by Jeff Hale
As I walked out of the door to head to the party I made sure I had everything in my backpack. Swimsuit, check. Towel, check. Present, check. The present was a pair of hair clips with unicorns on them. I knew that she’d love them.
It was a bit of a walk to Serena’s house from mine, and I arrived a little late. I could hear music coming from the backyard and heard people laughing, talking and splashing. I went to the back gate and found it locked so I rattled it a bit, hoping someone would hear. A few seconds later, Alysa came around and opened the gate for me.
Alysa was about five foot five and had a dancer’s body, though she was a little more top-heavy than most of the other girls in ballet. Not by a lot, just enough to be noticeable. She was wearing a black string bikini that had me at a loss for words.
“About time,” she chided. “She was thinking you weren’t going to show.”
“Er… um. Sorry,” I stammered, distracted by the sight of all the skin. I had always had a mini crush on Alysa, though I left it at that because of Serena.
“Don’t apologize to me, silly boy. Get in there.” She motioned for me to enter. I shook myself out of my stupor and walked around to where the pool was and watched for a minute or two.
The pool area was decently large with a pool that was kidney shaped and nearly forty feet long and about fourteen feet wide. There was a covered patio near the house complete with wooden wind screens. On the side of the pool nearest to the back fence was a rock formation with a waterfall that fed into the hot tub area.
There were six other people here besides Serena and Alysa. One I knew was Michael Desario, a friend of both mine and Serena’s since we were all in kindergarten. He was Spanish, with almost black hair, and bright blue eyes. He had begun to grow his hair out long I noticed. The other two guys I didn’t know. One was a shrimpy looking fellow with pale skin and blonde hair. I noticed he was wearing goggles, and saw that he had glasses on under the goggles. The other guy was about as tall as my six foot even at that time, and was so scrawny he couldn’t have weighed in at more than seventy pounds at the moment, and he was soaking wet from being in the pool.
I recognized two of the girls as friends of Serena’s from a long way back. They were twin sisters, Cindy and Candy. They both had bright red hair and Cindy had dark blue eyes, while Candy had grey eyes. They wore identical one-piece bathing suits, Candy in purple, and Cindy in pink. I noticed that they were both filling out quite nicely, but not nearly as nicely as Serena.
The third girl I didn’t recognize. She was the only one besides Alysa wearing a bikini, though hers was a shiny blue color. She had short brown hair that barely came to the tops of her shoulders. She was obviously older than Serena, but seemed younger than Alysa.
I made my way to the table where all the gifts were. I took her present out and set it on the table. I turned and saw Serena swimming under the water, after some of those multi-colored pool toys. The shrimpy blonde kid sat with a stop watch at the side of the pool.
Serena came up with all seven items, and Shrimpy clicked the stop watch and let out a low whistle. I ignored him as I took in the sight of Serena as she pulled herself out of the pool. She hadn’t noticed me quite yet.
She was wearing a white monokini that had silver rings where the cloth attached to hold the whole thing together. She filled out the top part to the point of almost spilling out. She was slightly tanned; obviously she had already spent plenty of time swimming this summer despite only being in the second week of June. Her hair had grown a bit longer and was down just past her shoulder blades and was now a light blonde. She bounced as she went over to where her sister was lounging on a lawn chair.
“Wow, Ser! You did that in like twenty-two seconds! That’s a new record!” Shrimpy said in a semi high-pitched voice.
I stayed where I was, watching Serena the whole time. I knew that things had been… different between us, and I had feelings for her. I didn’t know what was going on between us, but I liked it and feared it at the same time. Every time I saw her it felt like my heart wanted to stop and speed up simultaneously. I didn’t really know how to act around her anymore, especially since I hadn’t seen her since the previous year.
Serena leaned down and talked with Alysa for a second, and I saw Alysa motion in my general direction. I quickly ducked behind the wind screen and hoped that she wouldn’t come over here. I didn’t want to have to get into my swim suit quite yet.
