Chapter Text
Cady’s the first to arrive at their lunch table, quickly followed by Karen and Gretchen, who sit down across from her. Janis slides in next to her, purposefully bumping her shoulder. Damian sits across from Janis, “accidentally” kicking her foot in the process.
Shane sits on the other side of Cady, immediately talking about some random football thing. She listens as much as she can. Shane has been trying to teach her about football, but nothing has really stuck yet. And she is interested, but not as interested as when Regina talks about field hockey or lacrosse. She’s really gotten into it as soon as she figured out she could channel her aggression into something positive.
Cady looks up to see Regina walking their way, and it’s like her first day all over again. She would understand if Regina ever called her obsessed because she is capital O, Obsessed with Regina George. It’s not Cady’s fault that Regina practically glows, and all of Cady’s attention is immediately on her.
Regina shoots Cady a wink as she moves to sit by her side.
“Move, Shane,” she says.
Cady watches as Shane slides over so Regina can sit between them. Shane kisses Regina’s cheek in greeting as soon as she’s sitting. Regina’s face scrunches, as if she hates it when Shane does that, but he always does it. And Regina is not a passive bystander, even if she is a little nicer now, so she wouldn’t let something happen that she doesn’t like.
Cady lets it go until Shane tries to move closer to her, and Regina pushes him away. And then Regina rolls her eyes when Shane tries to lay his head on her shoulder. Cady swears she hears Regina mumble something about Shane needing to act more like her friend.
And before Cady can stop it, she’s blurting out the question. “Are you and Shane dating?”
“Shane would love that,” Regina easily replies.
That's not an answer, and it’s definitely meant to be deflective.
“So…?”
Regina smiles. “No, we’re not. Shane is the meathead I’m keeping around to help me work out.”
Shane’s head pops out from behind Regina with a massive grin. “And I get to see her in revealing clothing again.”
Regina groans and pushes at Shane’s head. “You are disgusting. Disgusting man. Dirt of the earth.”
“I mean that in a good way!” Shane says, trying to defend himself.
“It’s not a good way. It’s disgusting, perverted, and predatory. I’m surprised Regina even keeps you around,” Janis snaps.
Cady is physically in the middle of a very tense conversation and would prefer to be anywhere else.
Regina sighs and looks at Janis, Cady following her eyeline. “He means it in that perfectly weird Shane way. Really, he’s a nice guy.”
Janis’s eye twitches. “You can’t just let him continue all the problems that already exist in the world! It’s just fucked up, you can’t just let him say these things!”
“Okay, alright. I hear you,” Regina says.
Cady turns to Shane, who is looking rather remorseful.
“I’m sorry, Janis and Gina. Sorry, Gina,” he says.
Regina looks at Shane and ruffles his hair. “It’s okay, bub. Just don’t do it anymore.”
Cady wraps her mind around the whole conversation and then circles back to them not dating. “You guys aren’t dating at all?”
Regina laughs. “Why? You wanna take Shane for a ride?”
Cady blushes furiously. That is not what she was thinking when she asked Regina about that. “No.”
“Oh! So you wanna take me for a ride?”
Cady can feel her face get even redder. She really wishes in this moment that she weren’t a redhead and wasn’t pale because there is nothing stopping everyone at this table from being able to tell exactly how Cady is feeling.
“No,” she mumbles. “I was just curious.”
Cady can see the smile almost imperceptibly drop on Regina’s face. Which is weird because why would she be disappointed that Cady was curious about whether they were dating? Does Regina want Cady to like Shane? Regina does like Shane more than Aaron.
“That’s too bad,” Regina says. “I could make it pretty good for you.”
Cady shakes her head. The desire to fall through the floor grows stronger by the second.
Regina bumps shoulders with Cady, snapping her out of her thoughts. “I’m messing with you. Besides, you have Aaron. How is he?”
“We broke up,” Cady says.
She can feel the wave of…tension? Sweep over the table. Everything that happened last year was an attempt to get Aaron, and now they’re broken up. Cady looks down at the table, honestly, wanting to avoid this entire interaction and regretting asking.
“I’m sorry, Regina. I didn’t know! I wasn’t paying attention or asking, I’m so sor–”
“Gretch, it’s cool,” Regina says, shooting her a smile. “You don’t have to go searching for that stuff anymore. No need to be worried.”
