Summer Boy Ch. 01

Lynn's heart noticeably began to beat faster.

"How about you? Ever felt like experimenting a bit, Lynn?"

Lynn's quietly drifted in the water. She could feel the awkward silence between them as he continued to stand at the edge of the pool, watching her, calm and cool as he always had been around her.

Still she watched him silently as he pulled up the bottom of his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. As he kicked off his shoes, he undid the button of his shorts and dropped them to the floor around his ankles, leaving him only in his trunks. Without a word, his lean, sleek and muscular figure arched forward and slipped into the pool. He swam a large circle around her and then stopped a few feet away from her floating along in the water as easily as if he was rocking in a hammock.

Lynn didn't know if she should object to him being in the pool with her. She really had no good reason to do so. She wasn't even sure if she wanted him to get out. The undeniably illicit thought that suddenly crossed her mind after that was more than enough to set off her alarms.

Adam's blue eyes were cool and unmoving as he silently tread water before her.

"Adam..." Lynn started to say. She paused, unsure of what she wanted to follow that up with.

During that brief second, Adam slid under the water again and swam swiftly past her. Lynn turned to watch him as he swam the length of the pool, gliding in the water with sharp, cutting strokes. Despite the moment or how she felt, seeing him in his element reminded her of how much she admired someone who was so good at their craft. Adam was talented and powerfully graceful in the water, she couldn't deny that. She imagined what he would be like if he exerted even half that concentration and raw passion in other activities.

Adam angled smoothly into a flip-turn and pushed off the wall, then made his return back past Lynn and to the other end of the pool.

Still she continued to watch him as he pulled himself from the water. Her brows raised slightly when she caught a glimpse of the top of his pale butt cheeks and the crack between them, the water pulling down his trunks as he climbed out of the pool. She quickly looked away as he stood and turned.

"Get any ideas while watching me?" Adam asked.

Lynn turned, a startled look on her face. "Wh-what?"

Adam ran his fingers through his wet hair and wiped down his face with his palms. He nodded and said, "While I was swimming. Saw how you can improve your technique?"

She frowned, shaking her head. He was toying with her, innuendo weaving through each of his words. She was certain of it. Worse was the difficulty to restrain herself from giving him an impulsive response to his invitation.

Instead, she turned and swam down to the other end of the pool. She climbed out and made her way to the change room with a quick-step, her wet feet slapping loudly on the tiles.

"I'm done," she said, barely able to glance back at the young man, "I'm going to take a shower, then we can leave, alright?"

She had to getaway. Now.

She didn't hear Adam's reply as she slipped through the door, letting it close behind her as she headed straight for the showers.

15 Months Ago...

"Where's Adam?" Lynn asked, looking around the centre's staff room.

Several of the staff shrugged or shook their heads. "Haven't seen him," somebody replied.

"He was supposed to be on shift 30 minutes ago and he's not answering his phone," Lynn said.

Just then, the door swung open behind her and Adam stomped by her towards his locker.

Lynn tilted her head. "So that's it. You just say his name and he magically appears," she said half-jokingly.

Adam didn't respond. His back to her, he pushed open his locker and threw his belongings in with a loud clatter. The other staff stepped back a little as they watched him simmering.

Lynn crossed her arms and smirked behind him as he slammed his locker shut.

Adam stomped back towards the staff room exit.

"Wait," Lynn sighed.

He continued to march forward. Just as he was passing Lynn, though, she grabbed him by the arm.

"I said wait," she repeated.

He scowled at her, his eyebrows practically pinching together. "I'm late for my shift," he replied with a surly growl.

"Yes...yes, you are," Lynn said looking up at him with an easy, frank expression, "And you're going to be a little bit more late. Nadia, go relieve whomever is waiting for Adam at the pool."

Still holding onto his arm, she led Adam out the back door of the office. Once outside, Lynn stopped and looked around. Adam stared at her as she still clutched his arm.

"What are we..." he started to say.

"Shh. Come," she said, not looking at him. She dragged him down the walkway around the side of the building.

He was about to try to ask his question again when he bumped into Lynn's back as she suddenly stopped.

"There it is!" Lynn proclaimed, staring ahead and beaming a smile, "Isn't it a beauty?"