I heard footsteps lightly hitting the pavement as she walked over to where I was. I looked around the column and saw her approaching, a look of confusion on her face. I saw that everyone else had stopped what they were doing and were watching her.
“Ricky? Are ya here?” she inquired as she came up next to the table.
“How many times do I have to ask you not to call me that in front of other people?” I asked, whining slightly.
“Ricky! You are here!” She leapt at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist and resting her head on my right shoulder. I was very aware of her body pushed up against me, her breasts pressing against my chest, her legs wrapped around me, and other… things close to me.
“Yeah, so could you not? In front of other people?” I whispered again.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry, Rick,” she whispered back. She pulled her head back so she could look at me. Her emerald green eyes glittered with happiness as she smiled at me.
I stared into her eyes, feeling my heart stop again. I felt myself slipping away from reality as I stared into those eyes. I was still very aware of how close we were to each other. She obviously was, too, because she started to tremble slightly, and I heard her breath catch. It took every bit of willpower I had to not kiss her in that moment. I set her back on the ground and pushed her back to arms’ length, taking in the sight of her.
“Like mah new bathing suit?” she asked, turning from side to side. “Alysa bought it fer me fer the party today.” She looked me up and down and she seemed to realize something.
“Uh. Yeah. I guess.”
“Hey, why aren’t ya in yers? Ya knew this was a pool party,” she asked, looking at what I was wearing, which was a pair of black denim jeans and a black t-shirt Dave and Nina had gotten for me. It was similar to the type that Dave wore. It said ‘Every time you open your mouth… some idiot starts talking.’
“You know me, I don’t like….”
“Ya brought one, didn’t ya?!”
“Er… yeah I did, but…”
“Fine. Then you’ll go put it on after I introduce ya ta everyone.” She took my hand and led me out by the pool where everyone had resumed retrieving items from the bottom. Once Cindy was done with her turn Serena started introductions.
The shrimpy guy was named Hector, the scrawny one was named Frank, though I suspected his real name was Francis. Don’t ask me why I got that impression, but I did. The girl I didn’t know was actually a senior named Natalie. As introductions were made I noticed that Hector and Frank seemed to shy away from me the moment they got the chance. Natalie seemed to warm right up to me, linking her arm into mine and hanging on me until Serena glared at her, at which point she stuck her tongue out at Serena but relinquished her grasp on me.
Michael was a friend, so his reception was warm, but Cindy and Candy all but ignored me. I guess they stilled remembered me kissing both of them, claiming they were my first kiss. So I was bad on occasion; they were cute, and the idea of getting to kiss both of them was appealing. Serena had been none too happy to learn about it either and had not talked to me for about a week after the incident.
“Now. Go git yer swimsuit on,” Serena said, pushing me towards the house.
“Fine, fine,” I said, giving in. I hated wearing swimsuits. I felt exposed and vulnerable. I headed inside and got changed into my black swim shorts and a black t-shirt. I went back outside and joined the group playing in the water. I didn’t do much until everyone wanted to have a chicken fight. I immediately claimed Serena for my team despite Natalie’s
protests. Hector seemed upset as well, and I had noticed that he stared at Serena every chance he got.
Serena clambered onto my shoulders as we got ready to play, and Hector got onto Natalie’s, him being the smaller of the two. Michael and Candy formed a team which left Frank and Cindy. We played for a while, myself and Serena dominating the game except on the occasions when Michael and Candy would get the better of us.
That’s when things went sideways. Hector, in an attempt to be sneaky and win the game for once, reached out to push Serena and grabbed a handful of her breast as he did so. She lost her balance and went sideways, and would have cracked her head against the edge of the pool had I not held on to her and fell backwards, towards the deep end of the pool. She landed safely in the water and I let go as I rushed towards Hector and Natalie with every intention of murdering Hector.
