'What could go wrong?'
Famous last word ever uttered by many, be it jinxing it or being overly confident. Despite knowing its 'curse' that is special to every single individual, many still brazenly choose to say it willingly. I too, have fallen for it as history begins to repeat itself. Everything that I thought would be perfect turned out to be a nightmare in the form of humiliation. It was as though the sentence itself felt it was a challenge it had to accept.
Everything was fine and dandy initially. I was completely fooled by the calm before the raging storm. Of course overthinking on other things distracted me from the real issue - a valid concern that needed to be voiced out at that very moment.
"How are we entering? Are we going to trespass? What about the CCTV? Should I hide my face?" I bombarded him with my questions, placing blatant anxiety on my sleeve.
"Don't worry, I have the entry code." My train of questions were quickly dismissed by his short answer.
Was I satisfied with that kind of answer? Of course not! I need at least a twenty-minute information with in-detail breakdown that could placate my worry.
"Yes, okay. But have you asked for permission? I don't want us to get caught and I ended up being the only one going through jail time."
He may be filthy rich for all I care but trespassing is still a violation of the law!
"If that time ever comes, I'm here for you."
"Sheesh, how is that assuring?" I fumed but my feet moved along, following his footsteps into the lightless gym and onto the pool area. It was foolish of me but I was curious to see a heated pool and wanted to swim in it.
"Haha, do you truly think I would let it go that far?"
He removed his tops without hesitation, revealing a silhouette of a masculine body beneath. Nothing much to appreciate considering the lights were out and only the twinkling stars above and the moonlight reflected on the pool. Even those bright golden lights from the city far away could not provide the right illumination for me to admire his body.
He confidently entered the pool with no hesitation and submerged himself underwater before coming back up. His once neat hair was now flat and disarray, sticking as much to the scalp.
"How would I know? We're only binded by a piece of paper with no assurance it is forever," I responded mindlessly as I stood by the edge of the pool, dipping as little toes as I could, to feel the water. I knew he already specified it's a heated pool but I was still surprised by how warm the pool was. Instinctively, I walked towards the stairs and sat on it where only my lower body was soaked. My legs stretched out, enjoying the feel of being in the water.
"Should I draft a contract to assure it's forever?" He asked, not in a mocking way as he walked towards me.
"Yes, why not? Let's add more contracts to the existing one," I sarcastically replied.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, come on. Don't tell me you are not aware that our marriage certificate is already a contract by itself. Soooo legally binded that one can easily withdraw their forever by submitting another piece of contract."
My eyes rolled at how clueless he could be.
Truth be told, I did not mean to bring the mood down when I noted of his sigh. I was merely stating facts. No words, no contracts and no blood could provide assurance of forever. I did not need any examples because I am the living proof.
For the longest while, awkward silence and the still of the night accompanied us. The cool night air kissed every inch of my skin, sending goosebumps. Yet the warmth of the pool neutralised the coolness of the Autumn air, giving quite an exhilarating experience. It was even more enchanting as I looked up to witness the vast sky of diamonds twinkling above, humbling me. Telling me I am nothing but a small dot in this big big world. How insignificant I am.
The sudden realisation brought chills to my insides, forcing myself to get underwater. But remember the famous last words mentioned earlier on? Well, I guess now it felt the need to answer the challenge.
I walked into the slightly deeper end of the pool before going for a full on swim. It was at this particular awkward moment that my seemingly innocent baggy shirt chose to humiliate me.
It was as though my shirt had a mind of its own as it flapped about above the water, seemingly afraid of drowning. The way I thrashed in the pool trying to fight with the stupid lifeless shirt from its threat of exposing my bare chest, I was not aware my ruckus had brought attention to him.
Because the next thing I knew, his hands were already under my armpits and I had been dragged to the stairs. Even if I wanted to fight back - which I definitely tried my very best, there is never a competition between my strength and his.
"Breathe," he said as soon as he sat me down. His hand was patting on my back, enough to render me speechless.
'What on earth is happening?' I asked myself.
"Breathe in through your mouth and breathe out through your nose," he instructed. This time I could hear the assuring yet commanding tone in his voice with a hint of worry.
And then it hit me - he must have thought I was drowning! Oh goodness me! Should I pretend to do so or tell him the truth?
After much consideration, I chose to pretend I was drowning. There is absolutely no way would I admit that I was only trying to pull my shirt down. Also, if I choose to not tell him, I would be saving him from embarrassment and in turn from embarrassing me even more.
In the end, I followed his lead and took a deep breath. Once he believed I had calmed down, he disappeared behind the door and came with a towel.
'It's about time, Mister! Any longer my goosebumps will have goosebumps!' I scowled internally.
"Should we head back?" He asked, gently wrapping me in the surprisingly toasty warm towel. I purred in delight as my skin enjoyed the change in temperature.
Unfortunately, he mistook it as a yes and grabbed his shirt. But I wanted to swim more...
"Can we stay longer?" I requested when he lent me his hand to stand up.
His confused brown eyes gazed into mine before nodding his head and tossed the shirt away.
He sat next to me and said, "I have no intention to let you go ever. But if it is what you want and I may not agree with it, I'll concede. For you."