I'll
close my eyes and be a gentleman."
She grunted something. At the beach club, Niki had changed into
capri pants and an oversized T-shirt. She examined her options.
Jumping nude into a Jacuzzi with a man she barely knew was asking
for trouble.
"All right," she called, "I'm coming in. Keep
your eyes closed."
She stepped out of her capris and her panties and unsnapped
her bra. She slid the straps down her arms. No point in getting
her undergarments wet. Tugging the T-shirt down past her knees,
she placed one leg over the edge of the hot tub and tested the
warmth of the water with her big toe. It was tepid to the touch.
Carey's eyes were shut when she plunged in next to him. The
T-shirt billowed around her. Niki yanked at it and perched gingerly
on the edge of the ledge, letting the cascading jets ease the
tension in her lower back. She wouldn't think about the hateful
mail she'd left behind. Time enough to deal with that later.
"You can open your eyes now," she said to Cary.
"At last." Quickly realizing he'd been duped, his
expression changed from anticipation to incredulity. Recovering,
he joked. "To think I was conjuring up these fantasies
of a naked Niki, her long legs brushing mine, her head tilted
back, enjoying the late evening sun. Instead I get a clothed
woman acting as if I'd bite."
"Sorry to disappoint you."
"Ah, but I'll only have more to look forward to the next
time around."
"There won't be a next time."
Cary threw back his head and roared. "How can you be so
sure?"
Why did she get the feeling he was up to something? She was
practically sitting on top of him, uncomfortably aware that,
under the bubbling surface, he wore nothing. Cary's elbows brushed
hers. The rough hairs of his legs rubbed against hers. Placing
an arm around her shoulders, he whispered in her ear. "When
was the last time you were with a man?'
|
|
