AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Really?” he says. “I thought Ally liked swimming.”
“Why would you think that?” she asks, annoyed.
“I feel like she mentioned it.”
“No,” I say. “I definitely didn’t.”
“My mistake,” he says, smiling.
“Honestly, Devon,” Darci says. “Would you go inside? I know you probably get off on seeing my friends in bikinis, but…”
“That’s definitely not what I get off on,” he says. “But yeah, I’ll go in in just a minute. Just wanted to cool off. You can pretend I’m not here.”
“That’s all I ever do,” she says.
I zone out on whatever they’re talking about and watch him in the water through my sunglasses instead until Morgan passes me a phone and asks me what dress I like better. It’s hard to pick; they’re both so beautiful. Not for the first time, I’m aware of what I’m missing out on. That I’m different, and I didn’t ask for it.
That I’m a waste of time.
Devon gets out of the pool, walks over to the chair next to mine, and grabs a towel. He dries his face and chest, then runs his fingers through his hair and, when they aren’t looking, flicks the water in my face before going inside.
“Darci, Devon is—” Audrey starts.
“Don’t say it,” Darci says. “Don’t you dare fucking say it.”
“I mean, he’s kind of hot.”
“Don’t. He’sawful.”
“Yeah, but looks good with his shirt off,” she says. “He’s got that ‘v’ that dips down…”
“Stop,” she says. “If you fuck him, you can’t come over anymore.”
“Have you ever thought about it?” Morgan asks.
“You mean for the kink?” Darci asks. “I’d have to keep looking at him and living with him afterward, so it’s a hard no.”
“It may be worth it for me not to come over anymore,” Audrey says.
Yeah, I’m going to be sick. My eyes sting with fresh tears.
“I’m going to go to the bathroom,” I announce, heading inside the house.
I walk through the living room to the half bathroom and close the door behind me. I get a good look at the girl in the mirror—her sunken cheeks, the bags under her eyes. I forget what I look like with makeup. I may not have been thrown into the freak pile, but I’ll always be the ugly friend. Maybe that’s why they keep me around.
I resign not to cry—I need to suck it up. I open the bathroom door and find myself face-to-face with Devon.
“Hey, Ally,” Devon says. “So you don’t know how to swim?”
“I do know how to swim. I lied,” I tell him. “I just don’t want to.”
“And why’s that?”
“No reason in particular,” I say, walking around him.
“Don’t do that,” he says, grabbing my arm. “There’s a reason, right? Tell me what it is.”
“Audrey thinks you’re hot,” I tell him. “Maybe you should go for her instead.”
