Chapter 2: Swimming Lessons - Jonny

It’s early morning at the start of August and it’s already hot and humid outside. Bo, Max, and Rich all meet up at my mother’s house to drive over with me to this building we’ll be guarding as part of the new job we’re all taking. I use my phone to navigate there and we sit in the car’s AC while we wait for Sy and Amory to arrive. When his silver Mercedes pulls into the lot, I kill the engine and we all get out.

Sy is in his familiar suit. I don’t understand how he doesn’t sweat to death. Amory looks stunning in a baby blue dress that’s similar to the white one she had on yesterday. Her hair is pulled up in a bun on top of her head. I notice she’s yet to wear makeup, yet she’s still beautiful. Her height is evident today since she doesn’t have heels on, instead, she’s wearing the cleanest pair of white sneakers I think I’ve ever seen!

Simon unlocks the warehouse and we head up to the second floor. It’s just a bunch of empty rooms. We’re told the building is being gutted and where we currently stand will be a four-bedroom apartment for Amory! Why does she need so many rooms?! The nightclub looks like it will be difficult at times to navigate, since Amory has this idea of doing musical-themed nights and not just one set musical genre. This includes the use of sliding, and vanishing or rotating walls. Her design is intricate, that’s for sure! Like Sy, I’m impressed as fuck with her idea… Who even thinks of shit like that?!

When we’re finally done touring the building, we’re handed copies of the preliminary blueprints with markings of what our duties will be. When we got to the car, I held the door open for Amory to get into the front passenger seat while the guys got into the car with Sy, who had already been told what was happening. All the other guys are confused, and even though it’s nobody’s business, I’m sure Sy will fill them in!

I follow the GPS to the address Amory gives me, and when we get to the location, I park the car and again hold the doors open for her. She looks really uncomfortable that I’m coming in with her. “You don’t have to wait in here with me, you can wait in the car. It’s fine”, she tells me, but I brush her off and continue scrolling through my phone. When they call her, she hands me her bag. The registration nurse looks at me oddly, but I again go back to looking through my phone until something in her purse catches my attention at the corner of my eye. It looks like blue lace and as I realize I’m staring at a pair of Amory’s thongs, I feel myself blush!

I go back to scrolling through my phone trying to avoid looking at the panties sitting there in her bag. That’s when my thoughts turn to imaging them on her start creeping into my mind until she comes back out looking flushed herself. Geez, what happened in there?!

She walks up to the checkout and, as the woman talks obnoxiously loudly, Amory brings her hand to her forehead like she's trying to hide her embarrassment as this woman is babbling about all these tests she’s being sent for before her next appointment. When the woman is finally done, I see Amory’s figure appear before me as she stuffs a textbook worth of papers into the bag as she pulls it from my lap!

“Do you have your bathing suit?” I asked her.

“It’s on under my clothes”, she says quietly as she heads toward the exit.

“Okay, mi Amor, let’s go then”, (my love) I told her as I took her bag from her and opened the door. We drive to my mother’s house in silence, her scent wafting at me as the AC bounces off of her. I leave her out in the yard to go get changed and I honestly need a break from smelling her!

When I come back out, my youngest brother is in the chair next to her and she’s laughing at something he said or did, but she watches my moves intently when she spots me and I can almost swear she’s checking me out. That’s until she stands wearing a skimpy-ass white bikini clearly not meant for swimming! I quickly slid into the shallow end to hide my growing hard-on before calling her into the water.

She was nervous at first as I had her lay her toned body across my arms. She listens to my directions and quickly has an idea of how to keep herself afloat down. But when I test her by removing my hold on her she freaks! When she realizes she can still stand, she gets mad and splashes me! It’s adorable, and I laugh it off before taking a hold of her and pulling her deeper into the pool. Her body feels good against mine with her arms and legs wrapped around me, like I can totally do this for the rest of my life with this girl. I then catch my wayward thoughts and focus back on teaching her to swim.

