The Break Up Pact

Chapter 12

Sitting laid out by the edge of the school pool, I watched in boredom as the water rippled under the hot afternoon sun. It was Monday after school, and though I wanted to be in bed taking my peaceful after-school nap, I wasn't. Instead, I sat lazily by the edge of our school pool, waiting for Sebastian to finish making a spectacle of himself in the water.

Apparently, he had to finish his little private swim training session before we could further discuss our next plan. And yes, I had caved and agreed to work with him again, but in my defense, it was purely in my desperation to rid Sebastian from my life. Him and his stupid impregnating dog had to go.

I was so absorbed in my bitter thoughts, that it caught me by surprise when I heard the water shift down beside me. I looked down just in time, to see Sebastian resurface from under the water. With smiling eyes, he ran a loose hand through the darkened locks of his black hair before pulling himself over to the edge of the pool.

As he crossed his thick tan swimmer arms loosely over the edge, I tried my best to maintain eye contact, and not to stare at his arms. God, did it piss me off that he was hot.

"So, Brooks," Sebastian smiled, as he leaned further into the side. "Wanna come for a swim?"

I stared at him blankly for several beats before plucking up an eyebrow. "And catch whatever disease that you've spread out into that water? Yeah, I think I'll pass," I said with a flattened laugh.

Not even fazed by my insult, Sebastian just stared back at me with an easy smile. "You're so different from the old days, you know," he snickered, as he loosely looked me up and down. "You used to swim in the same 'disease-infested waters' as me, all the time, remember? And you loved it." Though his tone was supposed to be mocking, there was an edge to it, like there was more he wanted to say.

A weird feeling passed through my stomach, at the reminder of our long-forgotten friendship. Though I'd never admit it to him, it had hurt quite a lot to lose him as a friend. At the time, he had meant so much to me.

Recollecting myself, I let my eyes narrow. "Yeah, well I grew up and bought some standards. And besides," I scoffed. "How'd you expect me to swim without a swimsuit genius?"

I knew I'd made a mistake when Sebastian's eyes brightened with amusement. "Who said you needed a swimsuit? Just swim naked. It's fine, I'm the only one here," he said with a smile as though those words were supposed to be comforting.

"Eww, no, you pervert," I said, wrinkling my nose. "I'm certainly not stripping for you, or that quite clearly recording school surveillance camera in the corner," I huffed as I nodded my head over to it in the corner.

Sebastian went stiff as he saw the camera and turning back my way, he suddenly looked a lot more serious. "Yeah, definitely don't strip anymore," he said kind of sternly.

If I didn't know him, I would have thought he was concerned by the idea of me being caught on camera. But, of course, that couldn't be the case – Sebastian would probably laugh if anything.

"Anyway," Sebastian said as his lips slid smoothly back into a smile. "How about we make a bet?" he suggested, with an almost twinkle in his eye.

"Yeah, no," I snorted, not even needing time to think. Sebastian plus a bet just screamed trouble and I wasn't stupid.

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, don't be such a baby, you haven't even heard it yet," he teased.

Angling more to face him, I let my eyes lazily narrow. "Okay, fine, then let's hear it," I asked in caution.

His smile grew broader. "If I can swim the length of this pool in 13 seconds or less, then I get to see you with no top on," he smirked while doing a sweeping gesture over the top half of my body.