was enticing, it was nothing like having him backlit by tiki torches and seen through a strong buzz.
He was now the most singularly handsome man I’d ever seen, and if I wasn’t mistaken, he was trying to get me drunk. Brain was getting a bit
fuzzy. Heart was beginning to sing Etta James songs.
“Are you trying to get me drunk?” I asked, giggling as I pushed my empty glass away, resolving myself to no more alcohol.
“Nope. A sloppy Pink Nightie Girl gets me nowhere.”
He grinned as I splashed water toward his side. Our friends had al quieted and were watching us with undisguised interest.
After Simon and I arrived, we got our drinks, and then I showed him around the rest of the house. I left my bags at the front door, not knowing
how the sleeping arrangements had been laid out. We returned to the patio to find that Sophia and Neil had joined Ryan and Drunky Mimi in the hot
tub. A quick trip to the pool house left me in nothing but a dark green bikini and a smile as I approached the others. Simon had already jumped in,
and I watched him watch me. As I slid under the warm water, I sipped my cocktail and drank in the sight of my neighbor, wet and in board shorts,
before me. Sophia actual y had to nudge me to stop the staring.
Now we were smack dab in the middle of a sexual soup, bubbling away with two pairs of mismatched lovers and more pheromones than we
knew what to do with.
So did I want another cocktail? Didn’t matter. I couldn’t afford it.
I had to shake my head a little to clear it as I looked around at the rest of the group. Mimi had gotten too hot and was perched on the side,
kicking Neil as she swung her feet back and forth. He indulged her in much the same way a big brother indulges his little sister. Sophia and Ryan
were huddled on the other side, Sophia scratching Ryan’s back as she and Neil talked back and forth about the 49ers’ starting lineup or defensive
line or something footbal -ish and, frankly, boring.
“So, what are we doing this weekend?” I asked, focusing my attention on the group at large and not the blue eyes staring at me. Damn those
eyes! They would be the death of me.
“We were thinking about going for a hike tomorrow. Who’s in?” Ryan asked.
Sophia shook her head. “Count me out. No way am I hiking.”
“Why not?” Neil asked.
Simon and I exchanged a quick glance at his sudden interest.
“Can’t. Last time I hiked I took quite a spil and sprained my wrist. Can’t take the chance during the season,” she said, waving and reminding
us she made her living with her hands. As a cel o player, she could get out of quite a bit. Once she dodged hand jobs al winter. Investment banker
Bob was not a happy camper.
“How ’bout you, Tiny?” Neil pul ed on Mimi’s foot.
“Um, no, Mimi doesn’t hike,” she replied, adjusting her barely there black bikini. Her actual boy toy didn’t notice, but I saw Ryan’s eyes grow to
the size of pies from across the hot tub as her breasts were nearly revealed.
“You gonna take a pass as wel ?” Simon nodded to me.
“Hel , no. I’m hiking with the boys tomorrow!” I laughed as Sophia and Mimi rol ed their eyes. They never understood why I loved “mountain man
activities,” as they cal ed them.
“Nice,” Simon purred, and for a second I calculated the distance between my mouth and his. Then we were al quiet, al six of us lost in our
thoughts. I remembered the plan to out the four of them, and I jumped right in.
“So, Ryan, did you know Mimi here gives to your charity every year?” I asked, surprising them both.
“You do?”
“Yep, every year,” she said. “I’ve seen what having access to computers can do, especial y for kids who wouldn’t otherwise have the
opportunity.” She looked shyly at him, and they began a conversation about the process he used to determine which schools wil receive the
scholarships each year.
Simon and I grinned at each other. Looking sideways at Sophia, Simon launched the second wave of the attack. “Hey, Neil, how many seats
did you get for the symphony this year?” he asked.
Neil blushed.
“You bought tickets?” Sophia asked.
“Season tickets,” Simon added, as Neil nodded. Sophia and Neil then launched into a discussion of where his seats were, and Simon raised
his foot above the surface of the water.
“Come on, don’t leave me hangin’.”
“What?”
“Gimme a little high five. I can’t reach your hand,” he insisted, waving his foot back and forth. I giggled and slid lower on my seat, stretching my
foot out and patting his lightly.
“Ugh, pruney.” He laughed.