Jamie's snoring was no softer after a few hours of sleep, and it seemed unlikely it would stop soon. It hadn't kept me from getting to sleep, or staying that way, but it became a problem after I woke up.
I'd gotten out of bed to go to the bathroom as the sun started peeking around the edges of the curtains, and I usually would have fallen back into a light doze after that, since it wasn't a school day. But, loud as Jamie was being, it seemed like that wasn't an option. I was aimlessly browsing the internet on my phone, when a message from Ellie came through.
[So what are you doing today?]
______________[Dealing with a refugee crisis.]
[?]
______________[Jamie crashed here last night.]
______________[Megan broke up with him.]
[Absolutely shocking! :|]
[Let's do something with him today]
[Can we hang around your pool?]
______________[I guess.]
[Go wake him up!]
I looked across at the couch, and the lump under the covers that was Jamie. He was just lying there - in his underwear, probably nursing a hangover. That was going to be a weird interaction that I had no desire to start. I didn't really have a script for that sort of thing.
______________[I would, but I don't want to.]
[Fine, I'll do it]
Jamie's phone began to buzz, and he groaned. His hand reached out to grab it and answer. His voice came out in an annoyed, groggy croak. "What?"
He looked over at me, and I lazily waved, propping myself up on my elbow. I could hear hints of what must have been a very energetic monologue from Ellie, and Jamie didn't offer many responses, just rubbing his eyes and wincing occasionally.
"I was just going to go home... No... Well, okay, if Jay's fine with it."
"I am." It was getting quite late in the morning already, and I'd already been lying there for a while, unsure what to do about him. At least Ellie being there would break up the day nicely, and make things feel less awkward. And the weather was ideal for swimming - probably one of the last warm days we'd have for a while, once winter started setting in.
"Okay, fine." He put down the phone, and looked over at me, narrowing his eyes. "Traitor."
"Sorry." I grinned, and pushed myself out of bed. "She was insistent."
"Yeah, that's Ellie." He sighed. "My clothes are pretty gross, aren't they?"
"Yep. I actually had some thoughts about that." I went over to my closet and grabbed some old swimming trunks, tossing them to him.
"Do I get a shirt?"
"Maybe later. Might be better to deal with your old clothes first." It only occurred to me after I'd said it that I probably should have just given him one. I was over my crush, but Jamie looked good shirtless - maybe a bit too good. But if we were going to be swimming anyway, it occurred to me that I might as well desensitise myself to his amazing body early in the day.
I went to my kitchen counter and started making a tea for myself while he wriggled under the covers and eventually emerged wearing the swimming trunks. When he walked up to me, I tried not to stare too much at his chest - to stop my eyes from drifting down his toned pecs and onwards to his perfectly flat stomach, with the lightest dusting of hair. I was only mildly successful.
"I don't have coffee. But I can offer you tea or hot chocolate, if you want."
"Nah, I'm good. Can I have more water?" He yawned and stretched, causing the lithe muscles of his arms to flex in the most annoyingly pleasing way.
I cleared my throat. "Yeah, sure. Just any of the bottles in the fridge is fine."
"Thanks." He leaned down and opened the fridge, and I caught myself watching the play of the muscles of his back as he reached in and out.
Feeling suddenly annoyed at myself, I deliberately focused my attention back on making the tea. It was kind of sleazy to be checking Jamie out like this anyway, but more than that, I was just getting tired of cute guys with great bodies turning my brain into sap. I fished the teabag out of my cup, threw it away, and added the milk. Then I left the tea on the counter.
"Come on," I said curtly, heading over to the glass door and opening it.
He took a gulp of water, and set the bottle down on the table before walking over to join me. "Whatsup?"
"Grab that." I indicated the plastic bag that contained his puke-spattered shoes and clothes.
He delicately lifted the bundle up. "Fucking gross."
"Yep. Follow me." I stepped back inside, and led him through the door that led into the main house, which went via the laundry room at the back of the garage. I grabbed the detergent and fabric softener from the cabinet where we kept them, and put the appropriate amount in the machine, turning the dial to the right setting.
"Okay, I'm going to leave the room while you do that. Because that seems like a you-problem." I gestured at his clothes. "Put those in there, and push that start button."
"Cool."
"Then just bring the shoes outside, and we'll hose them down."
"Gotcha."
I cleared some space around the storm-drain outside, and set the hose up. Jamie came out a few minutes later and tumbled the shoes out onto the ground. While he bunched up the bag and went to throw it away, I blasted them with high water pressure, trying to get them from every angle. When he got back, I paused, and let him inspect them.
"Okay, we're good." He nodded.
I let him figure out where to hang them, and quickly went to unlock the gate for when Ellie showed up. Then I made my way back into my room, grabbed some swimming shorts, and went into my bathroom to change. I washed my face and put on some deodorant, but resisted the urge to fiddle with my hair.
By the time I'd grabbed my tea and made my way outside again, Ellie was there, sitting at the metal table with Jamie. She was dressed in a long, flowy sarong and had a large floppy hat with a dark pair of sunglasses. It looked like a thoroughly planned outfit, to be honest - it made me fairly sure that her holiday itinerary had always involved lounging around my pool.
"Morning Jay." She beamed cheerfully as I sat down with them. "I'm just hearing about Jamie's glamorous and oh-so-surprising evening."
"Morning." I grinned. Jamie already looked exhausted.
She turned her attention back to him. "Are you going to try to patch things up with her?"
"Hah, no." Jamie glanced over at me. "That's probably not an option now."
"Why?"
"Just a feeling I got."
"Okay," Ellie shrugged. "Should we go swimming?"
"That's it?" Jamie asked. "You're not going to give me a hard time about it?"
"Jamie." She sighed. "If I picked apart all your poor life choices, we'd be graduating already. From university."
"Ouch."
"Yeah, well.... I'm getting in the pool." She reached into a large satchel that was hanging off her chair and pulled something out. "Here's sunblock if you guys need it."
