Antonio, the new pool boy, showed up at 11 a.m. sharp on Wednesday, on a warm day in May, just as he had said he would. Lisa greeted him at the front door.
He was taller than Lisa expected, much taller than his younger brother Miguel, who was a friend of her son's. He was more masculine, too, with broad shoulders and muscled arms that stretched the sleeves of his t-shirt.
Lisa was five foot five inches. Antonio towered over her. He must have been six foot two, at least. She hadn't seen him in years, and she remembered him being a lot shorter. Young men this age always seemed to be sprouting a few inches every time she wasn't looking.
"Hey, Ms. Montgomery," he said. Despite his manly physique, he had an endearing, boyish smile. An unruly mop of black hair sprawled over his head.
"Hi, Antonio," Lisa said. "Come on in."
When she turned around, away from him, leading him into her house, Lisa became aware -- acutely -- of how skimpily she was dressed. She wore form-fitting pale blue short shorts, and a matching pale blue sport bra. She had dressed for her daily workout. Lisa worked from home three days a week, and she worked out almost every day. She didn't think twice about what she wore, since she was usually alone in the house while her son was off at school. But now, for a change, she had an audience. She wondered what Antonio thought of the way she looked. Lisa kept herself in good shape, but she was 54 years old. She didn't know if the older brother of her son's friend would find her attractive.
She liked the idea that he might. Did she sway her butt just a little as she led Antonio, following behind her, through her house? Maybe. Yes, maybe she did.
Lisa and Antonio passed through the house to the back yard. She showed him the pool.
"You don't need to come to the front door, from now on," she said. "I'll leave the side gate open so you can get to the back yard directly."
"Mmmph," he said, with the inarticulateness of youth. His body slouched, but Lisa thought his figure looked magnificent. The t-shirt stretched tightly over his chest, and at the bottom it rose and didn't entirely cover his torso, which, from the little Lisa could see of it, was trim and muscled. Antonio sported an air of casual indifference to his appearance, which Lisa found -- she admitted to herself -- sexy.
Lisa felt a twinge of guilt. She shouldn't think this way about the brother of her son's friend. But she did. Antonio was a handsome young man. He was 19, if her memory was correct, nearing the end of his freshman year in college. Lisa had met his mother, Marina, on the soccer field, a few years earlier, as they watched their sons playing on a team together. Marina had immigrated from Mexico, many years ago, and she had worked hard to become a dental hygienist. She still spoke with a pronounced Mexican accent. Her ex-husband had been out of the picture for a long time, as had Lisa's. Lisa and Marina had single motherhood in common, and Lisa felt a bond on that account with Antonio and Miguel's mom.
It was a bit strange, now, to feel an attraction to young Antonio. The previous pool cleaner had quit abruptly and said he was moving to Phoenix. Lisa needed a replacement. Her son told her Antonio was looking for work to help pay for college expenses, so she called him.
And here he was.
Lisa showed him the pool in the back yard. The sun shined brightly, and the temperature already was warm. Lisa and Antonio discussed what had to be done, and they agreed to terms. She was glad to have someone take over the pool cleanup.
And, she had to admit, she liked the idea of Antonio, with his muscular physique, visiting her backyard once a week. It so happened Lisa worked at home on the days Antonio would come to her house to work.
"Thanks for cleaning my pool," she told him.
"No problem, Ms. Montgomery," he replied. "I'll do a good job."
Lisa couldn't help but notice that his eyes swept over her body quickly when he spoke. Her skin warmed at his gaze. It was nice to know that at 54 she could still attract the admiration of a vigorous young man.
"I'm sure you will, Antonio," she said.
Lisa went back into the house, leaving Antonio to get started on the pool cleaning.
Once inside, Lisa began her exercise routine. She went through a series of lunges and squats and overhead presses with ten-pound weights, along with pushups and sit-ups. After 15 minutes a thin sheen of sweat lay over her body. Working out energized her. It aroused her, too.
Lisa thought about Antonio in her back yard, and she wondered how the pool cleaning was going. She walked to a large window that opened to the backyard. The metal blinds that covered it were closed. Lisa pushed two slats apart with her fingers.
Lisa gasped. Antonio had taken his shirt off, and he was scooping leaves out of the pool with a long-handled net. He had no visible fat on his body. His leanly muscled torso and darkly tan skin gleamed under the bright sun overhead. A latticework of abdominal muscles rippled as he skimmed the net through the water. Even from across the yard, she could see his chest and arm muscles bulge and contract as he worked.
Antonio wore nothing but long baggy shorts and flip flops. He was light on his feet at the pool's edge, graceful and athletic, and to Lisa's admiring eye, he moved like a dancer. She was transfixed by the sight of the shirtless young man.
Her body flushed.
She wanted a better look, so she opened the blinds fully. It was far brighter outside than in, so Lisa guessed that even if Antonio looked her way, he wouldn't be able to see her watching him. He would just see a reflection in the window, like a mirror. So, she guessed and hoped.
She wanted to watch him, without him knowing. It had been a while since she had been with a man, and a long time since she'd really looked at a man -- since she had savored the pleasure of a handsome man's masculine figure.
Antonio was handsome. There was no doubt about that. His body radiated an air of youthfulness mixed with manliness.
Lisa drew closer still to the window. Without even thinking about what she was doing, she cupped her bra-clad breast. It swelled to her touch. She peered down at her chest, and her nipples stood as visible as pebbles under the tight blue fabric.
"God, Lisa, get a grip on yourself."
She did have a grip on herself, but not the kind she meant. A spasm of guilt shook her. She was perving on her son's friend's 19-year-old brother.
But it was OK because, well, he didn't know. Only she knew.
What if he did know? What if Antonio knew Lisa spied on him through the window? Would it bother him? Probably not. He might like it. Lisa wondered if the young man thought she was pretty. Lisa had no false modesty -- she knew she was attractive -- sporting a petite but buxom body that she kept fit through exercise and a good diet, flashing blue eyes, and a long mane of blonde hair. She had turned many heads when she was younger, and her ex-husband, who always wanted everyone to know he had a hot wife, liked to show her off.
But that was a long time ago. She'd been divorced for over a decade, and in that time, she had focused on rearing her son rather than dating men. While still attractive, Lisa was 54. She had no idea how a 19-year-old man -- barely more than a boy -- would look at her.