She removed the shawl from her shoulders, folded it neatly, and kept them on the seat along with her sunglasses and hat. She then took his hand. She felt excited as he led her to the pool.
They had the time of their lives. Her body seemed to gleam and shine under the sun, and the orange bikini had given her a beautiful glow. Adrian kept helping her catch the ball, and when he did, he gave it to her to shoot back into the air. She felt very pleased with herself and for the first time since she arrived, she didn't feel self conscious about her bikini, she only tied the strings a little tighter when they got a little loose. She didn't even know where her brother and Lisa were, and she didn't really care anyway.
Val sat at the edge of the pool and stared at Nathalie with longing in his eyes. Sometimes he thought about her, and he knew he made a terrible mistake when he left her, but the thing was, he couldn't go back to her. He was too ashamed to do so, and sure enough, Daniel would knock his teeth out of his mouth if he as much as got close to her.
He slapped his palm on his forehead and sighed. He recalled when he tried to approach her last time to make amends, but she had spat on his face and treated him like he was going to harass her. Those actions broke his heart. And to make matters worse, Danny, who had once been his pal, didn't even bother to hear his part of the story before he threw the punch.
He subconsciously touched his nose; although the discoloration and the sharp pains were long gone, sometimes he could still feel a dull pain on it.
Val didn't even realize that Dina was glaring at him from behind. She had seen the way he kept looking at Nathalie ever since she and her friends came, and she also knew that the main reason she agreed to go was because he discovered that Lisa was going to be there. And wherever Lisa went, the twins followed.
Nathalie was blissfully unaware that the two people she hated the most in this world were just staring at her. When she scored a goal against the other team, her team members cheered while she jumped on Adrian in pure delight. It's been a while since she had this much fun. Adrian felt her wet torso pressed against him with her hands around his neck. His face flushed red; he decided to be a little daring by grabbing her waist. If she didn't like it, he would take his hands off immediately. Nathalie barely even noticed; she was too immersed in the fun.
Val almost had a nosebleed in anger as he watched them. He felt as though the sun was boiling his brain when Adrian had wrapped his hands around her. Who the heck did he think he was? He felt something snap, then he started to walk towards where they were playing the game. People didn't pay much attention to him till he jumped into the water and swam in quick strokes towards where the group stood. By then, Nathalie and Adrian weren't close to each other. When he approached them, everyone's attention turned to him.
"Nathalie was stunned. What the heck was he doing here?
"Hey you!" he breathed in rage. Imaginary steam was puffing out of his nostrils and ears. "Fucking keep your hands off of her!" he said before throwing a punch at him. He lost his balance and fell into the water.
Everyone in the pool was mortified.
"What the fuck is up with you, bro?" Adrian was confused; he couldn't understand why Val would punch him on the face.
"Screw you, man!" Adrian yelled before he leaped into the air, grabbed Val's hair, and dunked him into the water.
The party went wild.
Nathalie was screaming. She tried to get a hold of Val, but they unconsciously pulled her underwater.
As the drama was going down, someone had already gone to inform Dina. She ran out immediately to see what was going on.
She was appalled by the sight of Val angrily punching poor Adrian on the face, while Adrian was trying so hard to maintain his balance in the slippery pool. Nathalie had been pushed to a corner, luckily her bikini top didn't rip off during the chaos.
Then her eyes fell on Nathalie. She felt satisfied seeing her entangled in the mess, but the thought of Val fighting over her made her very infuriated.
Finally, some of the boys were able to separate them. Adrian looked like he needed an instant trip to the ER, while Val had an oddly satisfying grin on his face.
"Keep your hands where they belong."
"She's not even your girl, bro!" Adrian yelled back.
Nathalie was blinded with rage. So this was what it was about; because she held Adrian?! She trotted to where Val was and slapped him twice across the face, much to the astonishment of everyone.
"Stay away from me, you jerk!" She yelled with tears streaming down her face. She was utterly humiliated. Why would he do something like that to her?
Val looked at her sadly. "Nathalie," he whispered softly, "he was trying to hold you inappropr…"
"Shut the F up!" Nathalie said, cutting him off. "How on earth is it your darn business?!"