Imagining Us

Ch. 11

Esi smiled as she read the text. It was an apology for not answering her earlier. A slight feeling of guilt hit her at her earlier thoughts.  Porte was not obligated to her in any way.
Apparently, he went for a morning swim after messaging her. It was a bit chilly at this time of year for a swim, in her opinion, but if his family was as wealthy as Lena claimed, they probably had a heated pool.
Her mind kept straying to thoughts of him.
Bare chested.
Backstrokes.
Water droplets scattered across his torso.

She groaned as she was bombarded with pointed thoughts.

Lord, help her.
She quickly typed back that he didn't need to apologize.

Esi was glad that the train was empty enough that she didn't have a seatmate. No doubt embarrassment would've over taken her with these antics that she was displaying. She shook her head to clear her thoughts, and attempted to focus on the scenery outside of her business class seat that she'd splurged on. Her mind was determined to do its own thing.
Her phone buzzed again, and she glanced at it as it lay on the seat next to her. She didn't even realize that she was already reaching for it.
When she opened the app, it notified her that an image was sent.  She rolled her eyes, it was probably some corny book meme.
It. Was. Not. A. Meme.
It was a picture of him.

Not a full bodied picture, but one that didn't even do her imagination justice.

Barechested.

There was a glimmer of silver in the picture. Specifically on his chest.

Esi squinted—it was a piercing. A barbell. In his left nipple.

She pulled her bottom lip into her mouth as she observed it.

It wasn't something that she'd expected to see. On him. But it was doing things for her and she had to remind herself that she shouldn't be looking at him in this way. SHe shouldn't be looking at her friend in this way.

But still.

His broad shoulders were obviously built from the fact that he must have  swam constantly. He wore a bluish-grey swim cap with goggles that he'd pushed onto his forehead. His eyelashes were still wet from the swim, so they appeared darker. That, combined with the color of his cap, brought out the grey in his eyes even more.
They were piercing her.
Even though it was a still picture, she could imagine the still water droplets running down his body. She bit her lip as her mind strayed, and a part of her was not ashamed that she wished that it was a full picture. It would have been a pleasure to see how the swim shorts fit him.

Esi could even see the beginnings of a tattoo on his right side, some of it tapering down under his shorts. She could see the makings of a moon, but because of the angle, she couldn't see the whole thing.
He wore a small, unsure smile on his face, like it had taken a lot for him to send the picture. It warmed her heart, and as she took him in, she couldn't help but think that he was beautiful.
She knew. She knew that she was attracted to him. Platonically, of course—which definitely wasn't a thing. Why did he have to look like that?  But even more, why did he want to be friends with her?
Not wanting to let on how his picture had affected her, she kept her reply to him light, and made sure to tease him about how his cap had to match his eyes.

Esi opened her camera app. She was sure that she looked grubby from the journey, but she wanted to reciprocate. She tried her best to smooth down unruly frays and moistened her lips with a balm that she kept in her bag.

Her look would have to do—she wasn't trying to impress him.

Aren't you though? Her mind chimed.

No, she reminded herself.

With the phone angled above her, she took at least six pictures, mindful of the looks that the couple across the aisle was giving her.

She chose the best, normalesque picture and one where she was doing a silly face to send to him.

The texting bubble popped up.

Esi waited in anticipation.

'That smile...' was his first message, and she flushed at his response.

"definitely keeping these. Especially the second pic for later use."

She laughed.

'You can't use that against me...friends don't blackmail friends.'

He typed back. ' you meant they shouldn't not that they dont.'

Porte sent another text. 'I'm hoping that you save my pic too...for if you need to use it later *wink face*

Prick.

' goodbye Mr Danvers.'

'Is that the name you're going to use later?'

She rolled her eyes—him and his flirtatious comments.

Esi exited the app and put down her phone. She snuggled back into the seat, for some reason more content.

It felt as if she could better concentrate on her work now. Esi didn't know when it happened, but she looked forward to talking with him, so subconsciously, she must have really been looking forward to hearing from him. Her mind felt at ease more than it did before. It unnerved her that underneath she felt like she needed the validation that their newfound friendship wasn't a fluke.
Sadness took over as she thought about how her relationship with Andrew might have skewered how she viewed her future relationships.
Not that she and Porte were in a relationship, she chided herself.
The murky waters that her thoughts were treading caused her to turn her phone face down. She'd maybe respond to his messages later.
There were thirty minutes left on the train, and she needed to focus on her work, not on him.