Dangerous Play

33 » no harm no foul

Heated, my ass. The pool was an icy shock to Finn as he hit the water with a splash, still holding on to Eden. He let go underwater and they both bobbed to the surface. Finn spluttered angrily, hair plastered to his forehead. "Cairo, I'm going to kill you!"

The aforementioned idiot stood there cackling, along with the rest of their friends who'd witnessed the interaction. Beside Finn, Eden came up with a grin, seemingly uncaring that her dress and hair were now ruined.

Before he could swim to the edge and carry out the premeditated murder, someone came up behind him and clapped him on the shoulder. Finn turned to find Ashton, who had abandoned his water fight to laugh at him. "What an end to senior homecoming, am I right?"

"Sure," Finn grumbled. "Being pushed into a pool is such a good time."

Eden laughed in delight. "Come on, Finn, you have to admit this is so much better than a stuffy gala." She floated on her back, hair streaming behind her. "Besides, the look on your face? Priceless."

Finn rolled his eyes, but his annoyance was dissipating. Eden had a point. How many more times in their lives would they be able to enjoy a moment like this? Even if all of his friends stayed in touch, they would soon be headed to different schools all over the country.

"WAAAAAHOOOOO!" came a shout from above. Cairo soared above them, belly-flopping into the pool and splashing even more water over the three of them. He popped up and shook his hair like a wet dog. "Now it's a pool party!"

More and more partygoers jumped in the pool at Cairo's exclamation, still dressed in their formalwear. Eden drifted back over to the side of the pool where Finn was, slicking her hair back and out of her face. "Well, that was fun, but I'm going to find a towel, a change of clothes, and a drink." She pulled herself up and over the edge. Finn couldn't help but admire the way the wet silk clung tightly to her figure as water streamed behind her. Eden tossed a smirk over her shoulder at him. "Are you coming?"

As she started toward the house, Cairo sidled up beside him. "You're welcome, by the way," he said with a know-it-all expression.

Finn splashed him, taking immense satisfaction in the other boy's indignant spluttering as he recovered. "Fuck you, asshole." Then he thought about Eden's grin, just now, and felt slightly more charitable. "But also thanks." He swung himself over the edge of the pool and followed behind Eden.

Later, when they had both dried off, Finn found Eden in the kitchen, sitting on the counter and giggling over something with a girl he didn't recognize. She caught his eye and her smile widened.

Within moments, she slid off the counter and padded across the hardwood floor to join him. "Hey," she said, beaming up at him.

"Hey," he replied, suppressing a smile himself. "Having fun?"

"More, now that you're here." She stepped closer to him, until there was practically no room between them. "Thanks for coming with me tonight, by the way."

"Where else would I be? You're the one that's technically crashing," he teased. "It is my school's homecoming and my friend's house, after all."

Eden looped her arms around his neck as if she wanted to slow dance. "That's true enough." Her hair was still wet, black and gleaming in the bright kitchen lighting. Without heels on, she only came up to his chin, and he had to look down to meet her eyes.

Finn wanted to stay in that moment forever. He was beginning to feel that way more and more when he thought of Eden, and the more time they spent together, the surer he felt.

Maybe it was the adrenaline rush from being pushed into a pool that finally gave him the courage to voice the thoughts swirling around his head lately. Or maybe it was just her and the magnetic pull she seemed to have on him that caused him to ask. "So... what are we, exactly?"