Heatstroked

It was after time we would have normally locked the pro shop doors by the time we had hit every store in town. Instead of heading back out immediately, I asked Becki if she would mind stopping in at Mom's.

Mom was home and happy to see us. If she'd put a single thing in the boxes or moved them since my last visit, I couldn't tell.

"Hey," I said, once we were settled. "Emma dropped off a bunch of these brochure things, but she didn't say how much they cost."

"That's probably because I took care of it, dear," Mom said as she looked over the one she was holding.

"You did?" I glanced at Becki. "Um, we... you might not should have done that."

"Why not?" Mom asked.

"Willard and Eunice are still a little upset with me for buying groceries for them. They have a really dim view of charity for some reason."

"If it bothers them, they can give me a free membership for the year," Mom shrugged. "So, have you spoken to Jan?"

"Er, no," I admitted. "We've been a little busy. I'll... I guess I could write to her tonight. So, are you still thinking about moving?"

"Thinking about it," Mom said. "It makes more sense for me to be in Lubbock where my job is rather than commuting a half hour each way every day."

We visited for another half hour before we headed back out to the country club.

"About time," Willard scowled at me as Becki and I walked into the house.

"Hush, you," Eunice said. "Did you get it done?"

"Every business in town has our ad up in their front window," Becki said, taking her seat at the table. "The paper goes out tomorrow and our story will be in it. So, what are we going to do with the rest of those things? John and I go pass them out door to door tomorrow?"

"Nah," Willard said. "Ain't no sense in that with the postal service already going there."

"John and I can run them in in the morning," Eunice said. "I'd do it myself, but may need some help getting those boxes in."

I didn't really see the sunset that evening. I was too preoccupied with the town it was setting behind. Could what we had done make a difference? Or was it too little far too late?

Shortly after Willard and Eunice went inside, Becki came back out and joined me in the pool. I didn't really know what was going on with her or what to expect and contented myself with swimming alongside her.

"John, what's going on with you?" Becki asked after about an hour.

What was going on with me? Did she really just ask me that?

"I don't know what you're asking, Becki."

"John, it's been almost a week since we had sex. I know it's hard for us to get any time alone, but you haven't even tried."

"What?!" I glanced the direction of the house and lowered my voice. "What? Becki, you haven't exactly been trying to get me alone either. And this is the first time you've even mentioned you might want to have some alone time with me."

"Stop avoiding the issue," Becki sniffed. "Do you not want me anymore?"

"Of course I still want you! What kind of question is that?"

"Well, why don't you act like it?"

"Because I didn't think you wanted me to! You haven't acted like you wanted me either, Becki."

"Will you stop changing the subject? Do you want me or not?"

Words weren't getting us anywhere. I grabbed Becki and pulled her close, capturing my mouth with hers. After a long moment, I withdrew my tongue from her mouth and broke the contact between our lips.

"Does that answer your question?" I asked.

"Not really," Becki said.

Frustration came bubbling up inside me. What did she want? What could I say? What could I do?

I renewed our kiss, but this time I let my right hand explore her body while my left kept her pressed close. My touch wasn't gentle, half distracted by frustration and need.

My cock ached for Becki to touch me in return, but beyond kissing me back, she seemed content to stand there with her arms around my neck and allow me maul her.

I broke our kiss again when she moaned into my mouth as my fingers worked roughly between her thighs.

"Does that answer your question?" I repeated.

"Not really," Becki panted. Becki squealed and her thighs tightened against my hand.

Damn it! What did she want from me?!

I didn't ask. There didn't seem much point. Instead, I carried her to the edge of the pool to set her up out of the water. I plucked the string on her left hip and all but dove face first between her thighs.

Becki's fingers ran through my hair as I slurped and lapped and dug at her hidden treasure with my tongue. I kept at it until Becki mewled and wetness coated my lips and chin as her strong thighs tightened against the sides of my head.

"How about that?" I asked when she relaxed again following her orgasm.

"Not really," Becki grinned down at me.

My cock was throbbing in time with my pulse and I was leaving frustration behind and passing into the lower edge of anger. What the hell did she want?!

I yanked my swimsuit halfway down my thighs and pressed my tip against her swollen labia.