Alysa was faster, and was in the water and in front of me before I could get close. She grabbed onto my shirt to hold me in place. She was stronger than she seemed, and she had help as Serena came up behind me and grabbed my arms.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” I yelled at him. “You don’t ever fucking touch her like that! Fucking ever! Not only that but she could have been killed, you little shit. I’m gonna fucking kill you!” I could feel the air getting warmer around me but I thought it was just me. Hector was even paler, if that was possible, and looked like he really wanted to get away from me, but couldn’t move.
“I think Hector just peed in your pool,” Natalie said, moving to get out.
“Whoa, Rick. Calm down. It’s okay, baby. I wasn’t hurt. It’s okay. Baby. Baby. I’m okay. I’m okay.” Serena was behind me, trying to get me to calm down, but I was having none of it.
“I’m gonna fucking kill him!” I said, trying to move towards him. Alysa was a good swimmer, but Serena was even better, and I was not that great of a swimmer at all. Serena had herself wrapped around me in such a way that I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Jus’ get outta the pool and go calm down, okay, baby? Fer me?” Serena whispered into my ear.
I started grumbling, glaring in Hector’s direction, and moved to get out of the pool. I climbed out and headed towards the lawn chairs where Alysa had been.
Once I felt that I had enough space, I turned and charged the pool again with every intention of diving at Hector. Alysa and Serena were there quicker than I thought, and I had to abort my run so I wouldn’t accidentally hit either of them and possibly hurt them.
“Rick! Sit! Now! Calm down!” Serena was in my face now. She wasn’t mad, just trying to get through to me.
“Look. He’s like a dog! Sit, beg, lay down, roll over, play dead!” I heard Hector say.
Ballsy little shit.
“Play dead?! Sounds like a good idea, you little fuck!” I started to charge the pool area again, but Serena put her hand on my chest and pushed against me. The only reason it worked was because I didn’t want to hurt her.
“Rick. First off, calm down! It’s mah birthday party. Jus’ calm down, okay? That, and language!” She pushed me towards the lawn chairs again. I nodded and sat in the one closest to Alysa. Serena dove back into the pool and swam over to Hector.
“First, don’t provoke him like that. Evah. Next time I’ll jus’ let him go ta town on ya, and believe me, he will hurt ya, bad,” she said, pointing a finger at his nose as she lectured him.
I saw Michael nodding. He knew. He had been in a couple of fights with me before, and I had always come out on the winning end.
Then, in a sudden movement, she slapped Hector. “Secondly, if ya evah try an’ grope me like that again, I’ll hurt ya bad. Got it? I’m a lady, and ya don’t go around jus’ grabbing lady’s parts like that. It’s rude, uncalled fer, an’ makes me feel like ya jus’ see me as an object. Ya don’t, do ya?” I saw Hector shake his head, and he looked like someone had just kicked his dog, and then ran over it. Twice. Serena had that effect on people when she wanted to.
“I just thought that…. I dunno. That you liked me like that. I thought that’s why you invited me, that you… wanted to be with me. Then you kept putting your… umm… parts in front of me like you were, and I thought you wanted me to make the first move,” Hector whined in his scratchy, high pitched voice.
“I’m sorry if ya thought that, Hector. I told ya that we’re jus’ friends. I’m with Rick, I told ya that. Now, are we friends?”
“Yeah. I’m s… s… sorry.”
“What if I had gotten hurt?”
“I dunno, I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
“Yeah. You better be, you…” I yelled out
“Rick! Enough!” She looked over at me, and again she wasn’t mad at me; she was just trying to cut through the haze she knew I got into when I was pissed off. I wouldn’t let it drop until I got to pummel his face or he left, and she knew it. She looked back over at Hector. “Now, I’ll forgive ya, but I think it’s jus’ best if ya left fer now, okay? Rick’s not gonna stop until he hurts ya or until you’re gone. And since he’s mah boyfriend, I’m keepin’ him here.” She was trying to get Hector to understand so he wouldn’t resent her.
It worked, as it always did with her. Hector nodded and got out of the pool, dried off, and went into the house. He came back out dressed in a baby-blue button up shirt tucked into tan slacks. He waved goodbye, and gave Serena one last puppy-dog hurt look and left.
