The Pool - A Sally and Nate Story

Grace sipped her iced tea in the warm glow of the kitchen lights, and gazed out at the torrential summer rain splashing into the pool. She was too jetlagged for a swim anyway, and was more than happy to bask in the opulence of Sally's academic advisor's palatial home. "I thought professors weren't well paid," she said as she heard Sally returning from the front door, where a parcel had just been delivered to the absent professor.

"They aren't," Sally said, once again taking her seat beside her old friend at the kitchen table. "But Marla's not just a professor, she's a recognized expert and she gets invited to give lectures all over the world. I still can't believe I got into her program!"

"I can," Grace said. Everyone seemed to recognize Sally's brilliance except Sally herself. But then, Grace recalled all too well a time when she had sold her dear friend awfully short. All through college, if she were completely honest with herself, always so contemptuous of the poor dear just because she was shy and seemed to prefer masturbating to dating. Their other two roommates had been guilty as well, but Grace knew now that she'd always been the worst of the bunch. Plain old jealousy that Sally was so comfortable with her own body, she knew now. "But I'm a little more surprised you got into her house for the summer."

"It's actually considered a bit of drudgery among her students," Sally said. "She and her husband go off to Europe every summer, on the lecture circuit, and somebody's got to house-sit. Looks great at first blush, but it's actually quite a bit of work to keep it so beautiful. That's why it ended up with me when I was still a lowly master's student who was accepted in the PhD program but not actually her advisee yet."

"Does she know Nate is staying here with you?"

"It was the only way I'd agree to stay here," Sally said. "We were long distance for two years and he was free to move here when he graduated, enough was enough."

"Wow," Grace mused. "Two years since that crazy day on the beach! And it still feels like yesterday." She looked over at her old friend, hoping the taboo she had just breached would lead to the meatier conversation she had been hoping for ever since her arrival that morning. She wanted so badly to tell Sally all about how much more in touch with herself she now was - in the sweetest way, just like Sally herself had always been through college.

But Sally just grinned and looked down at her drink like the shrinking violet she always had been before that memorable day on the beach when she had taught them all a lesson. And Grace sensed yet again that the intimate girl talk she craved was off-limits. She had been afraid of as much all through the few weeks since Sally had invited her, and even more so on the plane that morning. Then Sally had leapt into her arms back at the airport, and for just a moment all her fears had been set aside. But the stilted conversation in the car and now in the kitchen had her reconsidering that.

It was going far more like Grace had feared than she had hoped. But then, just how was one supposed to tell even her closest friend how grateful she was for teaching her how to masturbate of all things? And when push came to shove, Sally never had been her closest friend anyway. Grace most certainly was grateful, since she'd been in a dry spell with men lately. How refreshing to satisfy those urges without them! Sally had set her free, and now Grace couldn't find the words to express her thanks for that.

For the moment, then, she steered the conversation back into safer waters. "So what's it like finally living together after all that time?"

Sally perked back up. "It's wonderful! Two years of Greyhound rides back and forth and never having more than a few days together most of the time, and it's finally over! I was a little nervous that we wouldn't be able to make it work, since we'd never lived anywhere near each other before now, and so was he. But I guess because of that, we've been really patient with each other, and it's great. The only not-so-great part is this dead-end job of his." Nate was temping at an insurance company, and his job consisted mostly of chasing down missing paperwork from clients.

"With just a BA and no experience, he's lucky to be working at all," Grace said. "No offense, Sally, but I've been in that boat for two years and I know too well what he's going through."

"No, I know," Sally said. "I'm really lucky to have been in grad school all this time. Even so, Grace, I'm a little jealous."

"Jealous?! Sally, you're studying with this world-famous prof who can afford this beautiful house..."

"Yes, and look at me!" Sally exclaimed, standing up to give her old friend a good look at her. Sally's ratty old skirt and college t-shirt - both of which Grace could vaguely recall her wearing four or five years before when they were roommates - were a vivid contrast indeed to Grace's tailored slacks and stylish mustard-colored top. "At least you and Nate are earning a salary. I'm Grad School Barbie here!"

