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.
”I’m not going anywhere.” Frankie promised. ”I’ll be right here.” he smiled and slowly lowered his hands to let her try on her own but still close enough that if she went down too much he could react quickly.
Selina smiled back at him lightly and focused on her treading water as much as she could, a little nervous as she sank slightly in the water but still working to keeping up on her own. "Is this better?" She asked, looking at him nervous smile.
”You’re a fast learner. You got the hang of it real easy.” Frankie smiled reassuringly, moving back a little more. ”You can move your arms a little more if you need to, just keep them below the water.” he offered.
She nodded, feeling proud from the complement and taking his advice, "How did you become such a good swimmer?" This technique was much easier than her method, but it was tough to get the hang of right away when Frankie had let go of her so she was on her own.
He chuckled a little at the question. ”Lots of practice with my sister. She wanted to swim since she was… about six, I think, and dad didn't want her to go alone at least until she was ten and had some good friends to go with.” Frankie smiled. ”But she's way better than I am. I couldn't keep up with both swimming and Scouts.”
Selina smiled and soon was feeling more comfortable with the new method, "Now I want to meet your sister, she sounds really fun." Treading water was easy but now she wanted to get to swimming, taking the chance and dipping under the water to get her ready to swim some more.
Frankie smiled and watched Selina duck under the water. He waited until she came back up before answering her. ”I think she’d like you. Cora can be pretty fun but she makes me look like an amateur in the water.” he chuckled.
"I would think so, if she spent all that time swimming," She said with a small laugh, wiping the water away from her eyes, "Though you're really good too, much better than I am or probably will ever be." She looked at him and leaned back so she was slightly floating on her back, with her legs still below herself, "Is she as fun to be around as you are?"
”You’ll get better. You just need practice.” Frankie told her before shrugging a little. ”I always thought she was fun to hang out with. Then again, I'm a little more introverted than she is. She's a full out extrovert.” he chuckled.
Selina smiled, closing her eyes as she tried to just float in the water, "I think I like hanging out with you much more than I would like being with her then. I'm not a big extrovert but they're still fun to be around." She was happy to just stay here all day, but she knew they should probably eat something quickly and be on their way to the final place she wanted to take him. A little swimming first wouldn't hurt though.