Page 93 of Dreaming at Seaside
“Shh. Do you want to wake Theresa?” Bella grabbed the chain and held it still while Jenna inserted the key into the lock. “I’m wallowing because Caden said he needed a freaking break.”
Amy and Jenna gasped in unison.
“Tell me about it.” Bella closed the gate behind them. “We’ll talk after we’re in the water. I need to clear my head.” She and Amy walked to the far end of the pool by the stairs while Jenna dropped her towel on a table by the gate and hurried from one end of the pool to the other, nude, with her mammoth, bright white breasts swaying from side to side.
“Jenna!” Bella whispered. “Sheesh, woman.”
“Why does she always leave her towel up there?” Amy asked.
“Who knows. It’s probably an OCD thing.” Bella watched Jenna tiptoe onto the first step and lift her feet in quick succession, sucking in air between her teeth.
“Chilly. Chilly. Chilly chipples.” Jenna laughed.
Bella set the bottle of wine on the table and draped her towel over a chair, then walked down the steps, passing Jenna, and went shoulder deep into the cool water. “Boy did I need this. Just get under, Jen. I swear your boobs are like headlights. Get in before you wake Theresa and we all get in trouble.”
“Okay, okay.” Jenna spoke in a harsh whisper, as was their practice when they chunky-dunked. She went down one more step; then she went back up to the top step again with her fingers daintily spread out to her sides. “Cold. Cold. Cold.”
Amy put her towel on the chair and crossed her arms over her small breasts. “Come on, Jenna. We’ll go in together.” She took Jenna’s hand and they both sucked in air as they descended the steps and finally sank up to their chins in the water.
“Brr.” Amy crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t remember it being this cold.”
“It always is,” Jenna said.
“It’s not that cold, wussy girls.” Bella dove under the water and swam like a dolphin to the far end of the pool. Jenna and Amy sidestroked across the pool.
“Bella, spill the beans. What the heck happened? I thought you and Caden were fine. More than fine.” Amy held on to the side of the pool and reached for Jenna’s hand, then pulled her over. They were in the deep end, and in the dark, the water beneath them looked pitch-black.
Bella kicked her feet to stay afloat and to stay warm. Her body was so cold her limbs were shaking, though she’d never admit it after giving them a hard time.
“He said he needed to focus on Evan. That if he had been, this mess wouldn’t have happened.” Bella swallowed past the lump that lodged in her throat. “And I told him that I didn’t want a break, that I’d be there for him and Evan no matter what.”
“Of course you would.” Amy’s teeth chattered.
“Does he blame you somehow?” Jenna asked.
“No.” Bella huffed a breath. “I guess Mr. Commitment doesn’t keep commitments to women.” She dove under the water to keep from crying and swam the length of the pool to the shallow end.
Jenna and Amy moved along the edge of the pool, hanging on to the concrete edge all the way to the four-feet-deep area, where Jenna could stand.
“That doesn’t make any sense. He’s all about commitment,” Jenna said.
“Don’t kill me, Bell,” Amy began, “but this does kind of mean he’s really committed, at least to Evan.”
“I know that. But it sucks, right? I just don’t understand why he needs a break from us to do it.”
“Yes, butbreak? Orbreak up?” Now Jenna’s teeth chattered, too.
“Break.”
“Then you’re not really broken up.” Amy swam closer to Bella. “He’ll be back. Just watch.”
“Then does that make me pathetic if I want him to come back? Desperately?” Bella held her breath, fearing aYes.
“No,” Jenna said. “It means you love him.”
“I do, but you know what? Maybe Leanna was right about fate.” Bella cleared her throat to gain control of her emotions as she tried to spin the situation to her liking. “Maybe this happened so I can make my decision about where I live without the influence of our relationship.” And in that second, she made a decision.
“Yes, I’m sure that’s what it is,” Amy said.
