They were all playing in the surf when I stepped outside into a wall of heat. It actually smelled and tasted like rain, although there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The humidity was like that down here, I'd discovered, and it seemed to force beads of sweat to the surface of my skin the minute I walked out of the air-conditioning.
Mrs. B saw me and waved, and I waved back. The white hot sand was burning my feet, and I noticed how different everything felt between my legs now that I was shaved. I could feel my lips rubbing together as I walked, almost as if they were constantly massaging my clit.
Janie and Henry were taking turns being tossed into the rolling waves by Doc, squealing and screeching as he hurled them out into the water. His arms were strong ropes of muscle I noticed, working hard as he hefted them around. They weren't lightweights anymore. They would come up sputtering and laughing, although it looked dangerous to me, but what did I know?
I was grateful when my feet greeted the wet sand and then the water's edge. Mrs. B looked over at me, shading her eyes against the sun. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail and I remembered that I didn't bring one.
"Hey, that's your bathing suit, Mom!" Janie called, wiping salt water out of her eyes.
"Yep," Mrs. B agreed as I began to wade out. "Veronica's borrowing it."
I saw Mr. B's gaze moving over me, lingering between my legs. It tingled there, as if his eyes were actually touching me. "Looks great, Ronnie."
"Thanks," I murmured, wading a little further out, wanting to bury myself in the water even though part of me liked the way he looked at me. I had to go by him to sink further in, and I swear I could feel his eyes on my back, and I was all too aware that except for two sets of string, I looked naked from behind.
I sank to my knees, pushing off the sandy bottom and skimming forward into the cool water. I went under for a moment to get my hair wet, slicking it back from my face as I came up near Mrs. B where I could stand and the water came up to my shoulders.
"Let's play Marco Polo!" Henry exclaimed, watching his father toss his sister into the water. She squealed and then held her nose, scrunching her face up as she went under.
"Yeah!" Janie burst up a moment later, obviously having heard her brother's remark before she went down. She was rubbing water out of her eyes. "We have enough people, let's play Marco Polo!"
"You're it, then, Henry," I called.
He closed his eyes and started counting to ten. We all moved away from him. Janie brushed past me, giggling, her wet blonde ponytail hanging to the middle of her back.
"Marco!" he called, doing a blind-man walk forward, his hands out in front of him.
There was a chorus of "Polo's" from all of us, and he struggled forward toward the voices. He was closest to me, his fingertips reaching out, and I tried to move back, but Janie was clutching my hips and giggling as she hid behind me, making it impossible.
"I got you!" Henry cried, opening his eyes when his fingers brushed my arm.
"That was a short one," Mrs. B remarked with a laugh.
"Janie's fault," I grumbled, turning and sticking my tongue out at her. "I'm coming for you, little girl, you better watch it!"
She squealed and moved away from me toward her mother as I closed my eyes and started to count to 10. I realized that it was going to be a lot harder to play this in the ocean with the sound of the waves crashing in on the shore then it would in the glass surface of a pool.
I was already reaching my hands out and straining to hear something as I counted. There was Janie, giggling, to my left. I turned toward the sound, rushing forward, trying to catch her, but came up empty.
"Ten... Marco!" I called, and I heard them all say "Polo!" Janie and her mom were to my left and so was Doc, but Henry was somewhere off to my right. Playing the odds, I lunged left and heard Janie squeal and the splashing of water as she swam away.
"Marco!" I said, taking a few more steps forward. Janie responded off to my right now, and so did Henry. Mrs. B was somewhere behind me, but I didn't hear Doc at all. I realized he must have been under water when I called.
"Marco!" I said again, hearing the same responses, except this time Doc's "Polo" was right in front of me, his voice low.
I reached a hand forward in the water and felt the smooth, hard planes of his belly just above the elastic band of his suit.
Gasping, I opened my eyes and saw him standing there, looking at me and smiling.
"Got me," he said with a wink, his voice still low.
"Daddy, you're it!" Janie called, jumping up and down in the water.
We all moved away from him as he started counting. Janie was still hiding behind her mother, and Henry was moving more toward shore. When Doc called "Marco!" I was still the closest one, and he followed my voice.
I went under for a moment, kicking hard and swimming the opposite direction past him. I heard him say a muffled "Marco!" again, but I kept swimming. Gasping as I came up, I heard him say it again and I had to answer. He was inches away from Janie and Mrs. B, but when I said "Polo," he turned toward the sound of my voice.
I could look at him without him seeing me as he walked toward me, his dark, wet hair curling, the tanned skin of his chest and belly and arms beaded with water. I realized that if I could watch him, unnoticed, then he could have been watching me, too. That thought made my breath catch. He was getting closer and closer, edging his way, and his body blocked out the sight of Mrs. B and Janie behind him.
"Marco!" he called.
"Polo," I whispered.
His head turned toward me and he grinned, lunging at me just as I pushed off from the bottom, trying to swim away. We both went under for a moment, and he had me by my thigh, gripping his way up to my hips, his big body twisting against mine under the water. For a moment I was beneath him, in his arms, pressed against him and could feel something hard against my leg. I didn't realize, until his fingers brushed over my breast, sending shivers through me, what it was.
I came up gasping and so did he. We were out deeper now, and I had to stand on my tiptoes to stay up. He was under the water to his shoulders, his face inches from mine.
"You got me," I whispered, licking my lips and sliding my thigh against his.
His eyes widened and then I felt his fingers gripping my hips, his knee sliding up the inside of my thighs, dangerously high, until I heard Henry calling, "Ronnie's IT!"
I smiled as I turned away from him and started swimming back. He followed. We played a few more rounds, but then the kids got bored and wanted to go work on their "sand village."
We three "adults" spread out a couple blankets and laid out in the sun. Mrs. B was next to me and Doc had his own blanket on the other side of her. I was looking over at Mrs. B. She was on her back, her arm thrown over her eyes. I couldn't help watching her breasts rise and fall with her breath, full and fleshy under the white bikini top. I was remembering what she looked like lying there topless.
Doc was up on his elbow, facing me, and when I met his eyes, he smiled. I could feel him looking at me, almost like a heat. I stretched, arching my back, and saw his eyes widen and then darken, his smile fading as he watched me roll to my side and then over onto my belly, adjusting my straps.