Six straight days of 90 degree weather and no end in sight. The humidity was also high even though there was no chance it would rain during the coming weekend. To make matters worse, Jay was finishing the last half mile of his run for the day, which happened to be mostly up hill.
As the terrain leveled out, he turned right on to the neatly kept little street where he had lived for almost a year now. It was only two blocks away from the college where he worked and while it was a pricey neighborhood it was well worth it. Now, he just needed to get through a few more minutes of huffing and puffing and it would be off to the pool for a much needed dip.
At 42 years old, he still had a weightlifter's build, and still got out to run at least three times a week. He had retired from a full time career in television production to accept a position at the university, where he was charged with building a new and improved communications program. His investments had gone well also in the first 20 years, and now he was fully enjoying the less stressful and more peaceful environment that the world of academia provided him.
His marriage had ended almost a decade earlier. His single minded focus on work above all else had gradually eroded his relationship with his wife, who retained custody of their daughter Jaime. Luckily, the new job and house had allowed him to re-connect with his daughter, who had already been at that school for a year when he accepted his new position. The offer of free room and board just two blocks off campus in a big house with a pool had been too hard to turn down for his daughter. And while he and Jaime were close, there was some lingering resentment over the divorce and the difficulties it had cause during her teenage years.
Things had thawed nicely between them though, and they often spent time together during the week making dinner or enjoying a glass of wine on the patio. During the winter months however she wasn't home much as her job as a manager for the men's basketball team kept her schedule pretty tight. She had stayed on campus for the summer, rather than head back home primarily because it afforded her the opportunity to take a few classes and lighten her work load during the remainder of the year. Jay also knew it was because his rules were not in any way strict and she could come and go and party as she pleased. But whatever the reasons, he was glad that he and Jaime were patching things up and that he had some company around the big old house.
He clipped past the last few lawns on his way to the front sidewalk of his house. A look at his watch showed that he was slightly slower than usual, but he chalked it up to the heat. He stripped off his running shirt while walking around the back of the house, and could hear laughter. Jaime was laying on a chaise lounge in a tiny brown bikini, chatting excitedly on her cell phone. With a goofy grin, Jay ran four steps and plunged into the water feet first, and was rewarded with a scream from the side of the pool as the water splashed all over his daughter. He flipped onto his back in the water, and could see his daughter laughing and giving him a one-fingered salute while she still gabbed away on the cell phone.
The conversation ended with a snap of the cell phone, and his daughter who shared his passion for running and exercise said, "Well, you survived another five miles in this heat, but I don't know why you don't just come out with me in the morning!" Jay laughed as he splashed to his feet in the shallow end and responded, "Now what would the fun in that be? Besides, this heat can't last forever, it just feels like it will."
Jaime then launched into another of her endless stories, something about her Human Studies professor and the unfairness of the endless papers that had to be written for the course. While she talked, she flipped on to her stomach and untied the strings of her bikini top from around her neck and back. Jay found himself once again marveling at how much his daughter looked like her mother, a petite build, a perfectly flat stomach, and skin that just seemed to turn perfectly brown after a few days of sunbathing. Jay had fallen for her mother in about two seconds flat, long blonde hair, large heavy breasts, and an ass that stuck out "like a bookshelf" he had always playfully teased her. Now, as he clambered out of the pool he noticed that his daughter was every bit as lovely as her mother had been at that age, and her commitment to working out was more than evident as she was well-toned or downright muscular all over.
As Jaime continued rambling on about the unfairness of her class work, Jay found himself staring at her perfectly sculpted back and shoulders, and the well-defined muscles in Jaime's thighs and calves. He snapped himself back to reality with a shiver, not knowing what to think as he realized he had been checking out his own daughter. With a few assuring clucks and head shakes, he sympathized with her and suggested that they forget about the week that had just ended and enjoy a nice dinner on the patio.
"That would be nice, Dad. By the way, Mom called earlier too, she said she's going to stop by next week to drop off some stuff for me." She re-tied her top as she said this, and flipped back over laying her head back to the sun, propping up her right leg and extending her left leg out into the air like a cat. "Well, that's fine as always, just let me know what day it is so I can be sure to work late that night," he teased. "Oh stop," she feigned anger, "you two get along great now and you know it. Besides she's still dating Ron and you always have some woman or another chasing you around!"