It was my last summer before I left home for good. Of course, I didn't know that then. I just thought I'd be going off to college and then coming back home for the summers, just like my older sister and her friends did. It never occurred to me that I wouldn't be welcomed back. But, that is a story for a different day. The bad memories are better left alone. It's the good memories I want to concentrate on today, the memory of the day of my birth.
"Hey there, birthday girl. What are you doing out here all by yourself?"
Laura had let herself into the backyard so many times over the years that Sophie, our large chocolate lab mix, didn't even greet her with more than a slight chuff and a few wags of her tail. As my sister's best friend walked through the privacy fence's gate, the early summer sun lit her up and picked out the reddish highlights in her dark curly mane. It was the late eighties and big hair was in.
I would have thought that I wouldn't react much to Laura's unexpected arrival either. After 15 years or more, you'd think that I'd be used to her. But, lately, whenever she walked in, my skin seemed to catch fire while my insides turned to ice. I had to concentrate to be able to talk to her properly. My palms turned sweaty. It didn't make any sense to me, but I found that I kinda liked it.
I liked watching her walk into the pool area as well. Her electric blue bikini top was peeking out around the edges of the sparkly beige gossamer tank top she was wearing. Her cut-off denim shorts accentuated the slight swell of her hips. The way the fabrics clung to her twenty year-old curves mesmerized me. Laura was only two years older than me, but what a difference those two years seemed to make.
Tearing my gaze away from her gorgeous body, I tried to form a coherent sentence.
"Uh, well, I guess I'm alone. I mean, Sophie's here. And you're here now. So, maybe I'm not really alone?" I cringed at the slight squeak in my voice.
Did I mention that thinking around Laura was difficult? She smiled at me and it felt like my heart had stopped. Shaking her head, Laura continued her questions.
"I mean besides me and Sophie, you silly rabbit. Where's your sister Jennifer at, where's your Mom and Dad?"
Laura sat down sideways on the lounger next to mine, her knees almost touching the side of my leg where I had it stretched out as I lay there reading my book. If I moved just a little bit, I could "accidentally" brush her skin with mine.
I had already dressed in my swimsuit that morning, anticipating a lazy swim later on, after the sun had warmed up the water in the pool just a little. Of course, I didn't fill out my little black bikini as nicely Laura did her blue one. But, I had caught one or two boys looking my way when I had gone out to the lake with my family a couple of weeks back. Their stares did not excite me the way even a spare glance from Laura could.
The thought of touching her skin sent a thrill through me, but it seemed like a bad idea. After all, I'm sure she'd just move away. So, I stayed where I was and pretended to go back to reading my book while throwing off a short answer to her last question.
"At work. They're all at work today."
"On your birthday? That's not very nice." I snuck a peek around the pages of my book at the slight frown on Laura's face. The sunlight on her face emphasized her naturally rosy cheeks. Or maybe it was just really well done make-up. I was too young at that time to tell the difference.
"So, when will Jennifer be back?"
Giving up the ruse, I put my book down. It's not like I could concentrate on reading anyway. I was better off concentrating on what my mouth said.
"Today's Jennifer's long day, so she's actually at work for the entire day today. She won't be back until this afternoon sometime, just before Mom and Dad get home."
"So, you're here by yourself?" I could have sworn we'd just covered that, but I guess my first answer was a little confusing. Luckily, the more I talked to Laura, the easier it got.
"Yep, just me and Sophie."
The dog raised her head at my mention of her. I thought Sophie might get up, but she just looked at me, waited to see if I said anything more about her, then lowered her head again, going back to her mid-morning snooze. Laura adjusted the way she was sitting on the lounger and her right knee barely grazed the outside of my left thigh. I felt a jolt of electricity spark from where our skin met right down to the very center of me and I had to learn how to breath again.
