Ellie's POV
I swam away from the twins and pulled myself out of the water then found a boulder that was under the sun to sit on, letting it dry my skin and underwear. Why are they acting so weird today? I thought to myself.
I can feel their eyes watching me, alighting my skin on fire. I have no idea what just happened over there and why my body is reacting so much. I like them, gods know I do, but I truly don't believe they like me like that. Even with them saying all they were saying, implying what they were implying, I know they would never want me like that, not really. Being two teenage boys alone in the woods with a teenage girl they are probably just thinking with the head between their legs and not the one between their shoulders. I know how guys are, they are horny creatures who would honestly sleep with anyone that allowed them too, regardless of feelings or not. I'm not naïve, I know guys like them have probably slept with a lot of girls especially since we started high school. They wouldn't talk to me about that stuff, I know they wouldn't, but there is no way they are virgins like me. We don't hang out every second of every day so I know they have a life outside of us. I just don't understand why they were implying that they want me. Don't they know if we crossed that line our friendship would be ruined. I know they wouldn't want to have an actual relationship with me, either of them, and since I've never been introduced to or even seen them with any girls I know they don't do relationships. They probably just hit it and quit it. I refuse to let that happen to me. The thought of them with other girls hurts but the thought of them using me to get off and nothing remotely close to a romantic relationship happing would kill me. I also wouldn't know what to do if even just one of them wanted to continue with a relationship and the other didn't. It may be taboo but I would want them both and I doubt either would want me.
What am I talking about of course they won't. This is dumb, stop thinking of it. They were just caught up in a fantasy, they said it themselves all guys want to see a girl come out of the water like I did, it's a dream, its fake, an image that movies have made guys think is sexy. They don't actually want you, Ellie Berk, their best friend, in any type of sexual capacity. Snap out of it.
I huff out a breath lean back and close my eyes trying to think of anything other than what just happened. Once I feel my front is dried I roll over to dry my back. Lucky this rock was fairly flat on top so it's not uncomfortable to lay here. Soon I feel someone standing over me so I open my eyes and glance up. Alex is looking down at me, he's fully dressed again and has concern written over his face.
"Hey Sweetheart, can I sit with you?"
I sit up and roll over giving him room to sit next to me, luckily the spot is dry now so he won't get his clothes wet, "Of course."
He hands me my clothes,"Thanks." I say taking them from him and pulling the shirt back on.
"Sorry if we made you uncomfortable." He says as I slip my pants on.
"It's not that you made me uncomfortable Alex, it's just…" I trail off trying to find the right words to say.
"Just what?" He asks.
Biting my lip "It's just, confusing I guess."
"What's confusing?" Asher walks over joining us.
"What just happened in the water. We have been best friends since we were kids and you two have never looked at me like that before."
"Like what?" They both ask in unison.
"Like," I pause, "Like I was a fantasy come true, like you wanted to devour me, like you wanted to make me feel like an actual woman even if it was for a night."
"And why is that confusing Angel?"
"It's confusing because I'm not attracti…" I stop when I hear a growl coming from both boys.
"Stop saying you aren't attractive Sweetheart, we told you, you are, and I will hold up my end and spank you if you keep saying that." Alex growls out making my eyes widen but I school my expression quickly.
"See, that's what I am talking about," I squeak, "that's what's confusing. You say I am attractive but I have never been asked out on a real date, you say any guy would want me but no one, not even you have shown me otherwise and up until a few moments ago when you were naked in that pool and I was in nothing but my underwear, you have never shown any interest in me other than being my friend. It's confusing because we ARE FRIENDS, best friends, have been best friends since we were 11 and 13, and even though I have always found you attractive I never really believed you saw me the same, plus I don't want to risk our friendship over a meaningless hookup."
"Who said it would be meaningless? With you it would be a dream come true." Asher says making my jaw drop.
"Yeah sweetheart, if anything were to happen between you and us it could never mean nothing, it would be special because you are our best friend and we are yours. Nothing the three of us could ever do would ever be meaningless." Alex tacked on. "It would be special."
"Besides," Asher continues, "we may be best friends but that doesn't mean we never thought of the possibility of dating you. We have weighed the pros and cons of taking you out on a proper date not just a friend date, for as long as we could remember. The only reason we haven't is because we value or friendship with you. We promised ourselves we would only ever make a move if you did first, and Angel, if you only keep us in the friend zone for the rest of our lives, that's where we will stay." He tucks a hair behind my ear, "We never want to lose you, you will never be a casual hook up, never be something to throw away. So if what we were doing in the pool was too much for you, if you are afraid crossing a line will ruin our friendship then we won't cross it. We will stay friends because Ellie, you are ours, in any way you give us."
"Exactly sweetheart, if friendship is all you can give us, then we will cherish it forever. We don't want to lose you Ellie, not now, not ever. I'm sorry that we made you question our friendship, to question our intentions. We got carried away in the moment. Ever since our birthday it's been harder to hide the fact they we have found you attractive and maybe we didn't think of the overall picture. Didn't think that flirting with you and implying that we could want more could potentially ruin a good friendship. For that I'm sorry." Alex explains.
"We both are." Asher states. "Now come on, let's head back to the campsite." He pulls me up and we gather the rest our things and start our hike back.
I can't believe they told me they actually find me attractive, that they always have. What could this possibly mean? I mull over that question and others while we hike back. It's quiet, except for the normal sounds of nature and our feet hiking the path. None of us are talking to each other. We are all just thinking about what exactly happened back there, a lot was laid out, and now we need to question what we really want for ourselves moving forward.