"Now?" I growled. "Now can you feel how much I want you?"

"Almost," Becki said. "But, not quite."

I was irritated, but I also loved her and didn't want to hurt her. That's the only thing that kept me from driving as deep as I could reach in one mighty thrust, tempting though it was.

"Yes," Becki hissed as I pressed my full length inside her, reaching up to cup the back of my neck. "Prove you want me, John. Show me how bad you want me."

I pulled back and thrust forward causing a wave of water to slap up the side and splash her. Becki made a sound that wasn't quite a yell, but was louder than she probably should have made if we didn't want to be caught.

I didn't care, so caught up in my frustrated need. I wouldn't have cared if Willard had come out and given me both barrels right in my naked ass as I began to pump into her. She wanted me to prove how much I wanted her? She wouldn't dare ask me that question again after I was done with her.

"Shit. Shit. Shit." Becki panted as I splashed and drove into her. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. That's it. Give it to me, John. I need it so bad."

Becki squealed as I caught her right knee in my hand and flipped her over without coming out. If she'd had a right foot, I couldn't have done it without hitting myself in the face with it.

Once she was on her stomach, I wrapped my strong fingers around her waist and redoubled my efforts pumping into her.

"How. About. Now?" I grunted as the waves splashed as our hips slapped against each other. "Do you think I want you, now?"

"Yes!" Becki cried. "Oh, my fucking God, yes! So fucking good!"

With one final lunge, I came. Becki cried out and tightened around me.

As my cock wilted, so did my frustration. In it's place, a sense of guilt came roiling over me at the rough handling I'd just inflicted on the woman I loved.

I withdrew as gently as I could and turned Becki to face me, lifting her up to hold her kiss her tenderly.

"I love you, Becki."

"I know you love me, John. I really do. You show me that every day. But, sometimes I need you to show me you want me, too."

"And what if I try to show you when you don't want me to?"

"Then I tell you I'm not in the mood right then and you stop and try again later," Becki shrugged. "Simple."

"I like my way better," I said. "You tell me when and how you want me and I try to make you happy."

"But, that would leave me wondering if you want me, John. Knowing you want me makes me happy."

There didn't seem to be anything I could say to that. I'd just told her I wanted to make her happy and she'd told me how to. I would just have to try.

--17Jul87--

Friday morning, Eunice and I saw Willard and Becki off on their rounds and then took the three boxes of brochures in to the local post office. A bulk mailing only took one full one and the one Becki and I had take some from to hang around town, even including the rural routes. I paid for it over Eunice's strident objections.

"You work for us, John," Eunice said as we drove back out. "We're supposed to be paying you. You aren't supposed to be supporting us."

"Okay," I said. "So, what do you think we should do with this other box? Maybe take it to the surrounding towns and hang them in businesses there?"

"I feel like you're ignoring me, John."

"I heard you, Eunice. I'm not ignoring you right now. But, honestly, I'm going to help out wherever I can for as long as Becki allows me to. You might as well get used to it."

"You're as stubborn as Willard."

"Thank you!"

"It wasn't a compliment."

It was difficult not to feel discouraged when no one came out across the weekend. I don't know. Maybe I expected too much from a newspaper article and a bunch of brochures.

I tried to be a little more aggressive with Becki with mixed results. We only had sex again on Saturday. Both Friday and Sunday, she told me she wasn't in the mood right then. What was the point in her having me put the moves on her just so she could say no?

--20Jul87--

Somehow, I'd been cut out of the golf course maintenance completely. Willard and Becki took care of that in the mornings before we opened and in the evenings after we closed while I hung around near the house, pro shop, and pool to play lifeguard and "pool boy" and help Eunice with the chores of laundry, cooking, and dishes.

Eunice and I were walking back down to the pro shop when a woman I'd never seen before came around the far corner. Eunice didn't know her either.

Jane Phillips was our first customer. A sign of a return to business. She filled out the forms for membership while I busied myself with pool maintenance.

When I stuck my head back in, Willard and Becki were back. And five more people were standing around in the pro shop. At least I knew those other five by sight even if I didn't know all their names.

