by Geena Maxon
“Kit, if you have a problem with it, let’s not do it. But it’s warm, and the water’s clear and cool, and we’re two adult people. And a swim would be just right for ending a great day.“
“Well —“
“Good,” he said before I could get another word out. Standing there in the middle of the cabin, Gregg kicked off his sandals, pulled off his tee shirt and then his jeans. Only his blue boxer shorts stood between him and being completely naked. His arms and chest were shining with perspiration. Was it the heat, I wondered, or was it me? “Your turn,” he said.
With my heart racing, I stripped down to my bikini panties and bra. This was something new for me. I wasn’t naked, but somehow I felt naked, anyway.
We walked down to the lake holding hands, then to the end of the dock. “Don’t dive in,” he said. “It’s not deep enough.”
“I’m not the diving type. I’m the ease-carefully-into-the-water-till-I’m-wet-all-over type.”
“I’ll help you,” he said. He slid off the dock into the water. Standing on the bottom, he reached up for me with both hands.
“You’re not going to pull me in, are you?”
He laughed and shook his head. “I’m going to ease you into the water till you’re wet all over, just the way you like it.”
“I’m trusting you.” I reached out and grasped his shoulders. He took me by the waist and eased me off the dock until my legs went into the water. He held me tight against him and gently slid me down, little by little, until I stood on the bottom, and the water came up to my chest.
“How’s that?” he said.
“A little braver than usual for me,” I said, “but all in all, not bad.”
“You’re still not quite wet all over.” Gregg said. “Let me fix that.” Our bodies were still pressed together. He dipped his hands into the water and rubbed them on my shoulders and neck. “Kit, I’ve been looking a long time for you. I can’t believe I finally found you.”
That was a cue to kiss again if I ever heard one, and I didn’t resist. We stood there in the water clinging to each other. For a crazy moment, I felt as though the water was hot, not cool. My hormones at work again. “Do you think there’s anybody watching us?” I said.
“Not a soul,” he said. “No one can see around the bend in the lake. We’re all alone. If you want to skinny-dip, go right ahead.”
“I’ve never done that,” I said.
“I used to do it all the time here when I was a kid. It feels good.”
Before I could even consider the possibility, my desire raced ahead of my good sense, and I found myself unhooking my bra and laying it on the dock. Gregg stripped off his shorts and tossed them there, as well. Without saying anything, he ducked under the water, and pulled down my panties, brushing my stomach with his lips as he stood up. Now our clothes were all on the dock, and we were both in our birthday suits.
“Is your watch waterproof?” I said. It was the best I could come up with.
“Yes.”
“So is mine.” Well, I thought, we got that out of the way.
Gregg kissed my breasts, first one, then the other. With him close again, I felt his sex touching me beneath the water, erect and probing. I leaned back against the dock with my arms outstretched, holding on. He lifted my legs up from the bottom and I wrapped them around his body. I released one hand from the dock, and guided him in. We rocked in the water, a measured frolic against the dock. I watched him in the light of the lowering sun, which reflected a million sparkles on the surface of the lake. The passion built to a crescendo which stretched on and on, a sensation of extreme pleasure, until finally we were both spent, and we dropped away from each other in the water.
I knew perfectly well what I had done, and the risk I was taking. Maybe I was desperate for attachment to somebody. Maybe I was starved for sex. Maybe I was somehow trying to make up for the fiasco with Lucien. But maybe, in the best of all possible worlds, this was the genuine thing, something to build on, something to last —and that’s the possibility I had bet on.
“This has gone awfully far, awfully fast,” I said, as much to myself as to Gregg.
“I’ve loved every minute being with you,” he said.
“Especially the last fifteen or so, I’m sure.” There you go, Kit, I thought. You did it again. Can’t you even have underwater sex without being sarcastic? “I thought it was wonderful,” I said, trying to take the edge off my insensitive response.
