Melinda’s Story

After washing off the grime from the hike and rinsing away the purple hair, I was almost ready to forgive Pat. I put on my low-back bathing suit and went down to the pool. Walter and Lily were lazing around on some tubes. Pat was lying on a deck chair playing with his phone.

I sat in the chair beside him with a sigh. “I’m sorry for getting upset with you.”

He sat up, swinging his legs around to face me. “No. You had every right. I kept getting us lost. I should have listened to you.” He leaned a little closer. “Forgive me?”

I frowned. “I shouldn’t. Tell you what. You can make it up to me.”

Pat sat back, sending me a skeptical look. “How?”

With a smirk, I held up a bottle of sunscreen I had found in Meghan’s bathroom. “Can you do my back?”

Pat kissed me before taking the bottle. “Turn around.”

Not long after Pat and I jumped into the pool, Lily and Walter decided they were done. When they went into the house to change, Pat and I took their tubes.

Pat grabbed the handle on mine, pulling me close. “Hey. We okay?”

I smiled. “Yeah. We’re okay.”

“So, what should we do the rest of the day? You up for Weddas?”

I shrugged. “Well, I kind of wanted to work on my puzzles some more.”

Pat frowned. “Why can’t I see it?”

“Okay. Remember when we did the one at my house? We glued it to make a poster? Well, I bought a few puzzles to make posters this week.”

“Yeah, I figured. But I kind of want to do them with you.”

I sighed. “And you can. But right now, I’m making one for you and I want to surprise you with it when I’m done.”

Pat looked taken aback. “That’s really sweet. And I love you. Okay. You finish your puzzle. I’ll just bug Walter and Lily this afternoon.”

I splashed him. “Don’t you dare. Leave them alone.”

Pat frowned. “You realize they’re not coming back, right? They’ve probably got their tongues down each other’s throats right now.”

I was pretty sure he was right, but it didn’t bother me. I smiled at Pat. “Are we jealous?”

“No. I just don’t think he’s making responsible decisions.”

“Pat?”

 “Hmm?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

It was surprisingly easy to kiss from the tubes. Pat pulled mine close until we were almost back-to-back. Leaning in, he placed his hand behind my head and brought my mouth to his. Any residual frustration I may have been feeling was gone, and a warmth filled me from head to toe.

Our lips still together, Pat moved a hand to my back, gliding it up and down a moment before pulling me closer. He leaned into me.

And fell out of his tube. I shrieked as his splash soaked me. By the time Pat returned to the surface, however, I was laughing.

He swam to my tube. The water was about waist high, so he had no problem wrapping his arms around me. I expected him to kiss me, so I wrapped my arms around his neck.

As he brought his lips close to mine, he smirked. “Think it’s funny, do you?”

Before I could respond, he yanked me off the tube and into the water. I didn’t fall under, but I did shriek in surprise. Before it could turn into a scream, Pat crushed his mouth to mine, lowering us until our shoulders were underwater.

We stayed like that for some time. I loved the feeling of Pat’s hands tracing along my back. But we couldn’t stay like that forever. Eventually, I rested my forehead against his.

“So, according to rule four, I have to tell you that I’m having trouble with rule two, making me question rule three.”

Pat leaned back. “Huh?”

His confused expression was so comical, I had to laugh. Frowning, he mumbled to himself as he tried to figure out what I had said.

“Rule four . . . talk to each other . . . about rule two . . . self-control . . . Aware . . . Rule three . . . boundaries.” He smirked and pulled me closer. “Me too. I’m thinking maybe it’s time to go work on your puzzle?”

He gave me a quick kiss before swimming to the stairs. I followed him out of the pool, drying off as best I could and wrapping my towel around myself. As I made my way through the house, I looked for Walter and Lily. They weren’t in the kitchen or playroom. I even checked Walter’s room, but it was empty.

After changing into dry clothes, I went back downstairs. I wanted a snack while I worked on my puzzle. Pat was in the fridge.

I smiled as he closed the door. “I was thinking of making some popcorn. Would you like some?”

He kissed the top of my head. “Yes. Since you’re doing your puzzle, can I bring my laptop to the library and watch a video? I’ll sit on the floor so I can’t see what you’re doing.”

I shrugged. “Yeah. I don’t mind. Wouldn’t you rather play Weddas with Walter, though?”

Pat frowned. “He has disappeared. Any ideas where he could be?”

I considered for a moment. “Downstairs? Maybe they’re watching a movie in the theater?”

Pat nodded. “Yeah. I’ll check. Know what? That sounds delicious. I’ll go down there to make popcorn. You start your puzzle. I’ll bring it up to you.”

I gave him a quick kiss. “You’re the best.” After grabbing a diet cola from the fridge, I headed back to the library. If I didn’t get too distracted, I might even finish Pat’s poster tonight.

Pat’s Story

I felt a little better after using the bathroom. But hiking had left me hot and sweaty. I was in the mood for a swim.

Lily and Walter reached the pool at the same time as me. Although, since they were holding hands and whispering, I wasn’t sure they even noticed me.

