Friday
Submerged beneath the water, I heard screaming. I planted my feet on the floor of the pool and stood.
"Sandy?" A woman called out.
The sun's rays warmed my upper body as I felt water repel down my torso. I pulled my goggles off and squinted in the sunlight. Near the swinging gate to my, well, my parent's, technically, near their gate I could make out a feminine figure standing a foot or two into the backyard.
"Who are you?" She asked, taking another step forward. "Where's Sandy?"
Holy shit - it was Mrs. Roanoke. She'd been my mother's neighbor since right after my dad moved out. I was eight when she moved in and a little over a decade later she was still stunning. She wore a sundress, like she always did. I still remember the way her body would silhouette in them during the summer, showing off her firm yet curvaceous body. I spent most my junior high years convinced that if I stared hard enough the dress would be struck translucent and I'd be able to watch her boobs bounce as she ran, or her ass jiggle slightly with each step.
Today she had to be in her 40's and her cheeks has lost their roundness, yet the rest of her hadn't. Her once full, blond tresses that fell past her shoulders now bounced in tight curls, framing her face. Mrs. Roanoke's chilling blue eyes hid themselves behind sunglasses, but immediately I remembered what it felt like to look right in them. How it felt like she could see right me to my core and easily suss out any time I had broken a rule when she babysat me.
"Seriously. Who are you?"
Yanked from my reminiscing, I yanked off my swim cap.
"Mrs. Roanake, it's me -- Jeremy. Sandy's son."
"Jeremy?" She pulled off her sunglasses and took another step closer. When recognition hit her face, she held her hand to her mouth and laughed. "Oh my god. I didn't recognize you. It's been years."
"Yeah, it's gotta be at least three years. I started living with my dad the summer after sophomore year."
Her eyes darted across my body. In those three years I had changed as well. I went from being awkward and chubby to a confident, collegiate swimmer. Granted, it's a D3 school, but the training gave me broad shoulders, strong pecs, and an impressive core.
"Wow," she said, gulping. Her eyes shot back up to my face. "I mean, wow, I can't believe it's been that long. Are you here for the summer?"
Watching her scan my body made me smile widely. Because the pool was waist high, she couldn't tell that I was wearing my official swimming gear. That is, a snugly fitting Speedo that had become one of my main sources of confidence.
"Yeah, my mom said she'd pay for off-campus housing if I stayed her with her this summer. But, of course, she then promised her work she'd go conference hopping for most of my time here."
"Oh. Shoot. I wanted to check with her about staying in the spare bedroom this weekend. I just found out my house has to be fumigated, like, now, so I won't be able to stay here until Tuesday night."
I was fighting not to stare at her cleavage. Her boobs were always so perfect, so round. They swayed slightly when she moved and constantly caught my attention.
"You can totally stay over. Stay in my mom's room. I was planning on lounging around and eating a bunch of junk food and watching Netflix all weekend anyway."
"Are you sure? I don't want to crash your fun, college lifestyle."
I laughed.
"My 'fun, college lifestyle'?"
"Yeah, like throwing a kegger and stealing another college's mascot or something."
"I go to a school at a liberal arts school, not the 80's"
Now it was her turn to laugh and for her smile to widen.
"Wow -- calling me old. You're really rolling out the red carpet for me here."
"C'mon, " I said, enjoying this back-and-forth. "I'm just a dumb college jock who doesn't know any better. Stay over, have some pizza, watch
Parks and Recreation
with me. Who knows, if you play your cards right, I'll even let you buy me a six-pack."
"Looks to me like you've already got a six-pack, sport."
She blushed after saying it, clearly unsure if it was appropriate. Sensing my opportunity, I took a step forward in the sloping pool. I lifted my bulge into her sightline as the water fell to my mid-thigh. For a moment, she was transfixed. Realizing what she was staring at, she then looked seemingly everywhere else, trying to cover up her gaze.
"I'm done with my laps," I said. "Do you want me to help you grab anything next door and bring it over?"
"No," she said, looking to my right for no reason at all. "No. I think I'll be fine. Why don't you put some, why don't you, ah, why don't you order some..."
"How about I'll order some pizza and get Netflix loaded up. I'll leave the front door unlocked and you can come over whenever you're ready."
"Yes. Thank you. I really do appreciate it."
She pivoted, somewhat awkwardly, and left the backyard, leaving me to wait for her return.
The night was turning out to be fun, but uneventful. In all honesty, while I did enjoy catching up with Mrs. Roanake, er, Diane, as she asked me to call her (and she looked incredible, even after she changed into some soccer shorts and a baggy tee), I kinda wanted to spend the weekend smoking the weed I picked up from my dealer at college.
Diane had loosened up over the course of the night, especially after her fourth glass of white wine. So, I decided to be blunt with her, pun somewhat intended.
"Hey, so I feel weird asking this," I started. "But since it's just us kids, would you wanna smoke a preroll with me?"
"A preroll? She looked at me, eyes squinting, seemingly trying to figure out what I was talking about.
"Oh," I said, getting off the couch and moving towards my backpack that still sat in the front hallway. I started searching through the front pocket. "A joint. Y'know. Weed."
"A preroll. I get it." She smiled. "You college kids and your cool terms."
"Yeah," I said, snagging my sandwich bagged stash. "Our cool college terms like 'weed' and 'preroll.'"
"In my days we called it a joint and it was always at least a quarter oregano"
"If your weed has oregano in it, it's called The Olive Garden."
Her blank stare let me know she had no idea what I was talking about.
"I'm just joking," I said. "It's not one of my cool college terms."