We'd lost track of time, and it was well after dinner time and nearly dark before we climbed out of the pool. She plops down on the lawn chair and looks exhausted when my mother walks over and suggests that she just stay the night. This doesn’t surprise me about my mother, but Amory actually accepts the invitation! I guess when you’re eighteen and living on your own you can make decisions like that on a whim.

She’s served a plate of food that I think overwhelms her because she suddenly looks uncomfortable! “You sure you’re okay staying here”?

“Oh, yeah! It’s just I have a very… Specific diet”, she says. I take the plate from her and hand it to Liam, who instantly begins scarfing it down, causing her to laugh.

I took her by the hand and led her into the kitchen, then opened the fridge and waved at it for her to help herself. She raises her brow at me before stepping forward and going right for an avocado. Then she grabs the grilled vegetables from last night’s dinner that nobody ever eats, so I don’t know why my mother even still makes them since my father died! She adds some of the grilled steak from tonight that sits on a tray by the stove, and that’s what she’s calling dinner!

“No rice?” I ask her curiously and she shakes her head no. “Pasta?” I ask and she again just shakes her head no as she forks grilled eggplant into her mouth. “Bread”?

“Multigrain”, she says when she’s done chewing and shrugs. “And I like it topped with smushed avocado and tomatoes”.

“Guacamole?” I tell her.

“Huh?”, she says, and I just have to laugh. What rock has she been living under that she doesn’t know what guacamole is?

“Guacamole, it’s mashed avocado and cilantro, with diced garlic, onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, and lime juice”, I explain.

“Oh, um! It’s not all of that in there. It’s just the mashed avocado and tomatoes, but what you said sounds really good”, she says honestly.

When she’s done eating, my mother walks her to my bedroom, pulls a tee out of my dresser, and hands it to her. Funny, my mother is treating her like she’s my girlfriend and not my boss! She politely thanks her though, and eventually, everyone leaves her be in my room. Oddly, I don’t! I haven’t slept in that room in years, but I want to go in there now and be with her. I find myself pacing in front of the room debating on knocking and finding some excuse for why I need to go into my room! I’m squatted against the wall staring at the door, willing it to not be there, and I’m about to call it quits and head down to the living room when the door opens.

Amory is dressed in my oversized tee, as she pokes her head out of the door and looks around before spotting me squatted against the wall. “Amory, you okay”?

She startles before looking down at me and says, “I don’t sleep well, and until recently I haven’t slept alone in what feels like a very long time. I’m a bit of a night owl, yet also a social butterfly. Hence, the nightclub”!

“Do yo-“, I halt myself before I say something stupid. “Do you want me to ask Emilia to come to sit with you”?

“No, no. I don’t want to be a nuisance. It was nice enough of your mother to offer for me to stay the night so you didn’t have to drive me home”, she says shyly.

“My mother is welcoming to everyone. Would you prefer I take you home?” I offered, even though I really didn't want her to go!

“No! Could you just sit with me instead until I fall asleep?”, she asks.

“Me? You’d rather me stay with you?” I said, making sure I heard her right.

“Think of it as practice”, she says as she giggles.

“Uh, sure I guess”, I told her as I rose up onto my feet and walked into the room. This is what I wanted, and now I don’t know how to react! She sits on the bed and I join her, leaning against the footboard as she leans against the headboard. She tosses my pillows to me, and after a moment of us staring at each other, we both fall into a burst of uncomfortable laughter at ourselves.

She looks at me with her cheeks all blushing and says, “let’s play twenty questions”?

“How do we play that?” I asked her.

“We ask each other questions about ourselves to get to know each other. Supposedly it’s a good dating game, but I wouldn’t know. Haven’t been on many of those in my life”, she says, and I find that really hard to believe since she’s really quite lovely to look at. Every guy in school must have been after her. “But I think it fits in appropriately right now. It’ll kill the awkwardness”!

I laugh and agree, “you first, mi Amor” (my love).

“What’s your favorite color?”, she says.

“Blue! More specifically, sapphire blue, like my birthstone. But that blue on your nails is nice too”, I told her, causing her to look at her own hands and blush harder. “And I’m guessing yours is pink”, I said, to lighten the mood.

She giggles and shakes her head, “okay you go”!