Adam frowned. He glimpsed the old, beaten up, chipped-paint blue, electric grounds-keeping cart parked on the delivery driveway. It wasn't nearly as impressive as the look on the woman's face indicated.

"What..."

Adam was cut off even faster this time as Lynn yanked him by the arm. They marched towards the cart.

"Have a seat, big guy," Lynn said, "I'll take the wheel. You ride shotgun."

Adam stood there, a sour and confused look on his face, while Lynn slipped into the driver's seat. Holding the wheel, she looked at him and tilted her head, shaking it slightly. "I'm not asking you again," she said, a mix of tease and command in her voice.

With a heavy sigh, Adam reluctantly climbed in beside her. She pushed the pedal to the floor just before his butt touched the seat.

Lynn immediately took them off the road and onto the centre's field. The poor suspension in the utility vehicle made up for the reserved speed, accentuating every bump and making each turn rather precarious.

Bracing himself with one hand beside him on his seat and the other holding onto the panel in front of him, Adam turned and glared at Lynn. Her mouth was spread open into a wide smile, her eyes narrowed with a sparkling glee. She managed to get the vehicle up to a decent enough speed to flutter her shoulder-length black hair.

For several minutes, they careened wildly along the field, Lynn making sad attempts at "donuts", before heading off to the far end where the grass met up with a bordering ravine. Lynn pulled the vehicle around into the shade of a large weeping willow and stopped.

Lynn breathed a long, joyful laugh. Clapping her hands, she giggled, "That rocked! I always wanted to try that!"

His face still contorting like there was a blender twisting it from behind, Adam slouched down into his seat.

Lynn looked at him and sighed, "Well, that was a waste on you, wasn't it? Alright, spill."

Adam's face hanging low, his lower lip pouting outward, he stayed slumped in his chair looking at his hands silently.

"Nicotine withdrawal? Dirty underwear? Your time of the month?" Lynn goaded, "What is it?"

The surly young man turned away, mumbling something in French.

Lynn said something back.

Adam frowned and looked at her. "What?"

"I just cursed you in Mandarin," she smirked back at him, narrowing her eyes and shrugging, She settled back into her seat, put her hands back behind her head, and kicked her legs up, stretching them over the dash of the little cart. "Hey, we can do this U.N. style if you want."

Something about her deameanour...and the way her toned, bare legs were stretched out beside him...managed to soften his harsh, pouting glare somewhat. His surly attitude wasn't doing much in the way of breaking her down anyway. She just kept grinning at him.

Adam shook his head, looking away.

"You've been kind of sulky for the past couple of weeks," Lynn said thoughtfully, "Don't you just want to let out some steam?"

Reluctantly, Adam reached into the pocket of his cargo shorts and pulled out a scrunched up sheet of paper. He held it out to her dismissively.

Lynn took the piece of paper and looked at it for a moment. It was a letter in French but she felt she got the gist of it.

"You were accepted into the University of Moncton?" she asked.

Stuffing his hands into his pockets, Adam nodded.

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but my parents won't let me go," he grumbled, "They're making me stay at U of T."

"Why?"

"They don't want me living outside of Toronto while I'm still a teenager," he said.

"Ah. I get it." Lynn nodded and added, "So you think throwing a hissy fit is going to convince them that you're old enough to live away from home?"

Adam frowned and grumbled, shaking his head.

Lynn sighed and folded up the letter. "Look, Adam," she said, "I think your parents are just setting an arbitrary time based on what they see of you now. Who knows, if you keep throwing tantrums like this, they may not let you out of their sights until you're 50."

Adam listened silently. She could tell he wasn't fuming as much now.

"So you go to school in Toronto for a little while longer," Lynn continued, "You show them that mature side I see in you...sometimes. Maybe they let you go next year. Joking aside, they can't keep you at home for your entire life. Just...grow up a bit more first. Become that good man I can see in you."

Adam raised his head. It was like an angry-mask had been lifted off of his face, all the scowling bluster expended.

"Besides, if you stay in Toronto, you can continue working here. That's not so bad is it? You've got your friends and decent pay," she said with a playful voice.

"Are you accepting that job at the Centennial Community Centre?" Adam suddenly asked as he looked toward her.

