Breaking Into the Business (28 page)

I
dropped the phone away from my face just a little.

“What’s
he asking?”

“He
wants to know if I have the money.”

“Tell
him that you have it.”

“But
I don’t.”

“Tell
him you have the money, Lana.”

She
cocked her head to the side and opened her eyes wide. I tried to understand
what she was planning.

“I
have your money,” I told the caller. I had to trust that Pearl might know what
she was doing.

“Good.
I’ll call you later to tell you where to deliver it.”

“What
time and where?”

“You’ll
find out later. Just have my money ready when I call.”

The
line went dead.

“What
did he say?” Pearl asked.

“He’s
going to call later and give me the details.”

Greg
stepped through the back door, and I could tell by the look of concern on his
face, he had witnessed the conversation through the glass door.

“Was
that your stalker?”

“Yes,”
I said.

“What
did he say?” Greg asked.

“He
is going to call later with details on how and where I should deliver the
money.”

“You
told him that you had it?” Greg asked.

“Yes,”
Pearl said. “I told her to tell him that so that we can get him out in the
open.”

“Good
thinking, Pearl,” Greg said. “We hadn’t actually talked about what to tell
him.”

“So
what do we do now?” I asked.

“We
wait,” Greg said. “The burgers are almost done and you need something to eat.
I’ll get you a beer, too.”

“No,
I need to keep my wits about me.”

“No,
you need to relax. Drink a beer or two and just try to take it easy until he
calls.”

“I
can’t do that.”

My
eyes felt like they were just an inch from bursting out into tears. How had
this evolved so far?

Greg
crossed the distance between us and grabbed me in his arms. Just before they
slid around me, I could feel the first few tears coming. But as they closed
around me, the tears and the feeling of impending tears ceased, and I just lay
against his chest.

“It’s
going to be okay, Lana.”

Was
it? I wanted to ask him, but I knew that he would only keep reassuring me
because that’s what heroic men like him did. But I was more practical and
logical, and I couldn’t think of a positive outcome to this situation. Either
way, I was going to get hurt.

Chapter Twenty-Five

As the
night drug on, I tried my best to put the stalker out of my mind. The endeavor
was only made more difficult by the fact that Betsy and the guys wanted an
update. After I had repeated the story, they all wanted to put in their two
cents about their theories on what this was all about, and where the possible
drop off locations were. Every one of them had a particular plan in mind on how
to get rid of my nemesis.

Once
they had all made it to their third beer, the conversation turned away from my
issues and to other even more strange conversation.

Mike
excused himself to go down the street to his appointment. He promised that he
would return as soon as possible, and then made me promise that if the stalker
called back, I could call him and he would come right over, even if he were in
the middle of his session.

As
he left, Derrick was in the middle of a story about the time he hooked up with
one of his bored housewife clients from his other business. At first, I was
afraid he was talking about me, but then I knew he wasn’t when he said that the
woman had black hair.

However,
the story was much the same. She had caught him skinny-dipping in her pool.
After a brief exchange, he and the housewife had hooked up. This process
repeated nearly a dozen times until the husband came home early one day and
caught them.

I
wasn’t sure what to think about his story. Before hearing that, I assumed that
I was special, but now I realized that I was just one of possibly many. I knew
it shouldn’t bother me, because I had never felt or expected to feel an
emotional connection with him, but I had assumed that our intimate moments were
special on some level.

After
he finished that story, he decided to tell us all about his plan for his shtick
with his gigolo persona. He wanted to advertise as a pool boy with extra
services, and even concentrate on many of the clients whose pools he currently
serviced. After all of this was cleared up with my stalker, he planned to go
shopping for skimpy bathing suits and maybe even try to find one that was
assless.

I
wanted to laugh, but the fact remained that it would be hot. His butt was one
of the most attractive parts of him, although that was a tough statement to
make considering how pretty he was.

Another
couple of rounds of beer later, Derrick stood up.

“Let’s
go swimming,” he said.

“That
would be fun,” Greg admitted. “But I didn’t bring a swim suit.”

“Who
says we need swim suits,” Derrick shrugged.

“Absolutely
not,” I said before anyone else agreed to his stupid idea.

“Why
not?” Betsy said. “I’m game.”

“This
is ridiculous,” I muttered.

Derrick
was the first one in. He walked over to the lounge chair where he and I had
made love, and peeled his clothes off. It was dark outside, but the patio and
pool lights still gave me a good view of his rear. I couldn’t hide my smile.

He
dove into the water, and Ray and Ben were up next. They disrobed, and I tried
to avert my eyes. One of the men I wouldn’t ever want to see naked and the
other was a co-worker whose appearance in the nude would only make it uncomfortable
at the office in which we both still worked.

I
was shocked to see Betsy right behind them. She squealed in delight as she
peeled off her shirt and bra, and then slid her skirt down her legs. I hadn’t
seen her naked in a long time, but she still had the same body that she had
back in high school. I suspected that she might have had a little help from a
certain doctor whose card she kept in her wallet, but I would never think of
broaching that subject.

The
only ones left on the patio was Greg, Pearl and me. I figured the three of us
could just stay up near the grill and talk while our more crazy friends enjoyed
their nude time together.

