My name is Kelly Benson and I've been a lifeguard at our community pool for the last four summers. I have never had to save anybody and the job can get very boring in the heat of a summer day.

Our pool is only 5 feet deep in the deepest part and 3 feet deep at the shallow end. The pool gets busy from 11 to 3 p.m, and if there are more than 50 people in the pool, I have to call in extra lifeguards. It was rainy that summer between high school and college and I ended up working most of the time by myself. If someone was in the pool I was required to be on the guard stand.

I am 18 and a pretty girl if I do say so myself. I just graduated high school. I was on the swim team and was a long distance swimmer. I got a scholarship, a small one, to swim at State which I am attending next fall. I am cute or so I've been told. I have short hair, just below my ears and it is almost white. I am very tan and have dark skin for a blonde I also have a 34-20-30 figure.

There is this eighth grade boy named Ryan Hicks that comes to the pool every day in the afternoon around three. When he walks in and all the little girls start to gravitate to him including my sister Robbie. Robbie is in sixth grade. Well, going into seventh anyway.

I have to admit, the boy is gorgeous. He is like a young Abercrombie and Fitch Model. He is on the community swim team and dominates the kids his age. He is 14 or about to turn 14 anyway. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. Yeah, I've been watching him, he is a little young but I could teach him a thing or two.

I also hear about him all the time from Robbie. She thinks he is the greatest thing since sliced bread. My mom always says that. Did they have non-sliced bread?

I have only had to yell at him a couple of times for getting too rowdy and he always listens, is respectful, and says, "sorry and quits when he isn't supposed to be doing something.

Robbie and a couple of other sixth graders are always pestering him. Today he just got finished drying off from swimming in the pool and the girls were snapping him with towels.

"Okay you guys, stop it, that hurts," Ryan scolded.

"Make me," teased Robbie, as she snapped him again and hoped he would chase her.

Ryan tried to ignore her and I was just about ready to blow the whistle on her.

Ryan went to put the back of his lounge chair down when Robbie pulled the bar holding it up and jumped on the top of the chair. Ryan's finger was between two pieces of metal and his finger was smashed. Not only smashed but he tried to pull his hand out of the way and it pulled the finger nail on his left middle finger out by the root.

"Oh shit! Gosh Damn, Son of a..."

Ryan staggered around to a place where he could kneel down. Blood was dripping everywhere he staggered. He was white. I blew the whistle and had everyone get out of the pool, then I ran over to Ryan. I wasn't quite sure what happened.

"Let me see it?"

"No, it'll be okay just don't touch it. Oh my God it hurts!"

"Ryan, let me see it. I need to know how bad it is."

Robbie came up to me and handed me his full intact finger nail with flesh on it.

"Oh boy I said and felt queasy. Sit down here on the chair and lets take a look."

I made him take the pressure off his finger and it started bleeding badly. That is the last thing I remember.

When I woke up I was lying on the lounge chair and Ryan was patting my face to wake me up.

"What happened?"

"You passed out, Ryan got you up and into the chair and got some water to wake you up," said Robbie.

He had his hand wrapped in his T-shirt and was still in major pain. I got myself together and had him walk with me to the guard shack and got the first aid kit opened.

"Let's go into the bathroom and wash it off and I will put some gauze around it and wrap it up."

"Just wrap it now and I will clean it later," he said.

"No, we can't wrap it up all bloody like that." I didn't know for sure, but I was trying to do the right thing.

I unwrapped his hand without looking and put it under the cold running water, Ryan screamed.

I pulled it out of the water and he started crying.

"I, m sorry," he said, "it hurt so bad when you put it in the water. Just wrap it up, it burns in the water," he said.

"Just hold it and keep the pressure on it until it quits bleeding and in ten minutes or so I will wrap it," I said.

"Okay he sniffed."

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Robbie start to cry and go around the corner of the guard shake out of sight. I knew she felt bad. I got some Kleenex and dried his eyes and rubbed his back.

"I don't usually cry. I feel like a big baby but it hurt so bad. It still is just throbbing," he explained.

I got some ibuprofen and gave him three and made him take them.

"I need to call your parents."

"They work till six or seven. It'll be okay, I'll just go home and lay on the couch until they get home," he said.

"No, you stay here for a while and I'll take care of you."

About that time Robbie came back around the corner and sat next to Ryan. It was obvious she had been crying as she used some kleenex to dry her eyes. She put her arm around his and asked him if he was going to be okay.

"I think so. Wow that really hurt. What happened?"

