It had been a long time since she'd watched Wulf swim. It was kind of beautiful. All those muscles, working together and doing what they were built for – all of them toned and tight as they pulled him through the water. She briefly wondered if she should leave him alone. He worked so hard, maybe he needed this time for himself. But then she decided screw it. She worked hard, too.
The Stones had an Olympic sized pool – built especially for Wulf when he'd been in middle school. He was half the distance to her, doing a slow crawl stroke, moving in a perfect line. She sat down on the tiled ledge and lowered her legs into the water. She shivered once, then put her hands behind her on the grass, resting back on the them. Waiting for him.
His finger tips brushed against her first. If he was startled, he didn't show it. He pulled up short of the wall, though his momentum carried him into her legs, her knees pressing into his chest. He slicked his hand over his hair, pushing it all back as he looked up at her.
“Hey,” he said, wiping the water clear of his eyes.
“Hi.”
“Did you need something?”
“No. I like watching you swim.”
“Have you ever even seen me swim before?”
She took a deep breath.
“I used to watch you. You swam every night for a whole summer.”
Wulf finally smiled and his hands went to her thighs, spreading them wide so he could move to rest between them.
“You used to watch me? Naughty girl, Ms. Tocci. I was a lot older than you.”
“I know. You still are.”
“Yeah, but it's sexy now.”
“It was sexy then, you were just too self-absorbed to notice me.”
“It would have been illegal if I had.”
His hands were hooked onto her hips, and when she didn't say anything else, they moved, sliding down to the top curve of her ass. He urged her forward, and she didn't resist as he pulled her into the pool. She wrapped her legs around his waist, hooking her ankles together behind him. He walked them away from the ledge, carrying her easily around the shallow end.
“I'm not very good at swimming,” she warned as she leaned back, bending and stretching away from him so she was floating on top of the water, but still anchored to him.
“I'll teach you.”
It was said simply, more in passing than anything else, but it made her smile. She waved her arms around in the water, like she was making snow-angels. Then he moved one of his arms away from her, and she felt his hand against her stomach, pushing her shirt up.
“Wulf,” she breathed his name as she sat up. He'd walked them so they were deeper, the water halfway up his chest. If she stood on her own, it would be up to her chin. He didn't let go though, and pinned her against the wall of the pool.
“No one can see us,” he whispered back as he tugged and pulled at her wet shirt, working it over her head. She almost snorted at him. Please. Like she was going to put up a fight. He hadn't caught on to the little fact that all he had to do was say jump, and she would say how high. How many feet. Would he like a sandwich while she was at it?
He tossed her shirt onto the lawn and all she thought about was how good they felt when they were skin to skin. How right. Her arms went back around his neck.
“Why did you come here with me?” she asked, letting her hands glide around his shoulder blades.
“I told you, I called my mother. I thought it would be a good idea to come down and see her.”
“She's not here till Tuesday, you could've waited till then.”
“It made more sense to give you a ride.”
“Wulf.”
“Katya.”
She sighed and looked down between them, letting her eyes wander over his chest before she opened her mouth and repeated herself, “Why did you come here with me?”
He was silent for so long, she began to think he wouldn't respond. The only noises were some crickets in the distance, and the water around them lapping at the edges of the pool. He lowered his head to trail his lips across her shoulder, making her heart beat pick up speed. She was about to return the favor when he leaned away, staring down at her.
“I came because I like the way you look at me,” he said in an easy voice, almost bored sounding. As if he hadn't just said the most amazing thing she'd ever had anyone say to her.
“What?”
“You look at me like you really see me. Like … I'm Christmas morning. And when you said you were going away, I hated the thought of not getting to see that look for five whole days.”
She couldn't speak. Couldn't even think. It was such a sweet thing to say. Wulf was never sweet. Maybe cute, at best, but that was pushing it. It was silly, but she felt a little like crying. Had no one ever looked at him like that before? Like he was their favorite present?
Has anyone ever looked at me like that before?
It was grossly inappropriate, being naked in the pool behind his mother's house. Engaging in lewd acts in full view of her parents' house. Katya had trouble saying no to him, even at her strongest moments.
And this certainly wasn't one of those moments.
14
Wulf had never treated Katya like a typical girlfriend, so she'd assumed they weren't girlfriend and boyfriend. After all, when she'd first started seeing Wulf, she'd been sleeping with another man – nothing typical about that, at least not for her. However, she was discovering that some of her assumptions had been so far off base, it was probably a good idea to question her others.
After their fun in the pool, she'd gone back to her own room, laughing at herself as she made the walk of shame through Wulf's backyard. The next day, she got up early and made breakfast with her mom, who seemed none the wiser to her daughter's illicit night time activities.
Mrs. Tocci did ask about Wulf, hoping he would spend the day with them again. But he hadn't mentioned anything to Katya, and she explained to her mom that he wasn't really a “make plans” kind of guy, preferring to just show up whenever he felt like it. Her mother didn't like that one bit, but she didn't say anything. Just pursed her lips together and fussed about in the kitchen.
The ladies went shopping for a while, walking around the mall more than anything else. Katya dragged her mother into some stores that she wasn't used to, even convinced her to buy a funky hoodie. She was still laughing about it when she carried her own bags up to her room. When she opened her door, though, she found she was in for a surprise.
“Goddamn, Tocci, I thought you were gonna be gone -”
She screamed before she could stop herself. The sound caused her mother to scream, even though the other woman was all the way downstairs, on the other side of the house. Wulf stopped talking and stared at her like she was crazy. Katya let out another yell and threw one her shopping bags at him.
“What the fuck is wrong with you!?” she shrieked.
“ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?” her mother hollered from the bottom of the stairs.
“Yeah,” Katya took a deep breath, running her fingers through her hair. “Yeah, everything is fine. I just got startled.”
“Well, thank goodness! And watch your language, Katya Tocci! You were raised to speak English better than that!”
She rolled her eyes, then turned to glare at Wulf. He'd regained his composure and was rummaging through the bag she'd chucked at him.