I woke up this morning invigorated, with a clear agenda to observe Belle and Ox at his barbecue later. Knowing what they'd gotten up to in that department store dressing room, I was obsessed with discovering the little interactions they might have today.
I wanted to see them be clever, like her using the back of her palm to sneakily brush against his crotch. Or him casually pinching her ass. No one would know to look for these things. Except me.
When I walked downstairs for breakfast, I saw Belle and Uncle Artie already in the kitchen. I asked them if it was okay if I carpooled to the party with Colin. Belle joked that I must've already been sick of them, but I explained that my cousin had just wanted to go earlier, have some one-on-one bonding time with me.
A couple of hours later, Colin arrived at the house to pick me up. He stood out front, staring at my feet when I answered the door.
"Cuz, it should be illegal to live in a house this nice with sandals that shitty."
"Dude, I survived college in these. They're sentimental!"
"Ready to go?"
Uncle Artie shouted from the kitchen. "Is that Colin? Come inside for a minute!"
"Hey Uncle Artie!" Colin shouted back, before whispering to me, "Man, hope this doesn't take long. I'm already hungry."
I shrugged and moved out of the way to let Colin inside the house. We both walked to the kitchen, where Uncle Artie was drinking a green smoothie after a workout.
"Hey Col, are you not carpooling with your dad?"
"Nah, he's gonna pick up his friend Bryan to bring to the barbecue. Our times didn't line up."
"I wanted to talk to him about Vegas in person."
"Oh, well you'll see him at Ox's house. He'll probably get there later in the afternoon."
"That's the dilemma. I can't stay long."
"Damn, really Uncle Artie? Don't tell me you gotta work on a Saturday." Colin grumbled.
"I know, but my business partner's got a huge deal lined up. Viktor will kill me if we can't close."
"Well, hope that all works out. I'll see you at Ox's later, for a bit at least. I think Ken and I are gonna head out now. I'm starving."
After we said goodbye to our uncle, Colin drove us off of the property. It wasn't long until we saw Belle jogging on the sidewalk in our direction, wearing a pink sports bra and yoga shorts. She recognized our car and waved us down, getting Colin to pull over and put down his window.
"Hey, you boys leaving already for the barbecue?" She peered inside the car, panting. "Wait Col, where's Melody?" she asked.
"Sadly, she's studying all weekend for exams," he said.
"Aw, that's too bad. Tell her I've been reading the book she'd lent me. Making decent progress with your uncle!"
"That's great. Take your time, there's a lot of them in there," he said.
"Alright, I'm gonna finish my run," Belle said. "See you boys later!"
After Belle jogged away, Colin continued on the road, putting on an upbeat Enzo playlist, fitting for a sunny pool day.
"So how long have you and Melody been dating?" I asked, remembering that he'd mentioned her to me at Uncle Artie's party.
"Not too long. Eh, I don't know if I'd even call it dating. I actually think she's using me."
"Using you? Our uncle's the rich one, dummy!" I said jokingly.
"Hah, not my bank account. Something money can't buy." Colin stared straight at the road, a little smirk forming on his lips.
For the record, I had never deliberately peeked at my cousin's junk while pissing beside him at a urinal. But if my peripheral vision was to be believed, then Melody had a lot to be happy about in the bedroom.
"So what book did Melody give Belle?" I followed up, curious what Colin had meant when he said:
there's a lot of them in there
.
"Just some lovey relationship book. Melody's studying the psychology of human sexuality, or something complicated like that."
"Sounded like you and her had finished the book before Belle and Uncle Artie. Didn't think of you as a big reader, dude."
"I'm not!" He laughed. "I just look at the pictures, the body positions."
I cackled. "What, you mean like Kama Sutra?"
"Yeah that's it!" Colin snapped his fingers. "I can never remember that name."
I didn't know how to respond, so I didn't. I aimed my eyes out the passenger window while Enzo's pop music played through car speakers. The idea of my cousin giving Belle a book that, in part, detailed various sex positions seemed so inappropriate. But I was turned on regardless.
Why did I imagine Belle and Colin casually chatting, comparing written notes on the positions they'd tried with their respective partners. Colin would say he and Melody tried so-and-so position, with Belle excitedly saying she had too.
Colin would note they'd attempted another one, but Melody wasn't flexible enough. Then Belle would say she'd been able to do it, thanks to her yoga and Pilates classes, and that Melody could too with the right posture. Colin would innocently ask if she could elaborate.
