Free Damaged: A Violated Trust (Secrets) by Melody Carlson Page B

back.
    “My hand hit the side first.”
    I make a face. “I want to see the digital playback.”
    He laughs and pulls me to him again. “I clearly won and now you owe me a prize.”
    “What kind of prize?” But already he’s kissing me again. We kiss and kiss, both above and beneath the water, and he holds me so close, with our legs entangled, that I almost feel like we’re one entity, some kind of weird octopus with four arms and four legs.
    “Is your dad home yet?” he whispers in my ear.
    This sends a start through me. He wasn’t home when I changed into my suit, but what if he is now? I push Harris away and look up at our unit, trying to see if there’s anyone looking down this way from the darkened terrace. But the lights around the pool and the chlorine in my eyes make it hard to see.
    “I don’t know. He wasn’t home earlier.”
    “Want to go up and check?” Harris asks hopefully. “I’m starting to get cold and it would be nice to dry off some before I go home.”
    “Yeah.” I nod. “I’ll go check.” I climb out of the pool and grab a towel, wrapping it around me like a sarong. “There’s a towel for you,” I call out as I leave.
    I feel nervous as I go up the stairs. What if Dad is home? What if he’s been watching us? What will he say? More important, what will I say? To my huge relief, Dad isn’t home yet. So I go out to the terrace, turn on the light, and quietly call down to the pool. “The coast is clear.”
    Harris climbs out and gets his towel. “Thanks,” he tells me as I let him in. “I was starting to feel like an ice cube down there.”
    “You use the bathroom. I’ll change in my bedroom.”
    We go our separate ways and I hurry into some warm-ups and attempt to towel dry and brush out my hair. I’m just putting on some lip gloss when I hear Harris. “You coming out of there or should I come in and get —”
    “Here I am,” I say as I emerge from my room.
    He grins suggestively and pulls me toward him. “I wouldn’t have minded coming in there to get you.”
    I make a forced laugh. “Yes, I’m sure you wouldn’t have.” It’s becoming pretty obvious that this guy is way more experienced than I am. For that matter, I’m positive that most of the U.S. teen population is way more experienced than I am. Not that I plan to reveal this to anyone.
    Harris makes small talk as he guides me into the living room, where the lights are dimmed. We sit on the sofa and he slips his arm around me. “This has been a great night, Haley. I had no idea you were this much fun.”
    I feel a ripple of delight over this praise. “I’ve had fun too, Harris, even if you did cheat at swimming.”
    “I didn’t cheat.” He tickles me around my waist. “I won fair and square, admit it.”
    “No,” I shriek with laughter, “you cheated!”
    Now we’re having a wrestling match, which goes from the couch to the floor. We’re both laughing and teasing and then suddenly he is straddling me, pinning both my arms to the floor over my head. If he wasn’t grinning, I might be scared. I had no idea he was so strong. “Admit it, Haley, I won.”
    Between giggles, I admit that he may have won. Then he leans down, landing a passionate kiss on me, then another. I feel like I’m being swept away by this, like being pulled out with the tide, like I want to just drown in his affection. But then I hear something at the front door.
    “My dad!” I hiss at him. “He’s home!”
    In the same instant Harris jumps off me, straightens his clothes and hair, flips on the lights, reaches for the remote, and flops down onto the sofa. I try to follow his lead but am slower and just barely on my feet when my dad steps into the house.
    “Hey, Dad,” I say in way too sweet a voice, “you’re home.” I walk past him and into the kitchen, where I dig in the fridge for a couple of sodas, like this was what I was doing. “Harris is here,” I call over my shoulder. “I’d like you to meet him.” I