Chapter 5

The hot shower felt great to Coop as the steam filled the bathroom. It wasn’t a large house, but it was reasonably new, and being on Brett Lane on a cul-de-sac meant less traffic. The biggest saving grace was the swimming pool in the backyard. Being able to lounge around in the pool on days off in the summer, now that was a slice of heaven.

His mind wandered back to Carrie once again for perhaps the twentieth time in the past half-hour. He understood why she went incognito tonight, but he was looking forward to seeing her without the baggy clothes and just, well, being herself.

He had given in to temptation when he got home and googled her stage name. He resolved to himself that he wasn’t going to try and find any clips of her, but rather, he just wanted to see what her face and hair looked like since she made a point of telling him how different she looked back then.

He was shocked at the platinum-dyed hair and her almost gaunt face. He would have been hard-pressed to recognize her even if he had watched some of her movies. He’d started to close the browser window quickly, but then decided it wouldn’t hurt to watch just a few seconds of a clip

Twenty minutes later, he realized that he’d absentmindedly been stroking himself a bit while watching and thinking of her. Oh what the hell, he thought, I may as well. At least I’ll get to sleep easier.

Getting into the shower he turned on the water, waited a moment, then got in, turning around, letting the hot water pound against his back. Soaping up his right hand, he closed his eyes and started to imagine the scenario that would have her in the shower with him. He began to lazily stroke himself.

He’d have invited her over to dinner, and being very warm, he’d have told her to bring her bathing suit. For dinner he’d have dressed smartly but casually, trying to wear a shirt that would partially hide his few extra pounds.

He would plan to grill New York Strip steaks and cook a couple of baked potatoes too. A fresh salad for the greens and some Italian bread would round out the offering.

As he got deeper into the fantasy, it became more real than not.

The air was indeed warm, but not too uncomfortable so that they couldn’t dine outside on the patio, overlooking the in-ground pool. The grass could have been cut a bit lower, he thought, but it wasn’t that bad. He’d made sure to clean the house well before she arrived. A bottle of red wine was uncorked and set out to breathe. Everything was perfect.

They’d eaten, and the conversation was great. She looked incredible. Her hair was no longer pulled into a pony but instead hung partway down her back, with some curls worked into it. She wore a peach knit blouse that clung to her body like a second skin, letting him know pretty much the exact size and shape of her breasts.

He thought he detected a hint of nipple pressing through at times but wasn’t positive. He was positive that her butt was near perfect in the casual but classy slacks she was wearing.

After dinner they were slowly walking around the pool, just chatting about nothing of consequence when he made a small joke at her expense and while they both laughed, she nudged him a bit. Balance was never his strong suit, and into the pool he fell, wine glass in hand!

She was aghast at her faux pas! Her eyes were wide, her mouth open and the apologies came raining down as he surfaced and looked as surprised as she.

“Oh my god, I’m so so sorry, Rob, honest, I had no idea that you’d lose your balance, and, oh god, please--”

“It’s okay, take it easy, Carrie. I’m not mad.” He moved over toward the edge and started to work his way out but was struggling. He quickly put a hand up and said “Help?” and she was quick to reach down and try and help.

He gripped her much smaller hand in his and with a slight pull sent her hurtling toward the water! He turned and tread water, waiting for her to surface. When she did, she was facing away and had to spin around to find him.

Her eyes went from surprise to “I’m gonna’ get you!” in fractions of a second. He was laughing as she swam over to him and began splashing him, asking if he still thought it was funny as she continued to splash. He held his arms up in mock surrender and she moved closer holding onto his arms with hers so that she wouldn’t slip under the water.

Her face was mere inches from his, and despite her mascara taking a beating, he thought she looked like a million bucks.

She leaned in and they kissed, first just a tender, inquisitive kiss, and then it turned passionate, her arms going around his shoulders, her hands holding his head as their tongues began dancing.