“Yeah . . . I’ve been working a lot,” I said nonchalantly. “Ok, Jax, I think you’re done. Let me get some sunscreen on, too, and we’ll go swimming.”
“Yeah!” he yelled and jumped up in the air.
“Here,” Danielle said, walking toward me seductively. “Let me get your back.”
Before she touched me, I grabbed her wrist. “Why don’t you use the spray sunscreen instead? It doesn’t have to be rubbed in.”
Her smile faltered for just a second, but I caught it. “Sure, Jason,” she said, picking up the bottle. “Whatever you want.” I didn’t really want her anywhere near me, not even to spray sunscreen on me. But my other option was having Jaxon do it and frankly, the last thing I needed was to have to wear pads over a major sunburn. So I let it slide this time. Once she was done, I took over the rest as Jaxon waited impatiently for me to be finished.
“Ok, thanks Danielle,” I said, trying to dismiss her. “I’ll see you around.”
“Oh, I’ll be around,” she said. “You know where to find me if you need anything from me.” I wasn’t sure if her innuendo made me want to grimace or roll my eyes. I didn’t need a woman like that near me. She was dangerous in so many ways and I knew it.
“Ok Jax, let’s go!” I yelled, racing to the deep end and cannonballing in. Jax didn’t even hesitate. He kept up and followed me right into the water.
At first I was nervous about him being in the deep end. But it turns out he’s a really good swimmer, which made it really fun. We spent hours jumping off both diving boards and seeing who could make the biggest splash. It wasn’t much of a contest but he had fun trying to beat me. I got a nice arm workout in when he realized how far I could throw him across the pool. I did that over and over and over.
Despite looking fun, the slide wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. It was fully enclosed and not much bigger around than I am. I honestly thought I was gonna get stuck on the way down. I didn’t, but I could feel the entire thing moving as I slid my way down and I knew the rest of the swimmers could hear the creaks of the plastic. It was more fun watching Jaxon go down than it was worrying I was going to get stuck face down on the inside and drown. So I opted to sit that one out the rest of the day.
Danielle didn’t leave the entire time we were there. She didn’t even try to hide the fact that she had her eyes glued to me the whole time. So as we were drying off, getting ready to head out, it didn’t surprise me at all when she approached again.
“Are you having a good time, Jaxon?” she asked sweetly. Out popped the cleavage again when she bent over.
“It was awesome,” Jaxon said, a little less enthusiastically than normal. Hopefully I had worn him out. “Can we come back again, Jason?”
I smiled at him, trying my best to ignore Danielle. “Sure, buddy. We’ll have to talk to your mom but I’m sure we’ll come back soon.”
“So, Jason,” Danielle said, putting her hands on her hips and shifting her attention to me, “what do you have planned for the evening?”
I started packing up our stuff, refusing to make eye contact. “Oh, ya know . . . I’m dropping Jaxon off and then heading back to my place. I’ve got a game tomorrow night so I need to rest up.”
“I can come over and cook for you,” she said. “A man your size needs to get a good meal in him to keep his strength up on the field.”
“That’s a nice offer,” I said, not quite sure how to brush her off politely. “But I don’t know how long I’ll be gone. Thanks, though.” I slung the beach bag over my shoulder. “See ya. Come on, Jaxon.”
He waved goodbye to Danielle and grabbed my hand. As we strolled to the parking lot he asked, “Is she your girlfriend?”
I snorted. “Not even close, buddy.”
“Why not?” he asked.
“Well, there are three different kinds of women,” I told him as he clamored into the backseat of my car. “The kind you date, the kind you marry, and the kind you stay far, far away from.”
“Which one is she?” Jaxon asked innocently.
“The kind you don’t touch with a ten-foot pole,” I answered, shutting the door and walking around to climb inside the driver’s seat.
Jaxon talked non-stop for all of five minutes. Then it got quiet. I snuck a peek in the back to find him passed out cold . . . head back, mouth open. Just like a true little man. I chuckled and focused on the road ahead of me, enjoying the silence.
When we drove up into his driveway, I expected to have to carry him inside. But in true Jaxon fashion, he woke up like a shot and bounded out of the car.