Boy, 21: Love and Lust-Chapter 42: The Monroe’s

The pool party was lit.

​Music thumped from the massive outdoor speakers, a heavy beat vibrating through the tile and the very ground beneath their feet.

People danced wildly on the dancing floor, others splashed and shrieked in the water. Drinks flowed freely from a makeshift bar near the cabanas.

​Joren, Lana, Zuri, and Lucy walked in together, and were momentarily split by the sheer energy of the crowd.

​Lana’s eyes, wide and sparkling, took in the spectacle. "This is amazing! Look at all the people!" Her voice was bright, almost musical, cutting through the noise.

​Joren grinned, already tugging at the hem of his black t-shirt. "Yeah." He pulled it off in one smooth, confident motion, revealing his lean, sun-kissed torso.

He turned to Lana, his eyes full of playful mischief. "Come on, let’s take a swim before the water gets too crowded."

​Lana giggled excitedly as he took her hand and led her toward the nearest set of steps. They splashed into the pool together, disappearing instantly into the crowd of bodies and, their laughter blending seamlessly with the music.

​Zuri walked past the chaotic dance floor and straight to the edge of the pool.

She sat down, her feet just touching the water’s surface. She didn’t say a word, her attention seemingly fixed on the far horizon.

​Lucy followed, and sat beside her, leaving a little gap between them.

​"You gonna be okay?" she asked quietly, her voice barely a murmur.

​Zuri let out a long, ragged sigh. "I’ll live, I guess."

​She looked up at the sky, her face catching the shifting. "I was so stupid to go this far for a boy. Only for the boy to do this to me."

​Lucy, true to her nature, didn’t sugarcoat the truth. "You definitely were stupid."

​Zuri turned to her, a faint, dry smile finally tugging at her lips, a small crack in her mask. "You could’ve at least consoled me or something. You’re my cousin, for God’s sake."

​Lucy pouted and poked Zuri’s cheek lightly with her finger. "I’m not gonna console you every time you do something stupid, Zuri. If I did, you’d just do even more stupid things in the future."

​Zuri chuckled and slapped her hand away. "Well, thanks for the vote of confidence. At least I’m over it now, right?"

​Lucy didn’t reply. She knew Zuri was lying.

----- 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

​Zuri leaned back slightly on her hands, letting her feet skim the surface of the pool. Meanwhile, Lucy crossed her arms over her chest, scanning the crowd with observant eyes.

​A small group of guys nearby were clearly, openly checking Zuri out. They were laughing amongst themselves, their conversation punctuated by obvious stares.

They weren’t even trying to be subtle; their eyes roamed her body, their whispers loud and obvious.

​Lucy’s expression darkened and she let out a sigh. "God, I hate boys."

​Zuri glanced at her.

​"They’re always eye-raping girls," Lucy muttered. "Like, look at them. Just straight-up perverts."

​Zuri shrugged. "I don’t really mind being stared at."

​Lucy raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Seriously? You’re telling me you don’t care when a bunch of random guys undress you with their eyes?"

​Zuri smirked, her mood becoming playful. "It’s normal for people to check each other out. One way of checking a person out is by admiring their body. Their eyes, their lips, their skin, and more importantly..." — she lifted her hand, her fingers cupping and playfully holding up her breast— "this."

​Lucy blinked, shocked. "Girl—what are you doing?!"

​Across the pool, the group of guys who’d been checking her out froze mid-laugh.

​One of them standing close to the pool nearly dropped his drink.

​Another, who had been leaning against a table, nudged his friend hard, his eyes wide. "Yo, did she just—?"

​Zuri didn’t even spare them a glance. She just leaned back on her hands again, letting her own hand fall back to the edge of the pool, the smirk still lingering on her lips.

​Lucy groaned and buried her face in her hands. "See? Now they’re going to think you’re flirting with them! That you’re inviting them over!"

​Zuri shrugged again, the gesture radiating a cool, detached indifference. "Let them think whatever. I don’t mind. Their thoughts are their problem, not mine."

​The guys continued to watch, whispering intensely among themselves, clearly thrown off their game plan. One of them actually started to straighten his shirt, suddenly self conscious.

​Lucy hissed under her breath and rolled her eyes. "They’ve already started fantasizing about you. I swear, they act like they’ve never seen a girl before. It’s pathetic."

​Zuri’s amusement deepened. "They probably haven’t seen one like me."

​Lucy scowled, the heat of embarrassment rising on her cheeks. "You’re impossible. Utterly, tragically impossible."

​Zuri chuckled, the sound light and airy. "Just showing off my assets."

​Her words made the scowl on Lucy’s face tighten.

Zuri noticed the change and leaned in, her smirk deepening.

​"Oh?" she said. "What’s with the sudden change of mood? Are you jealous that you weren’t the one they were checking out, Lucy?"

​Lucy’s face instantly turned a deep, angry pink.

"Why would I want those perverts to check me out?!" she snapped, the volume of her voice rising sharply. "I don’t want them having weird fantasies about me and staring at my boobs!"

"Boobs?"

​Zuri asked with a raised eyebrow, pointing casually to Lucy’s chest. "You mean those flat things?"

​Lucy gasped, her hands flying up immediately to cover herself in a defensive gesture.

"They’re not flat!" she stammered, her voice cracking slightly with indignation. "They’re just... modest!"

​Zuri laughed outright this time. "Modest? Girl, they’re small. Very small."

​Lucy’s face turned an even deeper shade of crimson. "They’re still growing! I’m still growing!" she insisted.

​Zuri gave her a long, obvious stare. "Still growing? At eighteen? Nah girl, that’s the whole package. That’s the finished product. It’s not getting bigger than that, trust me."

​Lucy huffed, a sound of frustrated rage. "It will! And even if it doesn’t—who cares?! At least boys won’t eye-rape me and reduce me to just a pair of boobs!"

​Zuri’s expression softened slightly. "Well... that’s a win, in its own way, I guess."

​"Hmph." Lucy stood up abruptly, a sudden, jerking motion.

​Zuri looked up at her, still smirking. "Where are you going, Lucy?"

​"Inside," Lucy muttered, deliberately avoiding eye contact.

​Zuri tilted her head. "Are you mad at me?"

​Lucy frowned, her lips pressed into a thin line. "I don’t know," she said, before turning and walking back toward the resort building.

​Zuri watched her go, the smirk fading from her face. She sighed. "Well... suit yourself."

She leaned back again, staring up at the sky for a moment, letting the music and laughter wash over her. The sun was starting to dip lower, casting a warm orange glow across the pool.

For a second, she just breathed.

Then, with a small smile, she stood and jumped into the pool — the splash loud, the weight on her chest a little lighter.

For now, she was going to enjoy the party.