Free The Opposite of Love by T.A. Pace

nine-thirty, she worked her way through the house, cleaning up as she went. She started a load of laundry, stacked the books and magazines, took out the garbage and answered some work-related emails. By eleven a.m. she was in the pool swimming laps. After doing thirty, she got out to grab some water. That was when she saw James on the other side of the living room slider. He stood there in his boxers, watching her, smiling, his bed head making him look like a child. She motioned for him to come out.
    “Hey, handsome.”
    “Hey yourself, sexy. What are you up to this fine day?”
    “Just doing some laps. I was gonna catch some rays for a bit.”
    “Need some company? My tan could use a boost.”
    “Sure.”
    James pulled off his underwear and threw them on the back of a lounge chair.
    “Um, ok.” Melanie laughed. “The pool boy doesn’t come until two, so I guess you’re safe.”
    James took a few running steps and cannon-balled into the deep end of the pool. Melanie shook her head. When he surfaced, she asked, “I’m going to grab some water. Want anything?”
    “Beer if you have it.”
    “I have it. Want me to grab the noodles for the pool?”
    “Noodles?”
    “You know, the foam things.”
    “Afraid I don’t know the foam things.”
    “I’ll grab ’em.”
    Melanie came back with a bucket of beer on ice and two long, bendable foam sticks.
    “Oh, noodles,” said James. “I get it.”
    She handed him a beer and tossed the noodles in the pool. James tucked one of the noodles around his back and under his armpits and leaned back, sipping his beer. “Nice. Noodles and beer.”
    “I call it pooling.”
    “Pooling?” he asked.
    “Yeah. Pool, drinks, lounging. It makes something lazy sound active.”
    “I can think of other ways to make it active.”
    Melanie winked at him. “I bet you can.”
    She grabbed an inflatable lounger against the wall and tossed it in the pool. James held her beer while she situated herself on the raft.
    Once she was all settled, she sighed and closed her eyes. It was a crystal clear ninety-five degrees out. The rays felt good and the water was doing a fine job of keeping her cool. The wind was calm and had been for the past week, so there weren’t many leaves in the pool. She could hear James paddling lazily around her. After about ten minutes of silence, he said, “You’re gonna get tan lines in that bikini.”
    She opened one eye and peeked at him, smiling. “As you’re well aware, I already have tan lines from this bikini.”
    “Haven’t you heard?” James smirked. “Tan lines are out.”
    “Are they? It’s so hard to keep up with these trends.” She feigned exasperation and waved her hand dismissively. “I gave up trying.”
    “Well then I will take it as my job to prevent you from committing a fashion faux pas with your tan lines. You can thank me later.” He put his beer on the deck and paddled closer to her.
    He came up behind her raft and tugged at the string at her neck. She glanced toward the block fence on the left side of the yard. It was seven feet high, so it would require a ladder for anyone to peek over. She sat up and giggled as he untied the string at her back and threw her bikini top on the deck. She lay back down and he paddled around to the foot of the raft.
    “Bottoms too,” he said.
    “If you insist.”
    She watched him pull her bikini bottoms off slowly, arching to help him. He was staring at the spot where her legs met. He slid the suit over her feet and let them slip from his hand and hang in the water. She self-consciously closed her legs.
    James tucked the noodle around the front of his chest and leaned forward, letting the foam hold his weight up. He wrapped both hands around one of Melanie’s feet and kneaded the sole with his thumbs. She hummed with approval. “Heaven,” she said.
    After a few minutes James worked on the other foot, then started rubbing her calves, then her thighs. By the time he reached her upper thighs her