Page 7 of That Summer
“Not a problem.” Itdefinitelywasn’t a problem. Either one of these fine ladies could wake me up in the middle of the night. Or bump into me in the hallway.
“All right. We’ll let you get back to bed,” Deb said, and they both started to turn away, but then Sarah stopped and turned back to me.
“Have you been in the hot tub yet?” she asked.
This was code, right?“Not yet,” I admitted.
“Want to come with me? I get in almost every night.”
Yes, definitely code.“Sure. Just let me change real quick.”
“Great. I’ll change as well and meet you out there.”
My gaze flicked to Deb’s and she smiled. “You two have fun. I’m going to crawl into bed, watch Dateline, and fall asleep.”
When I made it outside, there was no Sarah in sight. Granted, I had stripped my pajama bottoms off faster than a clothing change during a commercial break because I was anxious to crack the code—Sarah’s code. Did Sarah think that I was looking for a girlfriend? Did she want a summer romance and all that shit? Honestly, I’d be down with fooling around with her, and then after the summer I’d go back to Houston, and she’d go wherever. Sex every night with no long-term strings attached?Yes, please.
“How’s the water?”
I glanced up. Sarah’s hair was up into a messy knot on the top of her head, and she was wearing a bikini. I could now see every perfect curve and her flat stomach as she walked up to me.
Fuck. Me.
“Not sure. Was just about to get in,” I replied to her.
“It’s usually perfect this time of night now that the sun isn’t raining down fire.”
I chuckled at her jest. Texas weather was no joke. Come next month, it was only going to get worse because of the humidity. July and August were meant for swimming, though I’d be stuck doing manual labor in the heat. Maybe my parents’ plan to keep me inparadisewasn’t all it was cracked up to be?
“Shall we?” I asked and motioned toward the water.
Sarah placed her towel on a lounge chair and then stepped into the water. “Before you get in, mind turning it on?”
“Sure.” I started to look around for a button.
“The control’s on the pool shed.”
I went over to the building to the left of the hot tub and pool, and after turning the dial all the way up, I got into the warm, bubbly water. Instantly, my muscles started to relax, and I moved to sit in front of a jet opposite Sarah.
She looked up at the stars. “I love it out here. It’s so nice and quiet unlike school.”
“School?”
Sarah tilted her head back down so she could look at me. “Just finished my freshman year at Columbia.”
I balked. “Columbia? You smart or something?” I knew very little about Columbia or any college other than A&M for that matter because college was never in my cards. I did know that Columbia was an Ivy League college, and I assumed you had to be a genius to attend.
“Something like that.”
“Well, you’re obviously smarter than me.”
“Probably.”
We both laughed because it was true and we knew it. The sound of the pool waterfall splashed into the water as we were silent for a few moments.
“Where’s Columbia anyway?” I finally asked, trying to make small talk.
“New York.”
