Lavender Haze || Leonardo DiCaprio

Chapter 5: I Can Teach You

I still felt just as in awe by Leo's mansion the second time I entered it. I joined my hands in front of me as I felt my nerves creeping up on me.

"Hang on, I have some new messages on my answering machine. I better go listen to those," Leo told me, going over to the small device. It had a red number flashing on a tiny black screen.

"I'll just go use the bathroom," I used an excuse to calm myself. I stood in front of the oval ornate mirror, patting down the top of my hair. It wasn't really frizzy though, so I decided to go ahead and use the restroom while I was in there. I loved the liquid soap he owned as I washed my hands after. It had this nice pine tree smell and it made my skin super soft. I happily dried off with the gold towel hanging on a loop in the same color. Once I found Leo he was busy on the phone, leaning against his kitchen counter as I lingered back. I didn't want it to seem like I was listening in on his conversation.

"Yeah, I had a nice time last night, Chanel. I don't know. I'm kind of busy today. I don't think I'll want to go out again tonight. Can we plan something for this upcoming weekend? Okay, great. I'll call you soon," he promised, hanging up before spotting me. I guess I didn't conceal myself as I well as I thought.

"Hi...," I trailed off, giving him a weak smile. "Was that the model you've been seeing?" I was focused on my fingers as I interlaced them loosely.

"Yeah, we're planning on getting together again next weekend," he casually explained.

"You could have gone out with her tonight, or even today. We don't really have anything planned."

"No, I invited you over, so we will have plans. We just haven't figured out what they are yet," he winked, causing my face to flush. "Hey, you want to see something really cool?"

"Sure," I replied, following him throughout the large house. He then opened a door to reveal an indoor pool, my jaw dropping. "Wow, this is so nice, and I like how it's a nice warm, beige color. It's not like those public ones with the white walls and a bit of blue." I tended to talk more than needed when I was trying to explain a point.

"Yeah, I wanted it to feel nice in here. It's still fairly echoey though. You want to get in? I just turned on the heating system for the water."

"In our clothes?"

"Yeah, or in our underwear, whichever you're more comfortable with. I don't really have any girl's swimsuits, unless you want to try one of mine."

"You know what? You only live once, so let's do it. I've never jumped into a pool fully clothed before," I confessed, him finding my hand, the warmth radiating off him comforting.

"Alright, let's make sure we're not on the shallow end first," he spoke, leading me to the deeper end. "On the count of three, and keep holding onto my hand, alright?"

"Okay," I nodded, tucking my hair behind my ear real quick.

"One... Two... Three," he ended, us jumping at the same time. I squeezed my eyes shut as we went straight into the warm water. I ended up coughing when we came back up, squeezing Leo's hand as I freaked out.

"I can't swim," I gasped as I attempted to wipe my eyes clean. I literally couldn't see anything as they burned from the chlorine.

"Shit, I've got you," he promised, wrapping his arm around my middle more firmly. "Don't worry, you're alright. I'm just going to lead you to the side of the pool. You don't need to be afraid." I felt him helping to wipe the water from eyelashes with his thumb, causing me to get butterflies despite the frustrating situation. "Is that better," he whispered.

The first thing I saw was a blur of his ocean blue eyes, since there were still water droplets stuck to my long eyelashes. "Yeah, that's better. I didn't realize the pool was so deep. It feels like it goes on for ages. I just couldn't get my footing and I panicked."