"You do have the boobs for it, anyway," Grace couldn't resist saying. For a moment she was horrified that she'd gone too far. Hadn't she just been trying to avoid pushing the envelope too far? But the damage was done.

To her immense relief, Sally burst into peals of laughter. "Yes, yes, they're a burden, but they're my burden, aren't they?" She looked down at her large breasts and then back up at her old friend, and Grace felt a wonderful stirring in her own chest as she realized the ice was broken. "Say, Grace," Sally said. "You and Cindy and Keisha, you never hassled me about these, just like you never hassled me about, you know, my big secret that wasn't really. Did you talk about them behind my back, too?"

Grace felt her face flush. "Oh, Sally, I mean...only in the sense that we wondered why you...they're so beautiful, and you never really used that to your advantage with your clothes. And we wondered why. Sorry."

"That's okay," Sally said. "But the answer is it was a women's college and I was shy. Not to mention they don't feel nearly so beautiful when you have to carry them around all day long."

"I believe that," Grace admitted, recalling how she'd always been torn between envy and pity of Sally in that department. She looked back out at the rain. "Sally, I'm sorry. This feels kind of awkward. It's just that we got so intimate that time down in Florida, and I was hoping we could pick up where we left off on that. But two years is quite a while, isn't it?"

"It's not just that, Grace," Sally said. "It's also that time in Florida wasn't really the way it had been for us before that, you know."

"I do know, and I'm sorry, Sally! We treated you like such a baby, and really it was the three of us that needed to grow up. I hope you can believe I have!"

"I wouldn't have invited you here if I didn't believe it," Sally said. And then Grace saw her lips curl into a naughty grin as she continued. "Besides, I really did teach you all a lesson, didn't I?"

Grace saw her big chance. "You taught me two lessons, and I've been hoping to tell you I've been a good student on the second one." She rushed it out before she could censor herself, and then burst into girlish giggles.

To her bewilderment, Sally didn't get the joke. "Two lessons?" she asked.

"You know, that night on the couch? Just you and me?"

"Oh!" Now it was Sally's turn to laugh as she remembered the night she had taught Grace to masturbate. "Yeah, of course I remember that! I just didn't think of it as a lesson, Grace."

"It certainly was to me," Grace said. "It was just tremendously liberating and, well, I hope this isn't oversharing, but I've always wanted to tell you...I do it quite a bit now, and I'm just really grateful you taught me it's okay to do it."

"I can't decide if this is the weirdest conversation I've ever had, or the sweetest," Sally said. "But that's great! Yeah, I can't imagine not having that outlet anytime I was stressed out or just feeling playful. I'm really happy for you that you do have that, now."

"Me too," Grace said with a sigh of relief now that the ice was definitely broken. "You know, I even read somewhere it was really good for men's health, and I figured hey, what's good for the gander is good for the goose, you know?"

Sally was laughing uncontrollably now. "Grace, that's adorable!" she said. "I'm really happy that trip was as memorable for you as for me!"

"Oh, it was!" Grace said. Then, with a deep breath and a look out at the pool, she plowed ahead with the big question. "Say, when the weather's better, do you and Nate...you know, swim out there? I was hoping we all might get to, you know."

"Of course!" Sally said. "It's beautiful out there in the evening, with the underwater lights on and the sun going down."

"Well, of course I figured you swam," Grace said. "What I really meant was...like at the beach?"

"Oh!" Sally's face turned wistful, and Grace was once again worried she'd gone too far. "Grace, we'd love to, but..." But she was saved by the bell, as the front door opened. "Nate?" Sally stood up and peered out through the dining room. Evidently it was he, for Sally grinned and stepped eagerly out of the room. Grace got up and followed at a respectable distance.

Sure enough, it was Nate. Two years older and wet from the walk home from the bus stop, but definitely still the adorable nerd they'd all watched Sally fall head over heels for that summer. Grace's heart nearly burst with pride as she watched Sally take him in her arms, not caring at all that his clothes were soaked.