Gretchen twists her fingers together. She’s really trying to let the whole snooping thing go, even if it is Regina George. “I’m still sorry. I should’ve known, right? Right, Cady?”
Cady opens her mouth to answer, but Regina beats her to it. “Gretchen,” she says softly. “It’s okay, I promise. I’m not upset with you, and it’s perfectly okay if you didn’t know. Especially if it wasn’t something Cady readily offered up.”
“But like, I still should’ve known! I mean, I’m your best friend, and Cady’s your best friend, and we’re all friends, so I feel like I should’ve known and been able to tell you and–”
“Babe,” Regina says, reaching out for her hand. “Breathe. You don’t need to tell me anything anymore, okay? Keep something from me, okay?”
Gretchen’s eyes dart over to Karen and then back to Regina. “Okay!” She squeaks.
It's a work in progress. Grecthen and Regina’s relationship had, and has, to go through the biggest transformation. Gretchen is still figuring it out, and Regina is being incredibly patient while they both figure it out.
Regina’s head dips lower to Cady’s. “Are you okay? With the breakup and everything?”
Cady turns her head to Regina. Her face is so close to Regina’s that she can see the freckles underneath the light makeup she has on. It makes her heart flutter in her chest, and she kinda wants to trace every single one of them.
She clears her throat, shaking her head of those thoughts. “Yeah, I’m good. It was uh, mutual. He was going to college, and I’m here with uh… never mind.”
“No, never mind. What’s going on? Did he hurt you? I’ll send Shane after him—I’ll go after him. I swear to–”
“No, nothing happened. It was a mutual separation,” Cady repeats.
“Caddy, I will go beat his ass with Regina, and you know I don’t wanna agree with her on something,” Janis says.
Regina scoffs and rolls her eyes. “You just have to clarify that you don’t like me.”
Janis grins, big and satisfied. “I have to let everyone know you’re still number one on my hate list.”
“Whatever, weirdo.”
Janis tries to keep the annoyed look on her face, but a little smile breaks out as she looks away. Regina bumps shoulders with Cady again and shoots her a small smile. “You know you can always talk to me.”
Cady nods and bumps Regina’s shoulder in return. “I know.”
The rest of lunch goes by without much fanfare. Although Cady can feel Regina’s eyes on her, and can only imagine what kind of thoughts are running through her head. Thoughts of hatred over the revenge plot last year, and how it was all useless if Cady broke up with Aaron.
The bell rings, signaling the end of lunch. The group disperses, Cady heading to her locker to switch out her books. She can hear the boots following behind her, but she really just doesn’t want to deal with Regina George in full Ice Queen mode because she broke up with Aaron.
Cady mindlessly spins in her locker combination, switching her books out. She feels a hand brush against her lower back and grab onto her hip.
“Cady, you know you can talk to me about Aaron. I don’t care about him; I care about you. And I want you to be safe and happy,” Regina says. “And I swear to everything if he touched you, I will kill him.”
Cady looks down at the hand on her hip. Her skin lighting on fire where Regina’s fingers are touching her bare skin exposed by her crop top. She has a flannel on over top, but Regina always manages to bypass all clothing and land directly on her skin.
Regina pulls her hand away, but Cady catches it in the space between them. She looks at Regina and smiles. “He didn’t do anything, I promise. It was a mutual breakup. Besides, he uh…really didn’t like that I still hang out with you.”
Regina rolls her eyes. “Dick.”
Cady laughs. “Don’t be mean.”
Regina snaps her teeth, which only gets Cady to laugh harder. She pushes at Regina’s stomach and immediately regrets it as soon as she does. She knows Regina is sensitive about her weight and that it’s taking a lot for her to get into shape for field hockey and lacrosse.
Except when Cady goes to apologize for touching her, Regina is letting her hand rest against her stomach. She doesn’t have that pained expression on her face, and she’s not pushing Cady away. Instead, she’s looking at Cady with the softest expression on her face. It makes Cady wanna crumble then and there.
“I won’t be mean to Aaron anymore,” Regina says.
Cady nods, not focused on what Regina’s saying but instead on how solid her stomach feels. She presses her palm flat and pushes, just a little, and instantly wants to see where else Regina is this strong.
“You tryna cope a feel over there?” Regina jokes.
Cady blushes and immediately pulls her hand away. “I didn’t–I wasn’t trying–”
“I didn’t say you had to stop,” Regina easily replies with a wink.
