptop on the table in the middle of all of them. I left it on the appropriate screen so that all they had to do was press the button to play the video. I left it there and turned to make my way to the pool.
I kept my eyes on Beau who was swimming underwater as I walked. He came up near the edge of the pool close to where I was heading.
A moment passed, and I heard them laughing by the time I got over there. A nervous smile covered my face as I listened to their yells, laughs, and other reactive noises. I worked quickly, but I was still in the middle of getting my shirt off when Max shouted at me.
"What happened there, Holland, you looked like a piece of petrified wood."
"I think I looked like a fainting goat," I said, holding back a laugh as I spoke.
They all busted out laughing at that because a fainting goat was completely accurate. They watched it again, a few times in a row, all gathering around and appreciating different aspects of it each time it played.
I busied myself. I folded my clothes and left them in a neat pile on a chair before making my way to the edge of the swimming pool. I stopped near the side. Beau was in the deep end, holding onto the edge, but I went down to the area where the shallow met the deep and hopped in. I didn't hesitate. I squatted and hopped into the pool in one splashless movement. The water was up to my chest in that area, but I could still easily touch.
"Well, hello, beautiful," Beau said swimming up next to me.
I heard them laughing and watching again, and I felt his body bump against mine as he came up next to me. He put his hands on the edge of the pool on either side of me, trapping me in his arms. We had never done this in front of anyone, but I felt so drawn to him that I didn't care who was around. I turned, leaning against the edge of the pool with my back to the concrete. I didn't have to hold on because I was tall enough to touch. I stared at him, smiling at the sound of their reactions.
"I am completely crazy about you," he said, staring at me. "Out of my mind with it."
"I was just thinking the same thing," I said.
"That I was crazy about you?"
I grinned at him. "No, that I was about you," I whispered.
"Holland, you are classic in this video," Casey said, laughing as he spoke.
Everyone was laughing. It was a hilarious video even for strangers, but them knowing us and the situation made it even funnier. I glanced over there and saw Casey and Eric starting to imitate me with the wide-eyed, stiff-armed pose. I did not mind at all. I thought they were funny. The first few rounds of jumping into the pool included a Holland contest where one-by-one everyone jumped off the diving board while doing their best imitation of me getting scared. I was the judge since I would obviously have an unfair advantage in such a contest.
It was a riot.
One after one they did it. Eric, Casey, Max, Charlie, Hope… even Beau's dad, Danny, got in on the action. Beau and I watched from the side, judging them and commenting on their accuracy. We found a spot near the edge of the pool, and I stood in Beau's arms. I let my feet come up off the bottom and drift while he held onto me with a hand around my waist. We laughed and cut up with his family, and Beau kept a hand on me the entire time we were out there. Neither of us cared if other people saw us. I was next to him, and it was right and wonderful. We did not leave each other's side.
Everyone else came in and out and swam for a few minutes at a time, but Beau and I stayed in one spot, swimming next to each other, letting our bodies casually brush against each other as the conversation and action went on around us. I listened to them and chimed in during what I thought was the appropriate time, but I was focused on Beau.
He was my man.
I stared at the way his short facial hair grew in patches on his jaw. I looked at the water droplets on his cheeks. It was dark out, and his eyes looked dark and mysterious. He was dangerous. I was in danger because I felt like I would follow him to the ends of the earth. I caught myself looking at Beau's face and thinking that I was the luckiest person in the world. I was smitten with his personality, too, and I smiled the whole time we were out there.
Eventually, we were the only two left in the pool, and both of us agreed that it was about time to get out. People were still outside with us, but they were engaged in their own conversations.
"I thought I felt a drop of rain, so I'm going to move your laptop to the house," Astrid said. "I'll leave it right there on the bar."
"Thank you!" I yelled.
"We might get wet," Beau said looking up at the sky and then at me.
"We already are wet," I said, moving toward him. We smiled at each other, and it was too much for either of us to handle. We went straight to a kiss. It was the first time it had happened in front of his family, but there was no stopping it. I was aware of them, so it was quick and light, but it was gut-shattering to have Beau's mouth touch mine tenderly with them standing out there with us. He held onto me under the water when he did it, and I felt like I might come undone. My body was reacting in ways that I wasn't prepared to experience, and I pulled back because it was a lot for me to handle. The pool had lights, and the water caused lines of light to hit our bodies. Beau was gorgeous.
"I'm getting out," I said since everyone else was about to go in.
"Me too," he said, heading toward the ladder.
"I'm waking up early in the morning to do some work," Max announced.
"I'll be here," Eric said. "But I'm heading out for the night—going back to Graham Springs. I told my mom I would go back to her place tonight. I've barely seen her since I've been back. But I'll be here tomorrow to help you finish clearing that trail. We can start prepping for the pavers."
"Are you up for hauling rocks for a couple of hours in the morning?" Max asked, directing his question to Beau. "It'll go faster with more hands."
