-Bennett-

            I couldn't help but gawk at Eric's strapping frame as he dove under the surface, his defined back muscles shifting so beautifully as he started doing laps across the stretch of the furthermost lane. I hadn't been able to catch much more than a glimpse in the locker room, but now... I couldn't tear my eyes away.
             My jaw slacked a bit, a conflicting mixture of awe and envy coursing through me.

            "Hey there," Mason suddenly greeted whilst sitting down beside me on the bench, sparing me a small nod before focusing on Eric as well, his brows knitted in concentration. "How does he still have so much energy?" he grumbled to himself, sounding impressed despite the apprehensiveness in his voice.

            "I don't know," I offered in response, because it also made little sense to me, particularly considering how sweaty and worn out he'd appeared when I spotted him earlier. Hopefully, Eric wasn't expecting me to race him or anything of the sort; aside from my sprained ankle, there was just no way I was keeping up with him in general... even on a good day.

            "I feel like he's going to crash at some point," Mason continued, concernedly sighing under his breath while leaning forward on the bench, wearily leaning his arms on his knees. "I warned him to take it easy today."

            I frowned at that. "Is he alright?"

            "Yeah, it's just... Eric's still somewhat new to all this," Mason explained, his eyebrows furrowing further as he surveyed his friend's progress. "Believe it or not, he doesn't go to the gym very often."

            My frown deepened. "H-he doesn't?"

            Mason caught on to my skepticism rather quickly, snickering to himself whilst nodding his head in agreement. "I'm serious! He frequents the campus' gym every so often, but not nearly enough to consider it a habit."

            "Then... how?"

            Mason scoffed in feigned indignation. "The jerk has a very high metabolism. There isn't a day I don't feel jealous about it."

            I snorted, unfortunately able to relate.

            "And you... he didn't force you to join us, right?" Mason questioned rather abruptly, and I felt myself tense up immediately at his words.

            I opened my mouth to reply, but I felt the words stuck in the back of my throat... burrowing their way further back the more I tried to explain myself. I breathed out a weak sigh, but there was nothing else I could muster. So, I just timidly stared back with wide, bewildered eyes, stunned that he would question my presence quite so bluntly.

            "Hmm?" Mason pressed, quirking an eyebrow. "Be honest."

            "Oh, I-I can go... if I'm interrupting," I managed to force out, decidedly evading his gaze as I glared at the ground.

            Mason snorted in amusement, tsking under his breath before reaching out to flick my forehead. I closed my eyes in preparation, but all I felt was the gentle press of his index against my forehead as he nudged me back. "It's not like that, alright? I'm not saying I don't want you here. I just—I know how stubborn Eric can be; I wanted to make sure he didn't pressure you into tagging along against your will."

            And that... that made a lot more sense than the anthology of pessimistic assumptions I'd conjured up within the last minute. Even then, my heart had already sunk with an unexpected heaviness, bringing my body down with it. I was still physically sitting on the bench, trying to compose myself, but my essence had long ago collapsed onto the floor and curled up in blatant mortification.

            "Oh." I breathed out.

            "You're doing it again," Mason called out gently, chuckling under his breath. "What are you worrying about now, Bennett?"

            "You don't know I'm doing that," I bluffed, pouting up at him.

            "Don't I?" Mason retorted, leaning closer... until there were only a few inches between us. His eyes were bright and relentless. "I can see you."

            I nervously glanced away, huffing to myself. "You're assuming things," I murmured weakly, regressing to a flustered mess. Because what else was I to do? "Whatever."

            Mason didn't seem to buy it, but he didn't respond right away either; instead, he turned towards the pool, supervising Eric rather intently, as if his friend might drown at any given moment.

            "So, this is okay?" Mason asked after some time of sitting in silence, his deep voice barely above a whisper.

            I nodded my head.

            And I meant it... for the most part. The water was warm due to the heating system, and the scent of chlorine in the air was surprisingly comforting. Even the loud echoes of the splashing water as Eric swam laps droned out some of my thoughts, which I could only consider a win. More than anything, this place wasn't unfamiliar; I visited the pool quite often on my own time, though usually it was at a bit of a later time, when I could guarantee it'd be empty.