She walks away, throwing a ‘Bye, Cady’ over her shoulder. Cady is left trying to pull herself back together, hoping her face returns to a normal color before she goes to class. She can only imagine what Janis and Damian will say if they see her like this.
The warning bell for the next period goes off, and she shuts her locker, walking into the classroom. Regina is still overwhelming—even after a year of friendship. She has this air about her that makes Cady go insane. It’s kinda like how she felt with Aaron, but so much worse.
Cady sits down in her chair behind Janis and Damian. They take one look at her and turn to face her.
“An encounter with a man?” Damian asks.
Janis gags and says, “Who’s to say it was a man? Cady could finally be taking a trip to the better side of her sexuality.”
Cady rolls her eyes and wills her face not to turn red again. “It’s nothing.”
Janis and Damian share a look. She hates when they do that. It’s like they’re having secret conversations when they do that.
“So, it’s definitely something,” Damian says.
Cady huffs. “If you must know, I was talking to Regina.”
Janis smirks. “Oh? Were you now? And was this a follow-up to Regina basically asking you if you wanna fuck?”
“Janis!” Cady hisses. She looks around and, when she finds that no one is paying attention, lets out a sigh of relief. “That’s not what she was implying at lunch.”
Janis and Damian lean toward, now with matching smirks.
“Oh, so now you know what Regina was implying? Do tell,” Damian says.
Cady wants to slam her head into her desk and scream in frustration. The two of them can never mind their business.
“She was implying nothing. It’s Regina! She does that with everyone,” Cady snaps.
Janis scoffs. “Regina does not offer herself to be taken for a ride by just everyone.”
“Yeah, it was very suggestive, Cady,” Damian agrees.
Cady rolls her eyes. She knows it was suggestive; she’s not that naive. She’s just choosing to ignore the suggestive part because Regina can be a menace to all of society, no matter what gender they are.
“It wasn’t. That’s just Regina,” Cady snaps.
Janis and Damian both give her a look that portrays something along the lines of, ‘Damn, no need to be so harsh. We’re messing with you.’
“Whatever. The question still stands of why you came in looking like a tomato?” Janis asks. “Especially if you were just ‘talking to Regina’.”
Janis does air quotes around ‘talking to Regina’ like something else actually occurred rather than talking. Cady shrugs and makes some random gestures with her hands. They look at Cady like she has two heads and mimic the gestures like they know what she’s trying to say.
Cady groans and covers her face with her hands. The feeling of wanting to be swallowed by the ground is starting to come back. Janis and Damian each peel a hand away, looking at Cady expectantly.
She huffs, her face already turning a little pink. “Regina did that thing where she brushes my bare skin and acts like it’s completely normal.”
Janis nods, smiling faintly. She turns to Damian. “Gay panic.”
“It’s not gay panic,” Cady corrects. “It’s just Regina.”
“The first time she brushed your bare stomach, you about collapsed,” Janis says.
Cady flips her off, earning her one in return from Janis.
“Gay panic or not, there’s definitely something else,” Damian says.
He’s a mind reader; there is simply no other explanation. Cady swears up and down about this, like Karen having ESPN. Cady’s face colors further, and that’s enough to tell Damian he’s right.
Damian hits Janis in the arm, repeatedly. “There is something else!”
“Shush,” Cady snaps. “I’ll tell you if you’re quiet.”
Damian and Janis both shut their mouths, Janis rubbing at the spot on her arm that Damian repeatedly hit. The quietest they’ve been all day, by the way.
“Regina made a meanish comment about Aaron and then joked about something else, and I started laughing and shoved at her stomach. And then I wanted to put myself in time out–”
“Regina could put you in time out,” Janis remarks.
Cady shoots Janis a glare, and she promptly shuts her mouth again. “But then I realized Regina wasn’t pushing me away. Then I started actually pressing on her stomach; it was all solid, like insanely solid. And then she made a joke about me feeling her up…which I guess wasn’t necessarily wrong.”
“So, let’s get this straight,” Damian starts, earning a little snicker from Janis. “You got all flustered by your girlfriend cause you were coping a feel?”
Cady rolls her eyes and shoves Damian. “She’s not my girlfriend—Regina’s straight. And I wasn’t flustered, just…”
“Panicking,” Janis supplies. “Of the gay variety.”
“I was not gay panicking. I never should have told you guys I’m bi,” Cady huffs.
