1288 Wouchers
SUNSCREEN
LUKE
The sun was relentless, bearing down on me as I lounged next to the pool, my beer bottle sweating in my hand. Josh was stretched out on the other chair, scrolling through his phone, while I tried to focus on stats running through my head from practice. Laura took Jess out for a pedicure and gave the boys a day to just be boys.
Sarah was holed up in the pool house, thankfully out of sight.
I should’ve known peace wouldn’t last.
The door to the pool house creaked open, and out she came, strutting across the yard in a bikini that left almost nothing to the imagination.
“Hey, boys,” she called, a syrupy tone in her voice that immediately set me on edge. “Mind if I join you?”
Josh shrugged without looking up. “Sure. It’s a free country.”
I didn’t say anything, just tipped my beer back and swallowed hard.
Sarah eased herself onto one of the lounge chairs, stretching out like she was posing for a magazine. I didn’t glance her way, didn’t give her the satisfaction. If I could just keep the conversation locked on football, maybe she’d get bored and disappear.
SUNSCREEN
Josh leaned over to grab another beer from the cooler between us and frowned when he realized it was empty. “Damn, we’re out. I’ll go grab some more from the house.”
He got up, brushing his hands on his shorts. I shot him a quick. look. “I’ll come with you.”
Josh waved me off. “Nah, I’ll be like five minutes max. Relax, man.”
“Yeah, sure,” I muttered, watching him stride toward the house. Five minutes felt like an eternity with Sarah around.
The air felt heavier the second he was gone. I stared at the pool, pretending she wasn’t there, but it was impossible to ignore her.
“You’ve got a great place here, living next to each other. Your house is beautiful, though.” Sarah said, her voice cutting through the silence.
I clenched my jaw and forced myself to respond. “It’s Jess’s house.”
“Yeah, but you’re paying for it, aren’t you?” she said, smirking like she thought she had me figured out.
I took a long pull from my beer, staring straight ahead. “It’s Jess’s house,” I repeated, this time more firmly. “On her name. Not mine.”
Sarah hummed like she didn’t believe me, and the silence that followed was so thick it felt suffocating.
Josh better hurry the hell up.
“Sorry man! All out of beer, I’ll go grab some from your house.”
11:58
He called before I could get up and respond. Shit. Just fucking great. I get to stay here with the psycho.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sarah shift, sitting up and grabbing something from the side table. When she stood and moved closer, I already knew this wasn’t going anywhere good.
“Hey,” she said, holding out a bottle of lotion with an infuriatingly sweet smile. “Mind putting sunscreen on my back?”
I blinked at her, trying to process the audacity. “I, uh…” I rubbed the back of my neck, searching for the politest way to say hell no. “I–fucking hate sunscreen–the smell, everything. I don’t want it on my hands. Sorry.”
Her smile faltered for just a second before she recovered, shrugging like it wasn’t a big deal.
I grumbled under my breath, taking another sip of beer, but I ‘couldn’t sit there anymore. The tension was too much, and I
wasn’t about to give her a chance to pull anything else.
Without another word, I got up and walked to the edge of the pool, diving in to cool off. The water was shockingly cold, but it felt good–like it could wash away the discomfort crawling under my skin.
I swam a few laps, keeping my mind focused on the rhythm of my strokes and the water rushing past my ears. When I surfaced, I made the mistake of glancing toward the lounge chairs.
Sarah was leaning on her elbows, her sunglasses hiding her eyes, but I could feel her watching me.
I gritted my teeth, ducking under the water again and swimming to the opposite end of the pool. When I came up for air this time, I wiped my face and checked the yard. No sign of Josh yet.
Fuck.
If he wasn’t back in the next two minutes, I was getting the hell out of here.
I rested my arms on the pool’s edge, my back to her, trying to ignore the growing itch of her attention. I could almost hear her scheming like she was waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Every second felt like an hour, the tension so thick it was unbearable. When I finally heard the sound of Josh’s truck pulling back into the driveway, I let out a breath of relief I hadn’t realized I was holding.
I hoisted myself out of the pool, grabbing a towel and shaking the water from my hair. Sarah still hadn’t moved from her chair, but I didn’t care anymore.
ACCIDENTY