            "It's fine, Mason," I replied meekly, lacing my voice with enough certainty to fool the both of us.

            Mason just nodded his head, tiredly stretching his arms up before slipping off his tank top. And fuck, he looked just as jacked as his goddamn friend. Eric was a bit more cut, but Mason's firm, broad hairy chest had my heart pounding viciously against my chest. "You want to head in?" Mason asked casually, like he hadn't just unknowingly threatened my life.

            There was no way this was good for my heart.

            "I'm—I'm good," I replied, desperately fighting to tear my gaze away from his huge pecs. How the hell was I expected to survive through this?

            "You sure, dude? Aren't you cold?" Mason questioned while tilting his head towards the water, signaling me to follow suit.

            And I frowned at that, but only before realizing how pitiful I likely appeared just sitting there, fully drenched; my tousled, wet hair was pressed down against my forehead and my black, soaked shirt was suffocatingly clinging to my skin from when I'd hastily rinsed off in the pool showers.

            "I'll join you guys in a bit," I assured him, only to complain under my breath as Mason easily dragged me off the bench, forcing me to my feet. Then, he opened his arms, clearly ready to carry me if need be; and so, I diligently followed him towards the pool, my arms up in surrender.

            I settled for sitting at the stairs, soaking my feet in the warm water. "I'm in the pool."

            "You're by the pool," Mason countered.

            "Technically... both?" I wondered aloud, releasing a bated breath before signaling towards his friend. "Eric's probably wondering what's taking you so long."

            "You think?"

            "Mhm."

            Mason narrowed his eyes knowingly, grinning back at me before joining me in the pool, "Your call," he retorted before stepping down past me and diving right in.

            Then, I watched as he swam straight towards the furthermost lane, pulling Eric under mid-lap and scaring the absolute living hell out of him. I chuckled at that, only to wince a bit when Eric coughed up water the moment he resurfaced. Surprisingly, Eric flashed me a weak thumbs up, languidly waving me over before turning to splash his friend in the face.

            "Join us!" he yelled out right before being dunked by Mason once more, thrashing as he went under.

            My eyes followed their movements as they roughhoused in the water, quite playful and comfortable near each other. Mason's deep laughter filled the echoing natatorium, which was a brand new experience in of itself. I didn't even know he could rejoice like that, his eyes crinkling as he threw his head back and burst into laughter. Even when Eric jumped on his back to try and sink him as payback, Mason beamed in mischievous enjoyment before forcing them both underwater.

            It almost felt like I was intruding.

            "What are the odds?" I muttered to myself, sighing as they started chasing one another across the pool, seeing the bright glimmer in Eric's eyes as he finally caught up to Mason and dragged him under in retaliation. I knew I was the one secluding myself, but I wasn't necessarily eager to get caught in their cross-fire either.

            Eventually, Eric drifted to my side of the pool, panting heavily while resting his head on the upper step beside me. We both sat there, watching as Mason busily swam laps. "I bet him that he couldn't do more laps than me," he offered as explanation while trying to catch his breath.

            I nodded slowly. "How many laps can you do?"

            Eric shrugged. "Not sure yet. Whenever he tires out and gives up, we'll need to add a few to that."

            I quirked an eyebrow.

            "Oh, don't you dare feel bad for him," Eric continued, scoffing while laying his head back, floating beside me. "He knows me well enough to assume I'd try something like this; if he falls for it, that's on him."

            I snickered at that, swaying my legs back and forth. "You guys seem really close," I pointed out.

            Eric shrugged nonchalantly, even though a proud smirk found its way onto his face. "We've been best friends for... too long?" he joked, gazing over at Mason as well. "Breaking through to him is still one of my greatest achievements. It took... months."

            I nodded my head slowly, my eyebrows furrowing a bit. I couldn't even imagine having the confidence not to flee at the first sign of rejection. "I figured. He can be a bit intimidating at first."