While the other five were interested in playing golf, Ms. Phillips was interested in the pool and didn't seem to be happy that it wouldn't open until noon.

I had never understood why the pool didn't open until noon myself and weighed in on Ms. Phillips' side causing Willard, Eunice, and Becki to all shoot me a look.

It turned out Ms. Phillips didn't actually have any interest in getting in the pool. She did change into a swimsuit, a one piece job, but she kept some kind of wrap around her hips and brought a book wrapped in brown paper and a towel out and sat in one of the lounge chairs in the shade of the overhang wearing a broad brimmed hat and huge sunglasses.

Conscious of my duties as a real live lifeguard with an actual customer for the very first time, I sat up on the raised platform for an hour until I was bored out of my mind and sweat was trickling over my skin.

Well, if she wasn't going to use the pool, I needed to.

I dove off into the water and swam to the shallow end to check what was happening inside. And to get some clarification on what I was allowed to do. I glanced at Ms. Phillips and saw her head turned towards me, but when I looked, she quickly turned her attention back to her book.

"Sunbathers are tricky," Becki admitted after giving me a hard time. "As long as they are still, you can get away with reading or swimming. But, when they get up and start moving around, you have to give them your full attention. And, of course, if anyone gets in the water, well, that's what your here for. You have to be able to keep an eye on everyone in the water all at the same time. So, no books and no swimming if there is more than one actually in the water."

"Um, that might be a problem," I said. "I'll have to get in and cool off if I get too hot."

"Maybe you shouldn't have applied to be a lifeguard, then," Becki shot me a grin. "Look, if we get busy out there, I'll come lend a hand. Now, go do what Grammy and Grumps are paying you for."

It was a little better once I brought my book up on my stand with me. I was able to read a few pages between diving off into the water, although I glanced up every time Ms. Phillips so much as shifted.

Along about two, Ms. Phillips left. I was somewhat relieved. But, my reprieve was short lived. About three in the afternoon, two of my former teachers and one of the school librarians showed up for an hour.

I liked Miss Tucker, the librarian. She'd always been nice to me. But, I wasn't a big fan of either Mrs. Harbin or Ms. Gates. I don't guess they were too bad as people, really. But, I couldn't look at them or listen to them talk without remembering how much trouble I had in their classes.

Miss Tucker was the only one to come out in a swimsuit or get in the pool. Not that she really swam. She mostly just kind of crouched there and chatted with the other two as they sat in the chairs in slacks and blouses.

And, of course, all three of them wanted to know about my plans for the future. I trotted out my stand-by, the new Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Program, but they hit me with questions that quickly made it obvious to all four of us that I didn't have the first clue what that entailed.

Thank God they only stayed about an hour or so.

But, my day wasn't done yet.

About four thirty, a pair of familiar faces showed up although I couldn't place them at first. That tiny little four year old who'd been in my first swimming class hadn't grown just a whole lot, unless it was into a brat.

Lily Tennel wasn't much taller than she had been at four and was damn near as skinny, but the stud jocks on the football team my senior year could have taken attitude lessons from her.

Her mother, Dawn, looked old and tired for some reason. I mean, she was in her thirties, but she looked even older than that.

"I want Becki!" Lily said as she glowered at me.

To all of our mutual relief, Becki came out and swam and played with the little shit and shut her up until it came time for them to leave.

"We'll come back tomorrow, Lily," Dawn told her.

"No, we won't!" Lily screamed. "You always say that, but you never do what you say you will! That's why daddy left! I hate you!"

"Wow," Becki said softly after they were gone.

"Tell me about it," I sighed. "It's a good thing you came out when you did. I was about ready to introduce her to Gary. With a rope around their ankles."

"Be nice," Becki chided. "They are paying your wages, pool boy."

We were all in a good mood over dinner, even Willard. In addition to the five (and a half) people I'd had at the pool, another twelve I hadn't seen, since they were interested in playing golf, had joined. Or rejoined.

Becki introduced me to something she called "sixty-nine" that night beside the pool after Willard and Eunice had gone to bed. How something so wonderful could be called something so mundane, I still don't understand. I vote we change it to "nirvana" or "heaven" or something a little more suitable.