Lynn leaned withdrew her legs from the dashboard and leaned to the side, away from him. "How did you know about that?" she said.

"Are you?"

For a moment, Lynn simply looked into his gazing blue eyes. He wanted an answer.

"I...no," she finally said, "They...decided to go with someone else."

Her lips folded in on themselves as she held her breath. She had actually been offered the position at the new centre but had turned it down. She didn't know why she felt compelled to lie to Adam about it. Maybe she was unsure of what to say to him if he asked her why she turned down the position. More troubling, she didn't know if he knew she was lying.

Adam tilted his chin a little as he watched her. He simply nodded and looked out over in front of the cart once more. "Guess we're stuck with each other, then." he chuckled.

Feeling a bit relieved, Lynn said, "Speaking for myself, I happen to think that's not such a bad thing. I can keep a closer eye on you."

Adam muttered, "How close?"

"Close. I like to torture myself."

"Yeah?"

Lynn rolled her eyes upward towards the overhanging branches of the willow and groaned, "Yes, I don't know what's wrong with me, but I like having you around. You're like a puppy chasing its tail forever, a little annoying, a little cute. Plus you know where to get the best maple syrup candies."

"Mais oui. It's one of the many talents of us Quebecois." Adam replied, his playful, suave charm returning once more, "Just doing my best to please my master."

She turned and offered him a long, contemplative gaze, her chin pressing against her raised shoulder. Pausing for a moment, she said, "That would be nice."

After looking back at her, to see the sincerity in her pretty face and hear it in her gentle voice, Adam's trademark crooked grin and arched brow suddenly returned. Through his teeth he joked, "You just like keeping me here to order me around."

Lynn nodded, a little twinkle in her dark brown eyes. She reached towards him and nonchalantly pulled away a leaf that had fallen in his hair and then brushed away his long, light brown bangs that had fallen over his eyes. She smiled and said, "You know me so well. Now, get your butt to the pool."

Adam leaned back in his seat, draping his long arm around the back of Lynn's chair. "Maybe we can just take this puppy to Mexico," he joked.

"Mmm...I just might do that," she said, "But you have work to do, so get out."

"What, you're not going to take me back?"

Taking the wheel again, she replied, "Thought I'd just go once more around the track."

Adam heaved himself up from the chair. Standing beside the vehicle, he tossed her a limp salute. He back-skipped away from her, hands back in his pockets. "I like the way you say the word 'butt'," he said with a sharp grin, "And I like yours, too."

"I know. It's nice isn't it?" Lynn quipped.

As Adam walked down the field towards the centre, Lynn passed him in the cart. Without turning she called back to him, "I'm docking you 45 minutes from your pay."

Adam had to chuckle as she pulled ahead, watching her with a refocused eye.

*********

Adam went around in the silence of the centre's office emptying the wastebaskets. He paused each time he tipped one over into the collection bin, staring off into empty corners of the room.

He thought about his conversation with Lynn at the pool a few minutes before. He had gotten to her, he could tell. The thing was, it had been just as difficult for him to remain calm during the exchange. His hands, which he had kept stuffed in his pockets while they talked, had been clenched tight from the tingling nerves coursing through his body. There was a fire in his belly and his heart had been pounding against his chest as he found his words through a jumble of excited thoughts rumbling in his head. He had been hoping that quick swim would have taken that edge of but it took everything he had to not to make a move on Lynn in the pool.

It unnerved him, those thoughts, those feelings. He was so close. He didn't even recall when it had turned from a schoolboy crush to genuine infatuation. After two years of mild interest, building to genuine curiosity then illicit, explicit fantasizing, it was now a full-blown sense of desire which he could barely control. His youthful blood and drive surged within him, emboldened him. Even more enticing was the feeling that she was responding to him. She was resisting, but she was undeniably tempted. The thought was more intoxicating than any liquor or drug.

It was a type of pressure that weighed on him heavier than school or family or friends. He remembered someone once tell him that when it came to handling pressure, you could either let it get to you or you could focus it, seize the moment, and let it spur you on to greater experiences.

He froze, still holding a wastebasket, looking out through the office door, seeing in his mind's eye through walls of the building. A stern, dogged expression settled on his face as he tried to steady himself with deep breaths.

