I first met Ivan the second semester of my junior year while studying art in Florence. He was a friend, or I should say, a business associate of my father's and he called me up in late April to invite me to dinner. I had never met Ivan, but I remember my father telling me stories about him. He was rich, rather eccentric, and a serious collector of sculpture. He lived on an estate along the Connecticut coast and traveled the world extensively.
It was hard for a starving student living on pasta and pizza to pass up an invitation to dinner. No doubt it would be a dining experience. Ivan said to bring a friend, but preferably one of the female persuasion. I knew my girlfriend at the time, Cathy, would enjoy a good meal as well, so we headed off together to meet Ivan at one of the fanciest hotels in Florence.
Ivan was in his late sixties and looked worldly and wise. He hadn't become wealthy without having a bit of dash and swagger to his personality. We enjoyed drinks in his suite and then headed out to a very posh restaurant. I could see right off the bat that Ivan enjoyed and appreciated women, as he spent more time flirting with Cathy than he did talking to me. Cathy is a great flirt in her own right and the two of them hit if off well.
Cathy is very attractive, tall and slender with a beautiful rear end that she knows how to show off with the clothes she wears. I was used to seeing her in jeans and tiny tops. But tonight she had dressed for a fancy dinner and looked better than I could remember. She had on a fairly thin, clingy dress with spaghetti straps. Her breasts were small, but very pert and the dress did nothing to hide her erect nipples. And her ass looked amazing slinking around under the silky fabric. I sure noticed, and I know Ivan couldn't keep his eyes off of her.
Ivan admired the sway in her walk as she excused herself to go to the ladies room. He leaned over to me and said, "That girl is a keeper. Great superstructure."
The food was wonderful, wine flowed, Ivan pontificated, but in a very interesting and amusing way. We actually had a terrific time, but it was Sunday night and we had to head back to get some sleep. Ivan let us go reluctantly; trying to get Cathy to stay for one more drink – he was definitely looking to extend the party. But we thanked him profusely, bid our goodbyes and headed off into the Tuscan night. Before leaving, however, Ivan extended an invitation to me to come visit him in the summer so he could show me his sculpture garden. I told him I would call. And while Cathy and I both had to get up early the next morning, Cathy was decidedly turned on by the flirting and attention she had received from Ivan. We went back to my apartment and fucked our brains out that night..
In late July I decided to take Ivan up on his offer. My father urged me to maintain the connection with Ivan; he was the kind of fellow you want to know, he said. So we made arrangements for me to visit one Saturday for lunch and a tour of the grounds. He told me to bring a bathing suit in case I wanted to go for a swim.
I wasn't all that familiar with the Greenwich area, but as I looked for his address that beautiful summer Saturday, it became evident that I was looking for an entrance gate as opposed to a house. The entrance to his estate was a gap in a huge hedge with stone piers and ornate wrought iron gates. I buzzed the intercom from my car and was instructed to follow the drive to the main house and park in the circular driveway near the front door.
I weaved up the long winding driveway and arrived at the main house. It was an immense Tudor structure and the grounds leading up to the house were manicured to the hilt. I did as told, rang the bell and was shown in by a lovely young blond who showed me into the parlor. Ivan walked in a few minutes later in an effusive mood, shaking my hand and smiling like we were long lost friends. He gave me a tour of the interior of his beautiful home and we ended up on the terrace where lunch was set for two. The terrace looked out over the sloping yard and here and there were sculptures tucked into the recesses of the gardens and hedges. The grounds were immaculate.
Lunch included a bottle of fine Bordeaux, so as we set off on our tour of the sculpture gardens, we were enjoying a nice early afternoon buzz. The sculptures were exquisite, contemporary and very impressive. It was as we were walking by the pool that I first noticed her. The arbor we were walking along came out on the edge of a hidden pool, surrounded on three sides by a pergola and hedges. At the far end of the pool was a grouping of chaise lounges and in one was a beautiful young woman sunning herself. I noticed three things immediately, even from my vantage point at the far end of the pool: she was incredibly beautiful, she was very tan and she was topless.
Ivan waved as we walked by. "Hi Melanie," he yelled. She looked up from behind her sunglasses, smiled and waved back. I couldn't help but notice her breasts jiggle and sway as she waved. I tripped on a stone paver at that point and almost took a header. Ivan smiled at me and continued walking.
"So is she the lifeguard?" I joked.
"Not exactly," he replied. "She's the caretaker."
"The caretaker? What does she take care of?"
"Me," Ivan said. I could tell he wasn't joking. "So if you care for a swim when we're done, I'm sure Melanie would love the company." I love sculpture, but I was ready for the tour to end now. But I humored Ivan for another half hour as we ended up back on the terrace.
"So grab your suit and take a swim. You know where the pool is and there is a changing room in the pool house next to the pool. Just stop in and say good-bye before you go." He smiled in a knowing way and let me take my leave. I tried to act cool, but I wanted to run as fast as I could.
I thanked Ivan profusely, grabbed my suit out of the car – it was really more a pair of nylon running shorts – and headed down through the dense garden paths to the pool. I had no idea in the world what awaited me.
I approached the pool and ducked into the pool house changing area. I realized that running shorts I had brought weren't going to look like a bathing suit, but at that point I didn't really care. I changed, donned my sunglasses and left the pool house, walking nonchalantly toward the far end of the pool where I had last seen Melanie. As I approached I saw that she was sitting up on the chaise and her top was back on. Even more disappointing was the fact that she appeared to be packing her bag to leave.
"You're leaving already? I was hoping for some company." She looked up from her bag and smiled.
"I didn't really have any reason to stay."
"How big of a reason do you need?" I queried.
"How big of a reason do you have?" she asked as she cocked her brow.
I stepped out of the batter's box on this line of questioning and took a new approach. I extended my hand.
"My name is Ben." Her petite hand felt warm and her grip was surprisingly strong.
"Melanie. You were walking around with Ivan before." She gave me the once over. "You're a lot younger than most of the old geezers Ivan trots around the estate."
I explained why I was here and we began a friendly discourse. I found out she would be a junior at UConn, was from Westchester, as was I, and was spending the summer on the estate. I gave her some background on myself and we settled into nice back and forth patter. I remained standing while she sat on the edge of the chaise. We both had sunglasses on and we both knew we were checking the other out in that casual sunglasses kind of way.