I dove into the water, doing a quick lap before climbing out. That was enough to cool me. I could wait for Melinda before going back in.

As I settled into a deck chair, I thought about my girlfriend. She had seemed really frustrated with me. Was she angry or just annoyed?

I knew I needed to apologize, but I wasn’t sure whether to visit her room or wait for her to come to me. Would she even know where I was?

 I had my phone in my hand to text her when I saw her through the kitchen window. She was wearing a bathing suit, so I assumed she was joining me. Sure enough, a moment later, she sat on the neighboring chair.

She turned to me with an adorable sigh. “I’m sorry for getting upset with you.”

Sitting up, I turned to her. “No. You had every right. I kept getting us lost. I should have listened to you.” Lowering my voice, I leaned into the space between us. “Forgive me?”

She pouted. “I shouldn’t. Tell you what. You can make it up to me.”

That wasn’t very fair. Frowning, I sat upright again. “How?”

She held up a bottle of sunscreen with a smile. “Can you do my back?”

That wasn’t exactly a punishment. She was wearing the suit with no back. The one I liked to think of as the breakup suit.

Kissing her, I took the bottle. “Turn around.”

It was a little easier for me to apply the sunscreen today, mostly because I kept reminding myself that it would make Melinda less mad at me. Still, she didn’t complain when I dipped my fingers just under the edges of her suit. Or when I took a little longer than necessary to make sure I covered every inch of her back.

When I was on the edge of losing my self-control, I ran my hands along her arms and leaned close to whisper in her ear. “You in the mood for a swim?”

She kissed me over her shoulder. “That sounds fun.”

I smirked. “Jumping contest? Biggest splash wins?”

She frowned. “How would we judge that?”

I nodded toward the pool, where my brother and Lily were floating in some inflatable tubes. “We could jump close to them. Whoever gets them the most soaked wins.”

“Leave them alone.” She smacked my arm as she stood.

After jumping into the water behind Melinda, I swam behind her and pulled her into my arms, lowering us both until our shoulders were under water. When she didn’t resist, I whispered in her ear.

“What do you say to a diving contest? We toss the rings into the pool. Whoever collects the most wins.”

She turned in my arms, wrapping her legs on either side of me until she was practically sitting in my lap. “That sounds fun.”

Of course, I now had a ton of other ideas, all of which involved her remaining where she was, but I didn’t think we should test any of our boundary lines. Especially with my brother floating beside us.

So instead, I released Melinda and swam to the edge of the pool. Hoisting myself out, I went to the deck box, digging through it until I found the set of dive rings. I counted, making sure I had all nine before returning to the edge of the pool. I tossed the rings in both the shallow and deep ends before hopping back in.

Melinda frowned. “Don’t we need goggles?”

I shook my head. “This makes it harder. But you have to pick up the rings with your hands. No using your feet.”

She nodded slowly. “Okay. I can do that. So, what’s at stake?”

I took a page from my friend Bethany’s book. “Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll go out for ice cream. Winner buys.”

Melinda smiled. “You’re on. But we start at the stairs.”

As I chased her there, I considered my strategy. I could stay in the low end, probably collecting the rings faster than Melinda. But I knew I could swim faster than her. If I just grabbed one on my way, I could get to the deep end first. That would give me a major advantage.

Melinda glanced at me. “Ready?”

I nodded, angling myself toward a nearby ring.

“Okay. Then, on your mark . . . Get set . . . Go!”

I dove under the water, sweeping my hands back and forth as I pushed off the stairs. My hand closed around a ring. I pushed it onto my arm like a bracelet as I continued swimming. I was a strong swimmer. If I weren’t on a scavenger hunt, I probably could have made it across the pool without coming up for air.

I grabbed a second ring before surfacing. Wiping the water from my eyes, I glanced around. Even here, in the deep end, the water fairly shallow. Only a few inches above my head. But for Melinda, it was closer to a foot. And that gave me the advantage. As I suspected, she had opted to stay in the low end. I watched her walk to a ring, kneel, and grab it. Even at that depth, her head went under. I almost let her win just because she was so adorable.

But I was more competitive than that. Diving under my brother, I swam for a ring I had seen just to my left. It took a few seconds of sweeping before I found it. When I surfaced, I was near Lily.

I wiped my eyes. “Sorry.”

She shrugged. “You’re fine.” She pointed behind me. “There’s one right there.”

“Thanks.”

I turned, seeing the ring she meant. Another one lay close to it. Angling myself to create a line, I dove underwater. After grabbing one, then the other, I surfaced, adding it to the other three on my arm. I only needed one more to win.

I looked for my girlfriend. She was underwater, not far from me. I watched as she found a ring with her toe, bent to retrieve it, and surfaced. Treading water, she wiped her eyes and smiled at me.

“Is that all of them?”

I shrugged. “Dunno. How many you got?”

She counted the rings on her arm. “Five. How about you?”

