Taking a drink from my favorite dented aluminum water bottle, I look around the empty indoor pool. It’s eerily quiet, almost like a scene out of horror movie. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it’s empty on a Friday night. Everyone’s probably out at the après ski bars, so I have the place to myself which is fine by me.
Maybe Jake and Sutton are right. I need to get out more often. I see Sutton at Gloria’s all the time and I’ve gotten to know Kelsey and Monica at the coffee shop, but otherwise I don’t really get out much. Building a social life can wait for another night though. The last time I really even went out with anyone was that night in Bend with the Chapmans for karaoke.
Swimming, fishing, kayaking — anything near the water is always how I like to clear my mind and relax. Maybe I could have more of a social life, but I’m still always going to find time for myself like this. Something about being around water alwayslets me zone out and block out the noise from the rest of my life. It used to be my way to drown out the lyrics and riffs constantly running through my mind and give myself a moment of calm. Whether it was school field trips, summer camps on the lake as a foster kid, or relaxing by the hotel pool when I was touring with Teal Tigers. Maybe I was a diva back then asking them to shut down the pool so I could have it to myself, but I needed that quiet time for me. Even today, I always keep getting drawn back to water.
After catching my breath, I turn to start my last laps for the night. I push off the side of the pool, starting a backstroke. Looking up, I watch ceiling tile after ceiling tile go by, hearing the water rush past my ears with each stroke.
I see the skylight above me creep into view, meaning I’m near the far end of the pool. I start to reach out to push off the side when I hear a whoosh underwater and I feel a spray of water across my face.
What the hell?
Did someone just jump in the damn pool?
I turn toward the source of the sound, irritated that I’m not the only one here anymore and that someone would jump that close in a giant pool like this.
“Hey! What the—” I yell out, but my voice gets stuck in my throat when I see Grace, treading water in the corner, grinning at me mischievously. Any trace of irritation I was feeling is instantly gone.
My eyes soak her in and I can feel my pulse hammering, not just from my workout. Her long, color streaked hair clings to her shoulders, covering some of her tattoos but I can still see the straps of her floral bikini top. Her perky, full breasts are just above the waterline, with water beading down between them. Her hard nipples push against the wet triangles of fabric and I can see the outlines of her piercings.
My mind goes back to that morning on the Deschutes and the memory of just how perfect her tits look with nothing covering them. That image and the way she smiled at me has haunted my dreams for months.
I feel the blood rush to my cock and I’m instantly glad I’m in chest deep water. Perfect tits aside, it's her damn smile I can’t look away from.
Her smile always steals my breath away. The way her nose scrunches and the apples of her round, freckled cheeks lift, radiates her unbridled passion for life. Her wet bangs stick to her forehead, finally bringing my attention to her emerald eyes.
It feels like far too much time passes by silently as the waves from her jumping in finally ebb to a stop.
“You really need to stop sneaking up on me,” I finally say, taking a few strokes to swim closer to her from my lane.
She smirks and cocks a tattooed shoulder, bringing my eyes back to her top, where one of the straps is dangerously close to slipping off. “Karmic retribution.”
I shake my head. “Fair point.”
Her lips part like she’s about to say something else when I see her eyes flick to something behind me. I raise an eyebrow at her in question, but it’s too late. A flurry of limbs and hair comes flying from the side of the pool and in an instant, Grace and I are both covered in water from the splash.
I scrub my hand over my face, brushing my hair out of my eyes to find Grace cackling with a strawberry blonde woman that I don’t recognize. She shakes her head, sending beads of water flying from her short hair before looking at me.
“Hey, Hot Boss. I’m Josie.” She grins and looks back at Grace. “You weren’t kidding, he’s even hotter IRL.”
I’m not sure if I should be flattered, knowing Grace has noticed me enough to tell her friend, but something about it strokes my apparently still existent male ego. Maybe I should bemore worried though because I can only describe Grace’s expression as pure mortification.
I decide to spare her any more embarrassment and ignore the nickname that I’m not entirely mad about. As much as I want to savor the notion that a world might exist where I have a shot with her, I probably shouldn’t pile on.
“Nice to meet you, Josie. You can just call me TJ.”
Josie turns back to me, her eyes shamelessly track down my chest and back up.
“Seriously, like really hot,” she says to Grace, as if I’m not even here.
“Hi,” I say, waving a hand. “Still right here.”
Grace finally makes eye contact with me, her eyes pleading a silent apology, before she turns to glare at her friend.
“This is why I can’t take you anywhere.” She raises one arm out of the water, cupping her hand, and splashing Josie.
I snort a laugh. “You two enjoy your Friday night.”
And with that, I swim back to the lap lane to finish my workout.
