Here the Whole Time(62)
Caio:
It has to be now!
It’ll be fun.
Trust me!
Felipe:
Caio, it’s almost midnight.
Caio:
Meet me at the elevatooooorrrr!!!!!
Felipe:
Calm down, I’m coming. I was just playing hard to get.
And I do. I leave the apartment wearing my now-famous Batman pajamas (which, in case you were wondering, have been washed and smell really good) and wait for the elevator in the building’s cold hallway.
When the door opens, there is Caio, also in his pajamas.
The first thing he does is smile at me. The second is hug me. The third is give me a quick kiss, not minding the security camera.
“What are we doing here?” I whisper, not knowing why I’m whispering.
“I wanted to see you. And I had a wild idea,” he answers with a sly smile.
“Caio, if you’re thinking of eloping like a couple madly in love, it’s not gonna happen. Because I have no money and I’m not wearing the right clothes to run away together.”
Caio laughs loudly, and the sound makes me feel good.
“We’re not even leaving the complex. Don’t worry. But be careful. We’re about to do something illegal,” he says mysteriously.
“From zero to a hundred, what are the chances that I’ll wake up in jail tomorrow?”
“Zero.”
“Then let’s do it,” I say as the elevator door whirs open.
POOL HOURS
8 A.M. TO 7 P.M.
That’s what the sign above the entrance to our pool says. I’m not sure how I got here. Caio was pulling me gently by the arm, we walked right past the nearly sleeping doorman, and here we are. By the pool, on a cold, full-moon night, and I have no idea what’s going on.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” I clarify.
“Me, neither. But I suddenly wanted to come here. Our vacation is almost over, my parents are back from their trip, and I really wanted to see you. I thought it would be a good idea to come here and talk. It’s out of sight. No one would come here so late at night,” he says with a glint in his eye.
“Aaaah, now I see what you want,” I say, inching closer for a kiss. His kiss is calm, passionate, and tasting of toothpaste. I think this might be the best one so far.
Caio grabs me by the hand, sits by the pool with his feet in the water, and signals for me to sit next to him. And I do, because there’s no other place I’d rather be right now.
“My mom noticed there was something different about me,” Caio says, leaning his head against my shoulder.
“What do you mean? Is she suspicious or something? Does she know about us? Did she ask you a bunch of questions like I’m doing right now?” I say a little hastily.
“No, nothing like that. She just told me I seemed … happier. I had no idea it was that obvious.”
“There are some kinds of happiness that are as obvious as a neon sign blinking over your head.”
“My neon sign must have your name on it,” Caio says, and we drift into a comfortable silence.
But I decide to break it.
“It was on the day we played mermaids,” I say.
“What?”
“Remember when you asked me when I started liking you? It was on that day. We were kids, and I asked if you wanted to play mermaids, and—”
“And we swam with our legs crossed until the sky went dark,” Caio finishes my sentence. “I remember that day.”
“It was a good one.” I hug Caio’s side and squeeze him against my body.
Then Caio wriggles out of my hug, stands up, takes off his shirt, and looks at me.
“Want to play mermaids?” he says, a silly smile on his face.
And then he dives in, splashing water all over me.
I sit there, watching Caio swim from one side of the pool to the other, apparently comfortable, as if the night weren’t cold, and the water even colder.
“Hey! Come swim with me!” he calls to me.
My legs shake when I get up, and I don’t know if it’s because they went numb from the cold water or if it’s because of the decision I’m about to make. I look around, feeling as if I’m being watched, while Caio continues to swim and call my name.
Out here, under the bright moon, there’s no way to turn off the lights. No way to close the door and cover the windows. Out here, he can see me the way I am. And I can’t believe what I’m about to do, but without second-guessing it, I take off my shirt and dive into the pool.
I spend a few seconds underwater, getting used to the temperature, and when I resurface to breathe, Caio is already floating by my side.
“You’re cheating, that’s not how you play mermaids,” he says, pointing at my feet. “You have to cross your legs, and you’re not allowed to touch the bottom of the pool.”
I laugh. “Who came up with those rules?”
“The mermaids themselves. I’m just communicating for them,” he says, placing his hand on my back to help me float, too.
When I start floating, Caio gives me another kiss (this time it tastes like chlorine), and I lose my balance. I float, then fall back underwater, and laugh—not minding that the moonlight shows each and every one of my imperfections, and that the water makes me appear twice my size.