Saying Goodbye (What the World Doesn't Know) by Mahima Martel Page B

through your dress.”
                “You’re a pig!” she yelled, splashing more water at him.
                “Hey! Yeh know, I normally have to work a little harder for a girl to pull at my pants,” he said.
                “Another race, then?” Frankie asked, laughing,
                “No way,” he replied. “You cheat,
and
you’re a sore loser.”
                “No, I’m a winner!” proclaimed Frankie. She then pushed off the wall and started swimming. Alex swam slowly alongside her. He had no intention of allowing her to win, but he’d settle for a tie.
                At the other end of the pool they stopped and stared at one another. Alex then reached out his hand to her and said, “Truce?”
                Frankie spat into her palm and then said, “Let’s spit on it.”
                Alex spat into his own hand and shook Frankie’s hard—so hard that he almost pulled her underwater with his grasp. This sexy, beautiful starlet was becoming dangerously close to the textbook definition of a “good pal” rather than a romantic conquest. It was hard to imagine such a beauty could have such a crude, tomboyish personality. He loved it, but he wanted to make sure his true intentions would not go unnoticed. Underwater, her grabbed her waist and pulled her toward him.
                In his arms, her head became filled with thoughts. She was hardly a virgin, and she had been with men who were more overtly physical with her; yet she was always able to deter their advances. Even at the young age of nineteen, she had mastered how to manage a man. It was for her to decide whose seduction she would allow and whose she would pass on.
                Something about Alex terrified her. She was wildly attracted to him and thoroughly enjoyed their banter, but she was not ready for anything further. She didn’t want him feeling rejected or put off; she just wanted him to slow down.
                She pulled back slightly. “Where did you learn to swim so well?” she asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
                Alex continued to try to hold her close and said seductively, “The bath.”
                “No, seriously,” Frankie said with a laugh.
                “Seriously, the bathtub,” said Alex. “When I was a boy I’d fill the tub to the top and submerge under the water and pretend I was a diver diving for treasure.”
                “Did you ever find anything?” asked Frankie.
                “Lots of stuff—gold coins, crowns, scepters, diamonds,” he said.
                “You must be very rich,” said Frankie.
                “Nah, it all vanished when I pulled the plug,” he said, drawing her closer. He kissed her deeply and softly.
                Frankie finally felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach, and if she were standing on solid ground, her knees would be buckling beneath her. As she wrapped her arms tighter around his shoulders, she could feel his body pressing against hers under the water. She wanted to stay in this place forever.
                “Oi! No shex in the pool!” yelled a nearby voice with a drunken slur. It was Josh.
                “Piss off!” Alex yelled back without taking his eyes off Frankie.
                Josh stepped to the edge of the pool. “All I’m saying is it’s going to be you skimming cum off the surface.”
                That ruined the moment for Alex and Frankie. “Sometimes I really hate those guys,” he whispered to her.
                “
He
certainly is a candy-ass” she whispered. She then said out loud for Josh to hear, “Maybe they need girls; then they wouldn’t be JEALOUS!”
                “Not jealous—” said Josh, “just looking for Frankie Robinson.” He gazed over the