“What’s your favorite music genre?” I said.

“Ooo, I don’t have one! I love all types of music, like everything. I even have music on my playlists that’s in different languages, and even though I have no idea what they’re saying, I like something about it”, she says.

I find this interesting but it makes sense, “now your nightclub idea is making even more sense to me! Reggaeton for me”.

“So you like music that makes you feel like moving”, she says. I don’t know why I find it so satisfying that she knows what reggaeton sounds like.

“When’s your birthday?”, she says.

“September thirteenth”, I answered, and literally watched the wheels of her brain spin into high gear.

“Virgo! Makes so much sense now”, she says to herself.

“Yeah? How about you?” I asked her curiously.

“December thirty first, so every year there is a celebration on my birthday”, her exaggerated eye roll let’s me know she doesn’t enjoy it one bit!

I laugh at the fact that she too is an Earth sign, “somehow I doubt you enjoy that since you’re a Capricorn”.

“I am! And I don’t! But you understand my pain, since we’re like one and the same, which makes our signs the most compatible together out of all of the other signs”, she says before she looks down and blushes.

I chuckle at her discomfort and press it further by saying, “I guess that’s good to know since we’ll be spending so much time together. It would be better if we got along”!

“Question four is yours”, she says awkwardly.

“Dream car?” I asked next.

“I don’t have a favorite car really, but I used to drive my ex’s car all the time and that was a pretty nice ride if I could ever even afford one in my lifetime. But I have a custom-built motorcycle, and that’s probably been the best thing I ever drove”, she says, and I would never have guessed pretty in pink before me rides a motorcycle!

“What kind of car was it?” I find myself curiously asking her.

“Oh, uh… A McLoo- I dunno something like that”, she says as she shrugs it off.

“A McLaren?” I ask.

“Yeah that’s it”, she says, shocking me.

“What eighteen-year-old owns a McLaren?” I blurt out.

Amory turns bright red and looks away as she says, “he’s a bit older than me. But let’s get back on topic. Your dream car”?

What does that mean… What exactly is a bit older to her? “BMW”, I answered.

“What series?”, she says, surprising me.

“Four! Funny for a girl who doesn’t have a favorite car or likes to drive, you would know something like that”, I told her.

She just shrugs and says, “I said I didn’t have a favorite and I don’t like to drive, not that I don’t like cars. Do you have a middle name”?

“Anthony”, I answered. “You”?

She laughs and takes a deep breath before answering, “depends on what document you look at”.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“So, technically, Amory is my middle name”, she explains. “I was in foster care and my foster parents adopted me and we had my name legally changed to Amory Williams. But if you want to be technical, my full name is Loyalty Amory Marshal Williams Hart”.

“That’s a looong name”, I tell her and I find it curious that she has three last names.

“Yeah, so growing up I was called Lala and was going to have my name legally changed to that when I was adopted, but circumstances changed my mind. So, Amory Williams, it is”, she explains further. “I’d appreciate it if this just stayed between the two of us. My parents didn’t even tell Simon, the name change was done just prior to me meeting him, and to make sure my ex never finds me, we’d like as few people as possible to know”!

“Your secret is safe with me, mi Amor”, (my love) and it absolutely is because I want this girl to be mine. So if keeping her name a secret will keep her ex away, so be it.

“Favorite number?” I asked her.

“That’s a good one actually, thirteen”, she answers. “You”?

“Seven”, I reply.

“Prime numbers”, she says quietly, and I look at her confused. “Numbers that can only be factored by one and themselves”. Figures she’s super intelligent, this fucking girl is an eighteen-year-old entrepreneur! “I want ice cream”, she randomly blurts out.

I laugh as I grab my phone to check and see what’s still open, “Door Dash is still delivering. What kind of ice cream are you looking for”?

She pulls my phone from my hand and scrolls through the selections at Cold Stone. “Ooo, that looks good!”, she says before giving me the phone back. I look to find she’s added some odd unicorn rainbow nonsense. I just shake my head as I add an order for myself of my favorite and check the order out as she hands me her credit card.

