The Night We Said Yes (12 page)

THEN

10:45
P
.
M
.

“So,” I whispered, catching my breath after getting off the roof and landing, somewhat easily, on the stairs. “You lead,” I said, nodding toward Jake. He smirked back and dug into his backpack and produced two small airplane bottles of rum.

“Liquid courage, eh?” I eyed Jake, wondering how much more he had in his bag of tricks. Normally I’d worry about his alcohol intake, but with skinny-dipping on the horizon, the alcohol actually looked tempting. And I hated myself for thinking that.

Jake took a swig from one bottle, and then passed the rest to Meg. He gave the unopened bottle to Matt and me.

“Well . . .” Matt said, twisting the lid open. “Bottoms
up?” He took a big gulp and then handed me the rest. I took a deep breath, held back my head, and downed the liquid. Despite it being cold, it burned, forming flames inside my body. I gagged, wanting to get the fire out, but I knew vomiting wouldn’t help. I swallowed it, extinguishing the flames, but the nausea didn’t go away.

“I’m never doing that again,” I whispered. Meg threw her arm over my shoulders and squeezed. We were in it together, it seemed. As soon as we packed the booze back into its bag, Jake took off toward the pool, and we followed obediently.

The pool was next to the building, closer to the forest surrounding the school than the street. A thin, metal fence was around it, but it was easy to hop. We’d all hopped taller fences before; earlier that night, in fact. Lampposts on each corner illuminated the area, casting a shadow on the water. Once inside, we all stopped in front of the pool, waiting for someone—Jake—to make the first move.

“Showtime,” he said, stripping off his shirt and pants, leaving his boxers on. He was pale with clothes on, but without them he was ghost white, almost translucent.

“Honey, you really need a tan,” Meg said, shaking her head.

“And ruin this body?” he asked, and just like that, turned around and jumped into the pool. We remained frozen until he surfaced.

“WOOAAHH, feels great!” he said, tossing water from his hair as he broke the surface. “Who’s coming with me?”

Meg took her shirt and pants off and jumped in next. I tried to remember if I’d shaved my legs. Check. I also thanked myself for choosing a black bra and matching underwear. Simple, but classic. I always wore nice undergarments to parties. It wasn’t like I planned on hooking up with someone; I just liked looking good under my clothes. It made me feel more confident.

“So . . .” Matt said, looking at me. The night was dark, the pool barely illuminated. I was glad he couldn’t see the redness spreading across my cheeks.

“I guess it’s our turn?” I picked at my shirt, waiting to see what he’d do. To my surprise, he turned away, motioning for me to go first, and it made me smile. It was something Nick never would have done. Quickly, I stripped off my shirt, pushed down my jeans, and jumped in.

The water did feel good—warm, but not too warm. I broke the surface and swished my hair back, rubbing the water from my eyes. Meg and Jake were already on the other side of the pool talking in hushed tones and very close to each other. Secrets we weren’t quite allowed to hear. Behind me, the water crashed, and I turned around to see Matt bobbing his head up.

“So,” he spit out, wiping water off his face. “This is new.” Even with the alcohol coursing through my veins, I still felt self-conscious. I was underwater, but if he looked down, he’d see everything.
Everything
. I doggy-paddled by, but not too close.

“Yeah. You know—we may be the first people to swim in our underwear here,” I said, trying not to blush.

“Well, I feel very honored to be among the first.” He grinned. I noticed he was swimming at a bit of a distance from
me
. What did he have to be self-conscious about? I couldn’t see much, but his skin looked soft and suntanned. His arms, though skinny, had the hint of muscle, probably from playing bass, and I couldn’t stop staring. Goose bumps pimpled his shoulders as he bounced up and down. We made waves with our hands and the water splashed up gently against our bodies, despite the distance between us.

“As well you should. Only so many people have seen me in my bra.” Did I just say that? I stopped bobbing and swam closer. He smiled in reply.

“I wish I’d known we were doing this; I would have dressed better,” he said, pushing the water with his hands.

“You looked fine tonight,” I answered, smiling.

“No, not that. I’m pretty sure I’m wearing Batman boxers right now.”

I laughed, blushing as I thought of him and his lack of clothing. “I expect to see those by the end of the night.”

