Chapter Text
The Lifeguard
“Michelle!”
“Betty!”
Michelle turned her head, sensing the glare that Betty was sending her way. They were at the beach, soaking up the rays, and in Michelle’s case, reading. Sighing, she dog eared the page and patiently set the book down in her lap. By now, Cindy and Liz were staring at her as well.
“MJ, how are you ever supposed to get Peter’s number if your nose is always stuck in a book?!” Betty asked, Liz and Cindy vehemently nodding in agreement behind her shoulder.
“First of all, I’m only here because you guys beg me to come along every day,” MJ began, causing the girls to roll their eyes, “Secondly, what makes you think Mr. New Lifeguard Peter wants my number anyway?”
Before any of the girls could answer, Peter ran by, flashing them a wide grin. “Hey ladies…Michelle,” he said sending her a wink.
Betty simply turned, giving MJ the I told you so look but she simply shrugged, trying to avoid the warmth that was blazing through her stomach. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she developed a crush on Peter the first day she had seen him. Although the guy was absolutely ripped, to the point of being unfair, it was also in the way that he interacted with everyone. He genuinely seemed to care about everyone’s safety and not just about the paycheck he got at the end of the week. He went of his way to play games with the kids and even offered some swimming techniques when they asked.
Suddenly, one blaring thought came to Michelle’s head. “Wait, how does he know my name? I’ve never even talked to him before!” And it was true, she may have had a crush on him like she was some shy high schooler, but she had never actually talked to him let alone give her name.
Her friends looked away bashfully, Liz finally speaking up, “Well, we may have told him the other day when you had a dentist appointment and couldn’t come with us…but it was because he asked!”
Warmth flashed through MJ’s gut again and she tried to push it away, cursing the faint blush that was probably tinting her cheeks by now. “So what, he probably knows a lot of girl’s names here.”
“Only because they fawn over him and try to throw their name and number at him! But he specifically asked about you and where you were so just suck it up, admit you are hot, and that any guy would be lucky to have you,” Betty said pointedly.
Michelle quietly mulled this over, trying not to get excited but not being able to ignore the butterflies that roared through her like a wildfire. She slowly turned her head, peaking over at the guard’s chair, just in time to see Peter looking right at her. He froze, his ears going pink, and quickly looked away.
Hmmm, maybe they have a point.
As the days passed, Michelle found herself looking over at Peter more and more. She knew she should go talk to him like the grown adult she was, but she couldn’t get her body to follow. Plus, if he wanted to, he could have said more then just her name everyday when he passed by. Although he did say just her name specifically and did wink every time…which was an invitation in itself but something about him made her nervous and she didn’t do nervous.
Her friends always tried to get her to “put on her big girl pants and talk to him” but it hadn’t happened yet so they laid off. Michelle knew she was being pathetic, she was on her way to becoming a kick ass lawyer, and yet she couldn’t even talk to some hot, kind, really fit…. lifeguard. Just thinking about the way water dripped down his shoulders and abs made her all hot and bothered.
She quickly got up trying to shake away her inappropriate thoughts, “I’m just going to go for a quick dip in the water and cool off,” and before anyone could answer she sprinted off.
When she got to the shore, she slowly waded in, letting the cool water calm her flushed skin. She couldn’t believe this guy, Peter, was having such an affect on her. What would she be like when they actually talked? Growing up, she was known for being cool, calm, collected, and even a little scary. Now, she couldn’t even stop herself from blushing like a fool.
Scrunching her eyes closed, she shook her head of all thoughts again and waded even further into the water. She didn’t plan on going too far but the cool water was inviting, and she couldn’t help but let the tide pull her in. Before she knew it, the water was above her shoulders and the tips of her hair were getting wet. She faintly heard her name being called and she slowly turned around, gasping at how far she had gone.
Before she could tell Betty to calm down, she felt her legs being pulled out from underneath her. She slipped under the water, inhaling a mouth full of salt water as she went. Panic set in and her brain immediately told her to fight it. But, she tried to think, if she was stuck in a current wasn’t she supposed to not fight it? She didn’t know, and the salt water scratched and burned at her throat.
