Adam's POV
Let me be honest, I didn’t expect the crying girl on the bench by the volleyball court to flip my whole damn world in one night.
I’d just come out here for a walk. Nothing heavy. Just needed some air nut then there she was.
This beautiful girl in heels and a dress that screamed romantic dinner, looking like her world had collapsed. Mascara smudged like war paint, lips trembling, arms hugging herself like they were the only things holding her together.
I tapped her shoulder before I could think twice.
“Are you alright?”
She jumped, turned around like a startled deer, and then glared at me.
“Do I look alright?!” she snapped, and honestly? Fair question.
Then it all came pouring out. Her voice cracked and rushed, like she was trying to catch up to the pain.
I didn't expect a beautiful girl like her would be that jerk’s girlfriend.
We sat on the bench for a while, the kind of silence that isn’t awkward. She talked more, and I listened. I told her stories about Seb being a douche in high school, and she laughed, really laughed this time.
“You know,” she said, wiping her eyes, “I was supposed to spend the whole summer with him. My parents are… gone. Long story. It was just going to be us. I thought…”
“You thought he was it,” I said, finishing for her.
She nodded, biting her lip.
“Well,” I stood and offered my hand again. “Let’s turn this dumpster fire of a night around. Come on. I’ll drive you home.”
She hesitated, then took my hand. Her fingers were cold, trembling slightly, but she didn’t let go.
She pointed at her car and I took the keys. I helped her in before turning to jump into the driver's seat.
The drive to her house was quiet at first. Then she started talking again.
“I’ve never been to a concert,” she said out of nowhere.
“What?”
“Seb didn’t like crowds.”
“Okay, that’s criminal. Everyone should experience a concert at least once.”
“I know, right? And I’ve never gone camping. Never eaten street tacos. Never kissed in the rain. Never gone on a road trip with no plan.”
“That’s a long list,” I said, glancing her way.
She looked back at me, eyes soft but burning under it. Like she was tired of pretending it didn’t matter. “It’s a never-because-of-Seb list.”
We turned the corner and pulled into her driveway. Quiet. Empty. One porch light on, flickering a little like it wasn’t sure if it should stay lit.
She exhaled, more tired than dramatic.
“I’ve got frozen pizza. No parents home.” She paused. “You wanna come in?”
“Pizza and freedom? How could I say no?”
Inside her house, it smelled like vanilla candles and faint sadness. She kicked off her heels and padded into the kitchen, grabbing the pizza from the freezer.
“So, what’s something you’ve never done?” she asked, voice lighter now.
“Hmm.” I leaned against the counter, watching her. “I’ve never skinny dipped.”
She blinked. “Well that’s something unexpected. From what I’ve heard, Adam Cooper is adventurous, always surrounded with girls.”
I nodded. “Always wanted to. Just never had the right moment.”
She tilted her head, giving me a look that didn’t quite reach her smile. “Well, there’s a pool out back. And no parents, remember? So do it.”
I stepped forward, letting the silence stretch just enough. “Only if you’d join me.”
She arched a brow like she might challenge that, but then she just turned and walked toward the back door. No argument. No comment. Like she'd already made the decision and wasn’t giving me the satisfaction of seeing her hesitate.
Outside, the air was cooler. The kind of cool that sat low on your skin, made you aware of it. The pool lit up the backyard in that soft, watery blue, the surface glass-still. Quiet. Private.
She stopped at the edge and looked back at me, hair slipping over her shoulder.
“No peeking,” she said.
I smirked. “No promises.”
She rolled her eyes, then stripped down without theatrics. Just shirt, jeans, bare skin in moonlight. Her clothes hit the ground in a loose pile, and a second later, she dove in.
The splash cracked the stillness.
I heard her laugh, sharp and short as she surfaced.
“You coming or what?” she called.
I undressed quickly, dropped my stuff near hers, and slipped into the water. It hit hard. Cold. But clean, too. Everything else—the noise in my head, the weirdness of the night—got left behind on the surface.
When I came up, I didn’t see her at first.
Then I turned—and she was right there.
Close. Backed up against the far side of the pool, arms resting behind her on the edge, her shoulders just above the water. The moon lit her skin, and her eyes caught it even more.
I slowed. Let the water carry me toward her, one arm brushing the tile as I stopped just a breath away.
She didn’t flinch.
She didn’t smile either.
Her expression was steady, unreadable. But her chest was rising and falling like she’d just come up from more than a swim.
The air between us shifted.
I braced one hand on the wall beside her head, the other drifting just beneath the water, fingers brushing the curve of her hip.
Still, she didn’t move.
No challenge. No retreat. She just looked at me like she was waiting for something—and daring me at the same time.
So I leaned in.
No pause. No line. I just closed the space between us and kissed her.