“I don’t know.”
“Come on. I’m you can do better than me.”
“I’m not much into diving.”
“You’re too modest.”
That’s about right, she thought.
Jerry side-stroked to the opposite side of the pool. Facing Gillian, he boosted himself up and sat on the edge. He grinned and wiped the water from his eyes. “I’ll make you a deal. One dive will get you a steak dinner tonight. Barbecued by the master chef, me. How about it?”
“Shameless bribery,” Gillian said.
“Naturally, the offer includes cocktails and hors d’oeuvres.”
“What about dessert?”
“Ice-cream, followed by after-dinner drinks.”
“And all I have to do is one dive off the board?”
“That’s all.”
“How come you’re so eager for me to go off the board?”
“So I can get a good look at you,” he said.
His smile vanished. “And so you can stop being nervous about your bikini.”
“You noticed, huh?”
“Yep. You came over here in a shirt. That was my first clue. Then you kept it on.”
“I don’t usually parade around in something like this.”
“But remember, I’ve already seen you in it.”
“You took me by surprise.”
“Nevertheless, the damage is done. I’ve seen what there is to see.”
Gillian grimaced.
“I think we’ll both enjoy ourselves a lot more once you get over the self-consciousness. You can stop worrying about what I might see, and I can stop worrying about trying to see what you’re hiding.”
“Makes sense,” she muttered. She rolled her eyes upward and sighed. She wished she had left the shirt back at the house. Drawing attention to her timidity had turned out to be even more embarrassing than if she had simply shown herself from the start. “I feel like an idiot,” she said.
“Don’t. There’s nothing to be ashamed of. If I were in your place, I would’ve been reluctant, myself, about going over to a stranger’s pool in an outfit that exposed every intimate detail of my anatomy.”
The remark stunned Gillian for an instant. Then, bursting into laughter, she cried out, “You bastard!”
He rocked, clutching his knees and grinning, delighted.
Gillian whirled around, still laughing, and thrust herself out of the pool. She strode toward the far end, scowling over her shoulder at him. “Every intimate detail, my ass!”
“That’s included!” he called. He wasn’t laughing anymore. His smile was slipping. He stared at her.
Gillian looked away from him.
It’s all right, she told herself. Plenty of women wear as little as this to the beach. Why should it bother me?
Her wet feet slapped the concrete. Water trickled down her body. The cling of the bikini kept her terribly aware of how little there was of it. Her breasts, though firm and not very large, jiggled and swayed as if they were bare. Without looking down, she knew that her nipples were erect and that the fabric of the bikini was too flimsy to hide the fact.
At the end of the pool, she turned toward the diving board. Jerry was still sitting with his legs in the water. He was gazing straight ahead.
He’s not even looking at me!
Gillian felt a mixture of relief and annoyance.
She stepped onto the diving board. Jerry kept staring into space.
She walked to the end of the board. It was springy under her feet. She stood straight, toes curled over the edge, and waited for the board to stop moving.
What’s with this guy? she wondered. He bribes me to climb out of the pool so he can get a good look at me, and then it’s like I’m not even here.
“Yoo-hoo,” she called.
His head turned. “Oh,” he said, as if mildly surprised to see her.
“Welcome back.”
“Guess I was daydreaming for a second there.”
“Gee, thanks. I thought you couldn’t wait to ogle my marvelous, semi-nude body.”
His eyes slowly roamed down Gillian. “And a fine body it is,” he said. “Now, let’s see if you can top my dive.”
“That’d be tough,” she said. What do you want? she asked herself. Do you want him to gape and pant in awe? Lick his lips? Drool? The bastard
Maybe he’s gay.
Wouldn’t that be a joke?
With a sigh, Gillian hopped. Her feet hit the board. She leaped as it flung her up. Soaring over the pool, she arched toward the sky, bent quickly at the waist and touched her toes, then straightened her body and knifed down into the water. When her fingertips brushed the bottom, she pushed herself away and glided to the surface.
Jerry held up both hands with their fingers spread. “Definitely a ten,” he said. “I had no idea I was in the presence of a champion.”
“I.think it was a seven,” Gillian told him. “But thanks.”
“I knew you looked familiar. I saw you in the Olympics.” Zit
“I’m not that good,” she said.
“Could’ve fooled me. And you claimed you weren’t into diving.”
“It was an easy one.”
“Well, don’t stop now. Let’s see another.”
“Okay, one more.” She boosted herself of the pool. “Don’t expect anything spectacular,” she cautioned him. “I’m a little rusty.”
She was standing at the end of the board before she realized that she had forgotten to be self-conscious about her bikini. Jerry was watching her. He had an eager look on his face.
What the hell, she thought. He thinks I’m a great diver.
She bounced high, tucked, somersaulted, and went in straight and clean.
Jerry was clapping when she came up. “An artist!” he proclaimed. “A virtuoso. You could win trophies for that kind of performance.”
“I’ve got a few,” Gillian admitted, treading water just in front of his submerged feet.
“I don’t doubt it. Let’s see another one.”
“I think two’s enough,” she said. “I don’t want to press my luck. Next time, I might belly-flop and embarrass myself.”
“Just one more?” he asked.
What’s the point of refusing? she thought. He really wants to see me dive again, and I’ve got no good reason to disappoint him. “Okay,” she said. “One more, and that’s it. For now, anyway.”
“Terrific.”
Instead of crossing the pool to climb out where she had before, she swam to Jerry’s side. He watched as she placed her hands on the edge next to him and thrust herself up. Gillian stayed there for a moment, braced with stiff arms. She saw him glance at her breasts, then look into her eyes. “I’ll do a really hard one this time,” she said. “My grand finale.”
Jerry made a thumbs-up sign.
Gillian swung her leg up, climbed from the pool, and hurried to the diving board. She walked out to the end of it, stood motionless until the board stopped shaking, then did an about-face.
Her back to the pool, she stood erect with her arms at her sides. She jumped, bounded straight up, came down again and bounced higher. On the third leap, she shot herself away from the board, did a quick somersault
