Chapter 3

The next morning, I had a couple of eggs and fresh perch. It was amazing. Light and almost sweet, it was the best fish I’d ever had. I loaded up the truck and set out to do as many pools as possible. I rearranged the schedule a bit and it was smooth sailing until I got to Mrs. Bader’s house. She always wanted to talk. I always thought she was just lonely and I was someone to talk to. She was my mom’s age and, as far as I could tell, the only person that lived at her house. I generally tried to get away as quickly as I could but something slowed me down that day.

“Mrs. Bader, can I ask you a question?”

She moved closer to me as I was putting my kit together. “Anything, sweetheart. Anything at all.”

“You don’t really want to know how the filtration system works, do you.” She glanced away for a second and I knew I was right. “You want to talk. What do you really want to talk about? I know it’s not the pool.” She fidgeted with her hands. “If you don’t want to say, that’s okay. But I just thought if it was something I could help with...”

“You already know, Michael. I’m just a lonely old woman that wants conversation. And you seem like such a nice young man and you’re always willing to talk.”

“Mrs. Bader, first, you might be lonely, but you’re not old. Where’s your husband, as long as we’re talking.”

“I thought you knew. Daryl, Mr. Bader, passed away two years ago.” She sat down at the patio table and I sat across from her.

“And you miss him, but you’re not ready to meet another man.”

“I guess that sort of sums it up. I don’t want another man. I want Daryl back. He was such a good man.”

I waited a moment. “Mrs. Bader, if you don’t mind me saying...”

“No, Michael, go ahead.”

“He’s not coming back. You have a hole in your life and I can’t fill it. I’m your pool man. You’re really attractive, Mrs. Bader. There are a lot of good men out there but they won’t come to you.”

“Thank you. But it’s been so long. I don’t even know how to go looking for one.”

“I think you should do something you like to do and at least you’ll find someone who shares that interest.” She seemed to think about it. “If you like to skate, skate. If you like to fish, fish. If you like to dance, dance. Do what you like to do. I know there’s men in the same situation as you.”

“It rolls off your tongue.”

“No, ma’am. It doesn’t. It’s not easy to say. I’m not a psychologist or even a bartender but I can see you’re hurting. You were meant to be married. I think it’s just part of who you are and so you’re miserable. Can I ask how old you are?” I took an intentionally low guess. “Thirty-nine, maybe?”

“No, child. That’s nice of you but the thirties are long gone.”

“Well, you don’t seem that old. Too young to live the rest of your life alone, wishing your husband was still alive. You didn’t say how old you were but, ma’am, you have a nice figure and a pretty face and with men, that’s a big part of it. At least to start. You should really take advantage of that.” She seemed to hear what I was saying but I was about out of steam. “I’m just a kid, Mrs. Bader, but I think you should go for it.”

“You really think I’m pretty?”

She was. “Yes, ma’am. I do. And if I do, I know men a little older than me would think so, too.”

“I don’t know, Michael. It’s been so long, and to be honest, I don’t feel pretty.”

“You are. You have a real pretty face and nice eyes. You’ve got a trim figure and you look healthy. I was with my girlfriend dancing at The Roadhouse a month ago and there were a bunch of guys there I bet would pay just to dance with you. That might not have sounded right, but what I mean is, you wouldn’t have been sitting by yourself for long.”

“What kind of dancing?”

“It’s a country place. Line dancing, two-step, that kind of thing.”

“Oh, I can do that.”

“Then you should. There might be other places closer but The Roadhouse was just outside Laguna. You should go. I saw your eyes light up. Do it, Mrs. Bader. What’s your first name?”

“Monica.”

“Okay, Monica, you need to do it. That’s all I’m saying. Do something you like to do. You don’t need to wait for the pool man to come around for a good conversation, a little dancing and maybe more.”

She was thinking about it. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“Monica. What have you got to lose? And what have you got to gain? There’s a nice guy out there waiting for you to come around so he can ask you to dance.”

She smiled at me in a funny sort of way, then stood, and spun, and asked, “Do you really think I’m pretty?”

“Yes ma’am. I think you’re probably about the same age as my mom and she’s really pretty. You are too. And if my dad had passed away, I’d tell her the same thing.” I waited a moment. “In two weeks, when I come back, I want to hear about it. No kidding.”

