Chapter 16: Antics in the Pool

I had been swimming lengths for about half an hour when I realised that I was not alone. I caught spotted Daise sitting on the edge of the pool, dangling her legs in the water. I complete the length I was busy with, and then stopped, holding on to the pool's edge.

"Hi," I greeted her, "you found it then?"

"Yes," she laughed, "it was easy enough."

I looked up at Daise and was struck by her beauty. The time we had spent together had made be forget a little, but seeing her like this brought it back to me. She was wearing a purple string bikini top, tied behind her neck and back, and a conservatively cut pair of bikini bottoms. Her hair had been loosened from the ponytail she had kept it in all day, and cascaded down her back. She was leaning back on her arms, basking in the late afternoon sun, which gilded her skin with a lovely copper colour. The sun had given her face a red tinged which the rest of her body lacked. Her skin had a beautiful translucent sheen.

I slowly became aware that Daise was watching me, and blushed.

"I was wondering if you still saw me as a woman." she said softly, "You have been very carefully distant with me all day as if I was your aunt or something."

"I'm sorry Daise. Once I heard your story, I went into full tilt mode. I have been so focused on doing what I needed to, to ensure that we were in a position to protect you, that I haven't paid you the attention that you deserve."

"That's OK. Seeing the way you looked at me just now tells me that you aren't thinking of me that way any more... ?"

"No. In fact it is all I can do to keep my hands off you at the moment."

"Then why do you? It must have been obvious that I have fallen completely under your spell. I even told you the story of Alina without any hesitation, and I had promised both myself and Alina that I wouldn't do that. That must tell you something about the way that I feel about you?"

"Yes, I did consider it. Daise, I wanted to thank you for placing your trust in me. The fact that you have though is what has made me back off a bit from you. It feels a little like abuse for me to come on to you under these circumstances."

"You can't rape the willing"

"What?"

"Sorry. I didn't realise I was saying that out loud."

"I smiled. You know you are really cute when you blush?"

"Umm do you always swim like that?"

I recognised the attempt to change the topic and I was grateful for it.

"Yes. I need to do something to keep fit, and I hate running. Never mind the fact that it is hard on my knees, I just find it incredibly unpleasant. Swimming I can do without leaving the property, and it exercises my whole body."

"I did notice that you have no fat on you. I think I have more fat on my belly than you do on yours and I am much younger than you."

"Actually, a little bit of a belly is very nice on a woman, and enough about the age thing, I already feel like a grave-robber," I said with a smile.

"Oh no, I didn't mean to make you think that..."

"I'm just teasing you. I like to see you blush, although I like your laugh more; it's very sexy."

"Thank you. I..." She stopped in mid-sentence and just looked at me with this deer-in-the-headlights look as I rested my hand on her thigh. I was just testing the waters as I was really turned off by any indication of gratitude or reluctance. I knew that I would go fro m100 to zero in 3 seconds flat at any indication that my attention was unwelcome. The look in her eyes though was anything but a rejection. I had a sudden epiphany.