Hold My Breath(30)

“Until the tree,” I say.

He nods and lifts his eyebrows high before swinging his body forward again to turn the car toward Peterson Lake.

“You are an athlete, Will,” I say, just as the water begins to come into view. His forehead wrinkles and he glances toward me. “You said wannabe, but I just wanted to make sure you knew that you were different. You actually are.”

He chuckles bashfully, slowing the car as we clear the thick trees.

“Thanks, Maddy. But I’m nothing, yet,” he says.

We both exit the car and walk toward the water’s edge, thick layers of leaves caked along the shoreline. The rope is tied around the tree’s trunk, and my eyes follow the length up high to the thick branch several feet above the surface. The sight of it makes me smile, and when I turn around to share this moment with Will, I find him making the same face.

“It’s exactly the same,” he says, kicking his shoes from his feet.

I smirk, and kick mine away too, pulling my arms through my shirt and tossing it to the ground quickly, catching Will’s attention.

His head cocks in suspicion as I unbutton my shorts and slide them down my legs, stepping out of them cautiously, gaining a few feet on him before he gets what I’m doing and tosses his shirt to the ground.

“Last one there…” I shout through laughter, running barefoot along the water’s edge, up the dirt hill, Will close behind me.

“You are not going to be the first to swing from that tree, Woodsen. You don’t even do it right!” he teases.

“Sounds like loser talk to me,” I shout back, darting through trees and clawing at roots to pull myself up the small bluff holding the trunk of the swing’s tree.

My footing slips, and soon Will passes me, laughing over his shoulder and winking as his toes fling mud all around me.

“Oww!” I shout, sitting down and turning to lift my foot in my hand.

“Maddy, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

Will climbs down a few paces to lean on the hill next to me, and as soon as he’s resting his weight on his knee, I push against his shoulder and lift myself up, sprinting by him again.

“Ha ha, sucker!” I yell, pumping my arms and legs hard the rest of the way to the rope. I tug the end and begin unwrapping, but am not fast enough to beat Will completely. His hands cover mine as we both manically battle to take control over this piece of our childhood.

“I got here first!” I giggle, pushing one of his hands away only to have to fend off the other.

“Doesn’t matter. I’m the superior swinger,” he says.

I lean my head back and laugh hard.

“You’re a swinger, Will Hollister? I had no idea,” I say.

He purses his lips, and my chest shudders with my amusement.

Our arms tangle, and we both try to hug the rope, my feet struggling against his to steady the small peg of wood at the bottom. Eventually, we’re both locked into one another, and I let out a heavy sigh. There’s no way I’m going to be able to cut him loose, and there’s no way he’s going to give up and let me have the first swing. We never let the other one win at anything, not even the shit that didn’t matter.

“Fine, we go together,” I say.

Will’s eyes hit mine.

“Fine!” he shouts, pulling my body in close to his and pushing away from the ridge of the hill before I have a chance to truly prepare myself for any of it.

“You son of a…”

My words fade into a scream as we sail above the water in a huge half circle. I scrunch my eyes closed and hold my breath as Will tugs my hands free of the rope, our legs kicking together while his arms hold onto my body tightly as we fall toward the water, the cold hitting us in a rush, knocking the wind from our lungs—muffled screams quickly silenced under the water.

We fall deep into the blue, bubbles fizzing along our arms and legs as we break free and kick our way back to the surface. I cough when I taste air, and Will howls, flinging his arms back into a backstroke, kicking his legs hard and splashing water into the sky.

“Wooo whoo!” he yells, his voice echoing around us.

I gasp and tread water, my arms and legs working hard to find warmth for my chest.

“That was so much better than I remember!” he says.

“Ye…yeah…so so so so so….”

My teeth chatter.

Will chuckles, swimming back to me, reaching his arm out for me to take. I grab hold and let him pull me in, my only focus on catching my breath until suddenly I can breathe, and my attention becomes fixed on the feel of his hand on the place where my suit is cut low along my back. His warmth on my skin. His legs kicking with mine, to hold me up. His head resting against mine. His breath…ragged. My eyes falling to his mouth, my lips quivering, his parting. His tongue resting between his teeth. Shivers.

“We should go,” I say. My hand finds the center of his chest and pushes.

Will doesn’t fight, quickly letting go of his grip on me. I kick and swing my arms a few times until I see the shoreline come into view through the murky water. Righting myself, I walk up the rest of the way, pushing my hair back from my face, twisting it and wringing it out. Debris from the ground sticks to my feet and legs, so I pick some of the larger leaves away before bending down and grabbing my T-shirt. I slide it over my head, and it sticks to my wet suit underneath.