Love Under Water

Searching For Her

Ariel’s POV

I walk towards my first class and that’s when my eyes catch sight of him. He must be at least 6.3” and the black shirt hugs him like a second skin and tapers down to the flat stomach. My stomach dips the moment I see them, how intimate they both seem with each other, the girl is standing so close to him, her boobs almost grazing his chest but he doesn’t seem to notice. Just by looking at him, one can tell he is an athlete. The broad shoulders, those biceps wow! He has an ability to make heads turn, it’s like he oozes charisma and confidence. I was so engrossed in checking him out that I bumped into someone walking ahead of me.

“Hey, watch where you’re going.”

“Sorry”.

I look back at Mr. Swimmer and find his green eyes on me. s**t! I utter under my breath and quickly look away. I have this odd feeling that he’s still watching me which makes me conscious. I keep my chin up, back straight, and keep walking the little distance left to my class. As I reach the door, I wonder if his eyes are still on me so I look back only to avert my gaze from him. s**t s**t s**t! The guy was still watching me.

Yesterday, studying had become an enormous task for me as my mind kept drifting towards the magical, toe-curling kiss. I was completely lost in it, I kept touching my lips to make sure it had actually occurred. His soft, warm lips on mine, the sensation didn’t go and I kept replaying the whole scene in my mind. Thank god I stopped when I could cause if somebody had seen us making out in the sauna, we would’ve been in trouble and I would’ve been fired immediately. I had lost my bracelet with my initials on it, it was a birthday gift from dad. I went back to the sauna when I was sure it was empty but there was nothing there. I checked the locker room, everywhere but couldn’t find it. I have a habit of twirling it between my fingers a lot and now I missed it dearly. Dad would be sad when he finds out I couldn’t take care of it. It was my favorite gift, I loved the little mermaid on it next to my initial. Maybe I should check the lost and found. What if the guy who kissed me found it?

How in the world will I ever find him? So many showed up for practice every day, I couldn’t go about asking every one of them if they were the ones I had kissed inside the sauna. And now in class, I will be spending my time thinking about Mr.Swimmer. I almost face palmed myself, why was I such a mess?

I remember the professor coming into the class and giving a lecture but I hardly write anything on my notepad. Ariel, you gotta pull yourself together, pay attention!

By the end of the lecture, I am so frustrated with myself. I had managed to keep myself away from boys and all the frat parties and now this one guy had gone to my head and destroyed my peace. Not that boys weren’t interested in me, I have had my fair share of attention but I wasn’t much attracted to any of them. Studies came first.

Mia is standing next to me as I gather my stuff, “What’s up with you? It's like somebody ate your lunch and you gotta kick their ass.”

“Yeah, I need to kick my own ass.”

This gets Mia laughing hard, after reading my expressions she stops and looks at me with curious eyes, “What's going on Ariel? I can see something is bothering you.”

I glance around making sure nobody can overhear us, then whisper to her, “Somebody kissed me in the sauna yesterday.”

I felt like Mia’s eyes would pop out of their sockets, her eyebrows were almost touching her hairline, “Shutup girl, that’s so cool.

Who did this noble deed?” I shush her, she couldn’t have been louder and I don’t want anyone else to overhear us.

“I don’t know”, I whisper back. “It was too steamy inside the sauna I have no clue who it was.”

“Was it good?” Mia asks with a wicked grin.

“Actually that’s the problem, it was too good and I can’t stop thinking about it nor the guy who I might have kissed.”

“Were there lots of people by the pool at that time?”

“Nope, not when I was checking everything up.”

“Hmmm, so how about you go there at the same time today and see who you bump into.”

“Yeah, let's see.”

“I am so happy for you.” Mia sounds all giddy and excited, “Finally, you have broken the pact and kissed a guy.”

“An unknown guy who’s now messing with my mind. Anyways did you fill out the internship form?” I want to change the subject.

“I know what you’re trying to do Ariel, as for your answer, yes I have and already submitted.” She folds her arms in front of her chest.

“Shucks, that means only I’m left. See what I mean ‘messing my mind’”, and I point towards my brain in exasperation.

“I’ll meet you in the café,” And I run towards the library hoping to fill the form before Mr.Dawson’s class so I can hand it to him personally.