“Oh no. Only a select few get the privilege of seeing my underwear.”

“How does one become privileged?” I asked. The words were coming out of my mouth without me thinking. As if it wasn’t me talking. With anyone else, I would have been mortified, but with the blackness of the night, the quiet behind
us, and Matt’s proximity—I felt unconquerable.

“Years of training. Advanced degrees. Chocolate-chip cookies.”

“Chocolate-chip cookies?”

He grinned, floating above the water mere inches from me. “I really like cookies.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I responded, taking him in. His face looked excited, open, and just as cute without the glasses. “Can you see okay?”

“Without my glasses? Yeah. I mean, I can’t drive without them, but you’re not a huge blur or anything.”

“How many fingers am I holding up?” I asked, holding up three fingers above my head.

“Hmm.” He paddled closer. “Eighty-two?”

“Close enough,” I answered, giggling.

“I should thank you, by the way,” he said, chin bobbing under the water.

“For what?”

“Taking me out,” he said, completely earnestly. “I don’t—I don’t always do this stuff, just so you know. Like, drinking, skinny-dipping . . .”

“Oh god, I don’t either. This is rare.” I shyly looked down and caught him glancing at my bra. The light illuminated him just enough so that I could see the pink on his nose. I should have been nervous or outraged, but instead I felt . . . pretty. He
wanted
to look.

“I like it here. It’s been a great night so far.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re here. It would have been really awkward had it just been me and . . . them,” I said, pointing my thumb behind me.

“Speaking of . . .” He lifted his chin to indicate I should turn around. I scanned the water behind me and saw what I feared would happen.

Jake was pushing Meg’s back against the pool wall and her legs were wrapped around his waist. Their faces were mashed together, not just kissing, but practically eating each other alive. It was as if they’d never kissed before. Her hands were exploring his back, searching for new territory to take over and claim as her own.

“That’s . . . not good.”

“I don’t think they care about that right now,” Matt said behind me.

“We should probably give them some privacy.”

He nodded and started swimming in the other direction, toward the deeper end. We swam quietly until we reached the edge of the pool. “I can’t stand here!” I said somewhat stupidly, as the water I was flailing around in was eight feet deep. None of us could stand there. I bicycle-kicked my legs to keep me afloat, trying to make it look more cool than childish.

“I’ve got you,” Matt said, grabbing me by the waist. I yelped as his hands brushed across my bare stomach and pulled me closer. My heart was racing as I was caught in his arms, pressed against his chest. He started lifting me until I
was literally thrown over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” I laughed, playfully beating my hands on his back.

“You asked for it.” He picked me up and tossed me into the pool. I felt the water break against my body as I floated down, gulping in copious amounts of liquid along the way. When I reached the surface, I felt like my head was 90 percent liquid. Matt, of course, was grinning.

“You jerk,” I half coughed, half laughed, trying to get the remaining water out of my mouth and nose. Seeking revenge, I swam back over and jumped on top of him, trying to push him down. It was amazing how much braver water—and, for that matter, alcohol—made me. I was in my underwear, but perfectly okay jumping on top of a guy. Who was I?

“No fair!” he yelled. He started tickling my stomach, which made me cry out. He had just figured out my Achilles’ heel—I was incredibly ticklish. It was bad. Someone could just look at me and think of touching my stomach, and I’d laugh.

“Hey!” I shouted, gasping for air. I wrapped myself around his body to administer one final assault when I realized how . . . close we were. Really close. My stomach was against his, and my legs were wrapped around his waist. Our chests were rising and falling in sync. His lips were only a few inches away. He stopped too, and stared into my eyes. For a moment, I thought back to our moment on the roof.
The shock when we kissed. Our fingers touching. We were silent, staring at each other.

A beam of light crossed his face, and then another. His eyes snapped from mine to the other side of the pool, and then his body stiffened when we heard the siren.

“Are those cops?” he asked.

“What?” Jake called out, releasing Meg from his grip. “Oh shit, run.”