“I’ll think about it. I really will.”

“Thinking about it is a start, Monica, but you have to do it. Go dancing and then tell me about it,” I said and got up to leave. I was walking away when she stopped me.

“Michael. Thank you. I’ll do it. It’s Saturday night. I’ll do it.”

“Good for you. I want to hear about it in two weeks,” I gestured like I’d tipped my hat and left.

One more pool and I was done. On the way to the next house, I asked myself if that’s really what I would have told Mom. I thought so. I’d ask her when I got home. I might have to ask her why I’d done that, anyway. It was none of my business.

I unloaded my gear and went in through the kitchen. My mom was checking on whatever was in the oven.

“Girls are at the pool; in case you were wondering. Who is it this month?”

“Knock it off Mom. You know who it is. What’s cooking? It smells great.”

“It’s actually LuAnn’s homemade bread. Your dad is about to throw steaks on. Something’s on your mind. I can smell it.”

I told her about my conversation with Mrs. Bader and asked what she thought.

“I think you did your good deed for the month. And if you want to know why you did it, it’s because she needed to be told and no one else had bothered, and that’s sad. So, I’m glad you did. Maybe you know more about girls than you think.”

“Except she’s not a girl. She’s your age, Mom.”

“I like to think of myself as a girl. Scoot.”

I walked out to the pool to see my dad getting ready to light the coals. He was searching for the lighter, looking everywhere. I let him look for a minute and then pulled it out of his back pocket and handed it to him.

“Thanks, Buddy. If it was a snake ... Hey, got something for you,” he said and handed me a package.

I opened it and pulled out a pair of board shorts. They were red with a single black stripe about an inch above the hem. They looked familiar.

“Where’d these come from?” Dad pointed to LuAnn. I walked toward the girls, laying on lounge chairs, facing the sun. “LuAnn? Did you make these?” She nodded. “They look really familiar.”

“They should. Gerry Lopez is wearing a pair that looks pretty similar on the cover of Surfer Magazine. Try ‘em on.”

I smiled and went into the pool house to change. They were perfect. I left my clothes in the pool house, grabbed a towel and went back out.

“They’re a perfect fit. How did you do that?”

She smiled at me and put her hands low in front of her as if we were hugging and she was holding my ass.

“Not fair,” Fallon said, almost, but not quite, laughing.

“It doesn’t say you can’t in the rule book,” Tina said seriously.

I dove in and swam across the pool, popping up in front of them. The other girls were on their backs with their heads away from me but Tina was on her stomach just a couple of feet away.

“I might make you something,” she said in a low voice.

“Like what,” I asked.

“Something you’d really like. But I’m not giving away my secrets. There are spies everywhere.”

She gave me a little air kiss that only she and I could see. I almost blew one back but Fallon, LuAnn and Lisa were all watching. It would have been bad form. All four of them looked really good, but LuAnn looked amazing. I looked at her and compared her form to Lisa’s. They were close but LuAnn had nicer tits, a thinner waist and a firmer butt. Tina watched me look.

“What you’ve got and how you use it are two different things, Romeo,” she said so quietly only the two of us could hear.

“Stop it,” I said and she smiled.

“Truth will out,” she quietly replied.

“I’m pretty sure Launcelot was talking about murder,” I said.

“What are you two talking about?” LuAnn asked.

Before I could answer, Tina said, “Boobs and butts,” and then smiled at me.

“Shakespeare,” I said. “Merchant of Venice.”

LuAnn got up and walked to the edge of the pool and sat down next to me. I took a look up at her and my eyes practically fell out of my head.

“LuAnn, you could probably be arrested for that body. What I said last night, wasn’t even close. Girl, you ... you ... well, obviously, you leave me speechless.” Tina smiled. She had no argument for that. Tina had an amazing body. Truly wonderful. But LuAnn was perfect and there was no arguing it.

She slid off the deck into the water and when she did, Tina stood and said, “Let’s get dried off, ladies. I think dinner’s almost done.” She tapped Lisa and Fallon and motioned for them to leave. She’d intentionally left LuAnn and me alone in the water. She might have a plan for October but she was willing to give LuAnn her best shot. I didn’t know what to make of it.

LuAnn popped up and swam next to me.

“These fit great, LuAnn. Thanks.”