            Eric cackled at that, patting my shoulder. "Oh, for sure!"

            "But he's very kind," I added, staring down at the rippling water by my shifting feet. "Hell, he's saved me more times than I can count, even before we knew each other."

            "Yeah?" Eric asked, glancing back at me in amusement. "Do tell."

            I skittishly shrugged it off, a bit embarrassed to think about the multitude of times I dug myself into a hole of my own creation and he'd had to yank me out. Besides, there was such a high risk that I'd just end up gushing about Mason if I said too much. Even now, I already felt like I was exposing too many of my thoughts. Any more than this, and he'd probably see right through me. "This and that," I offered guardedly.

            Eric didn't press, but he did nudge me playfully. "Maybe some other time," he offered in turn, showing a lot more consideration than I'd expected. "It really is nice to meet you, by the way. Mason can be shy about introducing people he cares about."          

            "Oh."

            "Mhm... especially the cute ones."

            "Thanks. It's nice to meet you... too," I muttered, a bit flustered. I could tell I was blushing, but all I could do was glance away; I covered my mouth with my hand, trying to hide the pleased smile that had forced its way onto my face. I didn't ponder on Eric's wording too much, grateful enough that Mason and I also seemed somewhat close.

            "To be honest, I'm surprised Mason mentioned me at all," Eric pointed out, smirking to himself. "As he should, though! Did he tell you about how—?"

            "Are you guys together?" I blurted out suddenly, peering up at him. "It's just—uhm—it just kind of feels that way? I—I don't mean to assume, but... yeah. I don't know."

            Eric stopped to consider this, muttering to himself before turning to look at me, his eyes wide and conflicted. Those few seconds felt like hours... hours that I spent worriedly staring back at him in panic. And honestly, I couldn't decide whether I was more terrified of being right or wrong.

            "We're not," Eric finally revealed, though it sounded more like a question.

            I frowned in disbelief. "You're not?"

            Eric chuckled weakly, nodding in agreement. "I think I'd know if I were sleeping with him," he reassured me.

            I couldn't help but notice he seemed a bit torn up about something. "Do you like him?"

            Eric snorted, shaking his head profusely. "Me? Oh... no. Not like that, anyways. I love him to death, but he's like my brother."

            "Oh."  

            "Yeah. Besides, he's kind of taken already," Eric revealed, shrugging it off like it was just casual news. "More or less."

            I tried my hardest not to sigh with disappointment at the news. Instead, I forced a smile, feigning as much nonchalance as I could muster. It wasn't like it really mattered, right? In what universe had Mason's relationship status ever been the deciding factor on whether I stood a chance with him or not? It was probably for the best.

            "That's great!" I responded... a bit too cheerfully. "Are—Are they nice?"

            Eric shrugged. "No clue. Mason won't spill. Why?"

            "No reason."

            Eric narrowed his eyes, the corner of his mouth curling up into a smirk, "Are you—?"

            "I'm not," I declared a tad bit defensively. "I was just... curious. That's it."

            Eric snorted before waving me over, thankfully not calling me out on my bullshit. "Come on. I bet you can't outswim me," he egged me on.

            "That won't work on me, Eric."

            He scoffed in feigned outrage, tugging on my hand when he realized Mason was now exhaustedly floating over in the deep-end, finally having worn himself out. "Come on, let's go tell him he lost!"

            I nodded, dipping in after him and letting the warmth of the pool envelop me. I breathed out a content sigh, a bit more relaxed now that I was submerged in the warm water. Eric guided me further in, chuckling to himself when I just let him drag my floating body along.

            "Eric, why did you invite me?" I whispered.

            Eric didn't skip a beat, beaming back at me. "Anybody that mercilessly tackles Mason to the ground is a friend of mine!"

            I snorted softly, glancing down at his hand as it held onto mine, his thumb encouragingly rubbing the back of my hand as he pulled me along. I was still trying to wrap my head around why I'd been invited. At first, I thought maybe it was just Eric's way of bugging Mason. But, huh...

            Perhaps he liked me?

---

A/N: Oh boy.