He matched her smile and nodded. ”I could teach you a little more about swimming now if you’d like. Since we’re already here.” he offered with a small shrug before he realized what she said. ”I don’t have to go anytime soon. When are we going to the city together?”
Her smile grew and she nodded, not going to turn down learning how to swim better. "But I don't want you to waste time here if you want to get to as many parks as you can this summer," She said, shrugging, "We're going to visit the city in a few days remember? I just have to ask Alpha if it would be alright."
”I don't think this would be a waste of time. I’d be happy to stay and teach you.” He smiled as he stood up. ”Besides Cora and even my dad, on occasion, say I need to spend more time with friends.” he told her, offering his hand to help her up. ”I hope your Alpha says yes. It'll be fun to show you around the sights of the city.”
"It's up to you whether you want to stay or not, just know that I'll always be here to bug you," She replied, taking his hand and getting to her feet as well with a smile, "He should say yes, we haven't had anything to worry about security wise around our territory so he'll probably let me take a break for a little while."
Frankie smiled as she took his hand. ”Would you mind if I decided to stay longer?” he asked, figuring he should ask her permission since this was her home and she was in charge. ”That sounds great.” he smiled brighter. ”Is there anything you would like to see in the city first?”
She shook her head, her smile growing, "No, I wouldn't mind and as long as you're technically off pack lands, Alpha won't care either." If she was Alpha ever, she would immediately say he could stay for as long as he wanted on their land. It was unlikely that she would take over the position anytime soon though, which just meant he had to stay off the territory.
Frankie couldn't stop smiling when she said that. He could stay! Granted, she already agreed to him staying another week but now he could stay longer. ”Thank you.” he nodded eagerly. ”I’ll do my best to stay off pack lands.” Words didn't do justice for how thankful he really was… So without thinking, he pulled her into a strong hug. Once he realized that she probably wouldn't appreciate it; he quickly let go, blushing furiously. ”Sorry.”
Selina just laughed and nodded, freezing slightly when he pulled her into a hug but quickly wrapping her arms around him and hugging him back tightly. Her cheeks flushed when he let go and she dropped her arms, though seemed reluctant as she stepped back, "It's ok, maybe warn me a little next time though."
His blush darkened when he saw her own flushed face. How could he be so stupid? He didn't want to ruin a friendship like this. Especially not so soon, when they were still getting to know each other… Wait a minute… She hugged him back! Did that mean she didn't mind? ”I… I’ll try to remember that.” he nodded, still embarrassed by his impulsive act. Maybe… Maybe a swim will help them cool off. ”You… Uh. You wanna another swimming lesson?” he asked.
"Sure," She replied, smiling at Frankie and ignoring her impulse to hug him again. It had felt nice, but she wasn't sure how he felt about her even with his blush even darker than her own. Maybe he liked her too, but she didn't want to ruin her time with him just because she acted on her feelings. "What are you going to teach me this time/'
“Uhh… Well, let’s just do some basic swimming, so I can see how you normally swim, and I’ll give you a few tips as we go.” He offered, still a little embarrassed by earlier but his face was slowly returning to its normal tan color.
Selina nodded, starting towards the water and trying to brace herself for how cold it was going to feel again, "Like how I swam before you helped me or what you taught me a little while ago?" Her face was returning to it's normal color as well, though much slower than Frankie's was.
Frankie shrugged as he followed her into the water. “Just whatever feels natural, I guess. If you’re use to swimming a certain way, you don’t really want to change your natural comfort in the water.” He told her, before his lips twitched into a brief smirk. “Besides, I can always show you those moves again.”
Wait! Hold the phone! … Was that… did that sound flirty? Was I flirting?
His flirty comment didn't go over her head and her cheeks immediately flushed again as she got deeper into the water, though she did smirk and answer with a slightly flirty comment of her own, "I'll have to take you up on that offer." She didn't really think about what she was saying, not realizing until after the fact that she actually had just maybe admitted she liked him.
Frankie’s face immediately turned red as a stop sign as she replied. Even his ears were burning this time. He still wasn’t sure if he had meant to be flirty earlier or not but… Hoo, boy. Did that mean she liked him? He quickly ducked under the surface, in some hope that the cold water would clear his head.
Selina didn't wait around long enough to hear if he responded, though she did see his bright red face before she slipped under the water as well, letting herself think and go over the words that had just left her mouth. She was sure she had said them, though she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.
What the heck was with him? He was acting ridiculous. He had flirted before, and failed a few times, but he usually knew when he was trying to. This time it just slipped out and he didn’t know what to think. Sure, he liked her but he didn’t want to make things awkward and ruin a good friendship. He took a deep breath of fresh air as he finally surfaced, still confused.
She stayed under the water a few moments longer than he did, surfacing several feet away and hoping her cheeks had lost some of the blush. "Ready to swim some more?" She asked, trying to break the silence.
“Yeah.” Frankie nodded with a small smile coming back to him as he swam over to her. ”How’d you get all the way over there?” he asked trying to go back to the more comfortable, friendly atmosphere they had earlier.
"I swam," She said, smiling with a proud look on her face, "I can swim underwater for a little bit, I taught myself when I first learned how to swim."
Frankie nodded with a brighter smile as he treaded water near her. ”That’s good. Some people have a harder time swimming underwater because they can't see very well.” he told her before looking at the clearer water they were in.
She nodded, looking down into the cool and clearer water, treading in place with some effort, "I don't usually look around underwater, I keep my eyes closed." Treading water wasn't her strongest suit, but she could do it if she really tried.
He shrugged. ”A lot of people do that but at least this water is easier to see through.” he pointed out before noticing how much she was splashing. ”Ok. You're going to wear yourself out keeping your head above water like that.” he said gently, starting to swim closer but stopped. ”Uh… May I?”
Selina once again nodded, still treading water in her own way but letting him get closer. She knew she would get tired of treading water eventually, and if Frankie could help her stay above water without getting tired as fast then she would gladly accept his help.
Frankie smiled softly at her permission and gently took her hands. ”Just trust me and keep kicking, nice and steady. I won't let you go under.” he assured her.
When he took her hands she looked up at him with a slightly uncertain look, though she did as he said and just kept kicking, "I trust you Frankie, don't let me go under." It really wasn't easy to kick with just her legs and no arms, but she still trusted him and didn't complain about her legs burning from the work.
He nodded giving her a reassuring smile. ”I won't. I got you.” he promised. ”You’re doing great. Now I’m going to move my hands to under your upper arms. Keep your arms under the surface and just make small slow movements up and down a little bit.” he instructed.
Selina nodded, following his instructions as he gave them and finding the way he was instructing to be much less work for what seemed like the same amount of treading water. A smile on her face was reflected back at him and she seemed to settle into a new but somewhat easy rhythm.
Frankie smiled a little proudly as she improved. ”That’s it.” he encouraged. ”Alright. I’m going to let go but I'm still right here if you start to go down.” he promised. ”Is that ok? Think you’re ready for that?”
She looked a little nervous as he talked, though nodded and continued treading like he had taught her, "I'm ready, but could you stay close in case I can't keep myself above the water?" It seemed easy enough and she figured she had the hang of it, but she wasn't sure if it was because she caught on or if it was because Frankie was holding onto her.