She reached out and put her hand on my crotch. “I was afraid they might be a bit tight.”

“Lu! They’re going to be tight. Let go. Dinner’s almost ready and I don’t think I want to model your shorts with a boner.”

“Just like that?” she asked, obviously surprised.

“Yes. Just like that. Ever ready. Let go, please. Later, maybe.” I could feel it fully hard. “Damn it, Lu.”

She started stroking me in earnest. “Ever ready?”

“LuAnn, I ... what’s everybody doing?”

“They are all busy. Relax. Break in your new shorts.”

“You are a really fast learner. You, oh my, know that? Lu, I’m going to, oh my god, Lu.” She took my hand and pulled it against her tit, then returned to cup my balls, through my shorts, as she stroked me. I squeezed her tit and she smiled. “Give me,” she mouthed and I came, quick and fast. It had taken her about a minute. Unbelievable. She pulled her hand away and smiled.

“There might be more of that when you drive me home in the morning.”

“LuAnn, you’re ... you’re unbelievable, that’s what you are. I hope these shorts are stain resistant.” I swished water around to get my shorts clean before I walked up to the house.

“Feel better?”

“Yes.” I pulled her to me and kissed her hard. When I felt like I was starting to get hard again I pushed back. “All I want to do is get naked with you.” If only. I was sure we’d be called to dinner any minute. “You should go up to the house ahead of me. Let me cool off and swim a couple of laps. Please?”

She put her hands on the deck, kicked hard to lift up, then pushed up to get her feet on the deck. She was essentially touching her toes with her ass pointing back at me.

“Not helping,” I complained, thoroughly enjoying the view. She knew exactly what she was doing ... torturing me.

She wiggled her ass, stood up, and then walked away. I ducked under and swam to the other side. How could she have possibly grown that body and me not even notice until a month ago? I swam a couple of laps, climbed out and used the diving board. When I climbed out the next time, I spotted a ball and tossed it in. I dove, swam up to the ball and dribbled to the shallow end, then back to deep. I did a couple of egg beaters to get high in the water, pump faked and then did it all over again a couple of times. I tossed the ball to the shallow end, swam to it and dribbled back. If that didn’t get LuAnn’s ass off my mind nothing would.

I hopped out, grabbed my towel and walked up to Dad at the grill.

“Almost done, Buddy. Refreshed?”

“Yup. Need me to do anything?”

“Let your mom know steaks will be ready in two.”

A couple of minutes later, we were all seated. Dad and Lisa sat at a smaller table with the rest of us around a larger one. We’d been eating for about five minutes when I felt a foot from across the table rub up my leg. LuAnn was talking to my mom while rubbing my leg. How did she do that? Then her foot slid all the way up into my lap. I shifted but the foot stayed there and pressed up against me. LuAnn continued talking to Mom about some recipe. I was getting a hard-on and she was casually engaging Mom in conversation. I gave her the evil eye but she didn’t notice. LuAnn got up to get something from the kitchen and she was half way to the house before I realized she was gone but the foot was still there.

Tina! My eyes shifted to her. She took a bite and looked away to keep from laughing and her foot dropped down. I shifted and shifted again, trying to regain my composure.

“I hope everyone had fun today,” I said to the group but Tina knew I was talking to her. She excused herself to get a new drink and offered to get one for anyone else.

Mom and LuAnn returned with ice cream and bowls. I offered to scoop the ice cream as it was still pretty frozen. I scooped and Mom passed out bowls, starting with Dad and Lisa. While everyone was eating and talking, I kept stealing glances at Fallon. After spending so much time with her the previous month, it was tough to go cold turkey. Everyone finished. The girls got up to grab Lisa for a game of cards. LuAnn kissed me on the cheek. Mom was about to bus dishes but I put a hand on her arm.

I watched the girls walk away. “This is ridiculously difficult. What was I thinking?”

“It’s my fault,” she said. “I brokered a deal to keep the peace with the girls and I didn’t realize how difficult it would be for you. I just thought you would all have fun.”

“I’m having fun. But I’m having the opposite problem that Mrs. Bader is having. Remember when I joked about becoming a Mormon and moving to Arizona with all three of them? I’m about ready to do research on that. It’s frustrating. I sat here for all of dinner and didn’t say two words to Fallon.”

