A Reason to Love

I'll close my eyes and be a gentleman."
She grunted something. At the beach club, Niki had changed into capri pants and an oversized T-shirt. She examined her options. Jumping nude into a Jacuzzi with a man she barely knew was asking for trouble.
"All right," she called, "I'm coming in. Keep your eyes closed."

She stepped out of her capris and her panties and unsnapped her bra. She slid the straps down her arms. No point in getting her undergarments wet. Tugging the T-shirt down past her knees, she placed one leg over the edge of the hot tub and tested the warmth of the water with her big toe. It was tepid to the touch.

Carey's eyes were shut when she plunged in next to him. The T-shirt billowed around her. Niki yanked at it and perched gingerly on the edge of the ledge, letting the cascading jets ease the tension in her lower back. She wouldn't think about the hateful mail she'd left behind. Time enough to deal with that later.

"You can open your eyes now," she said to Cary.

"At last." Quickly realizing he'd been duped, his expression changed from anticipation to incredulity. Recovering, he joked. "To think I was conjuring up these fantasies of a naked Niki, her long legs brushing mine, her head tilted back, enjoying the late evening sun. Instead I get a clothed woman acting as if I'd bite."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"Ah, but I'll only have more to look forward to the next time around."

"There won't be a next time."

Cary threw back his head and roared. "How can you be so sure?"

Why did she get the feeling he was up to something? She was practically sitting on top of him, uncomfortably aware that, under the bubbling surface, he wore nothing. Cary's elbows brushed hers. The rough hairs of his legs rubbed against hers. Placing an arm around her shoulders, he whispered in her ear. "When was the last time you were with a man?'