Crickets sang the evening chorus, and a lone whippoorwill filled the clearing with its plaintive call. The stars had begun to appear, and I glanced to the west. Hesperus was just visible, already herding children home to their mothers. The air was cooler by a few degrees, but the thermometer hovered stubbornly in the eighties. The humidity was soul-crushing.
Christy echoed my thoughts. “This weather is disgusting.”
I did my best to suppress a snarky reply. I’d spent the day working in the heat, while she’d been sunbathing, a few dozen feet from cool water in one direction and air conditioning in the other.
I couldn’t really blame her, though. She didn’t have a job, as such. She was our computer expert, but Trip and Susan seemed to be doing fine on their own. She was supposed to be decorating the bungalows, but we were still in the idea stage. Her other jobs were real enough—cooking and cleaning—but they didn’t take all day. She was on vacation the rest of the time.
Still, she read my expression and reached for my hand. Hers was small and soft and cool, but with a strength that made me feel better immediately. I ventured a smile, and we walked down the steps and into the pool together.
“At least the water feels nice,” she said. “Do you wanna swim or just relax?”
“To be honest, I don’t really care.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah. Just tired.”
“We can go to bed. I’ll make it worth your while.”
“I’d love to, but it’s a little early. Besides, I can’t. I have to work.”
“What? You worked all day.”
“Yes, and now I need to work some more. I have to finish the drawings for the cabins. Granville’s supposed to sign them on Thursday.”
“Can’t you finish them tomorrow? You can finish me tonight.” She backed away and tried to entice me with a grin, although it turned to worry when I didn’t respond. She returned and put her hand on my chest. “Are you really okay? You feel hot.”
“I’m okay. Just preoccupied.”
“About what?”
“This deadline. And… today.”
Her blue eyes sharpened. “What happened?”
“I lost my temper.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Yeah. I almost killed Trip.”
“Oh my gosh, seriously?”
I told her what had happened. “Keep it to yourself, though,” I finished. “He asked me not to tell you.”
“Darn right! I’ll beat him up.”
“I think that’s what he’s afraid of,” I chuckled.
“He should be,” she said feistily.
“I took care of it. So… leave it alone, okay?”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” I said.
“In that case, I’ll take care of you instead.” She meant like a nurse, but I turned it around.
“Take care of me how?”
She switched directions just as quickly. “Wouldn’t you like to know.” Her hand found my penis, which began to swell as she squeezed gently. “I could take care of this. I think about it all the time. Besides,” she play-grumped, “I had to share with Brooke this morning.”
“Oh, you poor thing. What about this afternoon? Did you have a chance to fool around?”
“No,” she sighed. “Wren finished early and was here after lunch.”
“Ah. So you couldn’t slip away for some girl time.”
She shook her head.
“At least they seem to be getting along better.”
“They are. We talked while we were laying out. Well, I did most of the talking, but you know what I mean.”
I nodded. My dick was only semi-hard, and she sensed that we weren’t in a rush.
“I don’t know what I was thinking,” she mused unhappily. “I wanted them to like each other.”
“They do. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to be lovers.”
“I know. Only…”
“It doesn’t work like that. You know that.”
“But… why not?” she half-whined. “I like them, and they like me. Why can’t they like each other the same? Isn’t that the property you were talking about? The transporter thing?”
I ignored the deliberate mistake and answered her real question. “People are complicated. Relationships even more. Look how long it took you and me to figure it out.”
“That’s only because you were being stubborn.”
“And immature… self-centered… clueless… Did I forget any?”
She considered it. “Idealistic? Oh, wait! No, you were talking about you and Kendall.”
I grinned.
“What?”
“I still think it’s cool that you can do that. Can you remember the entire conversation?”
“Yes. You were telling me about you and Gina, how you were a normal boyfriend and girlfriend. Then you told me about how you came to UT. Only, you found out Kendall was manipulative and deceitful.” She listened to the memory. “That’s when you said you were immature. Then, ‘Clueless, idealistic, self-centered, you name it.’” She even imitated my accent, slight as it was.
“That’s me all right,” I chuckled.
“Well, you aren’t like that now.”
“Oh, I can be. But in general? I hope not.”
“You aren’t. You’re still an idealist, maybe, but mostly a realist.” She had a thought and grinned. “At least you aren’t a cubist.”
“Or an impressionist.”
“You do a pretty good impression of a boyfriend. Only…”
I finished the thought for her, “You want a fiancé. I know. Relax. I’ll ask when I’m ready.”
“That’s what Brooke says. She keeps telling me not to ruin things.”
“Like you did with Blake? And prom?”
“For the record, I didn’t mess up the prom itself. Only his invitation. He had a big surprise planned.”
“I figured it was something like that. But let’s change the subject. Otherwise it’ll drive you crazy.”
“Too late,” she said under her breath. “I’m not good at being patient. Not like you.”
I hugged her and rested my cheek on her head. She smelled of cocoa butter and chlorine, with a hint of jasmine from her shampoo. I inhaled the scent deep into my lungs and felt calm.
“Do you really have to work tonight?” she asked.
“Yeah, sorry. But not right away. I mean, we’re out here alone, in this nice pool. It’d be a shame to let the opportunity go to waste.” I leaned back to look at her. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“I hope so. Oh my gosh!” she laughed when my dick stiffened in her hand. “You weren’t kidding.”
* * *
The others were chatting and drinking and listening to the ballgame when Christy and I returned to the clubhouse. The cool air washed over us, and I felt a little guilty for what I was about to do.
“All right, everyone out. Please.”
Trip frowned. “What’s up?”
“I need to work.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now. Time is money, remember?”
“The cabin drawings?” he said. “I thought you were done.”
“Yeah, with the elevations and floor plans. But I still need to finish the sections, details, site plans… Want me to continue?”
“No. How can I help?”
“Take the girls outside and keep them company.” I cocked an eyebrow. “Are you, ahem, up for it?”
He laughed at the straight line. “Not at the moment, but I’m just gettin’ warmed up.”
“Oh, brother,” Wren said under her breath.
“C’mon, ladies,” he said, “let’s move the party to the pool.”
“Take the whiskey,” I suggested.
“Can we take the bourbon instead?” Christy asked. “Brooke wants to try it.”
“Let’s take both,” Trip said.
“Don’t forget the Jack,” I told him.
“Nah, I wanna try something new.” He didn’t look at Brooke, but she knew exactly what he meant. Her cheeks colored, and a smile flickered across her perfect pink lips.
“You all go ahead,” Wren told him. “I’ll join you shortly.”