“I’m sorry, Michael. I know it’s tough. How’s it going with LuAnn? It sounds like you had fun last night.”

“Definitely. That’s half the problem. I’m having too much fun with LuAnn. I should be having a terrible time.” Mom chuckled, then choked it back. “This agreement we’re in. Can’t I negotiate a settlement to get out of it?”

“And date Fallon, exclusively?” I wasn’t even sure. “The agreement had an offer and acceptance. The consideration was exclusivity of dating for a month, so you each had to tender something. There is competence on both parties. There’s no written instrument but there doesn’t need to be. Legally, you’re under contract but I can’t imagine a judge in the world that would hear the case. More important than the legal contract though...”

“Is my word.”

“And if you try to back out...”

“I may lose a shot with all three of them because they know that’s a part of who I am.”

“You might not lose one of them. If you chose to date one of them exclusively before the three months were up, that girl would forgive you.”

“At the expense of her friends.”

“Maybe not, but she’d have broken trust and have to earn it back. Not always easy. Sucks, huh. I’m really sorry. They’re just so different. I simply didn’t realize how difficult this would be.”

“There are worse fates. How did LuAnn grow up to look like she looks, and I didn’t even notice until a month ago?”

“She is very good looking.”

“And she’s all bubbly and happy, plus she can cook and sew and even fish. You should have seen her last night.” I told her about LuAnn, pulling the sixty-pound Halibut out of the water.

“This was her fresh bread,” she said holding up a plate with very few pieces left. “And your shorts. She’s not just pleasing to the eye. Help me take stuff in.”

We grabbed a handful of leftovers and walked to the kitchen. I pulled the door open for Mom and followed her in. The girls were sitting around the kitchen table and Fallon was shuffling cards. With the table full, we crowded everything onto the counter.

“You girls could have waited to get started. Lisa?”

Lisa stood up and Mom directed her to start putting stuff away. When Mom and I went back out, Tina followed. We got to the patio table and before I could grab anything, she took my arm. Mom slowed to see what was going on.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have teased you like that,” she said. “I won’t do it again.”

“Yes, you will,” I said, trying to keep a straight face. I wanted to be mad but couldn’t. Tina saw through the façade.

“Probably. You’re too easy. You’re just so damned cute. Sorry, Mrs. D. And ... well, sorry.”

“Okay. It’s not a big deal.” I realized immediately, that she could twist the meaning. She bit her lip to keep from laughing and grabbed some dishes and left.

“What was that all about?”

“She’s got a wicked sense of humor, that’s all. She protects the other girls from each other but then she picks on me.”

“And you think September is difficult. At least she won’t pick on you then.” I wasn’t so sure.

We made another trip in and when Mom started putting things away, I went out for the last trip. Mom had her hands full in the sink when I brought the last of it in. She waved off my offer to help and I started to walk past the kitchen table. LuAnn was on the right of me so I passed closest to her. She had a handful of cards. I leaned down to kiss her cheek but she turned to me and latched on. We went zero to sixty in about a second and a half. I finally broke the kiss to see the other three girls had stopped playing and were watching.

“Someone’s been practicing,” Lisa said.

I glanced up at Fallon and smiled. She smiled back. We both knew where all the practice had come from. I continued out to the living room and grabbed my book. I fell onto the couch and popped the book open. From where I was, I could see into the kitchen. All I could see though, was Fallon and Lisa. I saw Fallon look out at me and I made a kiss face. She smiled and went back to playing. Good. At least she wasn’t mad at me. How could she be? I was just so damned cute.

I was just about finished with Moby Dick and the girls had been playing cards for hours. I noticed the quiet from the other room. Something was up. Lisa came into the living room and then dropped down to her knees near me.

“We’re going for a midnight swim,” she said. I had to look up, past her tits to see her face. I was certain it was intentional. “Care to join us?”

I bit my lip for a minute but couldn’t help myself. “Us? Is that your tits or your friends?”

She shook back and forth a little. “Whatever you think it means.”

“Probably safer if I finish my book.”

“It might be safer but it probably won’t be as much fun.”

“I have no doubt about that. Are the Musketeers spending the night or do I need to drive anyone home?”

“Spending the night. Thanks. I know you want to spend time with Lu, but it’s nice for all four of us to get time together. We didn’t get a lot of that last month.”

