Page 22 of The Friend Scheme
Worldwide.
That’s not bad.
Jason is waist-deep in the water now, facing out toward the ocean.
I don’t want him to leave.
I stand up and start frantically unbuttoning my shirt. I pull it off and then toss it to the ground. Then I step out of my slacks.
When I’m done, I see that Jason has turned and is watching me. He was probably watching the whole time I was undressing.
Cool. Cool cool cool.
Guarding my crotch so it’s at least kind of hidden from his view, I jog down to the water. I step in, and, damn, it’s cold.
“It’s nice once you’re in!” he calls.
“It better be!”
He laughs and then scoops up some water and runs it through his hair. It makes it dark and spiky. The waves are really gentle here. Cursing him, I walk into the water until I reach him. Our bodies, up to our waists, are submerged. The water laps gently against me. I adjust and find he was right. It is nice. It’s just so warm out that it’s a shock to the system. It’s not even cold.
Jason watches me for a second. He’s dripping wet.
“Hey, shark bait,” he says.
And there we go. Spell broken.
I cross my arms. “Don’t call me that.”
“But that’s what you are! I bet they can already smell you and are on their way as we speak.”
“Seriously, stop! I’m trying so hard not to think about it, you have no idea.”
He starts humming theJawstheme music.
“Stop!” I say, and I splash him.
He laughs. I laugh, too.
But then it settles. And I realize that I’m here.
But surely he’s not gay, too. I mean, he could be. But for some reason I don’t think that’s what’s going on. I guess because he’s so attractive, I feel that, even if he is gay, I wouldn’t be the kind of guy he’d be into.
I think he just wants to be friends with me. Which I’m so down for.
I don’t need to make out with him or anything to have a good time. I really like it here, doing just this. I mean, I’m not totally over the fear of sharks. It’s constantly running underneath everything. But other stuff has the focus. Like how the moon is out, and I can see a few stars.
Plus, behind us, the city lights.
“This is nice,” he says. “I like hanging out with you. It just feels really easy, you know? Like we don’t need to talk just for the sake of it.”
“Totally.”
“I think that’s a sign that we could be good friends. That we just, like, work.”
“I think so, too.”
He lies back so he’s looking up at the stars. I do the same.
