Danny was my everything. And before you get any romantic ideas there, let me clarify. I hired him to be my gardener and ‘pool boy’. Soon after he began to do regular maintenance on my car, minor carpentry and plumbing repairs around the house and run various errands. These were the things I didn’t like to do, because I didn’t need to. I could afford to pay others. He was a young man, just out of college, and his mother had called and recommended him to me when he was moving out to Colorado to explore the world.
I often watched him work while I lay by the pool, proud to show off my slim frame in a white bikini, my hair pinned up messily to keep it from my eyes. I’m a good looking thirty five. I mean, college guys hit on me, not knowing what they’re getting into. I know what I’m worth. Danny wasn’t really a flirt though. The most he would do is work without a shirt on, revealing the thick barbed wire tattoo on his bulging bicep. Piercing green eyes, golden tan skin, brown hair. He was delicious to observe, and I’ll admit, I enjoyed teasing him. When I tanned on my stomach I would remove my top and make sure he saw me throw it aside, the sides of my full breasts revealed to his wandering eye. I would ask him to bring me drinks from the cooler and make sure my fingers brushed over his while the condensation from the beer bottle dripped on my flat stomach. He never reacted like I wanted him to. Never blushed, never hid a growing erection, never stammered or stuttered like other boys did. He would just do what I asked and walk away.
I called him one Monday on his cell, to see if he would pick up lunch for me on his way over to clean the pool.
“Danny, it’s Julia. Do me a big favor sweetie?”
“What?” he said quietly. I didn’t like the tone of voice, but I let it go.
“Pick me up a salad at Ralphie’s? You’re a real angel.”
“Yeah,” he said. “Angel.”
When he arrived I held my hand out for the salad. “Don’t bump my nails I just did them,” I said, pushing my sunglasses back on my head. He gave me the salad without a smile and headed for the storage shed while I ate and read magazines.
“No charge for that,” he said sarcastically.
“Oh God Danny, what is it? Ten dollars? A lunch between friends,” I said, giving him a wink, letting my knee swing to the side so he could look at my bikini bottom a little better. “Or did you want something to eat?” I purred. He just shook his head.
He scrubbed the pool in his red bathing suit, slung low on his hips, showing the sharp bones and toned muscles of his pelvis, the sun glistening on his back. I watched him for a while, then stood up and stretched.
“I’m heading in for a shower before I go meet Diane for a drink. Put the lounge cushions away when you’re done here. Your paycheck is on the kitchen counter.”
“Ja Wohl,” he said, not looking up.
The shower was luxuriant, hot, I had scented the bathroom with Lilac. My bathing suit was slung over the side of the shower curtain to dry and I scrubbed the chlorine from my skin, lazily soaping up my breasts, letting the water stream over them. It was a glorious day.
Suddenly, the shower curtain swung open and I saw Danny there, staring at my naked body.
“What the hell are you doing?” I said, covering myself. “Get the fuck out of here.”
He said nothing, just grabbed a fistful of my wet hair and pulled me from the shower.
“Remember when I said ‘no charge’ for the salad?” He asked, holding my hair tightly and hissing in my ear. “I lied, baby.”
