*Nicole’s POV*

“No! No!” I screamed; just as Minho pulled me into the pool with one finally tug. The cold water took my breath away, but I soon recovered and resurfaced. “Not funny,” I pouted, crossing my arms and staring at Minho.

“You said you want to cool off,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, but I was planning on making my entrance a little more graceful,” I stuck my tongue out at him.

“So what you’re saying,” Minho made his way toward the shallow end and climbed the steps out of the pool. “is you wanted to enter like this?” He slowly began to descend into the water, taking each step slowly and carefully. He put his arms up gracefully like a ballerina, twirled in a circle, then took a final leap into the water.

“Oh gawsh,” I rolled my eyes, trying my hardest not to laugh. “Let me show you the right way.”

I made my way to the top of the stairs and turned around the face Minho.

“Now, you have to make a proper entrance with your chin up and shoulders back. Watch me now.” I rested one hand gently on the railing and stepped down slowly to the first step. “Once you get here, you give a little wave like so…” I put a hand up and turned it back and forth, just like in the Miss America pageants. “Now as the gentleman you’re supposed to come over and me down the rest of the way.”

“Yes ma’am!” Minho saluted me. I ended my eye roll just as he reached the bottom of the stairs. He offered me his hand and I accepted it with a nod.

“Now when I get down to the bottom you- oh!” Suddenly my foot slipped out from underneath me. I closed my eyes, ready to hit the stairs and bruise my lovely tail bone, but was relieved to feel Minho’s arms break my fall. I opened my eyes to see his face above me.

“That was very graceful,” he smirked tauntingly.

“Well at least you caught me,” I retorted.

“And what if I hadn’t?”

“Then you would’ve gotten the beating of your life!”

“You couldn’t hit me.”

*Smack*

“Okay, maybe you could,” he concluded, setting me down into the water, not letting go until my feet were securely planted on the pool bottom.

“You know, we never really did conclude who officially won the bet,” I stated, swimming in circles around Minho.

“How about a race?” he suggested. “The winner makes the other person do whatever they want them to for a week.”

“Aww, but Minnie that’s no fair! You’re really fast,” I complained, stopping to give him giant puppy eyes.

“Fine; the winner only makes the loser do whatever they want for a day,” he compromised.

“Okayyyy,” I sighed.

“Hey you two!” We both looked up to see Onew and Rebecca exiting the house in their swimming gear.

“Finally,” I rolled my eyes. “You can be the judges. Minho and I are going to race from one end of the pool to the other, okay?”

“Okay,” Onew agreed. He led Rebecca by the hand to the end of the pool where the ‘finish line’ would be. “Are you ready?”

“Yes!” Minho and I called back as we took our positions by the stairs.

“Okay; hana, tul, set!” he shouted, and we were off.

I swam with all my might; just liked I’d been trained to for so many years. Minho didn’t know my secret, but he’d find out by the end of the race.

“Done!” I shouted when I reached the other end of the pool and slapped the cement sidewalk.

“Nicole wins!” Rebecca shouted, offering me a high-five. I accepted it and then turned to look at Minho, a devious smirk on my face.

“How… did you-,” he panted, but I cut him off.

“Swimming lessons,” I explained. “I’ve been part of a traveling swim team for years now.”

“You little cheater,” he glared.

“Hey, I just used my resources,” I winked.

He moved closer to me so that only I could hear, though Rebecca and Onew weren’t paying attention to us anyway. “Tell me this though: If you knew you were going to win, why did you make me switch the reward to only one day?”

“Because,” I looked into his eyes and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. I left my face next to his to whisper into his ear, “I didn’t want you to be my slave for our last full week together.”

He wrapped my hand in his and returned my cheek-peck with one of his own.