“Well, you seem really confused now. It sounds like the best option. If they reject you, you’ll be ending it before falling in too deep, and if they don’t, you can kiss and have some great sex.”
What she proposed made sense, but the notion of going up to them and asking, “do you love me?” scared my wits out. “I might give it a shot.”
“That’s the spirit.” She grinned. “And while you’re mulling over things you shouldn’t be mulling over…” She took off her coat. What in Heaven's name was she doing? “How about a skinny dip in this pool?”
Kristie was in her undies before I had enough time to stop her.
“Carpe diem!” she shouted, before cannon-balling in.
***
We skinny-dipped a couple times during college. Back then, I would’ve joined in willingly, but I’ve packed on more than a few pounds after leaving the track team; I wasn’t that comfortable with my body anymore.
Kristie, on the other hand, looked just as slim as before. She didn’t have an inch of belly fat. Naturally-skinny people were so lucky.
“What are you waiting for?” Kristie said, swimming to the side of the pool. “Why don’t you join in?” Her blonde curls clumped together, and the water made her makeup run. How she still managed to look effortlessly-beautiful after that, I couldn’t figure out.
I had built a bit of a pooch, and I didn’t foresee I would get nak**ed in front of another person while the twins were away, so I was wearing ugly, mismatched undergarments. “No, thanks, Kristie, I’m not in the mood.”
“You need to loosen up a little sometimes, you know? You’re always so uptight about things. This pool is amazing; it’s deeper than it looks.” She pushed herself from the edge of the pool and waded around before dipping her head in and doing an underwater somersault.
It looked incredibly fun, and I wanted an excuse to go wild again like the old days. I’d be more willing if my panties weren’t green and my bra an awful color of beige.
“I’ll go change out into a bikini,” I said, smiling.
She pouted. “Really? And here I am in my underwear. That’s not fair.”
I laughed. “Whatever.”
As I turned to make my way to the bedroom, I met my worst nightmare.
The twins’ mother watched us from the window of the living room, crossing her hands and wearing a distasteful look. A tall man in a suit stood next to her, a silver briefcase grasped in his hand.
Shocked, and a tad bit frightened, I shouted, “Kristie!”
“Yeah?” she responded, her head popping from the water’s surface.
“Put on some clothes.”
“Why?”
“Their mom is here."
"What?"
"Their mom. The wife of the CEO of Crawford. She's watching us from the window."
“Oh, my God.” The sound of water splashing followed by the tap of footsteps echoed from behind.
“I'll have to greet her first.”
The doors to the living room were see-through and automatic, similar to the kind they installed in malls. I walked through them to confront the middle-aged, ice-queen bitch from hell.
Mrs. Crawford narrowed her eyes at me. Without giving me a chance to say hello, she said, “I don’t appreciate having a half-naked female swimming in my sons’ pool.”
My palms got clammy. She looked like the devil, ready to eat me alive. “I’m sorry, um, ma’am.” She stared silently, as if trying to evaluate my personality. I pulled down the corner of my lower lip, feeling nervous and awkward. “So, what brings you here? It’s quite late.” I’d normally go up to people who didn’t like me and tell them to f**k off, but this woman was the twins’ mother. I wanted her to like me; if not, at least show a hint of acceptance.
But all she showed was plain disgust.
Tipping her chin up, she turned around and gestured to the man to follow her with a finger. “I have a proposal for you.” The man placed the briefcase onto the coffee table. She sat on one of the couches, but I remained standing, not having gotten permission to sit down. “Stay away from my sons, and you'll be duly rewarded.” Her servant opened the briefcase and presented a giant heap of money to me. How much was in there? Thick stacks of hundred dollar notes filled the briefcase.
I’d never come across so much cash in my life.
“There’s a hundred thousand dollars in here,” she said. “I can have another few hundred thousand wired to your account by tomorrow. I promise to pay you as much as you want, as long as you stay away from my sons. Name your price. Of course, it has to be within reasonable limits.”