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LIKE A SHARK SMELLING BLOOD

Hugh

DECEMBER 21, 2002

M Y GRANDFATHER WAS A LOT OF THINGS, BUT A SQUEALER WASN’T ONE OF THEM . Not only did he manage to sway Old Murphy into keeping his mouth shut about the antics on my birthday, but he took the rap for a large wine stain on Mam’s white carpet in the good room that no amount of scrubbing could remove. And God knows we scrubbed that fucking carpet.

All in all, my first dabble into underage debauchery had been a roaring success for all but one glaring snag. In my drunken haze, I’d taken my girlfriend into my bed that night and touched her in places I had no business touching.

When I woke up the following morning and found her in my bed, I damn near had a heart attack. The only thing that had stopped me from having a full-blown panic attack was the fact that we s till had our underwear on.

Liz, on the other hand, had a much more positive reaction to our drunken shenanigans and had been ramping up the heat on our relationship ever since.

Clearly, my girlfriend had caught the scent of my rapidly depleting willpower and was circling me like a shark.

“You better swim for your life, Biggs,” Liz teased as we splashed around in the pool on the first Saturday of Christmas break. “Because I’m going to pants you.”

“No, no, no,” I warned through fits of laughter, as I threw myself backwards in my futile attempt to avoid the little witch that had disappeared under the water. “Don’t you dare, Lizzie Young,” I started to shout but it was too late. With a firm grip of my shorts, Liz yanked them down around my knees.

When her head reemerged from the water, she grinned devilishly. “Told ya.”

“You’re such a menace,” I laughed, quickly yanking them back up and swimming off before she could catch me again.

“Dammit, Hugh,” Liz complained, trying and failing to keep up with me. “I swear half of your genetics were switched with a mermaid.”

“More like a shark,” I called over my shoulder.

“Nah, you’re too pretty to be a shark,” she grumbled back. “You’re definitely half-mermaid.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” I warned before diving under the water and making a beeline for her legs.

Pushing my head between her thighs, I stood up and took her with me on my shoulders.

Squealing with delight, Liz balanced awkwardly on my shoulders before letting herself flop backwards, taking me with her.

When we emerged again, our limbs were a tangled mess.

“You look like Simba in the film when he fell in the water,” I laughed, pointing at the clumps of blond hair hanging over her face.

Smirking, she cupped the back of my head and yanked me close before spurting a mouthful of water at me.

“Lovely,” I sighed, while Liz cracked up laughing. “My girlfriend’s spit.” I wiped my mouth. “Just what I wanted for Christmas.”

“Why don’t we sneak into the sauna room, and I can give you your real present,” Liz purred, hooking an arm around my neck. “It’s a one-of-a-kind gift,” she continued to tease, wrapping her legs around my waist. “And we’ll both enjoy the unwrapping part.”

“You keep those sneaky, little fingers away,” I warned when I felt her hand slide under the waistband of my swimming trunks. “Liz, please ,” I grunted when she gripped my ass hard. “You’re killing me here.”

“Not nearly as much as you’re killing me,” she whispered, lips moving against mine before her tongue snaked out to taste mine.

Fuck me, this girl was something else.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” I growled, feeling myself turn to rock. “And it won’t work.”

“Yeah, it will,” she replied breathily. “Because it’s like you said: I belong with you.” She gripped my ass hard again before whispering, “And you belong in me.”

“Jesus, Liz,” I groaned, unable to take the pressure in both my heart and shorts. “You can’t say things like that.”

“Why not?” she purred, hips rocking against mine as I held her up in the water. “And don’t call me Liz. Call me baby.”

“Okay.”

“Say it now.”

“Baby.”

“Call me baby again.”

“Baby.”

“Mm,” she moaned in approval before resuming teasing my tongue with hers.

Could people get arrested for kissing in swimming pools? It was something I was going to have to search up. Because the way her tongue was skillfully massaging mine in such an erotic manner, yet in such a public setting, made it feel illegal.

Just when I felt like I was drowning in her kiss, she ripped her mouth from mine and whispered, “I have dirty thoughts, Hugh.” Pressing her lips to my ear, she traced my earlobe with her tongue before saying, “Filthy urges.”

“Don’t worry about it.” I hissed out a breath when I felt her teeth on my neck. “I have plenty of those, too.”

“Do you touch yourself and think about me?” she stunned me by whispering in my ear. “Because I do.” Her tongue was on my ear again. “I push my fingers inside my underwear and pretend it’s you inside me again.”

“Fuck me.”

“That’s what I pretend you’re doing to me,” she continued to torment me by whispering. “Is that bad?” I felt her shiver in my arms. “Am I bad person for craving those things?”

“You’re not bad,” I replied, forcing her to look at me and instantly recognizing the look in her pale-blue eyes as one of uncertainty. “You’re just horny.” And so am I .

“The doctors keep asking me about it,” she offered then. “Whenever I have an appointment, they bring it up.”

“What?” I frowned. “They bring up horniness ?”

She nodded slowly. “Apparently, it can be a sign.”

“Of what?”

“An incoming episode.” She swallowed deeply. “It can be common for teens with bipolar.”

“I think feeling horny is common for all teens, Liz,” I said, trying to soothe her. “Bipolar or not.”

“I don’t want it to happen again, Hugh,” she admitted quietly while her gaze dropped. “What happened last summer.” Another shiver racked through her body, and she sighed heavily. “I just want to be normal.”

“What did I tell you about normal?” I asked her, determined to put on a brave face while my heart broke inside. “Hmm?”

“It doesn’t exist.”

“Exactly.” Stroking her nose with mine, I pressed a kiss to each of her cheeks before pecking her lips. “And whatever this is”—I pulled back to look in her eyes—“whatever we’ve built, with your mind and mine, is everything I want.”