The Road That Leads to Us (Us 1)

The gate slammed closed behind us and we were left alone in the empty pool area.

Despite the fact that the pool was open twenty-four hours we were the only ones out there.

There were six old dirty plastic lounge chairs set up on one side of the pool and several table and chair sets on the other side.

The landscaping was dull and lifeless.

The pool, however, was a large rectangle with lights on the sides so the water was lit up in different colors.

I kicked off my Converse and sat down at the edge of the pool, sinking my feet and legs into the cool depths.

Dean removed his shoes before bending and rolling up his jeans as high as they could go.

He sat beside me and put his legs in as well. His skin was tanner than mine—more of a golden bronze compared to my pale white complexion.

His feet and toes were long and slender while mine were short and stubby.

I’d always hated my feet.

Feet in general really.

“Feet are weird.”

Dean laughed at this, kicking his feet so water sprayed up and sprinkled down on us.

“What made you say that?” He asked, wiping away a droplet of water from the end of his nose.

“I was looking at our feet.” I shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, you have nice feet, but most people have weird gross looking feet.” Staring at my own, I said, “I always wished I was a mermaid,” I confessed. It wasn’t that shocking of a fact. What little girl hadn’t dreamed of being a mermaid at one point or another? Turning to Dean, I grinned—my face hurting from the force of my smile. “Let’s be mermaids.”

“Wha—?”

He didn’t get the chance to finish his question before I was pulling him into the water.

We tumbled into the water with a huge splash that surely soaked the surrounding area.

My eyes were open and I searched for Dean through the thick white bubbles.

I spotted the bright red and navy of his plaid shirt and grabbed at the fabric.

His eyes popped open when he saw me.

I crashed my lips to his and his hands grasped at the fabric of my shirt where it tried to float up in the water.

We rolled through the water, our lips locked, and black dots began to dance behind my eyes from the lack of oxygen, but I hated to surface for air and break this moment.

Eventually we had to and we both gasped, greedily pulling the air into our lungs.

Dean shook his head sending water flying everywhere like a dog.

He grinned at me, his teeth shining in the dark of the night. “Mermaids, huh?” He raised a single brow.

I nodded, my breaths coming out in sharp pants like I’d run five miles.

“I.” Pant. “Think.” Pant. “We.” Pant. “Succeeded.”

A wry half-grin lifted his lips. “We definitely did.”

He kissed me quickly before swimming to the edge of the pool. He braced his arms against the edge and climbed out.