She kicked out, trying to get her head above water, but she only surfaced long enough to pull in another mouth full of salt. She heard her friends panicking from the shore, shouting for help, but her vision was going spotty and she was pulled under once again. Her mind raced and her heart thudded quickly in her chest, screaming at her to breathe in the air that her lungs so desperately needed. She heard a splash from far away, thinking that someone had probably jumped in to help her, but her mind started to shut down before she could really dwell on it.
She wanted to fight and swim to the surface, but the warm blanket of darkness was settling over her, pulling her further down to the ocean floor. Before she could fully give in, she felt a swift pull to her arm, quickly yanking her above water. She was gently placed on a board and she could feel herself being pulled to the shore.
Snippets of images filled her vision, but all she could make out was the sun glistening off the back and shoulders of whoever was saving her. She thought she heard them say “Hold on, I got you, you will be ok I promise,” but she didn’t know if she was hallucinating from the lack of oxygen.
Suddenly, her body scratched the bank of the shore, her rescuer quickly laying her on her back. As her vision begam to dim again, she felt compressions being done on her chest, followed by a quick breath to her mouth. Thankfully, the water began to swim back up her throat and she felt herself expelling it in a coughing fit.
Once the water had cleared her lungs, she gulped in huge breaths of air, finally looking up to see who had just given her mouth to mouth and saved her life. Big brown eyes stared back at her, concern etched into every surface of his face.
“Peter..?” she asked, her voice sounding like it was being grated. “I was really hoping our first kiss wasn’t going to be like this.” His concerned face turned into a huge grin, his ears turning red again as he laughed, “Well at least now I know that you wanted to kiss me, but how about some water, some Tylenol for your throat, and maybe a date later?”
All her friends cooed in the background, causing Michelle to flip them the bird, but she couldn’t help the dopey grin that graced her face. “Yeah, I would like that, thanks,” and she let him wrap his arm around her waist to escort her to the Lifeguard tower. “I didn’t think I would ever get caught in a rip tide,” she mumbled to herself, but Peter just chuckled and squeezed her side. “Honestly, it can happen to anyone, you never know when one will pop up.”
After what felt like forever, her muscles screaming in protest, they made it to the tower and he gently set her down on a chair, running to grab a bag and a bottle of water. “Here, take these, it will help with your raw throat,” he said handing her some pain killers. She gratefully took them, wincing as she forced them down. “So how about that date? It’s the least I can do for you saving my life.”
Peter laughed, a hearty one that made him throw his head back, “I know this will sound terrible but me saving you gave me a reason to talk to you, I was kind of nervous.” He brought his hand to his neck, nervously scratching at it like a tic.
Dumbfounded, and maybe still a little out of it from almost drowning, Michelle squinted, “Why- um why would you be nervous to talk to me?”
Peter stared at her like she was crazy and had just grown a third head, “Your beautiful and you carry yourself in a way that screams confidence. You come to the beach everyday with your friends, despite wanting to read all the time, so that tells me how loyal you are. You helped some kids build a kick ass sandcastle the other day so even though you have a tough demeanor I think you are also kind. And now I’m rambling…”
Michelle laughed, “For the record, you make me nervous and I don’t do nervous so take that as a win. And I may have been watching you sense day one…not in a stalker way I’m just observant. Oh, and call me MJ.”
“Well MJ, my shift is just about over, so if you are feeling up to it…do you maybe want to go grab some lunch? Although if your throat hurts we could just get ice cream or reschedule, or-“ but before he could continue to ramble soft lips pressed against his.
“There,” MJ whispers softly, “Now I can say I was coherent for one of our kisses. Let’s go get some ice cream, my throat is a little raw,” and with that she stood up and grabbed his hand.
A goofy grin appeared on his face and Michelle saluted her friends,” See you later losers.”
As they walked away her friends could hear laughing as Peter said,” You know, if this is what happens whenever you almost drown…” followed by a soft smack of Michelle’s hand against his arm, “Ya, let’s not do that again Pete.”