I looked around and he laughed.
‘Trust me, there is no one around for miles.’
I slowly removed my shoes and then my almost see-through wrap dress and hesitated again. I was wearing a two-piece swimsuit that was very respectable by his standards I imagine.
He grinned. ‘Ah, you’ve never skinny-dipped, have you?’
I could have lied and pretended I was cool, but I’d never got my gear off in a pool or on the beach before, not even my top.
I shook my head. ‘I don’t like to alarm families and small children,’ I answered, and he laughed.
‘There’s nothing like being natural and moving freely. We were born that way after all,’ he said. ‘C’mon beautiful, get your gear off and join me.’
I saw the two towels he had placed on the deck chairs at the end of the pool so at least they were within reach if I had to exit the pool in a hurry. I was about to expose my entire body for the second time to Edgar Linton.
Edgar moved and I turned expecting to see him coming for me but by the side of the pool was an expensive-looking silver ice bucket with a bottle of French champagne resting in it, immersed in ice. I knew it was French because I recognised the label from our dinner the other night. I had said I loved its crisp bubbly flavour and here it was again.Thoughtful.
‘I’ll help loosen you up,’ he said, and while he was pouring, I stripped at super speed and dived in behind him, splashing him and beating him to the free strip show.
I surfaced and laughed and he splashed me.
‘Well that wasn’t fair, I’ll have to punish you for that later.’
‘Oh? What did you have in mind?’ I asked, intrigued and a little too enthusiastically.
‘Never you mind. I’ll find something in my bondage room,’ he said, and I laughed. At least I think he was joking; it was hard to tell with Edgar – I knew so little about him and I knew every fibre of Heath. I guess that was what this weekend was all about.
He put the champagne glasses down on the edge of the pool and swam toward me. It felt amazing to be naked, just swimming in the cool water and now with his arms reaching for me. He ran his hands down my back and pulled me against his chest and then we kissed like we were the only two people left on the earth at this moment, right here, right now.
Chapter 22 – The invasion
I had my legs wrapped around Edgar as we held each other and kissed in his beautiful blue oasis. The afternoon dusk was warm and scented and the statue lights had come on even though it was only early twilight. Then I heard it.Fuck!Isabella’s laugh.
I looked up in a state of panic and Edgar almost dropped me. Standing poolside was Isabella looking ethereal in a Boho white dress and bronze sandals, her blonde hair falling around her and loosely tied at the back of her neck. She looked like her brother – golden. And then I saw him, in a state of half undress, near the chair where my dress was draped – Heath.
‘Oh my God, you didn’t tell me you were coming here this weekend,’ Isabella said and giggled. Yes, giggled. Like it was the most wonderful surprise ever.
Edgar smirked at her. ‘You’re supposed to be in Brighton, not cramping my style.’
They were laughing and talking like this was the most natural thing in the world.
‘You are both naked!’ she said, covering her eyes and laughing.
I dropped my legs from around Edgar’s waist and stood in the water that only came to my shoulders. I moved behind him and pressed my chest against him so that Isabella couldn’t see my naked body! And Heath in his jeans, no shirt, muscly and strong stood mouth agape, glaring at me.
I dropped out of Edgar and Isabella’s banter. It was like our childhood all over again. The golden Lintons in their white house, and the invading savages – Heath and I. We were staring at each other. I was naked in a pool with Edgar, he was standing there half-undressed with this other woman as if they had been discarding clothes as they entered.
Heath and Cathy, Cathy and Heath.
The pain of seeing Heath with her was so acute, and knowing how seeing me with Edgar would cut him, I thought I was going to hyperventilate. But it wasn’t pain written on Heath’s face, it wasn’t even jealousy. It was pure unadulterated anger.
We glared at each other and then Edgar seemed to realise; he went into gentleman mode and pushed me a little further behind him, I held his shoulders and pressed against his back. Isabella made a show of stealing our towels, but Edgar sidled us to the pool’s edge, hoisted himself out in one swift move and she turned her face with a show of dramatics and dangled the towels.
He grabbed one and wrapped it around his waist. Remembering his manners, he extended his hand to Heath.
‘Hi, good to see you again, Heath, and welcome. Cathy tells me you’ve been passing this place for years on your adventures as our neighbours.’
Heath shook his hand briefly and responded with something short and less charming.