Deep End
Eleven
“Okay, no offence to your friends,” Skylar says later that night, flopping backwards onto the bed with a sigh, “but I am so glad this night is over. Those girls are exhausting!”
He kicks off his shoes and looks over at her in the dim light, sprawled starfish style across the bed. They’ve kissed twice, so he figures there’s no more need to be uncomfortable about slumping across the room in his socks and taking a flying leap at the bed, landing hard enough for her to bounce into the air and squeal, rolling over to one side of the bed.
“Sorry you had to meet them for the first time all alone. I wasn’t exactly glue tonight.” They lay on their backs side by side in the glow of a single lamp, watching shadows dance across the ceiling.
“It was okay actually.” She says honestly, “They were all really nice. Got even nicer after they had a few drinks.”
“Nice enough to run into the street, I saw.” He quips.
“It was nothing if not an entertaining evening.”
“You said, before, that Bridget got to you tonight.” He says uneasily, “What did she do?”
“She just...she has this way of, I don’t know, asking questions that just makes you want to-” she holds her hands out in front of her, wrapping them around an invisible neck and shaking. “And she’s got this way of looking at me, like she knows it’s all fake or something and it just makes me nervous. Or it did.” She trails off.
“It doesn’t anymore?”
“I think you wiped that look permanently off her face with that, uh, kiss.” She says the word ‘kiss’ like it burns. Kris worries it burns like when you fall asleep on the back porch in the summer sun without sunscreen. Skylar thinks it burns like when your tongue tingles with the warmth of hot chocolate topped with cinnamon on a first date.
“I’m sorry.” He says immediately, “I should not have done that. We hadn’t really talked about whether that was part of the deal and then I did it twice and-”
“I think technically the first time it was me.” She interrupts, “And you don’t have to apologize. We already agreed it was fun, didn’t we?”
And they had, Kris remembers it well, the way it made all the blood in his body rush like a tidal wave. He also remembers the nervous way his heart dropped into his stomach when he started to second guess the moment, if maybe she hadn’t meant it in the same way as he had. Now he’s not sure what to think.
“It was a fun night.” He says cautiously, slowly. Skylar’s swelling heart shrinks three sizes. Fun night? Sure, Chippendales were fun, but even ten scantily clad men dancing around in front of her wasn’t as fun as the moment when Kris took her hair in his hand and pulled her into his chest. She hears the hesitation in his voice and suddenly feels at an impasse. Standing on the edge of the bridge, ready to leap over the edge, but too afraid to be the first one, in case the cord breaks. Teetering on the edge of something that might be the most exhilarating thing she’s ever done. Someone has to jump first.
“Can I try something?” she asks, sitting up. He follows, turning his body half towards her.
“Okay...” he raises an eyebrow, licks his lower lip and before she can lose her nerve, she closes her eyes and jumps. Her lips on his, her body falling over the edge, hurtling towards the ground, falling faster, waiting for the crash or the upswing. She’s starting to get scared, feels the ground getting ever closer, her bungee cord defective. Then his lips start to move, his mouth opens and the bungee cord snaps to attention and they fly into an upswing.
Finally, he pulls away, panting.
“There’s no one watching.” He pants into the space between them.
“And you still kissed me back.” She returns breathlessly.
“Not so fake, the kissing.”
“Or the having fun together part.”
“Be my date to the wedding.” Kris blurts because hey, You jump I jump Jack.
“I thought I already was.” She says with a soft laugh, her knee pressed up against his thigh.
“Real date, not fake date.” He clarifies, resting his hand on her knee.
Skylar hums softly, cocking her head with one brow raised, feigning giving it some serious consideration. Kris shakes her knee.
“I’d like that.”
He kisses her then, stealing the smile off her face.
They sleep miles away on opposite sides of the bed for fear of rushing things and let the sounds of contented breathing lull them into sleep.
They wake the next morning to a ridiculous pounding on the door, followed by a chorus of rough morning voices.
“Are you decent!?” Jordan Staal’s voice rings out louder than the rest of the fray. “If not, hurry up and get that way! We’re mostly hung over and we’re going to some national park to go hiking!”
Kris groans, throwing a heavy forearm across his eyes, intent on ignoring them until they go away. Next to him, he feels Skylar shifting.
“I like hiking.” She says quietly, “Especially in Montana. With the mountains. Hiking in Montana with the mountains.” Kris groans again, a little less annoyed this time.
“Come on, please?” Skylar wheedles. More shifting and then she’s on her knees behind his back, her hands around his upper arm, bouncing up and down and shaking him. “Please, please, pleeease?”
She leans over him, poking his forearm away from his eyes. He squints up at her beaming face.
“Okay, okay.” He concedes and she claps excitedly, until he pulls the pillow out from under his head and biffs her in the face.
“Ten minutes Staalsy!” he calls while Skylar is collecting herself from where she toppled backwards onto the mattress.
They brush their teeth standing side by side in the bathroom and as he watches the two of them in the mirror, he ponders for a brief moment what it would be like to do this on a regular basis. Skylar grins at him with frothy teeth, her toothbrush hanging out of the corner of her mouth and he smiles back, thinking it would be nice.
It’s an unspoken agreement that they dress back to back. They sit side by side on the bed to put on their shoes and before they stand, Kris puts a hand on her cheek and turns her face towards him, tasting the minty freshness on her lips. He pulls back and smiles, squeezing the back of her neck.
“Morning.”
“Good morning.” Skylar hums, lacing her fingers through his to pull him to his feet. There’s another obnoxious knock at the door.
“Make the morning sex a quickie, we wanna go!” Jordan shouts. Kris tugs Skylar over to the door and swings it open to find a smirking Jordan Staal towering on the other side. He reaches up and cuffs him on the side of the head.
