Wolfhound [closed]

He broke his gaze away from her, kneeling down aside the cool pool water and splashing it across the back of his next. Swimming out of the ocean in the middle of the God damned Atlantic. There was something backwards and twisted about the idea entirely, but he saw no reason to complain. It'd be nice to go back to pasty white Rosebury with a warm tan to stand out from the crowd. "You just gonna stand there and sweat all day?" He called behind him. He k we they had all day, but he'd wanted to enjoy what they could before the place became too crowded. Packed in like sardines in some chlorinated container didn't sound like shit of a vacation to him at all.

Preston took a step back, thinking to reach for a beach chair and claim their spot and accidently bumping into someone who'd seemed to beat her to it. Some girl in a tight, floral bikini, with large shades and flowing blonde hair; all laughs and giggles as she brushed the awkward situation off. It was short of an encounter, less of a minute itself before he stumbled back to Kayla's side. "We gotta be quick," he muttered, leaninf im close and brushing his arm against hers.

She stood stiff as a statue, trying her best to look unamused as Pres knelt by the water, if only to keep the anxiety and hesitation from surfacing to her face. Kayla let her gaze drift over the waves of people, all these rich, perfect, Barbie doll people in their hundred dollar swimsuits... Pres looked right at home, and she could feel her insides churn and twist themselves in knots as he bumped into some pretty blonde, all giggles and smiles. All she could do was glare from the sidelines, invisible to the two of them.

That girl was beautiful, but she had to wonder if they were all a dime a dozen to him.

Kayla flinched at the gentle brush against her arm, practically jumping in place, nervous sparks flitting across her skin, too faint to see in the burning summer sunlight.

"You go ahead," she finally managed after a moment, a hint of a grin flashing across her face. "I'll just sit here. Don't want to be a murderer or anything." Kayla fingered at the hem of her loose shirt, side-eyeing the pool and all the people in it, a small arc of electricity flashing over her head.

Preston scoffed, rolling his eyes with a certain mastery. "Your ass is getting dragged in one way or another, Pikachu." He skimmed his hand over the top of her head, stray strands slipping out of her ponytail and clinging to the palm of his hand, like static to a balloon. "If you want to do things the hard way..," the Autumn allowed his voice to trail off into a subtle dude, just shut up. He shot the girl a certain crooked smirk, damn near glint shimmering in his sea-like eyes. It would be all too easy to catch her off her guard in a place like this. If she thought he would play completely fair all the time in a crowd full of strangers, she was dead wrong.
He took a sharp step back, swooping in from behind and cooling his grasp around her, arms and waste and all.

Oh no. No, no, no, no—...! She saw it coming before it happened, but she was helpless, a step behind as he shot forward to sweep her off her feet. "Wai—...!" Her stomach flipped as she left the ground, legs kicking helplessly, and she could feel the lightning pulse through her, but it all seemed to absorb into the arms held tight around her waist and knees. Shit, not again! "Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait...!"

What was the problem? It wasn't as if he were throwing her off the edge of some cliff or something.

The Autumn busted out a full-on grin, ignoring the few weird stares of those watching them as she flailed about. What was the point of going on a fucking boat in the middle of the ocean if you didn't plan on getting wet or having some fun? Also, it was somewhat enjoyable holding her and watching her struggle. All in good fun, of course. "What? Wait?" He mused with a mock frown, faux stumbling closer to the water. "Ah. Wait. Shit. Nooooooooooo." Preston spun and leaned back on his heels, waiting until there was room in the water below and tipping himself back, letting gravity take them and send them crashing into the warm water.

Nonononononono—...!

They spun together, tipped, rocked back and forth on their mosey over to the pool edge, until he was leaning over the water and gravity did all the rest. Her stomach lurched as the two of them went flopping over, locked in his arms.

Timber.

A pitched scream bubbled up and exploded out of her throat, cut short as they hit the water. She had to shut her eyes against the chlorine, churning her legs to try and find some footing, but nothing, just him, an anchor pulling her down to the ocean bottom. When they finally torpedoed back up to break the surface, she sucked in a lungful of air, and expelled it back out with one shouted word.

"Bitch!"

She could feel a fair few dirty looks from the suburban housewives parked over on the lawn chairs, but she didn't spare any of them a second glance, blinking the water from her eyes and managing to twist around enough to brush her bangs from her face. Her shirt was plastered to her skin, Brailynn's black two-piece shining clear through the white fabric now. Fucking fantastic.