To my relief, the library isn’t crowded. I find myself a chair at the far corner, take out my form and start filling. It takes me almost forty minutes to write down my dreams and aspirations and what I expect to learn from my internship at Art Life. After I’m done I carefully place the form in my backpack, I’m about to leave when I remember I have to pick a book for my assignment but I don’t find it on any of the shelves. I go up to the librarian and ask her if she knows when that book will be available.

“It was taken yesterday so probably today it will be back.” She informed me once she looked up from the laptop fixing her glasses.

“Thank you, I’ll come later.”

I'm just about to exit the library when I see Mr. swimmer entering it, I make a 360-degree turn and hide behind one of the shelves pretending to be interested in a book. I know the librarian must be eyeing me skeptically wondering about my sanity right now, I must’ve looked like a drunk penguin making that turn. He’s not alone in fact he’s with a friend, a girl passes by waving at him and he smiles back. This infuriates me and I don’t have any idea why?

I’m going completely bonkers!

He’s not even interested in you, he doesn’t even know you or the fact that you exist. Yes, he did give you a cursory glance but it was like he was skimming through pages of a book. He looks at every girl and waves at them, he’s probably even forgotten you by now, I give myself the pep talk.

When he is looking the other way I quietly make my way out of the library, my god, with my behavior I could be considered a stalker. There’s no time for a café and I head straight for my next class.

Matt’s POV

I am searching through shelves for a book when I smell the air which is filled with a familiar perfume, the smell of wildflowers. I know I could not have been mistaken, it is the same smell. I quickly turn around to find the source but no ones there. I find a couple reading with their heads together, it couldn’t possibly be her. I try to take a whiff of the girl but smell nothing from this distance. I walk over to where my best friend is sitting,

“Ashton, I want to know what perfume that girl over there is wearing.” I tilt my head towards the couple.

“Is this like a dare?” Ashton asks me slowly, trying to understand what I mean.

“Nope, I just want to know what perfume she’s wearing.”

“Just ask her.”

“I can’t, I will look crazy.”

“Yeah right and I wouldn’t,” he rolled his eyes at me. “And why are you interested in her perfume anyway?”

“I’ll tell you if you help me.”

“Nah ah, not happening. Spill first.” And he folded his arms in front of his chest, his biceps almost bulging out from underneath his white t-shirt.

“I accidentally kissed a girl at the sauna yesterday and don’t know who she is. I just remember her scent, she smelled of wildflowers and her lips were so soft and sweet. now her scent is branded in me.” I inhale deeply as if I can still taste and smell her. I could immerse myself in her scent.

“Man, we cant go and take a whiff off every girl, or is that your plan.” Ashton looked at me suspiciously, “Not that they wouldn’t allow you but it could be a huge hassle.” He looked amused now.

“I just know her name starts with an ‘A’, as she dropped her bracelet at the sauna. I can smell her perfume here which means she was here.” I felt a bit annoyed as things weren’t working out. A girl did wave at me but she was close enough for me to know if she was wearing the same perfume as my mystery girl.

“Let’s ask the librarian if she saw anybody,” Ashton replied, and we went to where the librarian sat working on her laptop.

“Hello, I was wondering if there was a girl here a couple of minutes back?” I wait for her response but she doesn’t look up. I clear my throat and start again.

“Was there a girl here a couple of minutes back?” I speak a little louder. The librarian looks at me from behind her heavily rimmed glasses, I return one of my dimpled smiles at her which have always managed to work like a charm in such situations. She couldn’t possibly be immune to it.

“Maybe or maybe not. Why do you want to know?” she asks me in a sharp voice, okay so this wasn’t the answer I was expecting, “I found a bracelet lying on the floor here, so was asking.” The librarian looks at the book I was holding in my hands.

“There was one and she was interested in the book you have there, I told her she can get it in the evening.” This had my pulse racing, it meant she is probably an architecture student as well. I handed the book back to the librarian but before she could take it I had an idea. I open the first blank page of the book and start scribbling. After I’m done I hand her the book.

“Did she mention by what time she would come to borrow the book?” I ask the librarian.

“Probably before the college ends.” Ashton let out a laugh, “Can you tell me what she was wearing?” I ask again hopefully ignoring Ashton.

“Nope, didn’t notice.” She shrugs her shoulders giving me a curt reply, I wonder why all librarians end up like this, rude and crude.

“Man, you really want to find that girl, don’t you? Haven’t seen you this crazy before.” Ashton shakes his head.

“It’s important that I find her coz I can't stop thinking about her.”