This time, Janis rolls her eyes. “Oh, please. You were always gonna tell us, we’re a safe space. Which, speaking of, have you told Regina?”
Cady shakes her head. She didn’t think that telling Regina part of the reason she broke up with Aaron was that she wanted to explore a bit. Or at least just let herself maybe feel something toward women. And lunch today was probably not a good time to bring that up.
“Maybe you should tell Regina,” Damian suggests.
Janis nods in agreement. “I think it would be a good idea.”
“I’ve been meaning to, but there just isn’t a good time. And like, Regina isn’t homophobic, so it won’t go badly, right?” Cady says.
Janis nods. “It’ll be okay, trust me. And maybe Regina is feeling a little fruity this year as well.”
Cady shakes her head. “You’ve officially lost it. Regina is not into women.”
“You never know. Regina has also felt a little lesbian to me. Y’know, speaking from experience,” Janis says.
Damian nods. “And she hates men almost as much as Janis. Which feels really lesbian.”
Cady rolls her eyes. “Queerness is a spectrum. You guys taught me that, so none of what you said means anything.”
Janis holds her hands up. “Alright, she got us there.”
Damian grabs one of Cady’s hands. “Why don’t you just start by telling Regina that you’re bisexual and go from there?”
Cady nods. “Yeah, yeah. I can totally do that.”
“Since it’s gonna be the last hot days of the year this weekend,” Regina says. “I was thinking of having a pool party. Would you guys be down?”
Gretchen and Karen are immediate yeses. They were the ones who helped Regina come up with this idea after all. Shane is a yes, as long as he gets to see Regina’s mom. That comment earns him a slap upside the head from Regina and a promise that June will not be there. Shane is a little disappointed, but he understands.
“What about you guys?” Regina asks, looking across the table at Janis and Damian.
Damian nods. “I’m down, and I get to see your mansion, according to Cady.”
Regina laughs and watches Cady’s cheeks flush with color. “It’s not a mansion…maybe a little bit. Janis?”
“No,” Janis says.
Regina rolls her eyes and looks at Damian. “You’ll bring her?”
“Of course,” Damian replies. “The gremlin will be there.”
“No promises!” Janis states.
“She’ll be there,” Damian confirms.
Regina nudges Cady’s foot under the table. “What about you, Cads?”
Cady shrugs, looking down at the table. Being at Regina’s house reminds her of last year. She hates feeling that way. Regina gently nudges Cady’s foot until she looks up at her. Cady sees the hope in Regina’s eyes.
“Please?” She says.
Regina never says please. And whenever she does, she only says it to Cady. Cady and Regina stare at each other, existing in their own space for a minute. Cady gives her the look that she says she still feels guilty, and Regina gives her the look to knock it off, and she’s been forgiven.
“You’ll get to see Gina in a bikini,” Shane says, interrupting them. “That’s a good bonus.”
Cady blushes as Regina flicks Shane in the ear. “What did I say about making comments about my body?”
Shane looks at the table and mumbles, “Not to make any more comments because it's misog–misogyn–misogynistic.”
“Good job, bub,” Regina says with a smile.
She turns back to Cady, now fully planning to take advantage of that lovely point that Shane brought up. “It’s true, though. And maybe then you’ll get to feel me up whatever way you want.”
Cady blushes even harder. She drops her head to the table and groans. Regina just can’t let that go. She picks her head and says, “I told you already, I wasn’t trying to feel you up!”
“Upon recounting that story,” Janis says. “It really seems like you were trying to do exactly that.”
Cady gasps. “The betrayal. You were told that story in confidence.”
Janis rolls her eyes and pushes at Cady's head. Cady tries to punch Janis in the arm in retaliation, but Janis moves out of the way.
“Children, please,” Damian says. He’s sitting between the two girls and effectively puts a stop to the attempted assault.
Cady looks back at Regina. She’s got a smile on her face, but Cady knows Regina will break out the next tactic if she doesn’t say yes.
“Okay, yes. I will go.”
“Excellent,” Regina says, her eyes flashing something dangerous.
“Shit, Caddy. Are you tryna kill Regina?” Janis asks.
Damian and Janis are at Cady’s house picking her up. Cady walked outside in her typical flannel, but this time, it was unbuttoned to reveal an emerald bikini top. She had a pair of denim shorts on over her bottoms and a pair of Birkenstocks.
Cady blushes and climbs into the backseat. “Shut up.”