"Happy now?" she barked, angling back just enough to scoop a handful of water straight into his face.

He'd bust into laughter the moment they'd hit the surface.

Preston pinched the water out of his eyes, one arm still wrapped around her as he found his own footing; the water just at the right height for him to touch the ground, although it could be said the same for the Pikachu. "What's wrong?" he teased back, oblivious to anyone else around him. He hadn't seen any sharp sneers around them, but he could make out the thin black band just underneath her shirt. It caught him off his guard, leaving him awestruck and staring, vulnerable; and he'd gotten that damned splash of water right into his mouth. "Fuck! He sputtered out. "Maybe I fucking am!"

It was hard to determine what he was more I'm that moment, stubborn or curious. The Autumn blinked the water back out of his eyes, grapping Kayla back down at the waist and flipping her towards him. "What -" He had to pause to catch his breath, his eyes glued to her chest, making out the dark, sleek fabric beneath her shirt. "What are you wearing your clothes in the pool for? Idiot."

He could feel the burning in his cheeks. The fucking sun seriously did it's work fast in this weather.

She was basically a ragdoll in his grasp, not able to do much more than flail uselessly in the water as he flipped her around to face him. Kayla clung onto his broad shoulders like a wet cat, too focused on the curve of his neck to really notice that he was staring where he shouldn't; anything to avoid eye contact. Or she might hit him, or something. Yeah. The Autumn let her claws dig into his skin, practically pouting.

God, what a dumbfuck.

"Because some asshole decided to toss me in before I was ready. Sound familiar?"

It felt like she was burning from the inside out, but shit, what could she do? This idiot was going to fucking drown her. "Here, just... don't let go." Or the other people in this pool were in for a bit of a shock, and that was the last thing either of them needed. Kayla led them back toward the pool edge—as best as she could with her mistimed kicks and clumsy paddling, not to mention Pres' arm still wound around her—but they made it, more or less.

Deep breaths. In. Out.

Kayla fumbled for the concrete ridge and pushed herself up and out of the water, dripping. She felt twenty pounds heavier in these soaked clothes. Damn it, she can't believe she let this idiot do this to her again... Kayla knelt outside the water, faced away from him for a few tortured heartbeats, before she summoned up the courage to just rip off the band-aid. Shit...

She reached up and over, peeling the soaked white t-shirt off her back and up over her head, tossing it over to where he'd set up the rest of their stuff. Deep breaths... The sun's warmth tingled at her exposed back. Kayla shifted to slide off her shorts next, still not daring to turn and look at him.

It felt like a million eyes snapped toward her direction, laser focused, even if he was the only one watching.

Fuck.

Better?

With an annoyed huff, she swiveled her legs back over to face him, dipping her feet into the water, hunched over, arms crossed defensively over her chest. She didn't look at him, eyes lowered toward the pool jets on the other end of the wall. "Happy now?" she repeated, quieter this time.

If it had been any other girl on earth, Preston might have suspected that she was doing this in purpose, but he knew her too well to ever think that. His hand raised, brushing his bangs back and allowing his grasp to linger there, nothing short of awestruck. Fucking sure, it wasn't the first time he'd seen her so stopped down, that time in the bathroom aside; he'd never forgotten it. He hadn't forgotten how God-damned awkward it was either, averting his gaze the entire time, and even then he hadn't seen much behind her. Even if they lived together, she was such a prude, she never stepped outside her room in anything but full attire. But now...
Damn, he wanted to eat that ass.
She had quite a nice shape to her, to put delicately. He'd somewhat noticed times before but fuck. Preston finally let his hand splash back into the water, shooting his gaze to the side soon as she spun back around. How long had he been looking? Out of pure instinct, he swam right up to the edge with her, brushing his hand up over her knee; if only to stop her from shocking the other pool goers, of course. "Yeah, I mean - Damn," he said, breathless. His free hand reached up for her other leg, pausing in strong hesitation, yet with sparks dancing eagerly at his finger tips. Tricks of the light, to any normal person. He settled to pushing his empty palm against the concrete. "I will be when you get the fuck back in."