We resumed our game, this time having to rotate a person out because Alysa had no intention of joining us. I spent a lot of time with Natalie. She was cute and she was really into me. I knew Serena was too, but Natalie was… new… and not as confusing. I thought back to the comment that Serena had made that I was her boyfriend. I had never agreed to that, and while I didn’t mind on one hand because I sort of viewed us as boyfriend and girlfriend anyway, on the other hand we had never talked about it and she had assumed.
After a few more rounds of chicken fighting, I decided to take a break and go over to the lawn chairs and sit down. Natalie joined me and we chatted for a little while when I noticed that Serena went off into the house in a bit of a huff.
“What’s her deal?” I asked.
“Oh. She likes you. A lot,” Natalie said.
“And she’s upset you’re not spending time with her, doofus.” Alysa smacked me in the arm.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” I asked, confused.
“Yeah, but you’ve been with Natalie for a good portion of that time,” Alysa said, pointedly glaring at Natalie. Alysa was very protective of her sister and her feelings.
A few minutes later, Serena came back outside wearing a long white t-shirt that went down to about mid-thigh on her. She glanced over at me and flashed a mischievous smile before diving into the pool. She swam back to the side I was sitting on and got out of the pool. I couldn’t help but notice that all she was wearing was that t-shirt and some white bikini bottoms.
Of course the t-shirt was soaked through and I could make out her breasts perfectly since she had nothing on under the shirt. I stared, my mouth partially open, trying to breathe. I couldn’t get enough air for some reason and it was all of a sudden about fifty degrees hotter than it had been a few seconds ago.
She sauntered over to where I was sitting, leaned over, put a finger on the side of my face and gave me a look that allowed no questions as to what she had in mind.
“If ya want more… I’ll be up in mah room,” she said before heading back into the house.
I stared after her for several seconds before I got a nudge from Alysa.
“Well? What are you waiting for? She’s not gonna wait all day,” she said, grinning at me.
I noticed everyone else was looking at me as well. “I…. W-what does she…?” I stuttered.
“Duh?” was all Alysa said before pushing me off the chair.
I stood quickly and headed into the house. I made my way up the stairs slowly, stopping every few steps to try and think this situation through. Was this really going to happen? Is this
what she really wanted? Had she done this before and not told me? Not likely, but one never knew. I knew that I had never done it before. I finished climbing the stairs and went down the hall towards her room. It was the last door on the left. I knocked and waited.
“If that’s not Rick, go away,” I heard her say.
“It’s me,” I mumbled
“Then come in.” I heard her walking towards the door. The knob rattled and then the door opened. She was standing there still wearing the soaked through white shirt, but I looked behind her and saw the bikini bottoms hanging from one of her bedposts. I swallowed hard, finding it suddenly hard to breathe again.
I studied the room behind her for a second, trying to work up the nerve to tell her what I needed to say. The bed was on the far wall straight across from the door. The door itself was on the far left side of the room. There was a window was just to the right of the bed that overlooked the backyard. There was a white desk under the window and a matching white armless chair. There was a short wall to the immediate right; it went for about two feet before curving to the right. I knew that along that wall was her closet. Along the far right wall were her dresser, and a TV stand with a thirteen inch TV on it. There would also be a table which she put all her knick-knacks on. The room’s walls were a very pale, light shade of purple. Along the top of the room a strip of wallpaper with pictures of unicorns and other mythological life ran along the walls.
“Serena… I…” I started to say that I only wanted this if she did, but she put a finger on my mouth and put an arm around the back of my neck. She stood on her tiptoes and pulled at my neck at the same time. I leaned with the pressure and she kissed me full on the lips, then I felt her tongue gently probing. I opened my mouth and kissed her in return.
I put my arm around her waist and pulled her close. I could feel her body up against mine and I was aware of every curve. I felt immense heat coming from her, and despite that, she was trembling slightly. She pulled me into the room and closed the door behind me, and then did something she had never done before. She locked it.