“The transition is tough. I’m happy to take a break. LuAnn and I are going hiking tomorrow. We’re going to hike the Holy Jim Trail to the top of Saddleback. It’s a pretty good hike so don’t stay up late, please. Three-day weekend. You don’t have to do it all tonight.”

“Yes, Dad. That’s what you sound like. But I get it. We won’t. She said you’re leaving at seven so we’ll have a short swim and hit the sack.”

Sunday morning, I rolled out of bed early, took a quick shower and put on some hiking shorts and a T shirt. My small backpack was already loaded with a sweatshirt and snacks. I went down to the kitchen where LuAnn was already waiting. She was dressed about the same but had a slightly larger pack. We filled up water bottles and were off.

I took Jamboree up to Santiago Canyon Road and then Live Oak. We passed O’Neill Park and I knew we were getting close. LuAnn knew the route which was a good thing since I would have missed the turn for Trabuco Canyon Road. We parked at the trail head before eight and we were the only car there.

“Looks like we might have the trail to ourselves,” she said. “Do you have anything in your pack you don’t need? If you’re not used to it, it’s going to seem heavier, especially near the top.”

“I’m good. Yours looks heavier. Do you want me to take some of your stuff?”

She smiled and handed me a first aid kit, which I hadn’t thought of, and a very small, lightweight blanket. She pulled a pair of small binoculars out of her pack and hung them around her neck.

“There’s no water on the trail, so I have extra. Do you want one of those for your pack?”

I took one and we started up the trail. It was a fifteen mile out and back and was supposed to take about six hours. I figured we’d break for lunch and to rest and be back at the truck by three. The start of the trail was wide and boring but it changed pretty quickly. We’d probably gone two or three miles when we made a radical cut back to the left. It seemed like the trail went straight ahead but LuAnn said it took you to the falls which would have been dry and boring that time of year. She seemed to know what she was doing and I was just along for the adventure. When we cut back to the right a mile or so later, the trail looked like it got steeper.

“Need a break before we go up?” she asked.

“I think I might need some motivation.” She smiled and we kissed for a few minutes.

She tried to run her hands over my back but the pack made it awkward. We broke the kiss, held hands and started up. Every now and then, we got a peek at Orange County below us. I was assured the view from the top was pretty good. LuAnn pointed out birds along the way but, for the most part, I couldn’t tell one from another.

“White-eyed Vireo,” she said. I asked where and she replied, “Oh, you can’t see him. You can hear him though.”

“You can tell by the sound?”

“Very distinct. Dad and I have been doing this a while. It will probably be easier for you to get the hang of it where the birds are easy to see and a lot different. We can go to the back bay sometime ... if you want.”

The trail narrowed and LuAnn took the lead. The steeper it got, the more her ass became eye level. I dropped back a step and then it was at eye level. I was fascinated by it. Right cheek, left cheek, right cheek, left cheek. I couldn’t take my eyes off it. It was like a metronome going back and forth. I stumbled a couple of times but I couldn’t stop watching.

“Hey, Lu?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ve got the best view in the world right now.”

“Wait until we get to the top.”

“It won’t get any better than this. Impossible.”

“Yes, it will.” She turned to look at me. “What view?” she asked over her shoulder as she turned back to the trail.

“Remember when you paddled out at the beach? When you were learning to surf? Remember what I said?” She slowed. I think she was starting to get what my view was. “I want to bite it, Lu. I really do.”

She stopped and turned back to me, smiling. “You’re crazy.”

“I am definitely getting crazy. You’re driving me crazy.” We were stopped on a narrow trail, half-way up the mountain at probably four thousand feet. “You have the most amazing ass in the world. I’m serious. It’s intoxicating. I want to bite it.”

She stepped back down and we found a tiny level spot and kissed. “We’re over half-way,” she said. “When we get to the top, I’ll let you bite my ass. If you must.”

“I must. Start hiking. The sooner we get to the top, the sooner I can bite your ass. You think I’m kidding. It’s amazing, Lu. You don’t get to see it because it’s behind you. I almost fell off the mountain because I can’t take my eyes off of it.”

“Maybe you should walk in front. You know. For safety purposes.”

“Right. And make you follow my butt? I don’t think so.”

