Pool Time

 

The mornings have been so hot lately, I invited Sally (Jeep Girl) over for a swim in our complex pool after today's arroyo walk. We stopped at my casita to make ice coffees and change into our swimsuits.

I started the coffee while Sally changed in my bedroom. When she joined me in the kitchen and I saw her swimsuit, I think I audibly gasped, my eyes popping. Sally was wearing a bikini that would make a Huntington Beach girl blush. She took over making the coffee while I took my turn changing.

OMG! I thought which swimsuit should I wear? Go tiny like Sally, or demure, with more coverage? Was Sally sending a message or was that her usual swimwear? Why am I panicking? I decided on a string bikini that was, more or less, in the same "exposure" range as Sally's.

At 6:00 am no one is in the pool yet, unless they have "rat patrol" duty -- checking for mice that may have drowned in the pool overnight. Today was my duty day, so we had the pool all to ourselves. The air temperature was already 85° and the pool water was the same. Slipping into the water was like slipping into a cool bath.

We both swam a couple of laps then sat together, side-by-side on a bench in the wall of the pool where we had left our plastic cups of ice coffee.

Sally looked at me curiously and said, "Sparks, I need to ask you a very personal question, okay?"

My alarms always go off when someone asks that. "Sure, ask away," I said confidently, but not feeling it.

"Are you gay?" she asked, innocently, with blinking inquisitive eyes.

I almost dropped my coffee. I think I know now how a deer in car headlights must feel. Vulnerable, a little afraid, confused, and, excited. Staring into the water, considering my unvarnished toes I said, "I'm bisexual, depends on the person."

I looked at her, hoping she wouldn't run. "Good," she said, "I was beginning to wonder if my intuition was off.  Did you know you flirt when I don't think you realize you're doing it?"

Busted. Totally. I know. So I offered, "It's hard to control if I'm attracted to someone. I'm sorry, Sally, you're married so I've tried to pull back. I don't want to screw up our new friendship."

Sally sighed deeply. "Maybe it's the months of staying-at-home, feeling trapped in my own house, wanting to get out, wanting to send my husband back to his office," she looked to the sky and prayed, "please, God, send him back," and laughed.

"Sparks, I'm not looking for love or romance or anything like that, I'm just not good at monogamy."

We managed to navigate the next hour of conversation with intimate moments punctuated with bits of wonderful laughter. Back in my casita, we shared my shower to rinse the pool water from our hair.