The day I stopped singing in the shower

Chapter 24: Talk

"What do you think of his performance, Martina?" Asked Luca in a TV host voice.

I whispered something in his ear and he nodded understandingly.

We were running a contest in which all the boys had to jump into the pool doing some kind of flip. Luca was the spokesperson and I was the jury. We were both sitting on one side of the pool and they were jumping into the deepest side. The sun was already setting and I was glad I had to be sitting and not inside of the pool because I was beginning to feel cold.

The one that just jumped was Josh.

"The jury's made a statement."

I bit my lip to contain my laughter. Loved the dramatism.

"Josh gets an 8 out of 10, which makes Sam and Ace finalists of this contest."

Josh put a sad face and went sit down next to Leo, who was eliminated first. I tried not to be mean and never put marks under 8. Sam and Ace were both really good, I could never in a million years do something similar.

"Finalist number 1, on your mark!"

"And who the fuck is finalist number 1?" Yelled Ace.

Luca turned to face me and giggled like a kid shrugging his shoulders.

"Sam!" He shouted.

Sam stretched out and took a deep breath before he ran for a little bit and jumped into the pool with a forward flip. It was a little bit more difficult than a normal one, but I wouldn't know how to describe it. Sam stared at us when he rose up waiting for his mark.

"We'll deliberate after all the contestants have jumped." He yelled. He then looked at me waving his hand. "That just adds more dramatism till the end."

"Right." I chuckled.

Then it was Ace's turn. He didn't stretch, he just made sure we were looking and turned around. He jumped doing a backflip with sort of a kick at the end. Okay, that was really impressive. I tried to hide my enthusiasm, I was the jury. He got out of the water looking really satisfied with himself. Another ego boost for him.

I decided to tease him.

"What do yo think?" Asked Luca in a lower voice so that they couldn't hear us.

"I think Ace's has been better, so," I paused for a moment and smiled mischievously, "Sam wins."

"I like how you think." He said with a grin. "The decision has been made!" He gestured to Leo and Josh with his hand. "Drums, please."

Leo and Josh began to tap their thighs with their palms.

"And the winner is..."

When the drums stopped Luca stood up and shouted.

"SAM!"

Sam let out a big groan and jumped driving his fist forward. Josh and Leo cheered him. Ace looked at me with an eyebrow raised. He then jumped into the pool head first and began to swim to where I was. When he rose up, his eyes locked with mine as he made his way towards me slowly. His whole body and his chin under the water. He was planning something. Thank God, Luca spoke.

"Ace we're gonna build up the fire, okay?"

Shit.

Ace nodded with his eyes still staring at me. I discovered before, that Ace actually had a fire pit made of stone with cushions around it on the floor. The guys grabbed their towels and their clothes and went towards the right side of the house.

Ace came closer still glancing up at me. He grabbed my ankles with his hands.

"Ace do not even think about it." I said firmly.