If he thought I was being a wise guy, he didn’t show it. I remembered he’d let it pass on a previous episode, too. Maybe he thinks it’s part of my charm.
“It was wonderful. ,” he said. “I think you are wonderful. You take my breath away, Kit.” He isn’t being flip. He means it, I assured myself.
We never did catch any fish, and we only swam from the dock for a few minutes, but we did set the worms free. And we shared an amazing act of love. In the water, of all places.
A gentle breeze was stirring when we hoisted ourselves back onto the dock, picked up our clothes, and walked, stark naked, back to the cabin. This is really back to nature, I thought.
We dressed with no underclothes, which were still too wet to put on. We were both hungry, and after Gregg locked the cabin he drove us to a nearby roadside café that made, he promised, the world’s best Philly cheese steaks. The sandwiches were enormous, packed with sliced meat and melted yellow cheese. “I’ll never be able to finish this,” I told him. But I did.
“I knew you could do it,” he said.
By the time we finished our meal, the sun was slipping quickly below the horizon. I was feeling blissful in the extreme, and so was Gregg. I rested my head on his shoulder as he drove back to town. The radio was playing soft music, and we listened without talking for a long time.
I looked over at him, and he smiled at me. “Was this day for fun or for real?” I said. I regretted it as soon as the words came out of my mouth. One day of passion, and here I was trying to nail the guy down like some schoolgirl after her first time.
“Both,” he said. “And the first of many, I hope. Should I be hopeful?”
“There’s always hope,” I said as I squeezed his arm.
“Good,” he said. “Then we have a future.”
That sounded even better than I could have wished. Gregg Monsell was some prize. And it was about time for me to win a prize, I thought.
“Speaking of the future, could we talk about — “ But he didn’t finish.
“What?” I said.
“Nothing.”
“No, go on.”
“Never mind,” he said. “Wrong place, wrong time.”
“Now my curiosity is eating me up. You have to tell me.”
Gregg took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and then began. “OK, remember, you insisted. I know we said no shop talk, but I’m under the gun with my friend Higginson. I talked to him yesterday, and he says they’re ready to make a decision about that new line of leisure wear. I have to get back to him soon, or this chance will just drift away.”
I said nothing.
“See, I said this wasn’t the right time. Let’s just forget it,” he said. “It’s been too beautiful a day to mess it up with business.”
“It’s all right. It’s fine,” I said. “Please go on.” But it’s not all right and fine, I thought. Is this why he’s romancing me, on land and in the water, so he can get me to push Pa into a merger deal? Pa said to be wary of him. “Look, we’re into it now. There’s no harm in talking about it. If it’s a good deal for both companies, let’s make the most of it.” And if it’s a bad deal, I thought, let’s find out sooner rather than later.
We talked through Gregg’s plan again as we drove. Even if he was trying to manipulate me, his plan might still be right for Porteous Limited. The day’s events had taken my mind off our business problems, but the problems hadn’t gone away. Whatever his motivation, Gregg did have an idea that sounded good.
As we turned into the driveway of my a
partment building, a said, “I’ll do my best to put together another meeting, this time with all of us. Pa, me, you and Uncle Aaron. He’s in charge of cutting, and he owns a piece of the company. But you have to understand that if Pa doesn’t want to go along, it’s not going to happen. Pa makes the decisions.”
Then I recognized a battered old Chevvy parked near us.
Lucien’s car.
CHAPTER 8
No question that it was Lucien’s car — an old gray Chevrolet sedan with a badly dented right rear fender. And if I still had any doubts, there were the Alabama license plates. Lucien was here — someplace — waiting for me.
I had two immediate concerns. One was that he’d confront me again, because the situation had reached the point where he scared me. And the other was that I couldn’t avoid explaining a foolish part of my past to Gregg. I couldn’t let Gregg just drop me off here, then leave. I needed his presence, his protection.
