I snorted.
“Now, let’s make another batch of sangria,” she said. “I’ll teach you the recipe. Then you can make more, in case I’m… indisposed.”
“Drunk or getting laid?” I wondered wryly.
“Who says I can’t do both?”
* * *
Erin, Leah, and Mark walked down to the main camp in the morning. The girls gave him a tour and then they caught up with friends and family by the lake. They returned after lunch and spent the afternoon around the pool with us, talking and drinking and relaxing.
Brooke was a bit shy at first, but Mark was his usual charming self and coaxed her out of her shell. He was so naturally cool that I felt a rare moment of green-eyed resentment. It passed quickly—he was a great guy, genuine and completely down-to-earth—but Leah caught the tail end of my thoughts. She came to sit beside us.
Christy uncrossed her legs, touched my hand, and stood. “I’ll let you two talk.”
“No, that isn’t what I meant,” Leah protested. “Don’t go.”
“I need another wine cooler,” Christy said. Then she gave me a faux-suspicious glare. “I think someone’s been drinking mine.”
I snorted.
“Thank you for bringing them,” she added to Leah.
“You’re welcome. It was all Mark’s doing.”
“I’ll have to thank him later.” Her eyes flashed playfully.
Leah laughed, “He’d like that!”
“Mmm, me too.” Christy switched gears and asked me, “Do you need anything while I’m up?”
“I’m good, thanks.” I was drinking at my usual pace, which meant that my half-finished bottle had been sitting on the table long enough that it was probably warm.
Christy nodded and headed for the clubhouse.
“I like her,” Leah said after a moment. “Seriously. You’re good together.”
“Thanks. I think so too.”
Christy returned with a fresh wine cooler and went to sit with Erin and Wren. Trip was sitting next to them, but he was listening to a ballgame. I still hadn’t returned his portable radio, so he had his little earphone plugged into the full-size boom box. It was a ridiculous combination, but he seemed happy enough.
Leah and I lapsed into a companionable silence and returned our attention to Brooke and Mark, who were still deep in conversation.
“I envy him,” Leah said at last. “He can talk to anyone. Doesn’t matter if they’re jocks, nerds, punks, or preps.”
“You aren’t exactly an introvert,” I said.
She shrugged. “I tend to interview people. That’s what my mom says, at least.”
“I don’t mean to change the subject,” I said, “but how’s she doing? I’ve seen her down in camp, but we haven’t talked more than to say hi. Are you two getting along better?”
“Surprisingly, yeah. She’s given up on me becoming a doctor, but lately she’s been talking about law school.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. She thinks Journalism is basically Pre-law. My dad tried to explain it to her, but you know how she is.” Leah sighed and shook her head. “What is it about Indians? They can’t run their own country, but they’re super-successful everywhere else.”
“All the good ones left?”
“Maybe,” she mused. “Indira Gandhi’s a good one. She’s gonna have problems with the Sikhs, though, especially after the Golden Temple thing. What a nightmare!”
“You lost me,” I laughed easily.
“Yeah, sorry,” she said. “I forget that other people don’t follow the news like I do.”
“No television here,” I said. “And I catch the headlines every once in a while, but I haven’t read a newspaper in… wow… a couple of months.”
“That’d drive me crazy. I have to read the news every day. Erin gave me crap about it the whole time we were in Europe.”
Something in her voice made me ask, “Are you and she getting along okay?”
“We were a bit sick of each other,” she admitted, “especially toward the end of the trip. But now that we’ve had some time…” She shrugged. “We aren’t really growing apart, but… we’re different these days. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“I think I understand.”
“She says it’s Mark, that he’s driving us apart, but I think she’s just looking for excuses.”
“Excuses for what?”
“The way she feels. She’s been weird lately. She reminds me of you,” Leah laughed all of a sudden. “She’s really intense. And she gets moody sometimes.”
“That’s me, all right,” I said.
“Maybe how you used to be,” she said after a moment, “but not anymore. I think you weren’t happy. Or you were frustrated. Probably with Gina, but maybe with me.”
“I doubt it,” I said. “Probably life in general.”
“Maybe. But you’re a lot calmer these days, more laid-back.”
“I don’t think I’ve changed all that much…”
“But you wouldn’t, would you? I mean, it’s the same with me. Mark pointed it out, how I used to get so upset. I mean, any time my mom even hinted about medical school. But this morning she was talking about law school again, and I just laughed.”
“Maybe we’re growing up?”
“Maybe.” She grinned sideways. “It suits us.”
“It does.”
“I know one thing that hasn’t changed…”
“Oh?”
“You know,” she said coyly.
“You’re still as horny as you used to be?”
“Ding, ding, ding,” she laughed. “Oh my God, Paul! I’m totally looking forward to it. And not just the sex. I’ve missed you.”
“Me too.”
Our chairs were almost touching, so I slid my hand toward hers. She mirrored the gesture. Our fingers touched, and I felt a spark of connection. I turned my hand palm-up, and she slid hers over it. Her fingers caressed mine.
“Still the same,” I said, although she surprised me by shaking her head.
“It’s better. I have Mark, and you have Christy, but we still have each other.”
“I think we’ve always had each other.”
“I dunno,” she said cautiously. “I was worried for a while there, when you first started dating her.”
“Me too,” I admitted.
“Would you really have chosen her over us?”
“Over the group? Over swinging? In a heartbeat. Sorry.”
“Don’t be,” she said. “That’s how you know she’s The One.”
“She is,” I agreed.
“I feel the same about Mark. I’d choose him over anyone.” She gazed at him thoughtfully and then sighed, in contentment more than regret. “Luckily, he doesn’t make me.”
“We’re both lucky.”
“We are.” She smiled and laced her fingers through mine. She squeezed once, and we shared a smile. We pulled apart at the same time and then laughed about it.
“God, we’d’ve been good together,” she said, so softly that I almost missed it.
“We still are,” I said.
* * *
Dinner was more of a party atmosphere, especially after we’d been drinking all afternoon. None of us were drunk, but we definitely weren’t feeling any pain. Even better, everyone seemed to enjoy the undercurrent of sexual tension, including Brooke. She wasn’t ready for a full-blown orgy, but she was definitely working up to it.
On that account and to no one’s surprise, least of all mine, Wren pulled me into the clubhouse to help with the dishes. She’d been drinking more than the others, and she was in a playful mood.
“I like having a Sue,” she said.
I sighed. It didn’t do any good to tell her that I could hear the difference. She knew, which was why she said it.
“Aw, did I hurt your feelings?” she mocked. “I’m just kidding. I know you’re a man.” She looked me up and down and made an exaggerated moue of interest.
“Oh, boy,” I said under my breath, “here we go.”
“I’m just kidding. Although…” She moved close and ran her index finger down my chest. She stopped before she reached my dick, but the invitation was clear. “Are you interested?”