She was beet red, and there wasn't any hiding it. Kayla bit her bottom lip, bracing herself just enough not to avert her gaze, or spring up and go sprinting back to their cabin. Was it just her, or was he being just as awkward about this? Wasn't he the one always supposed to play it cool? The Autumn almost flinched as his hand brushed over her knee, sparks popping wherever skin grazed skin. It was almost ticklish.

Kayla snorted and let a light smile flutter to her face. "Fine. Have it your way." Her stomach was doing somersaults, but she wasn't going to let that get in her way for right now. She let her hands drift up his arms to grasp him by the shoulders, her anchor, and slid off the edge to ease herself back into the water, heart thumping like a kick drum in her chest.

She had, shit... that fucking smile of hers, it was... fuck.
He was supposed to be the composed one here. Instead he'd felt choked up, sparks crackling away at her touch as her hands scaled up and across his skin. Preston shivered, his own fingers brushing up against the girl's waist (soft, actually) as he helped ease her back down into the water. One of his more gentle catches, he supposed. "No escape now, bitch." He breathed in deep through his nose, sending them drifting back away from the wall, to waters unknown. The young man's hands does steadily to her hips, pulling her up over his waist. "You're stuck with me."

His hands felt red hot where he held her by the waist. She had to force herself to breathe, or else she'd forget, but somehow she was still feeling woozy and lightheaded.

Hey, what was so weird about this?

Just two roommates, on a mission. Y'know. Hangin' out. Normal roommate stuff. But somehow, this seemed completely removed from what they were there to do—hunting monsters, people in bla͡ck suits, yeah, there wasn't any hint of that here. She snaked her arms around his neck as they drifted out from the safety of the wall. His hands moved steadily down, to her hips, lightly lifting her up. She dug her nails into his skin, screwing up her face.

She was completely at his mercy, wasn't she?

"Yeah. It looks like it." Electricity warped up her arm, but it seemed to dissipate into sweat before it could finish the circuit. "Dunk me again and I'm drowning us both."

Preston chuckled, swerving out of the way of some others that were paddling on through, all shrieks and squeals. Maybe it wasn't the best place to linger for long if relaxation was what they wanted, but he wasn't going to pass up an opportunity like this. It was sort of nice, in a way, having her cling onto him like a crazy wet cat. In a way, maybe not exactly in those words. "That sounds like a challenge," he said, leaning in closer to her ear. His hands lost their grip for a second, letting her sink down a bit into the water and ignoring the sting in the back of his neck; that stupid crooked grin of his unable to be wiped away.

Something about his voice in her ear made her heart freeze in her chest.

Maybe it was anticipation for what was coming. Her stomach was doing backflips as he let her slip, just for a moment, but that was enough to get a sharp gasp out of her. Just by reflex, her arms tightened around his neck, body pressed close to his, and just to make sure he knew she wasn't fucking around, her legs wrapped around his waist, locking them tight together. She could feel them both dip with the extra weight, but hell no if she was going to let him pull this crap a third time. "Fucker!" she spat through clenched teeth. "I'm not joking, bitch!"

Her breathing quickened.

Skin to skin like this, could Preston feel her heart thumping?

Fuck, her face was burning. All of a sudden the self-doubt pounced on her. Lynn's stupid teasing played in loops in her head. Yeah. She knew what this looked like.

But it wasn't like that.

It couldn't be like that.

What stupid ideas had she planted in her head?

Breathless. It was like all the air had rushed out of him with his weak laughter, leaving him lightheaded and two short heartbeats away from letting his guard down and frying up the pool along side her. He spared her anymore fretting and straightened back up, heels flat on the ground and move one hand up just under the nape of her neck. Had they ever been close like this before? Not that he could recall, off the top of his head, or at least - not quite like this. With every slight movement or heave of his body, he could feel himself press up against her bare belly or the curve of her chest. (And there was a bit more curve to her than he had given her credit for before.) It was... nice. It was way too nice.

A heavy weight dropped in his stomach. What would he have done if he hadn't chased after her months ago? Where would he be now? Preston pulled himself back a bit to get a glimpse of her face again, his grin widening a bit at the mere sight. He never went without asking himself those very questions whenever he was around her. Fuck. He really needed a drink.

This was the closest thing to a vacation they could get right now, monsters and asshole in Ireland waiting aside. He couldn't dwell on that shit. "You need to relax, Pikachu," he mused. "If you're so hard wired all the time, it's no wonder you sink like a rock."