Ashley
I don't know what possessed me to tell Ethan what I told him, but I feel bolder and stronger with him around. Maybe it's because he doesn't judge me. I don't know if he judges anyone, though. He has a tendency of coming across as very carefree and indifferent, but in an interested way if that makes any sense? It doesn't make sense to me, but that's still what it seems like.
And so... I just tell him, and he looks at me funny for a second, then he laughs.
"Yeah, alright," he says. "Right here, or what?"
"No! Um... no..." I say. This is more difficult than I thought.
"Alright," he says, smiling, shrugging. "Tell me how you want to do this?"
"Can we go upstairs?" I ask. "To our own rooms. We can get towels there, then meet back down here. We need towels anyways, right? To go swimming, I mean."
"Yeah, good idea," Ethan says. "You sure about his? We don't have to."
I nod quick. "No, I want to. I'm just nervous, that's all."
He grins and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. "No need to be nervous, Princess. It's just you and me, right?"
It's true. It's just us. We're safe here. No one can hurt us or judge us or say anything.
That's what I want to think, except Ethan has a habit of hurting people, too. I don't think he does it on purpose. Now I don't think he does it on purpose, at least. It just seems to happen. It follows him around like a dog's tail, wagging and knocking over expensive vases. Dogs don't mean to do that, but it doesn't make them any less blameless, now does it?
Ethan takes my hand in his and leads me to the stairs, then up them. At the top, we both look towards our respective rooms. Mine is the opposite way down the hall from his.
"See you soon," Ethan says with a cheeky smile.
I smile back; I can't help myself. "Thank you," I say.
He brushes off my appreciation. It's nothing. I don't need to thank him.
I scurry to my room and close the door behind me, then flop down on my bed. I'm still just wearing my panties and Ethan's shirt, but soon I'll be in my swimwear, um... if you can even call it that?
I have a bunch of different bathing suits in my dresser: bikinis that I only wear when it's me and my mom, or one-pieces the rest of the time. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever worn a bathing suit around Ethan. Maybe he's seen me in one from time to time on accident, but never intentionally. He swims all the time, though. I've seen him half-naked quite a bit.
And now I've seen him naked. Also quite a bit.
Well, time to change! I try to hype myself up for it, but I'm still nervous. I don't have to do this, I tell myself. I can chicken out of it. He won't make fun of me for that. He won't get upset at me. He won't. I know he won't, but...
Nope! I'm going to do it anyways! My bathing suit is...
Nothing. That's what I told him. Why don't we go skinny dipping?
I've never gone skinny dipping before. I've always kind of wanted to, but I've never had anyone to go with.
I slip my panties down my legs and let them pool on the ground, then I lift Ethan's shirt up over my head and toss it to the floor by my feet.
There. Done. I'm changed. That was easy. I laugh, giddy with excitement.
Sneaking into my bathroom quick, I grab a towel for later when I need to dry off. It's big and fluffy and suddenly I have a partial change of heart. Am I really going to go swimming naked? Um, yes. Yes, I am. I feel weird walking around the house naked, though. I don't know why, I just do.
I wrap the towel around my body, covering myself like I've just stepped out of the shower. Yes, this is alright. It's fine. I can go like this. I tiptoe out of my room, quiet, and close my door then head downstairs to the pool. Ethan isn't there yet, so I just wait at the edge, poking my foot over and dipping my toes into the water.
It's a heated pool and it's warm out, so the water is nice. I do like swimming, I just get self-conscious sometimes. Maybe I should get in before Ethan comes, so I can hide under the water? Sort of. I know he can still see me naked then, but it's kind of concealing a little bit, right?
I don't have time, though. I hear the slider door to the house open, and when I spin around, there he is.
Ethan is not wearing a towel. He has one draped over his shoulder, but it's definitely not covering anything. Nothing at all. I stare. Oh my...