“Shut up Staalsy.”
He kicks off his shoes and looks over at her in the dim light, sprawled starfish style across the bed. They’ve kissed twice, so he figures there’s no more need to be uncomfortable about slumping across the room in his socks and taking a flying leap at the bed, landing hard enough for her to bounce into the air and squeal, rolling over to one side of the bed.
“Sorry you had to meet them for the first time all alone. I wasn’t exactly glue tonight.” They lay on their backs side by side in the glow of a single lamp, watching shadows dance across the ceiling.
“It was okay actually.” She says honestly, “They were all really nice. Got even nicer after they had a few drinks.”
“Nice enough to run into the street, I saw.” He quips.
“It was nothing if not an entertaining evening.”
“You said, before, that Bridget got to you tonight.” He says uneasily, “What did she do?”
“She just...she has this way of, I don’t know, asking questions that just makes you want to-” she holds her hands out in front of her, wrapping them around an invisible neck and shaking. “And she’s got this way of looking at me, like she knows it’s all fake or something and it just makes me nervous. Or it did.” She trails off.
“It doesn’t anymore?”
“I think you wiped that look permanently off her face with that, uh, kiss.” She says the word ‘kiss’ like it burns. Kris worries it burns like when you fall asleep on the back porch in the summer sun without sunscreen. Skylar thinks it burns like when your tongue tingles with the warmth of hot chocolate topped with cinnamon on a first date.
“I’m sorry.” He says immediately, “I should not have done that. We hadn’t really talked about whether that was part of the deal and then I did it twice and-”
“I think technically the first time it was me.” She interrupts, “And you don’t have to apologize. We already agreed it was fun, didn’t we?”
And they had, Kris remembers it well, the way it made all the blood in his body rush like a tidal wave. He also remembers the nervous way his heart dropped into his stomach when he started to second guess the moment, if maybe she hadn’t meant it in the same way as he had. Now he’s not sure what to think.
“It was a fun night.” He says cautiously, slowly. Skylar’s swelling heart shrinks three sizes. Fun night? Sure, Chippendales were fun, but even ten scantily clad men dancing around in front of her wasn’t as fun as the moment when Kris took her hair in his hand and pulled her into his chest. She hears the hesitation in his voice and suddenly feels at an impasse. Standing on the edge of the bridge, ready to leap over the edge, but too afraid to be the first one, in case the cord breaks. Teetering on the edge of something that might be the most exhilarating thing she’s ever done. Someone has to jump first.
“Can I try something?” she asks, sitting up. He follows, turning his body half towards her.
“Okay...” he raises an eyebrow, licks his lower lip and before she can lose her nerve, she closes her eyes and jumps. Her lips on his, her body falling over the edge, hurtling towards the ground, falling faster, waiting for the crash or the upswing. She’s starting to get scared, feels the ground getting ever closer, her bungee cord defective. Then his lips start to move, his mouth opens and the bungee cord snaps to attention and they fly into an upswing.
Finally, he pulls away, panting.
“There’s no one watching.” He pants into the space between them.
“And you still kissed me back.” She returns breathlessly.
“Not so fake, the kissing.”
“Or the having fun together part.”
“Be my date to the wedding.” Kris blurts because hey, You jump I jump Jack.
“I thought I already was.” She says with a soft laugh, her knee pressed up against his thigh.
“Real date, not fake date.” He clarifies, resting his hand on her knee.
Skylar hums softly, cocking her head with one brow raised, feigning giving it some serious consideration. Kris shakes her knee.
“I’d like that.”
He kisses her then, stealing the smile off her face.
They sleep miles away on opposite sides of the bed for fear of rushing things and let the sounds of contented breathing lull them into sleep.
They wake the next morning to a ridiculous pounding on the door, followed by a chorus of rough morning voices.
“Are you decent!?” Jordan Staal’s voice rings out louder than the rest of the fray. “If not, hurry up and get that way! We’re mostly hung over and we’re going to some national park to go hiking!”
Kris groans, throwing a heavy forearm across his eyes, intent on ignoring them until they go away. Next to him, he feels Skylar shifting.
“I like hiking.” She says quietly, “Especially in Montana. With the mountains. Hiking in Montana with the mountains.” Kris groans again, a little less annoyed this time.
“Come on, please?” Skylar wheedles. More shifting and then she’s on her knees behind his back, her hands around his upper arm, bouncing up and down and shaking him. “Please, please, pleeease?”
She leans over him, poking his forearm away from his eyes. He squints up at her beaming face.
“Okay, okay.” He concedes and she claps excitedly, until he pulls the pillow out from under his head and biffs her in the face.
“Ten minutes Staalsy!” he calls while Skylar is collecting herself from where she toppled backwards onto the mattress.
They brush their teeth standing side by side in the bathroom and as he watches the two of them in the mirror, he ponders for a brief moment what it would be like to do this on a regular basis. Skylar grins at him with frothy teeth, her toothbrush hanging out of the corner of her mouth and he smiles back, thinking it would be nice.
It’s an unspoken agreement that they dress back to back. They sit side by side on the bed to put on their shoes and before they stand, Kris puts a hand on her cheek and turns her face towards him, tasting the minty freshness on her lips. He pulls back and smiles, squeezing the back of her neck.
“Morning.”
“Good morning.” Skylar hums, lacing her fingers through his to pull him to his feet. There’s another obnoxious knock at the door.
“Make the morning sex a quickie, we wanna go!” Jordan shouts. Kris tugs Skylar over to the door and swings it open to find a smirking Jordan Staal towering on the other side. He reaches up and cuffs him on the side of the head.
“Shut up Staalsy.”