Erika – Aged 18

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My eighteenth birthday party was officially over.

Sure, it hadn’t been much of a party, but the only other attendee, apart from my annoying older brother, was fast asleep on the sofa in the living room, bits of popcorn scatted over her shirt. Jessie had totally pigged out, had dared me to go skinny-dipping, then promptly fallen asleep halfway through our chosen movie—Legally Blonde.

I shook my head and sat back, trying but failing to focus on Reese Witherspoon kicking lawyer ass on the screen.

This was it.

This was my eighteenth birthday party. It should’ve been kick-ass, or at least something momentous. Instead I’d spent it binge-watching chick flicks with my best friend and trying but failing to ignore the loud music from upstairs.

Marc and Noah were up there, cloistered in my brother’s room and listening to hip-hop, playing video games. That was what they did in their spare time. I gritted my teeth and rose from the sofa, walked out of the living room, and stood at the base of the stairs, listening.

Noah laughed upstairs, loud, as he always did, because he loved being the center of attention. The music thumped on, along with the sounds of their video game. I rolled my eyes.

“This is it, world. I’m eighteen, a virgin, and totally alone. Congrats.” I whistled under my breath. What did other eighteen-year-olds do on their birthdays? Have big blowouts, drink illegally, sleep with a guy? Tonight was meant to be wild—and I was the opposite of the world.

Was I, really, though? I’d had plenty of fantasies. I’d kissed a guy.

Jessie’s dare came back to me. “I bet you won’t do it,” she’d said. “I bet you won’t skinny dip while Noah’s up there.”

I bit the inside of my cheek, then shrugged. Fuck it. This was my birthday. I deserved to celebrate it by doing something crazy.

Quick as a flash, I darted through the kitchen, then unlocked the back door and slipped out into the darkness. I made my way over to the pool, heated, thank goodness, and slipped a toe into it, just to test it out.

It was warm, the perfect temperature for a naked dip.

“You’re crazy,” I whispered, but stripped off my shirt regardless. I was naked in seconds and giggling too. I slipped into the water and immersed myself completely, opening my eyes underwater.

This is wild. I’m wild. I’m not boring Erika. Not the nerd everyone thinks I am.

I surfaced quietly, listening to the distant thump of my brother’s music, and swam to the other side of the pool and back again, enjoying the sensation of the water sweeping over my legs. I was free. Totally alone, still, but free.

I dove down to the bottom and turned in a circle, then made my way up again. I burst out of the water, and laughed, splashing a little.

“Need some company?” Noah’s voice spoke from the kitchen’s back door.

I froze and dipped down again, covering my breasts in the shallow end. “Oh my god,” I hissed. “Oh my god, what are you doing out here?”

“I think the more appropriate question is, what are you doing skinny dipping in the pool, when there’s a house full of people next door?”

I cringed and paddled closer to the side of the pool. At least I could use that as a method of hiding from him. “Go away,” I whispered. “I’m just trying to celebrate my birthday. In peace.”

“And this is how you chose to do it?” Noah strode into the garden, larger than life and overwhelmingly handsome. “Shit, I wish I’d been invited to the party. Gotta admit, I didn’t expect this from you, Erika.”

“And why’s that?” I lifted my chin defiantly, faking confidence I didn’t have at the moment. So what if I was butt naked in front of the guy I’d both hated and wanted for as long as I could remember? “Because I’m a nerd?”

“No, because you’re safe. Safe and not wild in the slightest.”

Anger flooded me. He’d stopped at the edge of the pool. He could probably see my ass, even in the dim light from the garden lamps at the end of the yard. “Not wild, huh?” I snapped. “Shows how well you know me.” I pushed off from the wall and splashed away from him, showing off my body, but blushing furiously all the same.

I swam to the other end of the pool, dipped under the water and smoothed out my hair, then surfaced again. I looked back at him where he stood, grinning, though he likely couldn’t make out my face now.

“You’re right,” Noah said. “I don’t know you as well as I should.” He shrugged, then turned and made for the back of the house again. He halted in the kitchen doorway and looked back at me. “Do me a favor, Erika? Put some damn clothes on before anyone else comes out here. Wouldn’t want them to catch a glimpse of what I just did.”

“Why’s that?” I countered, still frustrated with him, with this moment. With everything really.

“Because it’s for my eyes only,” he replied.

Shock sparked through me fast and hard. I opened my mouth to retort, but he’d already disappeared inside the house again.

I grasped the edge of the pool, shaking despite the warm water. “What the hell?” I whispered. “What the hell?”

Had Noah Cox just hit on me?