I was almost disappointed when Becki had me turn us around in that lounge chair so she could ride me to our mutual climax. Almost, but not quite.

--21Jul87--

The next day, another fifteen people signed up. Four of them used the pool area, but no one actually got in the pool until little Lily Tennel dragged her mom back out for the last half of the afternoon. Just listening to her shrill, bossy voice aimed at her mother, I wanted to hold her head under water until she bubbled. Becki was seven different kinds of awesome dealing with her. And, hey, I got to watch my sexy girlfriend splash around in a bikini, so I guess having the little twerp in the pool wasn't all bad.

--22Jul87--

On Wednesday, Ms. Phillips was back, and she brought two friends. Neither of which I recognized. They weren't bad looking for old ladies in their late thirties or early forties. But, it made no sense to me why they would come out from Lubbock just to sit next to the pool for a couple of hours reading books with big floppy brimmed hats and sunglasses. They were sitting in the shade the whole time, for crying out loud.

By the time the day was over, we'd hit fifty members. Only about a fifth of that had used the pool area and only Lily Tennel, Becki, and myself actually swam in it. But, that was all right with me. I was actually getting a little worried as I remembered what Becki had faced the first couple of summers it had been open and wondered if I could handle those kinds of numbers.

I guess I wasn't the only one because Becki was more serious about her training that night. It was the first night she'd managed to wrestle Gary across the surface of the water. I was so proud of her I didn't even mind we didn't have any kind of sex. Not much anyway.

--23Jul87--

Thursday, no one new signed up. No one came to the pool although a couple used the course. It was too much like what had gone before and I worried we hadn't gotten enough mileage out of our advertising. But, I was the only one.

"I can't believe you do this so many times," Becki panted while resting after a successful lap with Gary that night.

"You get used to it," I shrugged. "It was a struggle when I first started too."

"Can I say something without you getting your feelings hurt?" Becki asked.

"Uh, I think so." I was worried she was going to say something about our ersatz engagement.

"You can swim like a fish and you know your CPR and first aid, but you still have a lot to learn about being a lifeguard," Becki said. "You're not really much of a people person, John. And it shows. People, normal people, don't actually come to a swimming pool over the summer to swim. They come to be around other people. To see people and be seen by them. And to see those people seeing them.

"As the lifeguard," Becki went on, "you're supposed to be the soul of the pool as well as making sure everyone stays safe. You need to make eye contact more. You need to smile more. You need to make people feel like you are glad to see them."

"I am glad to see them!" I said. "I'm glad Willard and Eunice are making money again. That's what last week was all about! Why I tried so hard."

"And you did a good job," Becki said. "But, now the hard part starts. Every single person that comes through that door should feel like you are especially glad to see them."

"Did you do that?" I paused and studied Becki. "Becki? Did you do that to me?!"

"Of course," Becki said simply. "The first summer and most of the second anyway. I didn't know you then, John. Not until we spent some time just the two of us that second summer. By the third summer, I didn't have to pretend I was happy to see you. Then, I had more trouble pretending I was happy to see other people since they were interrupting time I was spending with you."

"Well, no one is interrupting us spending time together now," I said.

"No, they aren't," Becki said with a smile.

"Well, except for this asshole." I took Gary from Becki and hefted him out of the water to toss him a few feet away where he quickly sank to the bottom.

"You give me a complex sometimes," Becki laughed.

"How so?"

"Seriously, John? I just struggled to drag that thing across the surface of the water and you just picked it up out of the water and threw it."

"Well, how do you know you couldn't? You haven't tried yet."

"You know what I love most about you, John?" Becki asked as she linked her arms behind my neck. "You make me feel like I can do anything."

"Nah. You're the one who can do anything. I'm just a cheerleader."

For some reason that cracked Becki up. I'd gotten better at kissing Becki while she was laughing. Mostly because I didn't bother chasing her smiling lips but set my mouth to work on her neck, throat, and shoulders instead.

"I guess we're done training for tonight?" Becki's chuckles gave way to a moan.

"Only if you want to be," I whispered. "We can train some more and then make love. Or we can make love and then train some more. It's up to you."

"And if I want to train some more instead of have sex?" Becki asked.