Chapter Seven
CHAPTER SEVEN
By the time the weekend rolled around, I was ready to have a little fun. On Saturday morning, after I returned from my pilates class, I found Robert on the couch, a rental website filling the screen.
“Do you want to go swimming?” I asked.
He looked up at me. “Swimming? Where?” He closed his laptop.
“There’s a swimming pool here. I don’t use it much, but I figured it could be fun.” When I first moved in, I swam a few times, enchanted by the fact I’d lived in a building with its own swimming pool. But as time went on and I grew busier, I used it less. I realized it wasn’t very fun swimming by myself. Sure, I could swim laps, but I found other forms of exercise more enjoyable.
Robert stood up. “I haven’t swum in years. Let’s hope I haven’t forgotten how.”
I laughed. “If you drown, I’ll save you.”
“Were you a lifeguard or something?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Just a competent swimmer.”
He put his hands to his chest, pretending I’d wounded him. “I used to be a lifeguard, actually. It was my part-time job during the summers when I was a teenager.”
“Ah, so a hundred years ago.”
He elbowed me, and it was the lightest touch, but my skin tingled. What was with me? Maybe I was just touch-deprived. It had been a while since I’d been with someone.
“I’ll go get changed,” Robert said, disappearing into his room.
I went into my own bedroom and stepped into my walk-in wardrobe, scanning the selection of swimsuits I owned. I should have chosen one at random or even a conservative one-piece, but my hands drifted to a turquoise blue bikini set, the one that made me look the best.
It shouldn’t have mattered whether I looked good or not. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress Robert. But I couldn’t help myself. I got changed and checked myself in my standing mirror.
The light blue color looked lovely against my complexion and blonde hair. The bikini top revealed some cleavage but still looked classy, and the cut of the bottoms created the illusion of an hourglass figure, making my waist look small and my hips look wide. I checked that everything was properly covered, then put on a crochet maxi dress to cover myself up.
I grabbed two fluffy white towels and a bottle of sunscreen before meeting Robert in the living room. He wore dark blue swim trunks and a white t-shirt. I tried not to feel disappointed that the t-shirt covered him up. He was my tenant, not eye candy.
“It’s up on the roof,” I said, heading toward the door.
“A rooftop pool?” Robert’s eyes widened as he followed me out of the apartment and down the hallway to the elevator. “Your building’s even fancier than I thought.”
I laughed as we stepped into the elevator. “So, tell me the story about your lifeguard job.”
“You really want to hear about it? It’s ancient history.”
I nodded, maintaining a straight face. “I’m actually very interested in the 1920s.”
That made him laugh, deep and rich. Every time I made him smile, I felt proud of myself, though I’d never admit it.
“I worked for the country club in my hometown,” he said. “I started when I was eighteen, and I was very lucky to get that job. It paid way better than anything else I could get in that town. My friends would sweat away doing labor or flipping burgers, and I’d get to sit in the sun. It was a great job. I was sad to leave.”
“Why did you?” I asked.
His expression changed. “Emily—Mike’s mother—got pregnant. Mike was born the summer after we graduated from high school. I quit to get a full-time job.”
Right. Mike had mentioned his parents were high school sweethearts and got pregnant when they were teenagers. Robert had been nineteen.
I couldn’t imagine having a child at that age. When I was nineteen, all I cared about was college and saving money.
Heck, I couldn’t even imagine having a child now, at twenty-nine.
It was a shock to realize Robert had gone through a lot at such a young age.
The elevator dinged as we arrived at the roof, and Robert pulled a smile. “We’re here,” he said in a bright voice.
“Yep,” I said, matching his voice. I doubted either of us wanted to linger in the past. “It’s pretty great.”
I led him down the stone path to where the rectangular-shaped pool awaited us. The water was clear and as blue as the sky. To the side was a row of loungers and a few tables with umbrellas casting shade on them. I dropped our things off on one of the tables and turned to face him, my fingers messing with the thin fabric of my crochet dress.
Robert tugged his shirt off without any hesitation, and my breath caught in my throat as I saw big biceps and a light dusting of brown hair on his broad chest.
Fuck, he looked good.
I quickly averted my eyes as he picked up the sunscreen and squirted some into his hand. I took my dress off, pulling it over my head. I folded it neatly and placed it on a table. When I turned to Robert, I caught his eyes lingering on my hips, but he quickly looked away. I might’ve been imagining it, but his Adam’s apple seemed to bob. He looked guilty.