However,
that came to a crashing halt.

“If
I come in there, you won’t judge my body, will you?” Pearl asked over her
shoulder.

“Hell
no,” Derrick yelled back. “Thick women are beautiful.”

Pearl
turned back to me with a big smile on her face. “Well, isn’t he just the
sweetest young man.”

“Grab
my beer when you come in,” Derrick called out again.

“Pearl,
I can’t believe you’re going to do this,” I said.

“Honey,
it’s time I lived a little. I’m full figured and fine and I’m going to put my
naked ass in your pool.”

I
couldn’t help but laugh. She was definitely a thick girl, but she had never
been ashamed or self-conscious. Her confidence was definitely something I could
applaud, but the view of her naked, dark butt was not.

I
turned back to Greg and smiled at him. He was watching the pool and then he turned
his eyes back to me.

“What
are you thinking?” I asked, afraid of what he might say.

“I’m
thinking it would be good for you if we joined them,” Greg said.

“No
way.”

“Seriously,
it’d be good for you.”

“How
would that be good for me?”

“You
need to break out of your shell and live a little.”

“In
case you forgot, I have a stalker who is going to call at any minute with
instructions for me to bring him his imaginary hundred thousand dollars.”

“Seriously.
Live a little.”

“I
think I’ve done enough living in the last few days. I don’t see how I can top
becoming a Madam for a pack of gigolos.”

Greg
ignored my comment and stood up. I thought for a minute he was going to leave
me sitting alone, but he held out his hands.

I
turned away, but he was persistent. He reached down, took my arms, and guided
me to my feet.

“What
are you doing?” I asked.

“We’re
going swimming,” he said.

“I’m
not taking my clothes off.”

“Then
I’ll throw you in with them on.”

“You
wouldn’t.”

“I
don’t see the problem. Your friends are swimming. It can’t be the fact that
you’re insecure about your body, because it’s absolutely perfect.”

“I
don’t do this kind of thing.”

“The
Lana that I met in the bar wouldn’t have done something like this. The Lana
that I’m looking at right now would definitely do it.”

“What
do you mean? That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Sure
it does. I have seen you evolve over the last few days, and I’m liking the new
Lana more and more.”

“I
haven’t changed.”

He
didn’t come back with anything else. Instead, he reached down to the bottom of
my t-shirt and began lifting it up. I fought the urge to swat his hands away,
but I realized then that I wanted this to happen. He was right.

As
stupid as it sounded, skinny-dipping with a group of people was something I
needed to do. My old self was peeling away, leaving behind a new person that I
was morphing into, and I actually found myself liking this person.

Sleeping
with two men numerous times in less than a week might classify me as a whore in
some circles, but I didn’t think so at all. I had never been able to find
myself while married to Frank and the man I married and motherhood had defined
my life. Now that motherhood was becoming less time consuming, I had the chance
to get to know myself in different ways.

He
threw my shirt on the ground next to me and then slid my shorts down to my
feet.

“Are
you okay?” he asked.

“I
refuse to be the first one of us naked,” I said with a big grin.

“Oh
really?”

I
reached out and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing his perfectly toned
torso. Throwing his shirt on the ground, I grabbed the top of his pants and
tugged them down; making sure that my fingers got his underwear on the way
down. I had to stop when they went lower on his thighs or else my face would
have been level with his crotch and then there was no way to predict what might
happen.

I
stood back up and he was smiling at me. I wanted to look over at the others to
make sure that they weren’t watching us, but at the moment, I didn’t really
care.

We
finished removing the last of our clothes, and once I was fully naked, I felt
the vulnerability that comes with the territory. With a scream, I ran to the
pool and dove in before anyone would have the chance to gape at me like I was a
stripper on the stage.

When
my head resurfaced, Pearl and Betsy were near me, splashing each other with
water and squealing like we did back in high school.

Ray
jumped up and down in the water, creating a tidal effect. Ben jumped out of the
pool and ran over to the diving board, while Derrick swam the length of the
pool while underwater.

I
was about to say something to Pearl, when I felt something soft rub against my
rear. I whirled around in the water to see Greg down in the water to his neck
next to me, both hands underwater. He smiled at me, and I felt one of his hands
slide down between my legs. It was hard to pull away from, but I knew that the
others were too close.

Pushing
against the water, I propelled myself backwards towards my girlfriends. He made
as if to follow, but when Pearl swam towards me, he stopped.

It
was nice just to cut loose for a brief moment, even if that meant swimming
naked. I had no idea what the rest of the night would bring, so I wanted to
cherish this time while I still could.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Our
revelry continued for a while. It was at least a few more hours before Mike
returned and saw what we had been up to. He shook his head, got a beer and sat
down in one of the patio chairs.

We
finally got out of the water and ran around the patio like crazy people trying
to get towels and both dry ourselves off and cover our nude bodies.

I,
in particular, was rather embarrassed and shy to be showing my body off to
everyone. Despite my new epiphany to let go, and the courage that I mustered to
get in the pool in the first place, it wasn’t enough to make me comfortable
with the whole getting out process.

After
wrapping the towel around my body, I sat in one of the nearby chairs and
grabbed a fresh beer from the ice chest in the center of our little circle.