Deluded

Clay laughed. He seemed so different than he had at school. Like he was two people. This Clay was carefree and fun. I liked him a lot. Not that brooding, angsty Clay wasn't hot. But this side of him was so easy to be around. "Well, you've seen me in my Skivvies. I think it's your turn."

My jaw dropped. "I'm not stripping in front of you!" I gasped. I knew I sounded like a prude. But I just couldn't do it. I barely knew him. Hell, even Daniel had never seen me in that state of undress.

If I was honest with myself, though, the thought of the two of us in so little clothing made my blood boil. Clay raised his eyebrow at me in what I was learn- ing was a characteristic expression. "I promise I won't look. I'll get in the water and wait for you." I looked at him in disbelief. He held his hands up. "I prom- ise."

And, like that, he turned and made his way into the river. "Fuck me, it's cold!" he yelled as he plunged in. I stood there for another minute, not sure what to do.

"Screw it," I muttered (that seemed to be my mantra for the day), and I dropped my skirt onto the ground. I then pulled my shirt over my head. I was glad I had decided to wear my cute navy-blue bra and matching underwear.

I ran to the riverbank. I squealed when I stuck my toes into the frigid water. Clay still had his back turned. "Come on; if I can do it, so can you," he called to me. I sucked in a breath and jumped in. The cold of the water shocked the air right out of my lungs and I kicked to the surface. The water was really deep. A few feet from the shore, you couldn't feel the bottom anymore.

"Is it safe to look?" Clay asked. I treaded water, keeping most of my body sub- merged.

"All clear," I said. Clay turned around and I splashed him in the face. He sputtered and wiped water from his eyes.

"Oh, that's it. Payback's a bitch," he growled, and lunged for me. I yelped and swam away from him, laughing so hard that I drank a mouthful of nasty river water.

Clay finally caught me, his arms going around my waist. Before I could relish the feeling of his naked skin against mine, he hefted me out of the water and threw me. I landed with a huge splash. "You suck!" I yelled, and went after him. I dunked him, he threw me. I splashed him, he pulled me under. I felt like a little kid. I couldn't remember the last time I had had that much fun. And Clay laughed and smiled the entire time. After calling a truce in our ongoing water battle, Clay and I floated for a bit in the river. "This is so much fun, Clay. Thank you for hanging out with me." I looked over at him. He smiled, but continued to look up at the sky.

"So spontaneous swimming isn't something you usually do?" he joked. I snorted. "No way. The most spontaneous thing I've ever done is wear my hair down instead of in a ponytail." I couldn't help the tiny bit of bitterness that seeped into my voice. Clay finally looked at me.

"Well, maybe we need to fix that," he suggested with a small smile.

My stomach buzzed again. "I'm just... I don't know... bored, I guess. Everything, every day, is the same. It gets tedious." I made a face and Clay laughed.

"I don't know. I could use a little monotony in my life. Spontaneity is exhausting." He gave me another little splash and I looked at him in warning. He laughed, a deep sound that made my breath hitch. "You don't have fun with your friends? I mean, I see you hanging around with some people. You al- ways seem to be laughing and having a good time when you're with them," Clay said.

He had just admitted that he watched me. Oh, my God! I wanted to do a little tap dance, I was so happy. I looked at him and he ducked his head shyly, as if he realized what he had just admitted. God, I wanted to touch him so badly but didn't know if I should.

"I love my friends. I've known Danny and Rachel my entire life. Our mothers were best friends growing up. But even that seems a little trite." Clay raised his eyebrow at me. "Trite?"

I nodded, swimming closer to the shore so I could sit down on the river bot- tom, the water lapping at my chin and keeping me insulated from the afternoon breeze.

"Well, you know: our parents were best friends, so of course we're best friends. And we have this vanilla life with vanilla conversations and the occa- sional vanilla party on the weekends. Nothing crazy. Nothing to rock the boat. I feel like I've been doing the same thing for so long I don't know how to be any- thing different. Like I said, I'm just so bored. And any time I try to talk to Rache or Danny about it, I just don't think they hear me. I mean, I feel almost….. de- pressed with it all. I want to feel energized, passionate about something. Any- thing."

Or someone, I thought to myself, looking at Clay, who still treaded water a few feet away from me. I had said more to him about my feelings than I had to any- one in a very long time. And Clay didn't look at me like I was crazy. In fact, he seemed to take my words very seriously. And I swear it was in that moment that I began to fall in love with him.

The way he listened to me and actually heard me. And as if what I was saying wasn't stupid. At least not to him. He only nodded. "I understand. I do. But trust me, you are anything but boring."

I harrumphed, not believing him. "Yeah, I'm so interesting. Maggie Young, with her happily married parents and her B+ GPA, ordinary after-school activ- ities, talking about average topics every day with her average friends. How can that not be boring?" I exhaled through my nose in frustration. How could I have thought I had anything to offer this interesting and amazing guy? I was seri- ously deluded.

Clay swam over to me and sat beside me. Our arms brushed under the water and then stayed like that, touching, like even our skin couldn't get enough of each other.