My heart rate picked up. Don’t feel guilty, I thought. You can look.
“Here,” he said, thrusting the bottle of sunscreen at me without meeting my eyes.
“Thanks,” I said, taking it. I slathered sunscreen over my face and body, and Robert did the same. The sunscreen made his skin look shiny, emphasizing the impressive form of his muscles.
I told myself to stop staring and focused on trying to get sunscreen on my back.
Robert hesitated. “Do you need help?”
I shouldn’t.
“That would be great, thanks.”
I turned around, my body feeling tight with anticipation. Then, he placed two warm hands on me, rubbing sunscreen into my upper back. I moved my hair out of the way, and it felt strangely vulnerable, letting him see the nape of my neck.
I tried to control my breathing as he worked around the straps of my bikini, and then moved to my lower back. His fingers brushed the hem of my bikini bottoms, and I imagined his hands sliding lower. Heat pooled between my thighs.
Was it just me? Was I the only one feeling this? Or did he feel the tension too?
“There,” he said, and I swore his voice was rougher than usual.
“Thanks,” I said, turning back around and avoiding his gaze. Technically, you were supposed to wait fifteen or twenty minutes after applying sunscreen to go swimming, and usually, I always took great care of my skin.
But in that moment, I stepped into the pool without hesitation, needing to cool off immediately. Water enveloped me, and I kept drifting deeper until the water reached just above my swimsuit top. At the sound of light splashing, I turned to see Robert slipping into the water
“Wow, this is nice,” he said.
I smiled at him. “Isn’t it? It’s heated, so the temperature’s perfect. You can use it in the winter too.” I paused. That was if Robert was still here come wintertime, which was still a few months away.
We swam up and down the length of the pool, getting used to the temperature of the water.
“This brings me back to the country club,” Robert said. I tried not to notice the droplets rolling down his wide shoulders.
“I thought lifeguards sit and watch, not swim,” I said.
“You underestimate how many times people got in trouble,” he said. “Kids being silly, women drowning…”
I laughed. “Women drowning was surely not a common occurrence.”
His eyes sparkled. “You’d be surprised. As soon as I clocked on, there’d be some woman or another needing assistance.”
“They just wanted your attention.”
He chuckled. “They did mention that their husbands were busy golfing several times,” he said. “You can imagine it. Bored housewives, wanting something to occupy them.”
“And did you ever take them up on the offer?”
He shook his head. “No. I loved Emily.”
I cringed. “Right, of course.” I’d forgotten he’d been with her.
Robert moved closer. His hair was wet at the ends. “What about you?”
“Have older women ever hit on me? No.”
He chuckled. “No, I meant what was your part-time job as a teenager? Or were you one of those kids who didn’t need one?”
“Ha. No, not at all. I got a job as soon as I was old enough. Mostly waitressing and bartending. You know, for the tips.” He was looking at me with an odd expression. “What?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, nothing. I just…I assumed you might’ve been like Mike. Having fun in high school, rather than working. I guess he didn’t need the money. His mother and I might’ve spoiled him.”
I forced a smile. “No, I had to work. I…I didn’t grow up wealthy.”
I wasn’t ashamed of my background, but it wasn’t something I admitted frequently. It tended to make people uncomfortable. Most of my coworkers came from families full of lawyers. If I said my mother worked behind a shop counter, and my dad was unemployed more often than not, it would make people think I didn’t belong somewhere as shiny as Ashcroft.
And I did belong. I had worked for it.
Robert’s eyes were intent on mine. “I didn’t either,” he said. He moved closer, his hand brushing my arm. “But you know what? Your beginnings just make all of this —” he gestured around the pool “— more impressive.”
I smiled, warmth filling my chest. “Thank you, Robert. That’s really nice of you to say.”
Water gently rocked around us, and I realized our legs were almost touching under the water. I panicked, so I splashed him. Right in the face.
As soon as I did it, I regretted it. What a childish thing to do —
“Oh, no you don’t,” Robert said, and splashed me back. The cool water drenched my hair, and I shrieked.
And just like that, we were splashing each other like elementary school children rather than fully grown adults. The air was filled with shrieks and laughter as I swam away from Robert, escaping his retribution.
“You’re not going to get away that easily,” he said.
