Chapter 5

After the ladies finished their preparations, Alice and I went back out to tan some more after changing back into our swim suits. We swam. As we were getting out of the pool, I suggested the hot tub. She said, “That sounds okay. I’ve not been in one before.”

I pulled the cover off with help from Alice which I appreciated though didn’t request. We set it to one side against the fence. It was easier to handle when two handled the cover. I turned on the jets and we got in. As always, it was relaxing. After a few moments, she said, “I like this. It feels good.”

We enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon. We would move from the hot tub to the pool and back. Later, we sat out on two lounge chairs getting some late sun. It was after five when my dad walked out with Mom. They were both wearing suits. They went directly into the hot tub. We joined them.

Dad said, “I understand you two treated each other to some eye candy earlier. I’ve seen Jerry in his but it didn’t impress me. Just watching you walk over here in that suit, Alice, was impressive.” He grinned.

She grinned back. “We were a bit cheeky. I had never worn that suit where it could be seen by anyone before. I think I will keep the viewers limited for the foreseeable future. However, the look on Jerry’s face was priceless.”

I decided that saying nothing was wise. I just smiled. Mom said, “They were both quite attractive. They still are. Alice seems to be tolerating Jerry pretty well.”

“Jerry’s a nice guy and I’m enjoying being with him.” I continued to smile and kept quiet.

We enjoyed the hot tub with my parents. We and they sat close together as couples. The jets timed out and Dad got up. He helped Mom up and they went inside. Alice and I got in the pool to cool off. After a few minutes, she said, “That was fun. Let’s go inside. I want a quick shower to wash off the chlorine.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll let you shower first.”

We walked in holding hands. She grinned, “Remember, no peeking.” She left me at my door and disappeared into her bedroom. I went in and closed the door. I stripped off my suit and lay on and under the towel that I had used earlier. After a few moments, Alice opened the door. “It’s your turn.” Her eyes widened to see my suit to one side while I was covered by the towel. She went through the bathroom and I heard the door close. I went in and showered quickly. Drying off, I put on my clothes and opened the door after knocking and warning Alice.

She came in dressed to fix her hair. She grinned at me. I grinned back. We left for our bedrooms and then met in the hall. I said, “Alice, as usual, you look great.”

She grinned, “You’re not too bad yourself.” She took my hand and we walked into the living room and then into the kitchen. Mom and Dad were there. They stopped talking when we appeared.

I said, “Hello, my parental unit. You didn’t have to stop talking just because we entered the room. You’ll make us paranoid.”

Dad grinned, ‘You are a pair to be ‘annoyed.’ Besides, it’s good for you.”

Neither of us responded. We just looked at them and smiled.

Mom said, “Since we’re all here, let’s start supper.” Dad groaned theatrically. Alice and I grinned. Mom was fixing roast beef with a green bean casserole and baked potatoes. It went quickly and we cleaned up from the preparations. The four of us went into the living room and sat down. Alice and I sat together on the couch and held hands.

Dad said, “What are your plans for this week?”

I decided to field this shot. ‘We plan to use the time to get to know each other better. We need some time to spend together to determine if our initial attractions to each other have legs. It will take a while as we experience different situations and talk about our reactions and feelings.”

Mom grinned, “There’s nothing wrong with Alice’s legs.”

Alice said, “Thank you. I like Jerry’s legs, too. He also has a cute butt.”

That seemed to stop the teasing for a while. I quickly found that Alice wasn’t a fan of network television any more than I was. Before Dad could turn the set on, Alice said, “Jerry, could we walk or talk somewhere?”

“Yes, you don’t care for TV either?”

“No.”

I smiled and nodded. I stood and offered her my hand. “Let’s go into the den and talk.”

She rose quickly smiling back at me. I led her into the den. I left the door half open. The den had no TV though it did have a good, though old, stereo system. It also had two walls of books. I went over to the stereo and started it on a playlist of mine. Alice had gone to the bookshelves to look at the books. I had turned the overhead light on when we entered. I turned on a couple of lamps and then walked over to the switch. I looked over to Alice and she nodded smiling. I turned off the overhead light to place us in the more comfortable glow of the two lamps. The music played softly.

I put my arms around her. She took my arms and held them at her waist. She felt very good next to me. “Jerry, have you read these books?”

“Most of them. They are actually Mom’s and Dad’s though I’ve added a few over the years.”

She moved and I released her. I followed her to a couch where we sat together with my arm at her shoulder. She snuggled in very close. I brought my arm close to her.

I smiled again or still. “What should we talk about?”

“Do we have any items on our schedule this week?”

“Not really. Mom or Dad might have something but I don’t think so. I expect to hear from Joe. He likes to swim and comes over at least once a week. There isn’t anything going on of which I’m aware. We’ll be at your farm over the weekend. Joe isn’t going for football. He was interested but they didn’t recruit him. He was disappointed.”

“Jerry, are you two close friends?”

“No. No one else on baseball or track or an honor student was going to our college but Joe. I didn’t know about Marilyn until this last weekend. Joe and I are together sort of by default. We were just more than casual friends in high school. He’s okay. We don’t share much in the way of values but some shared experiences while in high school. His dad owns a business in town.”

She said, “You two are different in temperament and values. At first, it bothered me that you two might be close. I like the values I’ve seen from you and didn’t want a surprise.”

“There will be none. The guy who was my best friend in high school enlisted in the Navy. Don wanted to serve, see the world, and then use the veterans’ benefits to get his college degree. His parents don’t have much money.”