Then Belle, in her pink running wear, would physically reenact the position with Colin, genuinely teaching him for educational purposes. Her back to him, she'd bend forward, instructing him to hold her thighs up while she planted her palms on the floor, supporting her weight with her arms.
Her butt at the level of his waist, she'd tell him, "Melody just needs to arch her back, like see how my lower back curves, and then Col, you're the one that does all the movement."
"Like this?" he'd say, in the most nonchalant manner. He'd begin to move his hips to simulate, his crotch almost making contact with Belle's spandex.
"Exactly! You got it!" Belle would enthusiastically say. "And then watch how I use my hips too at the same time, so that we build a rhythm."
"Earth to Ken!" Colin's voice suddenly rang in my ear.
"What?"
"Dude, I said 'we're here' like three times."
I realized the car was stopped now, parked at the curb outside of our destination: Ox and Sherrie's house.
***
When Colin and I strolled into the spacious backyard, we were met with quite the setting: a beautifully landscaped oasis with perfect green grass, mature trees, and shrubs all over. There was a long, rectangular pool, which already had a couple families in it.
"The cool kids have arrived!" Ox yelled our way. He stood at the grill, wisps of smoke around him.
Colin went ahead and filled his plate first, then ditched me so he could park at a patio table and release his inner glutton.
Ox dropped a juicy steak onto my plate. "Kenny, those trunks belong to Artie. Knew I'd seen them before."
"They're a little floppy on me," I said.
"It's too bad. I saw some Real Madrid trunks on sale yesterday. I know you're a fan. I could've snapped them up for you if I'd known you didn't have any."
As innocuous as Ox's intentions seemed, my internal alarm instinctively went off. Call me paranoid, but I had to question whether or not he was trying to test me, hinting that he'd seen me at that department store holding said trunks—that he, in fact, knew I'd seen him and Belle together yesterday.
He continued, "On the other hand, the trunks might've been too big on you. Hard to say. Anyway, come back for seconds later. We've got plenty of food."
I noted that Ox's demeanor seemed normal, with no suspicious intonation in his words that I could tell. Relieved, I took my plate with me back to my cousin.
As we enjoyed our food, Sherrie had spotted Colin and I, then walked over to greet us. Surprisingly, she was in jean shorts and a t-shirt, not a swimsuit.
"Not going swimming today, Aunt Sherrie?" Colin asked.
"I am. Just waiting on Belle to arrive with some bikinis."
"Belle definitely hoards them!" Colin lightheartedly said. "She could gift everyone here a pair, and still have too many."
I chewed on my food while watching them laugh, grinning that he was probably right.
"Uncle Colin! Play with me in the pool!" Peter, Sherrie's youngest kid, had darted over, sporting water wings on his biceps. Colin gave him a high five and a fist bump.
Sherrie intervened, "Peter, they can't play, they're eating right now. Say hi to your Uncle Kenny too."
"I don't know him," Peter said.
"Sweetie, you saw him and Auntie Belle yesterday when we got ice cream, remember?"
"No!"
"Sorry Kenny," Sherrie said apologetically. "He'll warm up to you, just give it some time."
"It's no problem, Aunt Sherrie," I replied, then turned to the kid. "Hey Peter, you wanna play Marco Polo in the pool later?"
"No!" Peter shouted. Then he ran away, laughing nonsensically.
***
Later on, I decided to hold off on joining Colin in the pool, still feeling bloated from way too many baby back ribs.
When Uncle Artie and Belle eventually arrived, I noticed my uncle hadn't even bothered to wear swimming clothes. He had on black pants and a white button down, clearly dressed to head straight to work at some point.
On the other hand, Belle wore a light cover-up over her red bikini—the same swimsuit Ox had chosen for her yesterday. She had a decent-sized duffel bag on her shoulder too.
Jeez Belle, how many bikinis did you need to bring for Sherrie?
I watched Sherrie and Belle exchange hugs, before going into the house together.
As for me, I decided to walk the verdant grounds, burn off a few calories before jumping into the pool. I found myself on the far end of the yard, isolated from the rest of the party by a cluster of trees and shrubs.
There, I encountered a standalone building, in the same architectural style as the main house. It was small, I guessed maybe 20x25 feet. I chuckled to myself, knowing that this structure was basically the size of my studio apartment in college.
Then my eyes noticed something in my periphery. I looked toward the main house, maybe 40 feet away. I was afforded a view into a bedroom via a wall of glass panes, elegantly designed to serve up an immersive view of the lush backyard.
