Hold My Breath(80)

I don’t think the whisper rule still needs to be in effect, but I’m curious how Maddy plans on handling that second one. I’m kind of rooting to keep it in play.

“Who are you texting?” I ask, sliding my hands around her hips and resting my chin on her shoulder to watch her thumbs move rapidly.

“Holly,” she says, “and Amber, and that sweet boy she’s been hanging out with at practice. Maybe she can ask some of the other swimmers, too.”

“Another boy, huh?” I tease, and she twists to face me quickly, glaring with one brow higher than the other.

“I’m not surrounding you with a bunch of hot women, Will Hollister,” she says.

My eyes dance around hers, and I hold my smirk at bay.

“Because of the second rule?” My eyebrow ticks up to match hers.

She never responds, but her eyes haze over the brief seconds she stares at me before returning her attention back to her phone.

For the next hour and a half, I think of nothing but how erect I am and how I’m going to handle skinny dipping in front of others with Maddy Woodsen pressed against my side.



In my shit life, there have been a handful of major things that I have been, and continue to be, thankful for. Beyond surviving—twice—I’m thankful for my talent. I’m among a few elite swimmers, and given my personal circumstances, I know that innate talent is maybe the only reason I’m in the position I am today. Second, I’m thankful for my hair. It sounds vain, but that’s not my reasoning. I’m grateful because it’s just the right length, texture and thickness to require absolutely no effort on my part to look decent at all times. Evan used to spend minutes, sometimes nearly thirty, sculpting with gel and product. I put on a hat, and like magic, my hair dries and I’m done.

There are maybe a dozen other things—some big, some small—that make up this list, but tonight I add a new one. I think maybe it goes on top.

I am thankful that the Shore Club pool is dark enough on the far end that if a man were to tread water in it, anyone standing farther away than ten feet can’t tell if he’s naked. This wins because I am naked. Maddy? Not so much. Amber? Nope. Holly? She has her phone camera rolling video.

“Will, come on…you have to laugh. It’s kinda funny?”

“Nope, still not funny,” I yell toward the deck where the girl I love stands, perfectly dressed in a suit and perfectly dry with our guests.

Maddy pranked me, letting me strip down to nothing just before everyone arrived by daring me to cannonball into the center of the pool. There are a few things that make even the most mature man turn into a teenager again, doing dumb shit because his cock tells him to. Naked in a pool with Maddy Woodsen? That’s one of those things.

“Come on, Will. So far my viral video is hella boring,” Holly shouts, following it up with a whistle and a cat call. I give her the finger, and she tells me to f*ck off.

“You saw that?” I lower my hands to camouflage my parts, my legs treading furiously, and my muscles growing tired.

“Yeah, well your middle finger must be bigger than…other things,” she deadpans.

I flip her off again.

“I never said we were all skinny dipping, Will,” Maddy giggles.

“You kinda alluded to it,” I say, resting my limbs and sinking under the water.

“Come on, everyone will turn around, and I’ll hand you a towel. I’m starting to feel bad,” she says, but the laughter still sneaks through her words.

She can’t tell, but I’m smiling, too. I was embarrassed for about fifteen seconds, but then I started to realize how much fun I was having. I haven’t had fun in years, and I haven’t felt weightless in forever. No obligations dragging me down, or a running list of things I can and can’t say to people. And honestly, if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve been treading water for several minutes, I’d be fine with walking around, balls out and dick hard for everyone to see.

“Here’s the deal, Maddy,” I say, swimming a little closer while my girl kneels down near the water’s edge with a towel held in her hands. I glance over to Holly, who is still holding her phone out hoping to capture the million-dollar shot. She leans her head to the side and makes eye contact with me, and I wink. Her mouth raises sinisterly on one side, and she shifts her phone camera to Maddy. She gets where I’m going with this.

“I’m not coming out of the pool, like…at all…until you take that bikini off and come in to get me,” I say, swaying my arms and legs and pushing back a few feet to where I started.

Maddy’s hands drop and the towel falls to the deck.

“Will, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m sorry…just come out,” she says, standing and crossing her arms over her bare belly. She’s blushing—I can tell, even in the dark, by the way her hands slide over her skin and try to guard her.

“Oh, my feelings are fine, Maddy. But I just want you to know that if I cramp up and drown, that’s on you. I’m not budging,” I say, slowing my hand movement down and letting my body dip below the water again.

“Will, come on,” she laughs.

“Water’s fine, Maddy,” I tease, leaning back and kicking my feet twice, splashing everyone standing near the edge.

She holds my stare for several seconds, finally kicking her flip flops from her feet and scooting the towel away from the edge with her toes. She steps forward, and bends down to sit on the pool’s edge, letting her feet and legs dangle in the water, but not taking her suit off.