Chapter 1

It was a warm Saturday morning in late May, John, Ray, Kyle and myself were at my house kicking back soaking up some rays and some "Bud", around my pool. We are junior executives, in our mid to late twenties and work for the same large multi-national corporation who's corporate headquarters are here in Hartford Connecticut. Ray and I are in finance, Kyle is in the legal dept. and John is in marketing.

The occasion for the gathering was a house warming of sorts. I say of sorts, because I had grown up in this house, gone to college and returned only to eventually buy the house from my parents who decided retired to Boca Raton Florida.

My three friends had helped me move from my apartment in Manchester, CT, where I have lived for the past two years. My friends worked hard last weekend, so I was rewarding them for helping me haul my shit with free beer and a cool pool.

As we were talking, my neighbor's eighteen year old daughter poked her head over the five foot high wooden fence and called me over. At five foot two she had to stand on her tip toes to see over the fence.

"Billy, Could you come over here a minute please?"

Groaning, I got up and headed in her direction, I good naturally said, "Don't call me Billy."

Now don't get me wrong, Carol is a very attractive young blond, with a brand new diploma from high school. She is slightly rubenesque, mostly from genetics rather than being overweight, and she had creamy white skin to die for.

The guys ribbed me as I walked toward the fence.

"Go get her Billy boy."

"Ruff, ruff."

"Here Billy, Billy, Billy."

As I got close to the fence, I said, "Hey kid. How was your graduation creimony?"

"It was great. I would have in vited you if I had known you were around." she said with a smile.

"It was Last weekend, right?"

She nodded yes.

"I was moving last weekend so I could not have come even if you had invited me. So," I asked" What's up?"

"I heard you guys talking and I thought I would say hello."

She had on a white bikini that really looked good on her. I could tell she was fishing for an invitation to meet my friends, so I thought I would make her sweat a little.

"How's your brother Joey?"

"He's fine. He will graduate from the University of Florida next year. In fact he should be home for the summer in a couple of weeks."

"Tough life he has, you don't get that Florida sunshine up here in Hartford." I said grinning.

"Today's pretty warm," she said, trapping her tongue between her even white teeth.

I smiled, big hint, I thought. Their house used to have a pool, until her dad filled it in and made a rock garden out of it. That was after Joey left for Gainesville three years ago.

"Why don't you come over and cool of in the pool." I finally said, letting her off the hook.

"Well thanks neighbor, don't mind if I do." she said in a mock Texas drawl.

I walked over and opened the gate for her and she rolled in like a walking ball bearing factory. I could hear the murmuring of the guys behind me. Bubba, my parents four year old Rottweiler that they were unable to take to Florida, came bounding across the lawn to investigate.

Carol and Bubba were old friends. My parents used to hire her to look after Bubba whenever they went away. As soon as he recognized who it was he nearly knocked her down with his display of, 140 pound doggie affection. She didn't even have to bend down to pet him. She held his head firmly in her hands as she told him what a good boy he was. Bubba was sniffing her privates like all dogs do. Then she commanded him to "go" and the big Rottweiler slowly wandered back over to his spot under the red Maple. It almost looked as if he his feelings had been hurt by her dismissal.

Carol and I walked over to the guys and I introduced everyone. The guys stood up. She was standing next to John who is six foot six, two hundred and forty pounds of muscle rippling black man, who played defensive end for the Tide. He dwarfed her. Of course John dwarfed just about everybody. His shaved head glistened in the sun and he reminds me of a black Mr. Clean.

Kyle was just the opposite, a five foot seven, wiry, red headed Irishman, with green eyes that danced like a leprechaun. Ray, on the other hand was the Latin lover type. Raymond was his given name but we just called him Ray. Five foot ten, 160 pounds, with black bedroom eyes that the girls would get lost in. Of every one there, I was probably in the worst shape, at six foot 180 pounds, the four of us worked out twice a week, Kyle and John make it three days, usually on Saturday.

I popped Carol a beer and encouraged her to sit down. She accepted and slid her small frame into the lounge that I had been sitting in. So I went to my garage and pulled out an old beach lounger, the kind that just barley keeps your butt off the ground.