I jumped off Matt and looked behind me to see flashlight beams weaving in and out of the buildings on campus. They hadn’t spotted us yet, but with the noise we were making, it wouldn’t be long. Someone must have heard us and called the police, despite that
never
happening. I felt Matt’s hand close around mine as he raced to the side of the pool. I followed, pushing my arms and legs as fast as they could go. I looked back and saw that Jake was already out, and Meg was paddling by herself, almost there. I was panicked, but I still had a moment to register one fact—Jake didn’t wait for her.

Matt’s hand was still wrapped around mine as he led me over to the other side of the pool for our clothes.

“Just grab them and run,” he said, picking up his shirt and putting his glasses back on. I grabbed my pants and shoes, and then wildly looked around for my shirt. The shirt Meg got me. I couldn’t spot it anywhere. In the meantime, I picked up her clothes, just to be safe. Jake, wet, grabbed his own.

“Hey, hey you,” we heard from the other side of campus. They’d seen us. I hated leaving my shirt behind, but I knew I had to. I glanced up at Matt, and he was looking in every direction, scanning the area and figuring out where to go next, so I jumped ahead and pulled him forward.

“Run,” Jake said, crouched over. He led the way, once again. Interesting how the night brought us back to the beginning. At no point had I expected to escape cops not once, but twice.

We ran behind the building we had recently conquered and sprinted across the parking lot, back onto the street. The ground felt hard and rough against my bare feet. Pebbles stabbed into my soles, and I had to avoid a few pieces of broken glass. But the pain didn’t make me stop. The entire time, Matt didn’t let go of my hand. I was only slightly aware of the fact that we were running down the street in just our underwear. I didn’t even want to think about what we’d be charged with if caught. Breaking and entering. Indecent exposure. Underage drinking. My parents would kill me. I looked over at Matt’s face and could tell he wouldn’t let that happen to us. His eyes held so much determination that he didn’t even notice me looking. He only thought of escape. I could trust him.

We took a quick right onto the street where our cars were parked. They were still there, thankfully.

“My car,” Meg called out from behind. I grabbed her keys from her pockets and threw them at her. She quickly
unlocked the doors and we all jumped in. Matt and I huddled in the backseat, while Meg took the driver’s seat and Jake sat next to her.

“Go, go,” Jake yelled.

“Wait, no. They’d expect that,” Meg said, out of breath. “Let’s just stay here. They’ll be looking for a car racing away. They don’t know where we were parked. Let’s just stay here for a while.”

“And wait to get caught?”

“They won’t find us here.”

“Meg’s right,” I agreed. “They won’t expect us to stay. They’re probably just waiting to pull us over.”

“Plus, we’ve all been drinking,” Matt pointed out. Even though it was three against one, we still waited for Jake to answer. After a long, long pause, he finally sighed and nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll stay.”

We didn’t turn the lights on. Instead, we sat in the dark, too afraid to talk or even move. The only light was from the streetlamp up the street and the house we were parked in front of.

“Car,” Matt said. We all ducked down. It drove slowly up the street, and then passed us, not even stopping to take notice. We lifted our heads and sighed.

“We’re going to do that every time, aren’t we?” I asked.

“It’s a good thing not too many cars come up this street.” Lights hit Meg’s face just as she finished speaking.
We ducked again, and the car passed quickly. “Spoke too soon.” My heart was doing somersaults. It had no clue what to do—slow down, speed up. But despite everything, I actually felt safe. In Meg’s car, I was where I belonged. I knew we’d be fine. I looked down and noticed that Matt’s hand was still wrapped around mine. In the silence, I finally had a moment to think.

I’d never dated a good guy before. And then came Matt, who’d not only kissed me on the roof, but also held my hand the entire run back, just to make sure I wasn’t far behind. Just to make sure I was okay. He never let go. He still hadn’t.

I touched my lip and remembered the spark—the moment I knew we had something different. But it was all so soon, too soon. Could it just be the excitement of the night? The adrenaline pumping through us? Or real feelings?

And then there were Meg and Jake, who always showed the biggest public displays of affection, but ran apart when trouble approached. Relationships shouldn’t be like that. And yet, something constantly brought them back together. What made a good relationship?

My breathing calmed as the minutes passed.

My skin felt sticky from the chlorine and I suddenly realized that I was still in my underwear. “We should put our clothes on,” I suggested, feeling my face flush.