Ivy tried to pretend that things were normal. That nothing had changed, but after that night with Brian nothing was the same. Well - nothing but how Anna haunted her mind no matter what she did. Saturday came as a blessed relief to the looks she was getting at school now and the rumors that swarmed around her worse than ever. Whether they were rumors that she was gay or rumors that she was a slut depended on the clique and the person telling the story. That awful night was supposed to fix all of these swirling problems in her life, but it only made things worse for her. To top it off she still hadn't had her period yet, though she probably wouldn't actually be late until Monday or Tuesday. It was a nightmare, but one she did her best to ignore as she kept her 'everything is fine' smile on in front of her family and friends at all times.
She spent as much of the morning in bed as she could but by ten the heat was oppressive and her siblings were getting annoying, so after a little makeup she dug out a swimsuit, got on her bike, and went to the community pool to do a little tanning.
"Where do you think you're going," her mom asked when she was about to slip out of the door.
"I'm just going to the pool to cool off mom," Ivy responded, rolling her eyes before she turned around to face her parent. She could be so nosy sometimes, and nothing really pleased her. If Ivy stayed in her room all day her mother would complain about how antisocial she was being, but if she went out, suddenly she needed to know every last detail.
"Off to meet some boy?" her mother teased, lowering her voice conspiratorially so it was too quiet for her other siblings to hear.
"No mother - of course not. I'm just going to do some laps and then tan until it cools off a bit." she replied, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice. She was eighteen now - an adult - but her parents still insisted on treating her like a child.
"Alright..." her mom said, letting the word linger like she didn't really believe there wasn't an alternative motive to the whole thing. "Well be back before dinner okay hun? I love you."
"I love you too mom," Ivy said, before disappearing out the door.
The sun was already scorching by the time Ivy started riding, and she couldn't imagine doing anything in this heat that didn't involve shade or water. If it was going to be hot today, she might as well enjoy it. That Anna worked as a lifeguard at the pool some days had nothing to do with it, she was sure - she probably didn't even work today, Ivy told herself as she locked up her bike outside.
Even though Brian's words continued to haunt her, locker rooms were one of the reasons that Ivy knew she wasn't gay. He could call her a dyke and a lesbian all he wanted, but she'd changed around women her whole life, and she never had the urge to stare. She didn't linger and check out the other girls either, unless it was to see what a particularly popular girl might be wearing or something. That was totally normal though. The one piece suit that she'd brought with her today was technically modest when she'd bought it last year, but if her mother saw how it fit her now she'd probably give it to goodwill. It was a marble printed one piece in swirling blues and grays that was a little tighter on her than it used to be. It was a lot tighter than it used to be on top and it made her breasts look nicer than any bra she owned, even giving her a tiny bit of cleavage which she secretly loved though she pretended not to notice it when one of her friends pointed it out.
The pool itself was pretty packed, because it turned out everyone else with nothing to do had the same idea about today, so instead of doing much swimming, Ivy found a lounge and basked in the sun. Having to actually do anything in the sun was awful, but laying here being caressed by it for a while wasn't so bad. As she got settled, she made a quick scan of the place but didn't see the object of her obsession anywhere, which was fine. It was a long shot anyway. Instead Ivy laid back like she was going to take a nap and put on the pair over oversized sunglasses she'd brought with her. They were her favorite for trips to the pool like this, but not because of the sun.