Jack pulled me behind the ladder so that our bodies were flush against the pool wall and the lip of the deck was above our heads, keeping us in shadow. He used the ladder to lower his body and hold himself so that just his face was out of the water. I did the same, trying to quiet my breath. Two sets of policemen were walking the fence from opposite directions, their lights scanning across the pool and hitting the deep end. When the line of light was almost on us, Jack slipped completely under, still holding the ladder. I did the same, grasping my hair so it didn’t splay out on the surface above me. I could see the light on the water above my head, rippling in waves. I tried not to move. My lungs started to hurt. The light moved past us. I eased my face up to the night air and breathed in, trying to make it quiet. We were pinned there.

“Someone’s left their clothes behind,” shouted a voice from the woods. I looked at Jack.

“Let’s see if we can cut them off down on Jones,” said the first one, and the flashlight came swinging across the deck, near the diving board.

We stayed perfectly still, looking at each other. Jack was mostly in shadow. Water glistened on his face and shoulders. We heard car doors shut. The first car started and backed away from the gates, leaving us again in near darkness. We heard the second car start and waited until both of them were distant sounds.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe we didn’t get caught.” I was euphoric.

“I just wonder which one of us is going home without their clothes.”

“Oh shit, I forgot.” I climbed the ladder in front of him, both conscious and careless of my body.

“I knew you were a bad influence, Gallagher.”

“Me the bad influence? You’re older. You practically pushed me over the fence. You gave me beer.”

We were standing there dripping wet in the dark, facing each other. Jack went quiet. He took a strand of my hair that was stuck to my cheek and pushed it behind my ear. He sat on a deck chair and pulled me down to lie next to him, his arm around me. I reached up to his shoulder. I was touching his skin. The kiss was slow and hesitant at first, nothing like the urgent tongue-flicking, mouth-to-mouth-resuscitation-type kisses I’d had before. I was lying back, and all of his bare body was touching mine. I had a sensation of falling. Then he stopped and sat up. We stayed quiet.

“Tell me a good tree fact.”

“What?”

“What’s a good fact about trees?”

I sat up and for the first time that night felt uncomfortable in my body. I pulled my knees to my chest.