The Bet
1462 Words
Ethan's eyes appear much lighter in the sunlight, undoubtedly due to how close I am to him.
"Let go of me!" I exclaim, distancing my hands and legs from his body.
As soon as I move away from him, I begin to sink in the water because I can't stay afloat, and clearly, I can't swim.
I raise my hands above my head out of the water and wave them, seeking help. Strong arms grip me around the waist and lift me up again. I take a deep breath as air fills my lungs once more.
"Do I let you go again?" Ethan says with amusement, looking at me with sparkling eyes.
"No..." I murmur slowly and embarrassed. I almost drowned asking him to let go, thinking I could swim when I can't.
"Alright, I'll be your swimming instructor today, okay? You won't become as good as Michael Phelps, but you'll defend yourself without digging your nails into my back."
"I'm sorry," I say when I realize my nails are indeed dug into his skin, leaving marks.
"No worries. Those are proof that you were close to me," he winks flirtatiously; I roll my eyes in annoyance.
"Just help me reach the shore so I can get to the sunbed," I request.
"Why go back to being a grump with that book? No. No way. I'll teach you to swim."
"I don't want to learn to swim," I say, moving one of my hands in the water, trying to propel myself toward the shore. Clearly, it doesn't work because Ethan is a big man, and holding me in his arms, we don't move at all.
"Let me show you that it can be fun," he asserts, totally confident in himself.
"Teach my sister; she's waiting for you," he doesn't budge to let me go, and I just want to return to my safe place.
"I can teach both of you, and I'm sure she doesn't need as much help as you," I grumble, annoyed.
If there's something that sometimes bothers me, it's the fact that someone thinks I can't be good at something.
Yes, I can. Not only am I good at math, but I'm good at everything I set my mind to because I learn very easily. My eyes shine with determination.
"I bet I can swim the pool by myself before she does," Ethan's mouth stretches into a one-sided smile, showing a proud smirk.
"Are you sure? Because I can teach her better tricks than you can teach me."
"Teach both of us at the same time, and then we'll see who learned better," it's my turn to wink at him.
His laughter echoes against my chest.
"Deal, but let's make a bet," he says determined. "If you win..."
"If I win, you have to organize my library by color," Ethan grimaces.
"But you have like a thousand books!" I give him a big smile.
"Exactly," I don't actually have that many, and he knows it. "I've been too lazy to organize it, and they're still in boxes. Besides, you also have to assemble the bookshelf because I haven't been able to do it. Michael said he would help, but he's gone."
"Fine," he says without refusing anything. "But if I win..."
I raise an eyebrow, not understanding why he fell silent. His eyes roam my face, and I bite the inside of my cheek a bit uncomfortably.
Is he looking at the acne marks I have? There weren't many, but I know they're there. Besides, I usually cover them with a bit of foundation, and today I haven't put on any makeup, only sunscreen that doesn't provide any color or coverage for marks.
Oh God, is he seeing all my imperfections?
"If Emily wins," he corrects, as he clearly won't compete with us, "you owe me a kiss."
I immediately open my mouth to retort, but his ugly index finger presses firmly against my lips, silencing me.
"Hush, a bet is a bet. I want a kiss, a good one. A kiss on the lips, long and with tongue. You want to organize a damn library, I didn't object, so you shouldn't either, and good luck to the winner."
***
I think it's been at least two hours since we've been "competing." In my head, the idea of beating Emily sounded very easy because I did some mental calculations, and being taller than my sister, logic told me that I could reach the other side of the pool faster.
What I didn't account for was that Emily was actually good at swimming. Since when? The times I've seen her swim, she hasn't completed more than three half-turns before preferring to play something else outside the pool.
"She uses floaties; that's cheating," I tell Lucia, who has brought some drinks for us. Clearly, the drinks are delicious. They're various fruit mixes. Mine is lemon and watermelon, very refreshing for the heat I'm feeling.
"Clearly, she can't take off the floaties from her hands," Lucia says, laughing, watching my sister reach Ethan at a very good speed. A speed I haven't reached yet because I keep sinking to the bottom of the pool if I don't have something to hold on to.
"No, I'm not such a bad competitor as to take away her floaties, but then I should be able to use some too," I say, taking a sip of the drink.
"Well, you'll learn another day."
"No, I have to do it today. Ethan and I made a bet, and I really need him to organize the bookshelf and take out and arrange my books because they're in boxes and could get damaged there."
"Oh well, good luck winning. What did Ethan bet?" she asks curiously. I take a much longer sip of the drink to avoid answering, and that's a sufficient response for her. "A kiss??" she asks, surprised and amused.
"I can't lose."
"If you happen to lose, you'll have to kiss the guy you say is not a good person and whom you seem to hate with your life."
"Ah! I have to win," I exclaim. I return to the water after finishing the drink; I won't lose, and I certainly won't kiss Ethan Davis.
***
"Pst, Emy..." I call when we're both on the sunbed taking a little sun and resting for the competition. Ethan has gone to get a whistle because he's taken the competition very seriously.
I managed to swim from one side of the pool to the other after half an hour, but I'm very slow, and it will be very easy for my sister to beat me.
"If you let me win, I'll make you pizza every day until Mom comes back, and I'll let you eat a lot of sweets," her eyes open excitedly.
"Really?!" she asks. I nod my head several times.
"Really, I promise you," I raise my right hand in a gesture of swearing, "the only thing you have to do is swim much slower than me so that I can reach the other side faster than you, and that's it. We both win; you get pizzas and sweets, and I win a water competition, okay? Do we have a deal?"
My sister's eyebrows move up and down with excitement.
"Deal."
We bump our hands to seal the deal, and I smile excitedly. I'll have the bookshelf ready and well-organized, and I won't have to kiss Ethan. Everyone wins.
***
I lift my head out of the water with a smile; I've finally reached the other side. I've finished the race and won.
"You lost!" my sister exclaims. I lift my head and see my sister outside the pool next to Ethan.
"What?" I ask with my eyes wide open.
"I beat you; you lost," she says, doing a ridiculous dance.
Ethan is next to her with a winning smile that makes the color drain from my face.
Did I lose? How?
Lucia is on the side of the pool holding her iPhone.
"I recorded everything!" she says.
"Did I lose?" I ask, not believing it. I see her make a nodding grimace confirming that I did. I look at my sister with wide eyes. We had a deal; what happened?
"Emily, we had a deal!" I shout, wanting to cry.
"But Ethan is going to buy me the bike I wanted so much!" she exclaims, my mouth almost reaches the bottom of the pool it's so open.
"That's cheating!" I shout again. "The bet is broken, Ethan!"
"You cheated first!" he shouts back at me. "You owe me something, and there's no way you can escape from that!"
I sink into the pool.
Oh no, damn the moment I decided to bet a kiss with him.
- Writer