Janis cackles as Damian shoots her a smirk. Cady stares out the window, her anxiety growing the closer they get. She’s been back once since the bus. That was a relatively short visit, as she could barely handle being there.
They arrive, Damian pulling in behind Regina’s Jeep. Cady climbs out of the back of the car, stretching her hands above her head.
“You’re going to kill Regina for sure,” Janis says upon a second look.
Cady rolls her eyes and pushes at Janis's shoulder. “Stop lying.”
Janis throws her arm around Cady’s shoulders, walking up the front door. “I’m not lying. You’re hot, even if you wanna hide it under flannel.”
Cady blushes and slips out from under Janis's arm. “You flirt just as much as Regina.”
Damian starts laughing behind the pair, and Janis makes a run at him. It’s really pathetic how hard Janis tries, and Damian is just standing there. Cady rings the doorbell, patiently waiting for someone to answer it.
The door opens to reveal Shane dripping water all over the marble floor. “What’s up, guys? Come in.”
The three of them walk into the house. Damian gasps at how big and beautiful Regina’s house truly is. Janis scoffs—it’s just like she remembers, nothing special about that.
“Damn, Cady,” Shane says.
Cady groans. “Not you, too.”
Shane smiles. “I just say it how I see it.”
He leads them into the backyard through the house. Shane grabs another stack of beach towels on the way out the back door. He hands one to each of the new arrivals and puts the rest on the table.
Shane runs off as soon as his greeting duties are over and jumps into the pool. Gretchen and Karen are in one corner of the pool, giggling and talking. They are extremely close to each other, but nobody is really paying attention to them.
Shane is now diving under the water and popping back up with sink toys. He puts them all in a pile on the edge of the pool. Cady watches Shane climb out of the pool and takes a moment to admire the way Shane’s back muscles ripple.
“Damn.”
Cady turns her head to see Damian sitting down at the table, doing the same, and can’t help but laugh. Damian looks over at her, and they both start laughing. She looks back over to see Shane with his back still turned to them, but the toys are now being thrown in the pool by someone. Shane jumps back into the pool, and Cady’s breath hitches.
“Holy fuck.”
She turns away and plops herself down into a chair. “Oh my god,” she whispers.
Regina is lying down in a lounge chair in a bikini—a very skimpy bikini at that. Just like Shane said. Cady glues her eyes to the table. Today, of all days, she can not be caught slacking.
She feels a hand on her shoulder and sees Janis grinning down at her. “You should go over there.”
“I think she’s gonna pass out before she makes it over there,” Damian says.
Janis laughs and sits in the chair next to Cady. “She’ll be fine. Go.”
Cady looks over to see Shane waiting for his toys to be thrown again. “She’s playing with Shane.”
“I’ll distract Shane,” Janis says.
Damian laughs. “You’re gonna distract Shane?”
Janis smiles. “Yes, I am.”
She walks over to the edge of the pool and calls for Shane. He swims over to her with a smile on his face. Janis leans down to tell him something, and he immediately nods and moves his pile of toys to be in front of Janis.
“Wow, what do you think she said?” Damian asks.
“I don’t know,” Cady says, taking off her flannel. “I’m going to talk to Regina.”
Damian smirks. “Ooo, someone's feeling confident all of the sudden.”
Cady rolls her eyes and takes off her shorts and shoes. She takes a deep breath, trying to summon the Ice Queen feeling from last year. It never happens, but now or never, right? She doesn’t even know why she’s nervous. It’s Regina! That’s her friend, even if she is show-stoppingly hot.
Cady walks past Shane and Janis. Janis gives her a thumbs up, and Shane tells her to make Regina get in the pool.
This is going to be a perfectly normal interaction; nothing weird is going to happen at all.
Regina is on her phone as Cady walks over, but as soon as she gets over there, Regina sets her phone down. Cady almost freezes in place as Regina looks over at her. She manages to keep walking and successfully makes it over to Regina.
“Hey,” Cady says.
Regina smiles. “Hey. I’m glad you came.”
Cady hums, a small smile making its way onto her face. This is normal conversation; she can definitely do this. “I am, too, even if being here is still a little weird.”
“No need to be weird. I know you feel guilty, but it’s not your fault.”
“Yeah…I still feel bad.”
Regina waves her off. “It’s not your fault. You put sunscreen on yet?”
Cady shakes her head. She was more interested in talking with Regina than doing something as boring as that.