"Hey, sweetie," he said, kissing Sally's cheek Then, looking past her, "Grace!"

"Nate, hi!" Grace opened her arms before the angst of the past could catch up with her again, and to her delight, it worked. Nate hugged her and said, "Great to see you again!" Recalling they'd both been stark naked the last time he had seen her, he added, "Even if we're seeing less of each other," and they both burst into laughter.

"You know, Nate, I think she's up for doing a Nude Day with us," Sally said. "If I understood you correctly, Grace?"

"You are?!" Nate was pleased, but visibly surprised. "Well, that's great, but, Sally, what about --"

"Weren't we thinking of doing it anyway?" Sally reminded him.

"I guess," Nate admitted.

"Guys, if it's too awkward to have me involved, please just say so!" Grace's heart sank, as now she was sure she'd gone too far.

"It's not that, Grace!" Sally said. "Honestly, we'd love to, both of us. But..." She turned to Nate. "I don't know, Nate, do we really want to let that old hag tell us what to do in our own home? Even if it's really Marla's home?"

"Well, we do have concerns about her telling Marla about it," Nate said.

"About who telling Marla about what?" Grace asked.

"I haven't told her yet, Nate," Sally explained. "Let's get dinner started and we'll explain everything, Grace."

As she and Grace set about chopping vegetables for the salad while Nate got the chicken strips ready to bake, Sally opened up about their nosy neighbor at last. "Mrs. Dobson -- and the first thing you need to know, Grace, is she insists on being called that, not Ms. but Mrs. -- she lives next door. Very prim and proper, the kind you never see without her pearls, you know? There's a fence, but you can see into our yard from hers if you stand at an angle, you'll see what I mean tomorrow. Back on our first weekend we had the house to ourselves, Nate and I went skinnydipping out there, and spent some time sunbathing nude by the pool too."

"And she spied on you?!" Grace asked.

"We don't know if she did or not," Nate said. "But she at least saw us, whether it was just for a second or if she stared at us the whole time, we don't know."

"Nate, you're too kind for your own good as usual!" Sally interjected. "I say even if it was just for a second, she still spied on us. I mean, I don't even care if she saw us naked -- when you go outside with nothing on, you know that might happen -- but she should've understood it wasn't meant for her to see! It's not like we were parading in front of her window or anything!"

"I'd have to agree," Grace said gently, touching Sally's arm in solidarity. She had only very rarely seen her friend this angry. "So she saw you guys sunbathing nude out there, and..."

"And she came over that night and rang the doorbell," Nate continued. "When I answered, she was facing sideways, like this." He turned aside so his face was in profile to Grace. "She wouldn't even look at us. And she said, 'Look, I don't even know who you are, but this is a family neighborhood and there are standards of decency.'"

Sally continued, in a mimicking voice. "'I have an eighteen year old daughter,' she said, 'And I do not want any inappropriate ideas in her clean little head. Keep your clothes on at the pool!' I said thank you for your concerns, but there is a fence and you and your daughter shouldn't be looking through it anyway, and shut the door."

"We thought she'd leave us alone after that," Nate went on. "But a few days later we went for a swim after work, and almost as soon as we were back inside she was back at the front door. This time she said, 'If I see any more of this, I'm calling Doctor Shaungessy!'"

"Doctor Shaungessy is...Marla?" Grace asked.

"Yes," Sally said. "Mr. Dobson is a prof, so Mrs. Dobson could probably track Marla down in Europe and rat us out."

"We don't think she'd mind," Nate said. "But we don't know for sure, and if Sally got in that much trouble before she even starts her PhD..."

"I can kiss a recommendation from her goodbye," Sally said. "Which means I'd be lucky to get a job teaching high school."

"Oh, Sally, that's not worth risking just for a swim!" Grace said. "We could always do something else for Nude Day, you know!"

