Untouched (Bay Falls High, #1)(43)
Gi plopped down into the water and started to thrash like she had never touched water before.
When she stood up, she gasped and looked down at her clothes. “What the fuck?”
“I have clothes for you,” I said.
“Poor girl clothes,” Iris said.
“Fuck you,” I said.
“You’re a bitch,” Gi said.
“It’s just water,” Iris said. “And now it looks like Gina is gone.”
“Good,” I said. I leaned against the railing to the pool. “Someone tell me what the hell that was.”
“Me pulling Gi into the pool?” Iris asked in a cocky voice.
“You know what I mean,” I said.
I stepped to the bottle of something and was thankful Gi didn’t drop or break it when she fell to her back laughing like a fool.
I grabbed for it and treated myself to a drink that I told myself I deserved and needed.
“It’s what you saw,” Gi said. “Okay?”
“That Claire was going out with Pres’s father?” I asked.
“Exactly,” Iris said. “They’re both businesspeople. Who cares?”
“That’s sarcastic,” I said.
“So?” Iris asked.
Part of me really wanted to drown her in the pool.
“Everything in this town has two views,” Gi said. She stepped up the steps, her clothes clinging super tight to her body.
“Meaning?”
“Meaning you get what you see up front,” Iris said. “The clothes. The hair. The jewelry. The cars.” She looked around. “The fucking house.”
“Right,” Gi said. “And then there’s the other view. The one you can’t see right away.”
“Which is usually the truth,” I said. “Everyone hides the truth.”
“There you go,” Iris said.
“So am I to just assume that Claire is sleeping with Pres’s father?”
“Who knows,” Gi said. “That’s the truth. Pres’s father is rich, powerful, good looking, and he travels a lot. I mean a lot. Maybe they really are going out for a drink and to talk about a new business deal or something.”
“Or maybe she’s riding his face until he can’t breathe,” Iris said.
“Ohmygod what is wrong with you?” Gi yelled.
“What?” Iris asked.
“Wait,” I called out. “Wait… wait… here’s the question of the night…”
My eyes looked to the right and I saw my phone glowing on the table.
I walked toward it as Iris let out a whistle.
“Ask the question,” she said.
“Is Pres’s father married?” I asked, looking back as I reached for my phone. “I mean… his mother and father… are they together…”
“Yup,” Gi said.
My heart sank.
Fuck.
I looked at my phone.
There was a text from Beth.
Wanting to hang out.
But there was another text.
One I hadn’t seen come through.
“Oh shit,” I said.
“What’s wrong?” Gi asked.
“Kip texted,” I said.
“Oooohhhh,” Iris said. “What’s it say?”
“They’re on their way here,” I said.
“Uh, Ti, they’re not on their way here,” Iris said as her face dropped.
“How do you know?” I asked.
She pointed and I turned.
They were walking through the house toward the door to come outside.
Holy shit… they were already here…
Gi scrambled to get out of the pool but it was too late.
“What is this?” Kip asked. “Wet t-shirt contest?”
“Wait a second,” Barr said as he coolly smoked a cigarette. “Ti isn’t wet.”
“Yet,” Kip said with a wink at me.
“Funny,” I said. “To what do I owe this visit?”
“Just saying hey,” Pres said.
I looked at him and thought about his father. His father’s hand touching the small of Claire’s back. What that could have meant. What they could have been doing right then. What I saw. What I knew.
Which seemed to be my thing.
Always seeing.
Always knowing.
“And then you have the mermaid just floating around,” Kip said.
“Mermaid?” I asked.
“She used to be chunky,” Barr said with a laugh.
“Yeah, fuck you too,” Iris called out from the pool.
“Come on, love, don’t hate on me,” Barr said. “You had a run and you ran out of steam.”
I swallowed hard.
“At least she didn’t lose the weight up top,” Kip said.
Iris dipped down into the water to cover her chest.
Gi finally got a towel around her body and stood far enough away, looking almost afraid.
“You don’t get to come here and insult my friends,” I said.
“Then maybe we can just insult you,” Pres said. “You good with that, sugar?”
“Try me,” I said.