“I’ll help you,” Regina says. “Sit.”
She spreads her legs so Cady can sit down on the chair in front of her. Cady tries really hard not to look at Regina’s thighs, but she fears that she failed in that when she sees the smirk on Regina’s face. They’re just right there, and Cady didn’t realize how toned Regina has gotten since she started working out with Shane.
Cady sits down facing the pool. She sees the thumbs up Janis sends her and the wink Shane gives her.
Regina taps the sunscreen bottle on Cady’s shoulder. “I got your back.”
Cady takes the bottle. The implied part of that statement is for Cady to get the rest of herself. Which is slightly disappointing, although she’s never going to admit that to anyone.
She starts rubbing the sunscreen into her arms, making sure to cover herself thoroughly. Cady jolts when Regina first puts her hands on her shoulders. She hears a quiet laugh behind her and a quiet ‘relax’.
Regina starts at Cady’s shoulders and methodically makes her way down Cady’s back. She makes sure to cover every inch of skin. The last thing she needs is for Cady to get burned at the thing she invited her to. Regina gets done with her back and sits back in the chair. She’s quite enjoying the view of Cady in her bikini.
Cady sits back a little to get her stomach. She leans a little too far back and feels her back meet Regina’s front. Her eyes widen as she tries to scramble away. Regina is quicker, though. Her arms wrap around Cady’s waist and pull her back against her. Cady blushes and just kinda goes with it.
“Now you’re trying to get on top of me,” Regina teases.
Cady huffs and turns her upper body toward her. “Oh, please. You’re the one trying to feel me up right now.”
Regina’s face lights up. “Really?! I feel like you started this by leaning back into me.”
“I think this started when you offered to help me with my sunscreen.”
The pair of them go back and forth, exchanging remarks and smiles. Cady eventually turns all the way around in Regina’s lap, straddling her. Regina’s hands rest on Cady’s lower back, her fingers falling in the dip of her spine.
They continue bickering back and forth until Cady gets too aggravated and falls forward. She catches herself with a hand just under the bottom of Regina’s top. Her face is a few inches from Regina’s, her hair falling to create a curtain.
Regina smirks. “Now who’s tryna cope a feel?”
Cady’s face flushes, her eyes flicking to Regina’s lips. She blurts out, “I’m gay.”
Regina drops her smirk, exchanging it for a smile, and nods. “Okay.”
Cady sits back in Regina’s lap, her hand moving further down Regina’s torso. “Well, I’m bisexual. But I like women!”
“That’s good to know.”
“Yeah, I just thought you should know. Cause we’re friends.”
“I’m glad you told me,” Regina replies. “Do you wanna get in the water?”
Cady takes the redirect for what it is and nods. She gets off Regina’s lap, waiting for her to stand up.
She kinda didn’t realize she was in Regina’s lap like that, and now that she’s gotten off, she wants to be back. She watches Regina tie up her hair into a bun. It looks perfect, and when she pulls out two little strands in the front, Cady wants to get on her knees and pray—or beg. Could be both.
Regina scrunches her nose and winks. She takes Cady’s hand and pulls her over to the edge. Regina gets into the pool and holds her hands out for Cady. Cady sits down and lets Regina lift her into the pool by her waist. Cady feels her toes briefly brush the bottom, and then Regina is holding her up.
“You don’t have to hold me,” Cady states.
Regina smiles. “Are you forgetting you don’t know how to swim?”
Cady blushes. “I can swim.”
“No, you can’t.”
“No, I can’t.”
Cady wraps her fingers around Regina’s wrist. She slowly starts moving her hand up her arm, stopping on her bicep. Regina flexes it, squeezing her waist lightly in the process. Cady tries to hide her interest by biting her lip, but again, she fears she is unsuccessful.
“Do you like what you find?” Regina quietly asks, her face close to Cady’s.
Cady looks up through her lashes. “Will you be mad if I say yes?”
Regina smiles and pulls her head back. “Not at all.”
“Then yes,” Cady says immediately.
Regina starts laughing, her nose crinkling. Cady reaches up and brushes away the crinkle. It makes this fuzzy, warm feeling appear in Cady’s chest. That feeling only gets stronger when Regina jokingly snaps at her finger as she pulls her hand away.
“Hey, lovebrids,” Janis calls. “You wanna join the rest of us?”
