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“Girl,” Flynn says as soon as Julie steps out of the locker room.
“What?” Julie looks down at herself, a little self-consciously. Sure, her new bikini’s a little more revealing than she usually wears—in fact, she doesn’t think she’s ever gone farther into public than Flynn’s backyard hot tub in anything other than a one-piece—but she didn’t think she looked that bad. “Can I not pull it off?”
Flynn makes a strangled sort of scoff sound, gesturing at Julie not unkindly. “Oh, you can pull it off!” they insist, the compliment making Julie blush. “But the reason why you’re trying so hard is not lost on me, and I am judging you.”
Julie makes a face. She suddenly has the urge to cover up, but she settles it by grabbing her towel and flip flops and leading the way out to the pool deck.
“Now, don’t get me wrong,” Flynn continues, teasing even as they follow. “When you said you wanted to spend our last day before classes at the pool, in the fitness center, I can’t deny, I was a little confused. I did think to myself, ‘Self. Why do you think our dear Julie would want to go to an indoor pool funded by our school’s record-breakingly terrible swim team and cleaned probably never, sixteen hours before she has to be in a music forum pretending she sang or played a note all summer? Well, self, I really don’t know, but—’”
“Shut up,” Julie hisses as they pass through the doors into the pool area, their voices immediately starting to echo.
And as much as she tries to be subtle about it, Julie can’t help her gaze straying to the lifeguard chair on the other side of the bleachers.
“‘Well, self,’” Flynn whispers in her ear, audibly grinning, “I really don’t know, but maybe it has something to do with the pretty lifeguard Julie has a massive crush on.”
“It is not—” Julie starts to hiss, shoving Flynn off of her, but the pool deck is slippery, and she almost overbalances, only catching herself by dropping her flip flops with a loud smack against the tile. “It is not massive,” she finishes, just as a piercing whistle makes them both jump.
Julie spins toward the sound and forgets how to breathe. Carrie Wilson, who somehow manages to make a red one-piece look like lingerie and a wet ponytail look straight from the salon, is standing on the rungs of the lifeguard chair, peering down at them over her designer sunglasses.
Peering down at Julie. Looking at Julie. Her face flushes hot.
“Hey!” Carrie calls across the pool. “You girls okay over there?”
“Yep!” Flynn calls back, flashing her a thumbs up.
“Mm-hmm!” Julie adds, her voice an octave higher than it’s supposed to be. “All good here! Thanks… Carrie…”
She can’t read Carrie’s expression from this far away, but it doesn’t look amused. “Okay, well… Just be careful. Walk, please? Don’t slip?”
She pushes her sunglasses back up her nose and turns her attention to the rest of the pool.
Julie spins back around and grabs Flynn by the arm, dragging them toward the exit. “Let’s go.”
“What?” Flynn laughs. “We didn’t even get in the water yet. You didn’t get to show off your new bikini!”
“That’s okay! I’ll try again next year.”
“But you left your flip flops—”
“LET’S GO, FLYNNIGAN!”
Flynn’s echoing cackles follow them out of the gym and all the way home.