Jackson lay face down on the poolside chaise and tried to watch the people coming and going as unobtrusively as he could. He was getting anxious since it was getting close to two in the afternoon and he would have to start getting ready for work soon with the apartment complex pool just starting to clear out. He rolled over onto his back and glanced at two girls who looked to be in their late teens as well as an older woman in her 60's willing them to start packing up their towels so that he could take advantage of the temporary lull.
As if reading his mind the two teens began to gather up their belongings and slipped into coverups before heading for the wrought iron gate, both of them never even glancing up from their phones as they left. Jackson glanced at the older woman who was now the sole remaining pool guest. He had seen her several times before since moving into the Royal Court apartments and if she had been younger the skimpy two piece bikini she tended to wear would have earned more than just a glance from him.
Even with her laying on her back with her bright red bra untied and wearing a bikini bottom that rode up between her checks to leave her ass completely exposed Jackson barely did more than glance at the gray haired woman to make sure that she wasn't watching.
He waited another moment and then quickly make his way over to the women's changing room. With a final glance around the pool Jackson ducked inside, the changing room no more than a closet next to the bathrooms and latched the door behind him. With the door latched Jackson bent down to the trash basket and pushed it aside only to have his heart skip a beat when he saw that the GoPro he had hidden there this morning was missing.
"Shit, son of a bitch!" Jackson swore, emptying out the contents of the trash basket on the floor without finding his GoPro, "What the fuck!"
Jackson looked around the changing room and kicked the overturned basket in spite before sighing. The GoPro was a couple hundred dollars that he couldn't afford to lose not to mention the dozens of clips of women from the apartment complex he had managed to capture while they were changing.
"Fuck!" Jackson swore and then unlatched the door, stepped back out onto the pool deck and angrily stomped back to his chaise.
Jackson hurriedly wadded up his towel before stuffing it into his pool bag followed by his water bottle and suntan lotion before grabbing the straps to head back to his apartment.
"What's wrong, did you lose something?" a soprano voice said which froze Jackson in his tracks.
"I... what?" Jackson stammered and turned to find the older woman sitting up watching him, but what really caused Jackson's heart to slam in his chest was the small black cube that she held in her hand.
"I asked if you were missing something," the woman replied, her voice calm as she bounced Jackson's GoPro in the palm of her hand, "Something like a camera you were using to film women while they changed."
"I... that's not mine," Jackson stammered, "I wouldn't do something like.. you know.. like that."
"Really?" the woman said while still toying with the camera, "What were you looking for just now in the women's changing room?"
"Shit... I'm sorry, but if you say anything they'd kick me out of my apartment!" Jackson pleaded.
"Kick you out?" the woman replied while staring at Jackson contemptuously, "You don't get it do you, those two girls that just left are in high school.
"You wouldn't just be kicked out, you'd be arrested and if I had to take a guess this isn't the first time you've tried this stupid little stunt and have some videos and pictures saved somewhere as well."
Jackson's eyes widened in shock, the idea of getting into legal trouble never having crossed his mind. He thought about all the images he'd deleted out of hand as well as the pictures and videos that he had saved on his laptop, none of them had he ever bothered to ask permission or picture ID for. The woman stood up and started to walk towards the gate while Jackson was frozen in place, his entire body numb. The woman stopped and turned to look back at him for a moment and then pointed to her bag.
"Get my bag and follow me," she said.
Jackson couldn't move and only stared at the woman for several moments until she sighed.
"You can get my bag and follow me or I can call the police, your choice," she said.
Jackson jumped as if he had been poked in the ribs and then hurriedly walked over to the chaise she had been laying on to pick up her bag before following her out the gate and into the parking lot. Jackson's heart began to hammer in his chest as the woman began to walk unhurriedly towards the apartment management office.
"Listen, I wasn't trying to get kids," Jackson stammered, "I deleted all those, I was..."
"Shut up right fucking now," the woman said without raising her voice and cutting Jackson off in mid sentence.
Jackson shut his mouth with a snap and they continued towards the management office before turning left when she reached the sidewalk to stroll past without even glancing towards it. Jackson giving a sigh of relief as soon as they had passed the door but then began to worry about where exactly the woman was leading them.
They continued through the shaded parking lot, the oaks and maples that filled Royal Court casting dappled shadows on the concrete and the only sound the slap of the woman's flipflops as she walked. Jackson again wondered where in the world the woman was taking him and found himself staring at her ass which was toned and tanned a dark brown from all the time she spent at the pool, the skin only a little loose from her age.
Jackson had to admit that she wasn't that bad looking with her long auburn hair shot through with streaks of gray, deep tan, long legs and athletic build, even with a few extra wrinkles and patches of skin that didn't match her tan. He shook his head at the irony of him admiring some old leathery woman who was probably going to call the police on him and get him arrested for a couple of stupid changing room videos he had taken more on a whim to see if he could than anything else.
The woman passed by several apartment buildings with Jackson obediently following along before turning and walking up to a ground floor unit and unlocking the door. The woman stepped aside and gestured for Jackson to go in ahead of her before he slipped past and stepped into the cool shaded interior of the apartment. Jackson glanced curiously around, the apartment neat, tidy and spartan with none of the nick knacks or smell of cat pee he had expected but only the faint smell of apple pie filling the air. Jackson turned to face the woman as she stepped inside and crossed her arms to glare at him.
"Should I call the cops?" the woman asked showing the first hint of anger Jackson had seen.
"I.... no, please don't call the cops," Jackson stammered.
"Do you like taking videos of girls without them knowing?" the woman asked condescendingly.
"I wasn't trying to get anything like that," Jackson shot back, "I didn't even keep anything like that, I was just..."
"You were just trying to get videos of women changing," the woman finished, "Of women naked without them knowing some shit like you was filming them."
The sound of the woman's even soprano voice which didn't even sound as if she was angry, only disgusted caused Jackson's checks the flush and he glanced down at the floor.
"Give me my bag," the woman said as she kicked off her flipflops and walked over to Jackson.
Jackson handed the bag to the woman and turned to watch as she walked over to a leather couch and sat down with her left arm draped over the back while she dug through the oversized beach bag.
"Sit down," the woman said while pointing to the floor in front of her.
"What?" Jackson asked in surprise.
"I said 'Sit down'," the woman said with a hint of anger in her voice, "You see, you are going to do exactly what I tell you to do and if you please me then maybe.... maybe I won't call the police and turn this little camera in with a description of you and what apartment I happened to see you go into."
Jackson's eyes widened in shock and he glanced around the apartment as if seeking a way to escape, "I, uh, I have to go to work soon."
"Yes, you do," the woman replied calmly, "For me.
"Now, sit down or get out, that is your only choice right now and that choice decides if I'm going to be making a phone call or not."
Jackson stared at the woman for several moments until she pointed at the floor in front of her again.
"Sit. Down.
"Or get out.
"Now," the woman said, her voice controlled but obviously furious.