Regina looks over her shoulder, shooting Janis an annoyed look. Cady hides her face in Regina’s shoulder, barely peeking her eyes over it to glare at Janis.
“Let’s go, Cads. It is a pool party after all,” Regina says.
She turns Cady in her arms and moves toward Janis. As soon as Cady’s feet brush the bottom and Cady can stand, Regina lets her go. Cady feels the loss viscerally for reasons she can’t explain, but she can’t ask to be attached to Regina again because Shane is already shoving the sink toys in her hands.
Cady walks over to Janis and Damian instead. They’re both in the water, arms sitting on the edge. Janis claps Cady on the back with a huge smile.
“I don’t know what the fuck you did, but good job!” Janis exclaims.
Damian nods. “Yeah, Cads. You walked over there and had Regina George attached to you for several very long minutes.”
Cady shrugs off Janis's hand. “I know. I wasn’t even trying to do anything!”
“Well, you did something cause you were between her legs, then in her lap, and then in her arms in the pool,” Janis says.
Cady blushes, a little smile on her face. “I know.”
Damian and Janis look at each other, a little thrown off by Cady’s reaction.
“Do you like Regina?” Damian asks.
“She’s my friend—my best friend—of course I like her,” Cady replies.
Damian shakes his head, a soft smile on his face. “No, Cady, do you like Regina?”
Cady’s eyes widen. “No. No, no, no, no, no. Regina and I are friends; I do not like Regina.”
“Okay, no reason to freak. It’s as simple as that,” Damian says, backing off the topic.
Cady nods, thinking about what Damian said. She doesn’t think about it long because she remembers the thing she went over to say to Regina. “I came out to her.”
Janis and Damian both whoop, giving her huge smiles. Damian hugs her, forcing Janis to be in the hug as well. They pull away, and Janis looks at Cady.
“Did you do that in between sitting between her legs or sitting in her lap?”
Cady blushes. The way that topic came out was…interesting. “I was sitting in her lap, and we were bickering about feeling each other up, and I fell forward. And then next thing you know, my face is like, four inches from hers and I’m blurting out that I’m gay.”
Janis bumps shoulders with Cady. “Gay panic at its finest.”
Cady rolls her eyes, deciding not to fight against the allegation because it’s kinda true.
“And she took it well?” Damian asks.
“Yeah. She said that’s good to know, and she was glad I told her,” Cady replies.
“Oh, interesting,” Janis says. “She said that’s good to know.”
“Yes, very interesting. Definitely a little gay,” Damian adds.
Cady rolls her eyes, not putting much stock in the comment, but then it occurs to her that maybe something is going on there. Before Cady can think too much about it, Regina walks up next to them.
“Mind if I steal your girl back?” Regina asks.
“Not at all,” Janis says, pushing her toward Regina. “She’s your girl now.”
Cady isn’t focused much on how Janis called her Regina’s girl because Regina is smiling at her and motioning for her to follow. They move to the side opposite Janis and Damian.
“You wanna learn how to swim?” Regina asks.
Cady rolls her eyes. “I can swim.”
“Okay, do you wanna learn how to swim better?”
Cady shrugs. “It’s not a big deal.”
“It could save your life one day. And aren’t you like, a knowledge nerd? You love learning new things.”
“Okay, okay, geez.”
Regina has been teaching Cady how to swim all summer. Cady wanted to swim, and Regina tried to get her to come over to her house, but she wouldn’t do it. So they went to the pool in Regina’s neighborhood.
Regina is being a bit dramatic when she says Cady can’t swim. She can float on her back and tread water, but that’s about it.
Regina shows her the basics of a freestyle stroke and lets Cady figure it out. The first five minutes are a bit of a struggle, but Cady manages to figure it out. She makes it the full length of the short side of the pool without struggling and jumps into Regina’s arms.
Regina catches her with ease and smiles. Cady squeals in her ear, wrapping her arms around Regina’s shoulders.
“I did it!”
“You did it,” Regina says. “Now do it in the deep end.”
She launches Cady into the deep end of the pool. Regina watches her closely. For a second, Regina thinks Cady isn’t gonna figure it out, but then she does. She pops up and shoots Regina a glare.
“Don’t look so mad, baby. You like when I’m mean,” Regina remarks.
Cady flips her off and then starts swimming back over to her. She stands in front of her, hands on her hips, hair slicked back. She attempts a glare, but it only makes Regina smile.
“You’re very cute,” Regina says.