I swam to her, taking her in my arms. “I guess that means I’m buying ice cream tomorrow.” The water was above her head, but I could reach on my toes. I took a couple of steps toward the shallow end anyway.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Walter whisper something to Lily near the ladder. A minute later, they were climbing out of the pool.

I called to my brother. “Doofus. You guys want to dive with us?”

He shook his head. “Nah. We’re going inside for a while.”

I sent him a look of warning and he responded with a rude hand gesture.

Since they were done with them, I grabbed the floaties, passing one to Melinda. While I pushed myself through the middle to climb into the tube in a most undignified manner, she brought hers to the stairs to sit gracefully on top.

I paddled to her side, grabbing a handle on the edge of her tube and pulling her close. “Hey. We okay?”

Her adorable smile answered my question before she even responded. “Yeah. We’re okay.”

“So, what should we do the rest of the day? You up for Weddas?”

She bit her lip. “Well, I kind of wanted to work on my puzzles some more.”

Did she mean without me again? “Why can’t I see it?”

“Okay. Remember when we did the one at my house? We glued it together to make a poster? Well, I bought a few puzzles to make posters this week.”

“Yeah, I figured. But I kind of want to do them with you.”

She sighed. “And you can. But right now, I’m making one for you and I want to surprise you with it when I’m done.”

She was making a present just because? I wasn’t quite sure what to say. “That’s really sweet. And I love you. Okay. You finish your puzzle. I’ll just bug Walter and Lily this afternoon.”

She splashed me. “Don’t you dare. Leave them alone.”

“You realize they’re not coming back, right? They’ve probably got their tongues down each other’s throats right now.”

She smirked. “Are we jealous?”

A little. But not enough to do anything about it. I shook my head. “No. I just don’t think he’s making responsible decisions.”

She sent me an incredulous look. “Pat?”

“Hmm?”

“Shut up and kiss me.”

She didn’t have to ask me twice. I pulled her tube closer until we were shoulder to shoulder, then leaned closer to her. With my free hand, I pulled her head to mine. Our lips met and my heart stopped beating normally.

I wanted more of her. She was wearing that backless bathing suit. My hands were itching to explore. I let go of the raft to trace my hand along her bare skin. The urgency in her kiss told me she was enjoying it.

I leaned a little closer. But I had forgotten we were in the pool. My tube slid from underneath me and I fell into the space between us.

I surfaced to find Melinda laughing at me. I went to her, easily standing and wrapping my arms around her and drawing her in for a kiss. She locked her hands behind my neck.

I smiled at her. “Think it’s funny, do you?”

She nodded, bringing her mouth to mine.

I pulled her into the water. While I didn’t dunk her, I did liberate her from her tube.

I silenced her shriek with a kiss, bending my knees until our heads were the only part of us above water. She wrapped her body around mine and I let my hands explore.

I could have stayed like that forever. I was tempted to give my hands permission to wander. But Melinda had other ideas.

She rested her forehead against mine. “So, according to rule four, I have to tell you that I’m having trouble with rule two, making me question rule three.”

“Huh?” My brain was a little fuzzy. I leaned back slightly to frown at her as I mentally reviewed our relationship rules. Number four was that we had to talk to each other. So, she wanted to talk about rule two, which was having enough self-control to be aware of rule three, our boundaries.

Aw. She wanted me as much as I wanted her. Unfortunately, that made me even more attracted to her. Smiling, I brought her close again.

“Me, too. I’m thinking maybe it’s time to go work on your puzzle?”

Without waiting for an answer, I kissed her quickly before diving away to the stairs. She followed me to the deck chairs, where we toweled off. I watched her wrap a towel around herself. She didn’t put it around her waist, but under her arms, as if she had just gotten out of the shower. Even though I knew she was still wearing her bathing suit, it gave the impression she wasn’t.

I felt my self-control slipping even more. Following Melinda into the house, I detoured to my room, taking my time rinsing off in a cold shower.

I still beat my girlfriend downstairs. I had just opened the fridge when she entered the kitchen.

She smiled at me. “I was thinking of making some popcorn. Would you like some?”

That sounded fantastic. I kissed the top of her head. “Yes. Since you’re doing your puzzle, can I bring my laptop to the library and watch a video? I’ll sit on the floor so I can’t see what you’re doing.”

She shrugged. “Yeah. I don’t mind. Wouldn’t you rather play Weddas with Walter, though?”

Now that she mentioned it, I hadn’t seen him since he and Lily had left the pool. I frowned. “He has disappeared. Any ideas where he could be?”

Melinda made a face. “Downstairs? Maybe they’re watching a movie in the theater?”

“Yeah. I’ll check.” Actually, that gave me an idea. I snapped my fingers, pointing at her. “Know what? That sounds delicious. I’ll go down there to make popcorn. You start your puzzle. I’ll bring it up to you.”

She kissed me. “You’re the best.” She grabbed a soda and headed upstairs. Meanwhile, I made my way to the theater to see what my brother wasn’t watching.

Attention Hammerheads

Melinda is always trying to build her vocabulary. What were some words in this episode that were new to you? She will add them to her vocabulary journal.