I began to make chicken noises.
He turned his head away and I knew he was fighting a smile.
After only another moment of hesitation he tore off his shirt and dropped it to the ground.
He cannonballed into the pool and water sloshed over the sides.
I laughed, pleased that he’d actually gone through with it.
I’d been doubtful there for a second. He swam under me and tugged on my foot before surfacing. He shook his hair out, sending droplets of water everywhere like a dog who’d been given a bath.
I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck and my fingers tangling in the wet strands of his hair.
“You did it.”
He grinned. “I did. But only because my best friend can be really bossy.”
I tossed my head back and my laughter rang into the night.
“You can be pretty bossy too,” I told him.
He scrunched his face up. “Me? Bossy? Never.”
I let go of him and swam away on my back, staring up at the night sky.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dean commented.
I hummed in agreement. “I’ve always been rather fond of the moon and the stars, of the endless possibilities it represents. It reminds me that anything is possible.”
“How insightful of you.” He chuckled and the water lapped against me as he swam by.
“I like to think that I do have a brain.” I began to tread water.
From a few feet away Dean tilted his head to study me. “You’re brilliant, Willow.”
He said the words seriously, without a hint of sarcasm, and I felt my stomach stir from the intensity of his stare.
I quickly looked away and swam to the opposite end of the pool.
When I reached the end I saw that he was swimming towards me. Even in the dark his green eyes were searing.
I held on to the side of the pool and kicked my feet in the water.
Dean crossed his arms on the concrete and turned his head towards me.
“So, what now daredevil?”
I shrugged. “I didn’t think much beyond getting in the pool.”
He chuckled, the sound of it vibrating over my body. “That’s one of the things I love most about you.”
“What?” I prompted, curiously.
His eyes sparkled. “The fact that you get these crazy ideas and it’s all you can focus on, but once you do it, that’s it. You don’t think beyond, you let things happen. We could all learn something from you. All too often we forget to live in the moment.”
“Sometimes I do too,” I confessed.
He shook his head. “Not like most people.”