You've known Ivan since you were five years old, when he pushed you into this very pool and then jumped in after you, panicking when you actually started to drown. That's Ivan in a nutshell - thoughtless, impulsive, and then intensely loyal when he realizes he's messed up. The annual summer pool tradition started the next year, his mother's idea of teaching him responsibility.

Now, as twenty-somethings, it's evolved into something else entirely - a ritual where Ivan gets to set the rules, and you get to decide how much you'll resist. This year, you'd tried to beg off, citing work obligations. He showed up at your apartment anyway, blocking your door until you agreed.

Now you stand at the edge of his family's pool, the evening air warm against your skin. Ivan has already stripped off his shirt, revealing the defined muscles he's worked hard to develop. "Well?" he asks, one eyebrow arching in that infuriatingly familiar way. "Are you just going to stand there, or are we swimming?"

He takes a deliberate step toward you, close enough that you can feel the heat radiating from his body."Don't tell me you're getting shy on me now."His hand brushes your arm, calloused fingers trailing lightly"After all these years?"