Playing with the kids is an absolute delight. I feel at peace, my mind remains fully present, and I feel truly free. There’s something about being around kids that makes me forget all that I consider important and reevaluate the meaning of life itself.
Feeling a little thirsty now, I leave the children under the watchful eye of the lifeguard and swim over to the edge where bottles of water lie. I grab one and down it swiftly and am about to kick off and return to the kids.
But I stop when I see her.
Lilibeth is walking out of the main house with Tatiana and Katya. The bottle slips from my hand, and I quickly retrieve it, placing it back on the ledge while keeping my eyes on Lilibeth the entire time.
She wears a sage green bikini, the color highlighting the green in her eyes. In the bright afternoon sun, her skin glows like honey. And her skin lies stretched near naked in front of my eyes, the bikini barely covering her beautiful, soft body. Her top stretches in two triangles across the generous swell of herbreasts, and the bottom rises and dips in at her waist, stretching across every inch of her rounded hips. My attention narrows to the gentle sway of her hips as she walks toward the pool.
My mouth goes dry. My blood rushes south with such force that I realize it would be a bad idea to get out of the water. As long as I stay in the pool, no one will know how she’s affecting me.
She has no business looking like this.God, it makes me furious to see her dressed like that, within reach, and unable to do anything about it. To her. My mind disappears into a haze of fantasy, where it’s just me and her, in a private pool somewhere. She walks over to me, just like that, and I glide my hands up her thighs as she enters the pool. Once inside, I slide my hands up her spine, and she arches her back to me. That’s when I rip off those thin excuses for straps, and her bikini top comes free, her breasts dancing in my face, soaking in the sun.
“Uncle Agafon!” A small hand tugs at my wrist. “Again! Throw me again!”
I blink, momentarily disoriented, remembering where I am. I groan involuntarily upon noticing that Lilibeth now sees me. She gives me a smile and a small wave, cocking her hip as she stands. I can’t help but flex every muscle as I nod back. Her eyes widen just a little, and my nephew tugs on my hand again. I look down, and the child stares up at me expectantly, and I realize I've been standing motionless.
“Later,” I tell him, gently. “Go play with your cousins.”
The boy pouts but swims away, already calling to the cluster of children something about how Uncle Agafon is being boring. I turn back just in time to see Lilibeth walking toward me, her eyes still on me.
She smiles again, and that gorgeous, precious dimple appears on her right cheek. Then she's intercepted by Tatiana, who draws her into a group of cousins.
Lilibeth laughs at something someone says. Her laugh is musical, uninhibited. It makes heads turn, draws people in to focus on her. I watch as one by one, my family gravitates toward the group, then shifts focus to her.
Even Aunt Lilia, who literally never makes an effort with the younger generation, hovers at the edge of the conversation and chuckles at something Lilibeth says. Chuckles! And when I see Aunty Lilia clasp Lilibeth’s hands in her own and say something, and when I hear Lilibeth’s loud, confident voice travel over, saying thatof course she’d love to meet for tea,I’m absolutely dumbfounded.
No one can charm Aunt Lilia enough to get that coveted invite for tea. Except Lilibeth, that is. Behind my wife, Tatiana and Katya exchange excited looks of disbelief. They, too, are as shocked by this development, it seems.
But that’s Lilibeth. She remembers the little details, asks the right questions, and radiates a warmth that melts the coldest hearts. To see her charm the socks off my family fills me with pride.
“Uncle! Watch me!” Another child performs an awkward dive nearby, sending water into my face. I nod in acknowledgment, which is apparently sufficient encouragement.
Within seconds, he forgets all about me and turns to show off to his cousins.
When I look back, Lilibeth has moved closer to the pool's edge. Our eyes meet again, and she pauses briefly, turning red. I realize then that she’s feeling shy and unsure. I wave her over in response. My pulse quickens as she nods in acceptance and stepsdown the ladder into the water, her body disappearing inch by tantalizing inch beneath the surface.
I swim toward her, and she swims toward me with confident strokes. We meet somewhere in the center of the pool, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to grab her by the waist, not to pull her close and feel her skin against mine.
“I was beginning to think you were avoiding me,” she says in way of hello, her smile immediately making those dimples appear again. Droplets of water cling to her hair like diamonds.
“I was entertaining the children.”
“I noticed.” Her eyebrows quirk upward. “It was interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“Seeing you convert into a human jungle gym. You know?” She pretends to ponder. “I must say I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“Oh, that part of me is only for the children.” I flick my eyes toward them for a moment.
“Of course,” she nods. “God forbid you let your playful side come out with the adults.”
“The adults I’m surrounded with are naughtier than you think. Someone has to keep them in line.” The moment I say it, something in the air changes. The way I called people naughty was a mask.
What I meant was,she’s naughty. Shelooks naughty, all dressed up like that, knowing I can’t do shit.
My eyes flick over her again, her eyes, her face, her hair, down to the crevice between her breasts. Again, I feel that heatcrawl below my abdomen, and I bite into my inner cheek to stop myself from groaning out loud at the sight of her.