I pushed it back towards her and said, “it’s just ice cream, Amory”! This girl is going to be paying me over a grand a week soon, certainly, I can afford to spend seven bucks on her… Funny, my favorite number. Maybe that’s a sign!

“Thanks”, she says as she puts it back in her bag. “What’s your favorite ice cream flavor”?

“Pistachio”, I tell her and she nods thoughtfully. “I’m guessing this is your first time getting unicorn vomit, or I dunno what it is you just picked. So what’s your regular favorite”?

She laughs and says, “butter pecan usually”!

“How do you go from a classic like butter pecan to unicorn poop or what is it you even ordered?” I asked her and she laughed so hard she was red in the face.

“I’m going through something right now”, she finally says through the laughing, making me laugh with her.

“Do you have a favorite video game character?” I finally asked.

“Princess Nadia”, she says, shocking me. Did not see that coming at all.

“Never would have guessed you were a Chrono Trigger fan”, I told her.

“Guilty, how about you?”, she says.

“I’m a donkey kong fan”, I chuckled out. “But both are Nintendo, so the vibe here is still good”.

“How about books? Do you have a favorite?”, she asks.

“Grapes of Wrath”, I answer and her shock over my answer doesn’t go unnoticed. “You”?

“The Great Gatsby”, she says. Wow, that’s depressing!

“So tragic”, I told her.

“Speak for yourself”, she says, and we both laugh again because both books are probably equally depressing!

“Favorite movie?” I asked her.

“Love, Actually”, she says sadly.

“Serious? Isn’t that a little before your time?” I said.

She shrugs, “I like classics! How about you”?

“Venom, but it was a favorite comic book when I was younger. It helped me learn English”, I tell her.

“Were you not born here?”, she says, confused.

“I was! But my father was Italian American and was a police officer, so he was never home. My mother was born in Cuba and was home all the time, so I learned Spanish first, then English”, I explained to her.

“It’s nice to know more than one though”, she eventually says.

My phone goes off letting me know the Dasher has arrived. “Let me go get the ice cream”, I tell her as I rise from the bed and leave the room. When I return, she has my shirt pulled over her knees and her arms are wrapped around herself. She looks sad and it’s kind of hard to watch someone as beautiful as her look so broken!

I hand her the ice cream and a spoon, and she scoops it into her mouth and moans slightly. As I’m scooping into mine, she reaches her spoon across the distance between us and scoops some right out of mine too! “Oye, detente”, (hey, stop it) I tell her and she bursts out laughing again.

“What does that mean?”, she says, causing me to stop and think for a moment.

“It means to stop it”, I tell her as she laughs harder, so I take a scoop of hers with my spoon! She doesn’t look the least bit bothered, “that tastes like shit so it’s appropriately named”. She was laughing so hard tears were streaming down her face. “I’m glad you find my misfortune amusing”, I stated, and her laughing continued. Eventually, she grows silent as she continues to eat the sugar disaster in front of her before she sits back and yawns. “So is that your sleeping pill of choice? Azúcar“, (sugar).

“What’s that?”, she says again, causing me to think about what I said.

“Sugar”, I say.

“I guess”, she shrugs. “What else is there really to naturally put you to sleep that’s enjoyable”?

I have to bite my lip because telling her having sex would do the trick would not be a good idea! Somehow, I think she already knows what my suggestion would be, as she turns a little pink in the face again!

“What goes on in your head when you switch back and forth between languages?”, she asks curiously.

“My thoughts come out in Spanish and I have to translate them into English before I say them out loud, and sometimes I don’t translate it as quickly as I speak it”, I admit.

“Oh, that must get annoying”, she says sincerely.

“It used to! But I’ve gotten used to it”, I tell her, feeling like she genuinely cares that someone will experience any type of discomfort.

She lays her head back on the headboard and hums. Eventually, the humming goes quiet and her head lulls over to the side as she falls asleep. I took the empty ice cream container from her hand, put it on the nightstand, and sat back down next to her. She topples over into my lap, and I don’t know if she’ll wake up if I try to move her. I decide to just sit there until she moves on her own, but eventually, my eyes grow heavy too.