Explaining about Lucien was embarrassing, but necessary. “I never thought I’d see him again,” I told Gregg. “He just showed up out of the blue. It was just a college relationship that we had, and he never grew up. He thinks we should still be together. ” I tried to make it sound innocent. But, hey, Gregg was no angel, himself. He’d understand.
And he did, or at least he appeared to. “I’ll go up with you and get rid of him,” he said. “I’ll tell him you and I are together now.”
“Are you sure you want to say that?” I said.
“Absolutely.”
I thought Lucien would be waiting in the foyer, but it was empty. I don't know how he got into the building, but he was sitting on the floor of the hallway opposite my apartment door, his back against the wall, with his arms hugging his knees. He looked haggard and dirty.
“I’m back,” he said, still sitting. “I thought maybe we could have dinner — split a pizza like we used to. I’ll stay here with you, so we can talk. There’s so much more I want to tell you.” He was looking up at me. He didn’t seem to notice Gregg at all.
“I told you before, Lucien. We have nothing to say to each other anymore. You have to go home and stop trying to see me,” I told him.
He slowly raised himself to his feet. “I know you don’t really mean that. We have a bond, you and I.”
Gregg stepped directly in front of him, standing face to face. “There’s no bond,” he said. “Whatever happened back in college, that’s history. Kit wants you to go away.”
Lucien looked puzzled. “Kit, who is this?”
“I’m her friend,” Gregg said. “Kit and I are together now. There’s no place for you. Go get into your car and drive away. And don’t come back.”
“I can talk to her if I want to.”
Gregg shoved him toward the elevator door. “She doesn’t want to talk to you. Get out. And if you come back, or ever try to contact her again, you’ll have a fight on your hands. Understand?” He shoved Lucien again, then pushed the elevator call button. The door opened at once. Lucien backed into the elevator, and as the door began to close in front of him, he called out, “I know you still care, Kit.” Then he was gone.
Gregg and I stood in the hallway looking at each other. “I don’t think he’ll come back,” he said.
I said, “I don’t know. Nothing he says or does makes sense. I think he’s sick.” I felt bewildered, and suddenly, desperately tired.
“You want me to stay with you, just in case?”
“Thanks. I’d love to have you come in, but I’m feeling drained. I just want to sleep. I’ll be all right. I’ll lock the door behind me.”
“I’ll check to see that his car is gone,” he said. “Do you think a passionate goodnight kiss before I leave would help matters?”
“It couldn’t hurt.”
It felt good to be in his arms once more. I only wished I could be sure he was really who I wanted him to be, and that I was doing the right thing.
Pa was waiting for me in my office when I arrived at the shop Monday morning. I couldn’t remember the last time he’d come in to my part of the plant. If Pa wanted to talk to me, he’d ask me to come to his office. But there he stood, and I knew what it was about before he said a word.
“I understand that Monsell soldier boy — what’s his name? Gregg, right? — came here to have lunch with you on Friday. Everybody’s talking. I heard Henrietta on the phone about it this morning.”
“He wanted to tell me about his idea. And I wanted to hear it.”
“I already told you all about it. It’s a rotten idea.”
“I wanted to hear what he had to say.” There’s no avoiding it now, I thought. I have to tell him the rest. “I’ve seen him other times, too.”
“Why?
“Don’t get mad, Pa. He’s a nice guy, and we hit it off. I like him and he likes me. That’s not so terrible, is it? It’s been a long time since I had a man in my life.”
“Of all the boys around this town, you had to pick this Monsell. Don’t you understand, he’s trying to get control of our company." Pa hooked his thumbs in his suspenders and started pacing, often his way to show displeasure.
“Pa, don’t worry about it. He couldn’t if he wanted to — which he doesn’t. You’re the only one who can make that decision. And that’s why I want you to talk to him again, Just you and him and me and Uncle Aaron.”
“There’s no point. What’s the use of talking?”
“It can’t hurt to discuss this. Please. Pa, I never ask you for anything. Do it for me.”