For him, in the three years that he had known her, Lynn had gone from unthinkable, to attractive, to desirable, to unattainable, and now...

So close.

"C'est le moment ou jamais," he muttered determinedly.

The wastebasket had barely stopped rattling on the floor as Adam made his way out the office door.

********

Lynn stretched her arms over her head and placed her palms flat against the wall tiles of the shower room. Head down, she leaned forward, stretching the tense, aching muscles in her shoulders and back and neck. The hot water sprayed all over her, massaging her, rolling down her skin in steady, streaming rivulets.

Eyes closed, she breathed through her mouth trying to expel the toxins in both her body and mind. No matter what she did, she couldn't get her heart to find a steady beat or clear her head for just one rational thought.

She shook her head slowly, biting on her lower lip. Despite consciously trying not to, she uttered his name, "Adam." She tried to convince herself that she was saying it spitefully or with frustration. She also tried to remember him as the precocious boy she had met two years ago, not that young man who was coming onto her with surprisingly calculated advances.

"Dammit," she grumbled. She knew she had played her part in this. For whatever reason, she never set her foot down and curbed his flirtations completely. At first she just thought it was cute and harmless coming from the hormonally confused boy. However, even as she watched as the boy grew up, and she realized there was a real weight and deliberateness in his words and lingering glances towards her, she still didn't stop it. Truthfully, she probably fed it.

For whatever reason, she always held a little more concern for Adam, gave him a little bit more attention. She used to tell herself it was because the guy needed it or else he would completely screw things up. Now she wasn't so sure.

This could be major trouble for her at work. Feeling wretched, she smiled derisively to herself. "Yes...it's all about the job," she muttered sarcastically. Work was the least of her worries right now. Right now, there was very thin line on the ground that kept her and Adam from...

A sudden thought flashed through her head. She looked up, wide-eyed, towards the change room. Staring at an empty entrance way to the showers, her mouth fluttered open and closed before she called out softly, cautiously, "A-Adam?"

She counted 5 heartbeats then reached behind to turn off the shower. The water streamed to slow, steady droplets on the tile floor. It was quiet in the room.

Lynn brushed the hair from her face and asked again, "Adam? Are you there?"

Holding her breath, she heard nothing, saw no one. She felt the thumping in her chest slowly subside. Staring at the entrance way for nearly a minute longer, she finally shook her head and grimaced. She reached for her towel and wrapped it around her body. What made her think the he would come in there? Adam was bold and cocky...but he knew the limits of this flirtation.

Right?

Just when that thought wended its way through her mind, that's when she heard them: foot steps in the change room...heavy, steady foot steps. There was no attempt to mask them at all.

Lynn froze, standing on the tile. With the shower turned off, the room was cooling quickly, the steam of the hot water clearing. The footsteps became louder and louder. Then, she blinked slowly once and when she opened her eyes, he was there, 12 feet away, filling the shower entry way.

Adam, hands in his pockets, standing tall, chin downward, gazed at her with his unflinching blue eyes. There was the slightest hint of a fine lined smile on his lips.

Lynn couldn't pull herself away from the look in his eyes. That was third time today he had given her that look. She finally knew what it implied, maybe she always knew.

It was a look of intent -- forceful, explicit, lustful intent. There was absolutely nothing 'boyish' about Adam at the moment.

The water continued to drip behind her, trickling down the drain, the only sounds echoing through the shower room, but Lynn could hear her heartbeat thumping erratically in her head. "Adam," she said clearing her throat, trying to calm herself, "You shouldn't be here."

It was barely a kitten-slap rebuke, given the situation. Not nearly enough to keep the young man from starting to approach her slowly.

The heels of his heavy hiking boots thumped on the tile floor, the sound rattling around the room, unnerving the woman even more. She stepped back and felt the tile wall press against her back.

"You should go," she said, swallowing on nothing, still unable to muster any conviction in her voice. She knew she had an anxious expression on her face as he continued to approach her steadily.

Adam's grin sharpened, became more evident the closer he came. The bold swagger, the cocky stare was all there, all channelled towards her. He stopped within a foot of her looming over Lynn.