Cady rolls her eyes. “That was mean.”
Regina smiles. “C’mon, you like when I’m mean.”
Cady shoves at Regina. Regina snags her hand and pulls her into her arms. Cady wraps her legs around Regina’s waist and lays her head on her shoulder. She doesn’t even know what she’s doing at this point. She’s just doing what feels normal. None of this should feel normal, but it does.
“Hey, Regina. You still got the blow-up screen and projector?” Janis asks.
Regina turns around, Cady in her arms. “Yeah, it’s in the garage. I’ll help you with it.”
Regina lifts Cady onto the edge of the pool and climbs out. “Be right back.”
Cady watches Regina walk away. She hears a splash of water and sees Shane standing in front of her.
“Do you wanna get the toys with me?”
Cady nods and gets back in the water. “Sure.”
They take turns throwing them in the water and diving for them. Shane helped her out on the first few dives; she was still figuring that out. They were diving for so long, Cady didn’t notice Regina and Janis setting up the screen. She really didn’t notice when Regina came up behind her until she was pulled against someone's chest.
“Is this your official betrayal for Shane?”
Cady turns in her arms. “Never.”
“I’m gonna go lie down. You're welcome to join me or stay with Shane,” Regina says.
“Is it okay if I stay with Shane?”
“Course. Come join me when you’re bored,” Regina says, shooting her a wink.
Cady’s heart flutters in her chest, and she really needs to figure out what that’s about. She turns back to Shane, and they keep playing with the sink toys for another hour. Cady's limbs start feeling heavy, and that’s when she calls it.
She gets out of the pool, walking over to Regina. Regina puts her phone down and looks at Cady.
“Tired?”
Cady nods. Regina sits up, grabs her towel, and wraps it around Cady’s shoulders. Cady wipes her face and sits down on the chair.
“We’re gonna watch a movie once it gets dark out. You wanna help me order some food?” Regina asks.
Cady nods and pulls the towel over her head. Regina sits back on the chair, and Cady leans back into her. They scroll through a few different places and ultimately decide on pizza. It’s truly the easiest thing.
“What do you want?” Regina asks.
When Cady doesn’t respond, Regina looks down to find her fast asleep. She smiles and orders a few pizzas for everyone. It takes about twenty minutes for the pizzas to arrive, and Regina hears the doorbell ring.
She moves out from under Cady with the intention of getting the pizza by herself, but she’s stopped by a hand on her wrist. Regina looks over to see Cady waking up.
“I’ll go with you,” she says.
“You don’t even know where I’m doing,” Regina replies.
Cady smiles up at her. “I’ll go anywhere with you.”
Regina rolls her eyes. “Let’s go then.”
Regina walks through her house to the front door, Cady in tow. She opens the front door and immediately wants to kill everyone. It’s a fucking guy.
“You got three pizzas?” He asks.
Regina nods, taking each one and setting them on the end table by the door. She taps her phone to pay. She thinks for a second she’ll get out of this without him hitting on her.
“Hey, so like, you’re really hot, and I’m super into the vibe. Do you maybe wanna go out with me?” He asks.
“No,” Regina says.
“What about you?” He asks, turning to Cady.
“She doesn’t either,” Regina says. “Do you, baby?”
“No thanks,” Cady says.
“No worries, enjoy your pizza,” he says, stepping away from the door.
Regina shuts the door and hums. “That wasn’t bad.”
They bring the pizzas into the backyard, and the sun is starting to drop in the sky. Everyone gets out of the pool and dries off. They end up dragging chairs, blankets, and pillows onto the lawn in front of the screen. They start a movie, and everybody starts eating, talking lightly.
Regina and Cady are off in their own little world, talking and giggling. Regina leans back on her hands, a smile on her face. Cady involuntarily (not really) gives Regina a once-over.
“Have I told you yet today that you’re beautiful?” Cady asks.
Real smooth. The smoothest Cady has ever been and will ever be. It even causes Regina’s face to turn a little pink.
“No, you haven't,” Regina replies.
Cady smiles. “Well, you are. The most beautiful girl ever. Insanely beautiful.”
Regina laughs. “You certainly know how to flirt when you want to.”
Cady blushes and leans into Regina’s side. It really wasn’t her intention to flirt with Regina; she just felt compelled to tell her she’s beautiful. She’ll take Regina accepting it as harmless flirting. Proof that Regina George is not immune to flirting.