I hesitated only a second before shaking my head. “No, now that I’m here, I’m great.” I smiled bigger when she giggled.
“Listen, I’m on my way to lifeguard a swimming class here in a minute. Want to join me by the pool and talk?” Her voice was hopeful, but I could tell she felt a bit shy about asking me.
“I’d love that. Let me catch up with Kenny and let him know I won’t be doing any boxing demonstrations this afternoon.”
She nodded and waved me through. I was walking on air.
Kenny was in the gym, as usual, with the group of boys he coached. “Hey, Kenny,” I greeted him, and he motioned me over.
“Good. Just in time. I need a sparring partner.”
“Oh, no, not this time. I’m just now getting the hang of breathing through one nostril from our last bout.”
“Too bad. Then what are you doing here?” he asked, curious and grinning with knowing.
“Seems I have a date by the pool.”
“Good luck with that.” He nodded and went back to the boys clamoring for his attention.
I left my shoes and socks in the locker room and washed off my feet before entering the pool area. True to her word, Liane was sitting in a chair at the edge of the pool, her attention on a group of teens who knew how to swim, but the organization required supervision just in case. I walked over to stand next to her and looked down to see her sumptuous body in a very form-fitting, one-piece suit. It left nothing to the imagination and although it was strictly organizational issue, she made it look like haute couture.
“Am I the only reason you didn’t spar today?” she asked in that musical voice.
“Nah. Nose is still healing,” I fibbed, “Probably stay out of the ring another week.” I drank in the sight of her, not believing we were sitting this close. “How long are you on duty this afternoon?”
“I’m off the desk at five, but I generally hang around a bit in case someone is late in their next shift.”
“Could I interest you in having some dinner with me?” I asked, my voice filled with hope.
“Hmmm… well, I’d love to, but I’m hardly dressed for it.”
“We can go casual. I’m not dressed for it either.”
“Right. Well, then, let’s, shall we?” she agreed, those brown eyes sparkling with an internal light. “Just meet me up front about five. If I’m a little late, please wait. Sometimes I get tied up.”
I nodded and was watching her leg. Evidently she hadn’t entirely dried off since her pre-pool shower, and there were droplets on her thigh. Two of them were slowly running down the inside of her slender thigh as though they were in a race to reach that precious part of her that I longed to touch. I envied those two drops and felt myself grow hard as I thought about it. In embarrassment, I turned away and busied myself with organizing life rings and foam tubes.
I was not a stranger to sex; quite the opposite. California was a very open and free environment in many ways. When I’d stayed at the trailer, copulation was a regular occurrence in almost every direction you looked. I’d eventually gotten a place of my own and women were easy to come by. Perhaps there was a certain mystery in my scarred face and elusive character. At least that’s what I’d been told.
I’d been celibate since I moved back to Kentucky. This felt like the fresh start I’d been craving for so long, and I’d been too busy to think about women. Until Liane.
I could hear her melodic voice behind me, chiding some of the kids to settle down. Her accent did, indeed, make her a bit exotic and all the more desirable.
“So,” I began, walking toward her again now that I had control of myself. “You got a guy?”
“Me? Oh, no.”
“You sound surprised. You do like guys, don’t you?” I asked the horrible thought that had just entered my fevered mind.
“Oh, yes, quite. Father has different ideas, however. He believes that a man and a woman should be wed before they become intimate.”
“And do you agree with your father?” I held my breath for her answer.
“Yes, I’m afraid I do.” She looked up quickly to gauge my response, and I tried to maintain an agreeable face.
Sweet Jesus, she’s a virgin!
“Still want to take me to dinner?” she teased with a wink.
“All the more,” I said in full honesty.
She watched my face for some sign that I was teasing, but seem satisfied and looked back over her charges. “Have you grown up here?” she asked over her shoulder, twirling the lifeguard whistle like a lariat with her long, sensitive looking fingers.
I hesitated, looking for some way to tell the truth and yet not tell it all. “Lived around here as a kid,” I offered, hoping it was enough.
“And then?” she prompted me for more. I couldn’t blame her.
“My family travelled quite a bit. I ended up in military boarding school,” I added, hoping that would account for the remaining years in a logical manner.
“That must have been a bother,” she observed in her quaint way of speaking. She used enough of her family’s language, combined with local expressions to keep your attention and interest. I loved it.
“Wasn’t my favorite place.”
“And where is your favorite place?”
Could I tell her that I’d never felt better than right there at that very moment? Would she laugh me off? Would I sound like that military school child who had heard too many dirty jokes and wanted to experiment on his own with the world?
I smiled enigmatically, and that seemed to be enough. She wasn’t intrusive and seemed to understand that I wasn’t the talkative type. I liked that immensely.
“Five in the lobby, right?” I reminded her, and she nodded.
“See you then.” She blew me a kiss, and I quickly turned before she saw me spring into action once again.
I hurried to the locker room and out to the car. When I returned at five o’clock, I was more fully prepared. I practically jogged into the lobby, and there she sat, her purse over her shoulder, waiting.
“You ready?” She nodded and came around the counter, turning to wave goodbye to the young man who took her place.
We went outside, and I opened the car door for her, then sprang around to the driver’s side. “Do you have a car?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I do, but I take a bus when I come here. It can be a naughty neighborhood, and I feel better on the bus. It stops right out front.” She pointed to the white city bus that was bearing down behind us.
I pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward downtown. “Where are we going?” she asked, and it struck me that she was trusting me without question up until now.