"Well, I pulled the bar trying to be funny and sat on the top of the chair and it pinched your finger nail off. I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," and she started crying harder than I've ever seen her cry before.

Ryan put his arm around her and hugged her.

"It was an accident, you didn't mean to, I know that. Shit happens. You're still my favorite cutie pie."

Oh, he handled that so well I wanted to kiss him. Robbie beamed at him even though she still looked like she was going to be sick.

I bandaged him up and I probably had that, same sick look on my face. I didn't realize how much seeing his mangled finger would bother me.

When I was done, he still looked pale but smiling.

"All done," I said, proud of myself. A group of girls had been standing in the doorway watching us. The fingernail was making the rounds and everyone was saying gross. Poor Ryan.

"Thanks for taking such good care of me Kelly. I don't know what I would have done without you."

I felt like hugging him, so I did and I kissed him on the cheek. Ryan turned three shades red. I had to let everyone back in the pool and Ryan said he was going home.

I wanted to walk him home and stay with him, but I couldn't leave. Can I go home with him," Robbie asked?

"It's okay with me, if Ryan doesn't mind. Call me if you decide to go our house so I know where you are," I said?

Robbie helped him leave the pool area and I watched them walk down the street.

At 9 p.m. I had everything done and I thought I would go over to Ryan's house and see how he was doing. Robbie stayed until his parents got home and then left.

I rang the doorbell and Ryan's mom, who looked a lot like Ryan, met me at the door.

"Are you Kelly?"

"Yeah, I wanted to see how Ryan was doing, is he okay?"

"He is just great thanks to you. It was so sweet of Robbie to stay with him too. He's in his room, just go upstairs, it's the first one on the right."

"Thanks Mrs Hicks."

I went up and knocked on the door. Ryan called me in and I saw he was reading a Harry Potter book. He quickly put it down and sat up when he saw it was me.

"Hi Kelly, what are you doing here?" he said nervously.

"Just seeing how my favorite freshman is doing?"

"Well, it's pounding but tolerable," he said holding up his bandaged hand.

I sat on the bed beside him. He looked so cute in his shorts and a T-shirt.

"I wanted to tell you how brave I thought you were today, and to tell you how much it meant to me to have you take care of me when I passed out. You also handled Robbie in the most mature, caring way. Most guys my age couldn't do that."

"Thanks, but I felt stupid when I cried in the bathroom."

"I would have cried the whole time," I said as I hugged him.

He hugged me back too and we just kind of melted together. I looked up at him and he looked at me and I kissed him. Not a quick kiss, but a long kiss on the mouth with feeling. He kissed me back too and it was nice. When our kiss broke, he said, "Wow, I hate to say it but that was my first real kiss."

I moved in again and kissed him over and over getting my tongue slightly involved. He copied what I did, and the kiss got better and better. When it ended, we were both out of breath.

I held him and searched for something to say.

"Wow, you're a quick learner. Ah, do you have a swim meet Saturday?"

"Yeah, but I don't know how the finger will effect me?"

"I will be there. I am lifeguarding for it but I'm done afterwards."

"My parents won't be there," said Robbie, "they have to go to my little brothers soccer tournament. It's a big deal for him."

"Well, I'll be there and I will be rooting for you."

We sat in silence holding hands and I thought I should probably go.

"Ryan, you're a good kisser," I said licking my lips

"I don't know what I'm doing, but I never thought that getting hurt would get me a real kiss from Kelly, the hottest lifeguard?"

"Getting hurt didn't get you a kiss, it was being such a good guy that did."

He smiled and I stood. He stood too.

"Come up to the pool and see me tomorrow, maybe you can help me close up?"

"I would like that."

I noticed Ryan was taller than me, but I was only five four. He was about five eight.

I hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and blushed.

The next day I didn't see Ryan until 7 that evening. He came by and luckily no one was at the pool. I was in the guard shack reading. I had to stay and keep the pool open till 9 p.m.

"Hi Kelly!"

"Hey Ryan!" I was so happy! I had been waiting for him all day, but why did I feel this way. He was only 14 and I was way older. I kinda felt like a predator. I was torn, but the kid was way too cute not to mess around with a little and besides, no one needs to know, I thought.

"It's a nice night, too bad I can't swim," he said.

I thought why not and looked around for something. I found it.

"What are you getting?"

"A baggie to put over your bandaged hand so it doesn't get wet. Let's try it out?"

I fixed him up with the baggy and rubber bands and led him to the pool. We both got in.

"Wow this is great. It works perfect. You're as smart as you are beautiful," he kidded.

I put my arms around his neck and wrapped my legs around him.