“Feels pretty easy to me,” I called back. “I’m a faster swimmer than you.”
“We’ll see about that.”
My heart was in my throat as I kicked my feet as fast as I could. I’d almost reached the end of the pool when something grabbed my ankle. Robert yanked me towards him, and I screamed.
“Told you I’d catch you,” he said after pulling me in front of him, his arm around my waist so I couldn’t escape. I splashed him, but laughter died in my throat when I realized what we were doing. He was…holding me. And I was so close to him, I could wrap my arms around his neck or hook my legs around him, if I wanted to.
Robert’s smile faded, like he’d realized the same thing I had. His gaze flitted to my lips, and I imagined him leaning forward, brushing his lips against mine —
The shrill sound of my phone ringing tore us from the spell. I blinked a few times, then jerked out of Robert’s grip. “I…I should get that.” Without waiting for an answer, I swam to the nearest ladder and pulled myself out of the pool. I hurried over to the table, dried my hands, then answered my phone.
“Hey! I’m here with the dress I borrowed from you,” Emilia chirped.
That was right. She’d mentioned a few days ago that she was returning the pink dress today, but I’d forgotten about it. I’d been too swept up in…him.
“I’ll be right there. We were at the pool,” I explained as I grabbed my towel to start drying off, my heart thumping rapidly like I had been caught doing something illicit.
“‘We?’ Oh,” Emilia replied with a suggestive tone to her voice.
“See you in a minute.” I hung up before she could tease me or bombard me with questions. I was already going to get an earful when I met her at my apartment.
Robert had hauled himself out of the pool. Water tumbled across his skin before dripping onto the concrete. Looking at him reminded me of a greek god emerging out of the ocean. “Everything okay?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yeah. My friend Emilia is here to drop off a dress she borrowed. You can stay here if you want. It won’t take long.”
“I’ll go with you. It’s almost lunchtime anyway.”
I checked the time on my phone and was surprised to see that it was. Time had gotten away from us.
“This was fun though,” Robert said. “We’ll have to do it again.”
An uncontrollable smile crossed my lips as I nodded. Apart from those tense moments, it had been nice to play like a kid again. Robert wasn’t the kind to turn up his nose at something immature. No, he’d splashed and chased me too, and honestly, it was kind of cute.
Once we both dried off and got dressed, we took the elevator back down to my floor and went back to my apartment where Emilia was waiting outside, carrying a bag.
“Brooke!” she called, and then her gaze fell on Robert. Her mouth parted. She wasn’t even trying to hide her reaction.
I gave her a look with my eyes, and she quickly composed herself. “Hi! I’ve got your clothes here.” She lifted the bag, then smiled at Robert. “Hi, I’m Emilia, Brooke’s friend. You must be Robert.” She offered him her hand.
He took it, shaking it once. “That’s right. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“She’s teasing,” I said, giving Emilia a warning look. I unlocked the front door of my apartment, letting everyone inside.
Robert laughed. “Well, I better jump into the shower. I’ll leave you guys to it.”
Emilia and I watched him disappear. The second his bedroom door shut, Emilia clutched my hands. “Brooke, holy hell. You did not mention your new tenant is a total DILF!”
“Keep your voice down,” I hissed.
“I’m not usually into older guys, but wow. Did you see the shoulders on that man?”
“We’ve just been swimming. Of course I saw his shoulders.”
Emilia gave me a teasing smile. “I can see you’re wearing your best bikini.” Her gaze drifted up to my face. “Your cheeks are pink! Did something happen?”
“No!” I lied. “Listen, I know he’s…good-looking, but it’s not like that. We’re just friends. I’m helping him out. That’s all.”
Emilia pursed her lips at me, seeing right through my sorry attempt to act unfazed. “You like him.”
“I do not,” I replied, lying through my teeth once again.
Emilia didn’t look convinced.
“Fine, yes. He’s handsome as hell, and he’s funny, and he’s nice. But nothing’s ever going to happen. He’s too old for me, and he’s Mike’s dad. It’s just…wrong.”
Her expression softened. “Okay, I’ll stop teasing.” She hesitated. “Should I go? I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything.”
I shook my head quickly. I loved Emilia, and I wanted to spend time with her. “No, stay, have lunch. I’m sure Robert would love to cook for you.”
Her eyes went wide. “And he cooks too?”