“Oh, Jenson, you turn right around now and take Olivia home,” Mom says, turning him with her two hands and giving him a little shove. “Don’t even look at us. Bea and I are a mess.”
I hug Mom and Bea good-bye and start walking down the steps.
“Hi, Bea!” Jenson calls back over his shoulder as he follows me across the hot pavement.
“Nice to see you, dear,” Bea says. “Olivia, remember to change before going out on the town. Your suit’s making your ass look wet!”
“Jesus,” I say under my breath as I keep walking.
Jenson laughs and leads me to his truck. “I’ll get the door,” he offers, opening the passenger side for me so I can climb in.
“I’m going to get your seat wet,” I say to him.
“Doesn’t worry me,” he winks as he shuts the door behind me. “I find that sentence to be quite a turn-on, actually.”
Once he’s inside the driver’s side, he turns to face me, his eyes bright. But I wave my hand at him.
“Step on it,” I say. “If you don’t, my mom’s face may be peering into your window in a minute.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He pulls out of the parking spot and heads for the exit.
I smile. “Although her embarrassment would probably be enough to stop her. She and Bea didn’t want to be seen after class.”
“I was only looking at you, anyway,” Jenson says as his gaze flicks over to me. “I couldn’t take my eyes off you. Never could.” He puts his hand on my bare thigh. “Still can’t.”
I feel water aerobics fading away. Bea and Mom drift out of my mind, and all I really want right now is this moment with Jenson.
“I’m envious you got to swim,” he says as the light turns to green and he takes his foot off the brake. “It’s hot as hell out tonight.”
“You want to skinny dip? At the park?”
“How late is the gate open?” He’s already yanking the wheel hard in the direction of the town lake.
* * *
Jenson parks in the dirt lot, and we walk together through the trees to the most remote area of the park. When we reach the water, Jenson pulls off his shirt and lets it fall to the ground. I’ve just taken off my t-shirt and shorts when I see him drop his shorts and boxers and dive into the water.
“Hey!” he says when I swim up next to him. “You said skinny dip!”
“I lied.” I smile at him. “I wanted to see you skinny dip, but this bikini has to be good for something.”
Jenson puts his arms around me, and I wrap my legs around his waist. “Will you come with me to Pittsburgh next weekend when I can close up everything?” he says, catching me completely off guard.
“Uh, no way.” I wriggle out of his arms and swim away from him.
“Why not?” he says as he swims after me. “We’d get to leave Liberty Falls for a bit.”
“And go to the place where you and Meghan lived together and had your twins.” I stop to stand on the sandy bottom and look at him, hoping he’ll see the pain in my eyes and drop it. “No thanks. I’ll pass on that road trip down memory lane.”
“Meghan and I never lived in this place together,” Jenson says as he treads water. “She kept the house, remember? I’ve been in a townhouse ever since.”
“I don’t want to think about you two fucking on the streets of Pittsburgh.” I avert my gaze.
“So don’t think about it.” Jenson stands up, too, and tips my chin up with his thumb, forcing me to make eye contact. “No fucking took place in public, believe me. What movie are you watching in your head?”
“The one that hurts,” I say in a pinched tone. “The one that’s always hurt.”
Jenson puts his hands on my ass and pulls me in close to him. “That movie’s over,” he says. “The ending already happened. Didn’t you see it? It wasn’t happy. Ended in divorce.”
