Page 58 of The Friend Scheme
“I am! Are you holding back?”
“Yeah,” he says. “I’m sorry, but I am.”
We pause.
“Then stop,” I say.
He blinks. “You sure?”
“Yeah.”
His eyebrows narrow, and he moves forward. I spin and try to swim away, but he grabs my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. He puts his hands on my biceps and roughly spins me around, then pulls me to him, so my back is pressing into his chest.
He picks me up, lifting me out of the water.
“Fu…,” I start, but then he drops me and clamps his hand down hard over my mouth.
I try my hardest to get out from his grip, but he’s holding me too tight.
He grips me and falls backward, pulling us both under the water. My lungs start to burn as my hands scramble against him, but I’m stuck to him. He pushes me up out of the water, and I take in a huge breath. He takes that second to interlock his fingers on the back of my head…
Trapping me in a headlock.
My arms are stuck.
He won.
I had no idea he had that in him.
No freaking clue.
“See?” he says. He moves me around like I’m a rag doll. “Easy.”
I’m no quitter, though, so even though I know it’s dire, I keep fighting, kicking and bucking and trying with everything I have to throw him off. But no matter how much I spin and fight he holds on.
He’s too strong.
I give up.
I stand motionless, my heart jackhammering.
I don’t even know how I wound up here.
And I can’t lie, I love this contact. It’s… like, so good.
His chest is flush against my back, and I can feel his rapid heartbeat, and his heavy breathing right by my ear. It tickles my scalp.
At least I gave him a run for his money. We both catch our breath. His chest is heaving, becoming fully pressed against my back every few seconds.
Every second of contact makes me feel fully charged.
“Dude?” he whispers in my ear.
“Yeah?”
“Do you give up? You need to tap out.”
I tap on his arm, and he lets me go.
