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“Just feeling a little hot. I guess my body hasn’t adjusted to the heat.”

“Nah, it’s not just you, it’s roasting in here,” she agrees. “Jason and I were talking about taking a swim? Got a suit?”

The pool sounds good.

Even better is when the parents decide to head over to the beach with a bottle of wine to watch the sunset. Will, thankfully, goes home, and I quickly change into a green two-piece stuffed in the back of my drawer.

“I’ll get in the pool,” I tell my brother and Kendall as I toss my towel and phone on the edge of a chair, “but no PDA from you two, got it?”

Kendall laughs, but my brother raises his hands from under the water, proving he’s not feeling her up below the surface. Dipping my toes in the water, I’m happy to see the heat is turned on. My mother swims laps every morning, and although it isn’t quite warm, it doesn’t have the chill of late fall. Taking a deep breath, I submerge myself, pushing off the wall with my toes and swim underwater.

The quiet is familiar. Comforting. We’d spent our childhood in the water, hours every day, and I feel more comfortable here than anywhere else. I stay under for as long as I can, until my chest tightens with the need for air, and I break through the surface.

I’ve barely inhaled when my breath is knocked from me again. Will sits on the edge of the pool by the stairs, legs dangling in the water. Smoke unfurls from the tip of his cigarette. “I think the first time I saw you, you were pretending to be a mermaid.”

“Yeah, well I was eight and I was pretty sure if I stayed in the water long enough, I’d grow a tail.” I adjust my top, making sure I’m covered, but it only draws his eyes to the movement.

“Nad,” Kendall calls. “Can you grab your phone? I told my mom I’d take some pictures today and totally forgot.”

“Sure.”

I lean over the pool deck and grab my phone that I’d left on my towel. Instinctively, I check for messages and see that Twyler texted a picture of her and Reese, along with her sister Ruby and her mom. A few others come by, but the one I’m hoping to see isn’t there.

Well, it’s not just a message I’m looking for. It’s an apology. Clearly, that’s not going to happen.

“Hoping to hear from your boyfriend?” Will asks.

“No,” I say absently, shooting off a reply to Twyler. “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Good to know.”

I shoot him a look.

“What’s that for?” he asks. “You’ve been a little cold to me all week. What’s got those tiny bikini bottoms in a twist?”

“Nothing,” I reply, wading back into the water. “Ken, you ready?”

“Yep.”

She and I set up a few selfies, adding in a few with my brother. I make no real effort to include Will, ignoring him as he sits in the background, smoking cigarette after cigarette. Jason never had a clue what went on between us. He would have lost his shit back then, knowing I was sneaking across the property line to go hook up with his much older friend.

I snap one last picture where the light looks amazing on my hair and post it to my own account, with a wistful statement about family. Being home has been okay, but over the last few months, since Twyler and Reese started dating, it kind of feels like we’ve built a whole other family up in Wittmore. I miss them more than I expected.

A splash behind me sends a wave of water up the side of the pool, but it’s the low voice right behind me that sends a chill along my spine. “I thought you had big tits before, Nad, but damn.”

I spin and see Will in the water, walking over to me. He’s stripped off his shirt and his upper body has lost the tone it had from years of regular workouts. The bloat of a beer gut hovers at the surface of the water. “Don’t be gross.”

“By speaking the truth?” He shrugs. “Come on, you and I always had a good thing and now we don’t have to sneak around.” His eyes dart over toward Jason. “Unless you want to.”

“Not interested.” I start to move, but his hands meet the edge of the pool, one on each side, caging me in. I search over his shoulder for Jason and Kendall but they’ve gone back on their promise of no PDA and are making out on the other end. “Please move.”

“Why? Are you too good for me now? Because you weren’t back then, when you came sniffing around non-stop, begging for my dick.”

“I was fifteen, Will, I wasn’t begging for anything other than a little attention.”

“Cut the good girl act. You were a whore then just like you are now.” He smirks. “Yeah, I’ve seen the videos. How much do you make from those? I should probably get a cut for teaching you all of that in the first place. A finder’s fee for breaking you in.”

I don’t know if it’s the way he’s talking to me, so dismissive and rude, or the mention of the video that makes me snap, but the anger rising inside of me unleashes.