“You have a cute butt. Hike.” She pushed me and I led the way for a while. It was weird because I was in front and she was watching mine. Didn’t seem right.

After about a half mile, she said, “Michael, now I want to bite your butt.” Great. At least we were making good time.

The trail got quite a bit steeper for a while but leveled out right at the top. When we got there, we both unslung our packs and took big drinks of water. It hadn’t been too hard of a climb. We looked out to the east and could see Lake Elsinore and to the west, we could barely make out Catalina Island. I did the math in my head and figured it was probably about fifty miles away. LuAnn pointed out some landmarks as we walked around the top. It wasn’t a peak so much as a mesa and Lu said it was over a mile high.

“We’re the only ones up here, Lu. For some reason, I thought there would be people.”

“Dad and I have hiked this at least a dozen times and the only time I’ve ever seen anyone was in the spring. People want to see the waterfall, I guess. But there’s just us.”

“And not much chance of being bothered.”

“No,” she said, drawing the word out. “What do you have in mind?”

“You said I could bite your ass when we got to the top. We’re at the top.”

“You really want to bite it?” I nodded. “Why?”

“LuAnn, what’s your best feature?”

“I don’t know. My boobs, I guess.”

“You don’t know because the competition is so tough. You have beautiful soft hair, your face is drop dead gorgeous, you have a neck that was made to be kissed. Your tits are definitely wonderful. But you also have a nice thin waist with a tight belly, a great ass and all of that is so good that people hardly ever get down to your legs and that’s a shame. You’re like a beauty queen, Lu. You really are.”

“You’re going to make me blush. My dad says I’m pretty.”

“He’s right but he can’t say the things I can. Where’s your little blanket?”

She pulled it out of her pack. It was light but at least it would provide some protection from the ground. We found a spot on the east, a little below the top, that had some softer dirt that hadn’t been packed down. We spread it out and sat. I looked at her expectantly. She tried to project “no” with her face but she was laughing behind the mask.

“I won’t break the skin. Please.” I pushed her down on her back and then rolled her over and bit her butt through her shorts. I was suddenly more than a little horny. I’d been sort of playful but that was fading. “I’ll make it worth your while,” I said and she could definitely hear the change in my voice.

She sat up and turned to me. “You look pretty good too. You have a nice face and kind eyes. Your jaw is pretty solid and everyone knows when you’ve made up your mind. It makes you look decisive and, I don’t know. Manly. You have really, truly nice shoulders, a strong back and nice arms. You’ve got a vee shape because your shoulders are wide but you still have a narrow waist. Plus, you have a great butt. Girls talk about you, you know. Not just the Musketeers.”

“Really? What do they say?”

“Mostly that. But I’ve heard a couple of girls when they’re talking about guys ... no. Never mind.”

“No. You can’t do that. What else?”

She seemed unwilling to continue. “You know what guys say about you? They say they’d crawl a mile over broken glass to kiss your shadow. That’s what. So, what do they say about me?”

“Wow. They say that? Really?” I nodded. “Okay. I’ve heard a couple of girls in the locker room say they would give you their virginity in a heartbeat and one girl said she would give you hers but she didn’t have it to give any more.” I didn’t know whether to believe her or not.

“Who would say that?”

“Locker room. I don’t think it would be right to say because then you’d think about them differently. But no one has ever said they had. Just that they would.”

“That’s pretty heady, stuff, Lu. So, you think I could ask out any number of girls and they would say, ‘yes’.” She nodded. “I didn’t ask them. I asked you. And here we are. Now, take off your shorts so I can bite your butt,” I said, smiling.

We kissed. We kissed sitting down and then laying down and eventually, I rolled her onto her back. I straddled her legs and bent down to kiss her. She pulled at my T shirt and it came off over my head. My hands worked their way up under hers, capturing her tits in my hands. I bent down and kissed her as my hands squeezed her and she moaned. When she did, I knew what I wanted to do.

I slid down further and pulled her shorts down. She helped which is about a strong a signal you can send. I pulled her panties down and off and she was naked from the waist down in front of me.

“Lu, you’re beautiful.” I slid first one leg and then the other between hers. “You are simply beautiful. I’m the first guy to ever see the untanned Lu.”

“What are you going to do,” she asked a little nervously.