“All right, then. For you. But we don’t need Aaron.”
“He’s an owner. He should be there.”
“A minority owner. He’ll only get us tangled up in — Well, you know how he is. He’s an old lady.”
“He has to be there. It’s his future, too.”
“Oh, for chrissakes.” Pa threw up his hands as he started out of the office. Without turning to look at me, he said, “You arrange it.” I could hear him muttering to himself as he walked down the corridor.
CHAPTER 9
The time for the meeting was set for one week later. During that week Gregg and I saw each other twice — once just for dinner, and once for hours of love-making at my apartment. We couldn't keep our hands off of each other. Pretty nice, right?
It began with my usual hot shower, to wash off the cares of the day. I set the water on full pressure and a temperature as hot as I could stand it. I stood there letting the water beat against me, feeling my muscles relax, like knots untying themselves throughout my body, everywhere.
The glass shower door was fogged over from the steaming hot water, but I could make out the blurred form of Gregg’s naked body as he approached. The door opened and he stepped under the shower-head with me.
“Ow! You sure like it hot,” he said. Then, “I’m here to wash your back for you.”
I handed him a bar of soap. “As long as you’re here,” I said. I turned around and he began lathering my back, starting at my neck, then slowly, slowly working down to my ankles.
“How’s that?” he said.
“You’ve only done half the job.”
“Turn around.”
I turned, and he soaped the front of me, my breasts, my stomach, and then, with great care, between my legs. He heard me sigh, and went back to the most sensitive spot again and again. Then he was kissing my mouth as he rubbed me, adding more lather. I felt my passion boiling there in the hot shower, as Gregg kept on, slowly, persistently. “Don’t stop,’ I whispered to him, then I exploded, first holding my breath, then letting it all out with a groan that I couldn’t hold back.
“I love you, Kit,” he said into my ear.
“Give me the soap,” I said, when my breathing finally slowed, “and I’ll return the favor.” I worked up big handfuls of lather and rubbed them over his body. His sex stood up solidly, and I soaped him with both hands. He began to thrust his hips, and within several minutes I could tell he was climbing to his pinnacle. He closed his eyes and reached out to
put his hands on my shoulders. I squeezed him as he shuddered with pleasure, and a moment later it was over. We held each other, kissing as the hot water washed the remains of the soap from our bodies.
As we stood in the bathroom drying off, it was clear that our hunger for each other hadn’t been satisfied in the shower. Gregg kissed the beads of water running down my breasts, then dried me all over with a towel. I began to dry him, and he became aroused again. “I know there’s a nice bed in this apartment,” he said.
“Yes, there is,” I took hold of him and pulled him gently out of the bathroom and over to my double bed. He fell back on the bed and I scrambled on top of him. “Don’t you ever get enough?” I said.
“Enough of you? Never.”
We were connected now. It was I who was setting the rhythm of this love-dance. I held Gregg captive as I leaned forward over him on my knees. He was a willing prisoner. On and on it went. I bounced and gyrated faster, and it seemed the whole room was in motion. With one final, desperate thrust we arrived at our destination at exactly the same moment. I threw my head back in what I believe is called wild abandon, hoping that somehow the ecstasy would last forever. I stayed where I was, kneeling above Gregg for as long as I could. When there was no more summit to be conquered, I rolled off and collapsed on the bed beside him.
“That was immense. Wonderful,” he said. “Just one thing, though.”
“Oh God, what? I did the very best I could.”
“You really need a bigger bed.”
CHAPTER 10
Monday afternoon at three, Pa, Gregg and I sat in Pa’s office, waiting for Uncle Aaron. Pa was at his desk, shuffling papers and trying to look indifferent. I sat there smiling at Gregg, while doing my best to look businesslike. No jeans for me today. I wore my pleated beige slacks and a new printed silk top, which I bought for the occasion. Conservative, but with flair.