A giant pink whale made of papier-maché and wood took up most of Bart and Thomas’s front lawn. Bart was administering to it with a tape dispenser while Paul spray-painted its tail.
“For heaven’s sake, it looks like a giant sperm,” Kelly called out her window as she pulled her truck into their driveway. “Gotta love Fourth of July,” she said to Rachel. “It’s Mardi Gras, New Year’s Eve, and the Gay Pride Parade rolled into one. And that’s before the fireworks.”
Bart and Thomas were borrowing Kelly’s truck so they could transport their Fourth of July float to the East End for the start of the parade at eleven.
Rachel opened her door and hopped out. On a morning when she should have been packing up to leave the next day, she was instead throwing herself headfirst into summer, Provincetown-style.
“A giant sperm is exactly the look we were going for,” Paul said, spraying the lowermost point of the whale’s belly.
Rachel couldn’t help glancing around for any sign of Luke.
“Luke’s out back,” Bart said.
Damn! Was she that obvious?
“Oh? I was just…great whale.”
“Thanks, kid. Go on back to the pool.”
She looked at Kelly. “Do you need me to—”
“I’m all good. I just want to hear their justification for this pink monstrosity, then I’m walking home.” She winked at her.
Okay.
Rachel walked around the side of the house, following a flat-stone path to the pool. The walkway was lined with purple flowers; they smelled like the blooms her mother had had outside of the first house they’d lived in, when Rachel was in elementary school. She felt a pang of nostalgia for a time she didn’t particularly want to revisit; somehow everything was starting to feel precious and acute, and she wasn’t sure what to do about the emotions that seemed to wash over her every five minutes.
Luke was perched on the edge of a lounge chair, just as he had been the day of the party. But today he wore swim trunks and a heather-blue T-shirt that tugged at his wide shoulders as he typed into his phone.
“Hey,” she called out, trying to sound casual.
He turned around, surprised—understandably—to see her.
“Oh, hey, Rachel,” he said. “What’s going on?”
“Kelly just brought her truck over so Bart and your dad can get their float to the East End. Are you going to the parade?”
“Probably. But first I want to get a few laps in. Back home I go to the gym, but here I have to be disciplined and get what exercise I can from swimming.”
“Totally, I get it. I should exercise more.” Ugh. She felt like an idiot.
“You’re welcome to stay and use the pool.”
Her heart leaped. Sure, it might just be a pragmatic invitation from someone who believed in the importance of exercise. Or maybe it was more.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to, like, get in the way.”
He smiled, dimples and all. Oh, she wanted to get in his way.
“You’re not in the way. I give myself an hour or so out here in the morning before I get to work.”
She shrugged her beach bag off her shoulder and sat on the lounge chair next to him. He looked up at the sun.
“I was waiting for it to get warmer, but I guess I should stop being such a wimp,” he said.
“You really should.”
“Oh yeah? Okay, Esther Williams—you first.”
“Who’s Esther Williams?”
“You don’t know who Esther Williams is? She was a major actress in the forties. She swam in most of her big roles.”
“Never heard of her.”
“How old are you?”
“Not old enough to have gone to the movies in the 1940s.”
He laughed. “Okay, so maybe I’m a little extra into old movies because of my dad. Anyway, stop stalling. Into the pool.”
Rachel pulled off her T-shirt and cutoff denim shorts. Underneath, she had her favorite tie-dyed bikini from Beach Bunny on Robertson. It had been a rare splurge; she’d seen it in the window driving by and couldn’t resist.
She had a feeling it was about to pay for itself.
Luke was definitely noticing her body, but as soon as he saw her noticing him noticing her, he looked away. She loved that reticent quality he had—so unlike most guys! Maybe it was because he was older. Either way, it just stoked her slow burn.
She would have loved to do a big, splashy dive, but the pool wasn’t deep enough, so she settled for wading into the shallow end and pushing into a quick breaststroke.
Damn, it was cold. She let out a little yelp despite herself.
“Hate to say I told you so,” Luke called from the side of the pool. She kept moving, her heart pounding from the cold and from her acute awareness of him watching her. She stopped in the deep end, treading water. She felt her hair fanning out around her like a mermaid’s. Luke had gotten into the shallow end and was moving into his own set of laps.
They swam in opposite directions, passing each other every half minute or so, their bodies far enough apart not to collide but close enough to thrill her. But too soon, she felt herself grow tired, and she cursed her lack of stamina. More cardio, less yoga, she told herself. Breathless, she was finally forced to paddle over to the side of the pool and hold on to the ledge.
Luke swam over to her.
“Quitting time already?”
“Just a little break.” Their faces were inches apart. His eyes were the color of the pool and the sky. His skin, tanner than it had been just two days ago, glistened with water. The word godlike came to mind.
Get a grip!
She felt like she should say something along the lines of Don’t let me slow you down, but she didn’t want to break the moment. It was eye-lock, and she didn’t dare breathe, let alone speak.
Was he going to kiss her?
And then a tapping sound, metal on glass. They both looked up; Thomas waved to them from a second-floor window.
“He must need something. I’m going to check.”
He hoisted himself out of the pool, his arms all lean muscle. She had to force her eyes away, knowing that Thomas was watching them.
“Are you going to Paul’s party tonight?” he asked, toweling off.
“Paul’s party? No, I think we have some dinner thing on the East End.” Damn. Why weren’t they going to Paul’s party?
“Well, maybe I’ll see you guys at the pier for the fireworks after.” He grinned.
She would definitely be at the pier if she had to go on her own. If she had to ride there on her own on the back of a pink whale float! Rachel climbed out of the pool by the metal ladder in the deep end, and Luke handed her a towel. “Thanks. And thanks for the swim. Clearly, I need the cardio!”
“Anytime. See you at the fireworks.”
She dressed and walked back out front to her bike, more buoyant than she’d been in the water.