"I'd have to agree," Nate said. "But Grace, you know how fond Sally is of going naked outside."

Sally threw a handful of carrot peels at Nate. But she joined in on his and Grace's laughter at her expense.

Then the topic of conversation steered into safer waters, but Grace, despite her disappointment, felt much more comfortable with them both. To think they'd have welcomed her to join them for Nude Day! That was a victory of sorts, even if it now wasn't going to happen. And for the time being, she was content just to bask in their comfortable home life. She envied Sally more than ever now, but she was happy all the same. With the rain still pouring outside, they spent the evening watching television, drinking wine and snuggling on the couch.

Grace's jetlag caught up with her in no uncertain terms at about eleven o'clock. "I'm heading upstairs before I fall asleep on your couch, Sally," she said. Brazenly she kissed Nate on the cheek. "Good night!"

"She sure has changed," Nate said as soon as they were alone.

"You don't know the half of it." Sally was wet with anticipation of telling him just what they'd been talking about that afternoon. "Just before you got home, this is how we got to talking about Nude Day, actually, she told me she's been masturbating a lot more!"

"Oh, that's sweet!" Nate knew the story well of what Sally had taught her friend. "Good for her. I hope she didn't feel like we were driving her away just now."

"It didn't look like it to me," Sally agreed, "She did have a long day today. But since she is gone..." she ran her hand up Nate's leg and inside his shorts.

"She'll hear us," Nate warned through his snickering laugh at her touch.

"I sure hope so."

"Sally! What on earth..."

Sally leaned in and whispered in Nate's ear, "Maybe then she'll have some fun on her own before she falls asleep!" She was promptly rewarded with bulging eyes and bulging shorts. "Like that idea, do you?" she teased him.

"I'm betting I'm not the only one!" After a quick look at the stairs to make sure Grace was out of sight, he lifted Sally's skirt up and found her panties damp to the touch. "Not even close, I see," he said.

Minutes later, Sally had Nate pinned beneath her and he had all her clothes except her bra scattered on the floor of Marla's huge bedroom. As Sally kissed him passionately and rubbed his back with both hands, he teased her with false starts at undoing her bra -- pulling at the clasp, fingering it over and under, but never releasing it.

"Such sweet torture," Sally mumbled between kisses.

"Mmmpfhhnnnh." She couldn't tell for the life of her what Nate was saying as he kept his lips clamped to her neck, but the vibrations felt as delicious as the false promise of freeing her breasts. To her mild frustration he drew one hand down her back, away from any hope of undoing her bra, but then to her delight she felt his eager fingers playing in her bush.

"Ohoooo!" Sally threw her head back and yelped as she felt his first caress on her clit. "God, yes!"

Nate paused, but kept his finger poised on her clit with wonderful promise. "She'll hear you," he warned.

"I don't care and neither will she," Sally said. "Now get me out of this bra!"

Next door, Grace couldn't hear what they were saying. But she did hear those first of Sally's passionate moans, along with the rhythmic creaking of the bed that she had associated with her friend for years. That, along with the lovely memory of the way of the way they'd welcomed her that afternoon, had Grace quite certain she'd never get to sleep if she didn't play a bit first. She'd nearly given in to the temptation when she'd first come upstairs, and now she wasn't sure why she hadn't gotten that out of the way right off. Perhaps she'd just wanted the forbidden joy of hearing Nate and Sally in the throes of passion?

Whatever the reason, Grace gave in to temptation and rolled up the spare quilt Sally had left for her beside the bed. She pulled her nightie off and knelt up, straddling the quilt just right, and didn't even try to resist the temptation to start humping in time with Sally's own rhythm. Recalling that wonderful day on the beach, hearing the beautiful harmonies growing next door, thrilling to the knowledge of Sally's first orgasm obviously well on its way, Grace was soon lost in her own sensations and forgot herself well enough to let loose with her own grunts and moans of pleasure.

With her breasts free at last and with Nate buried deep within her, Sally was now moaning up a storm as she rode him in rhythm. "Who needs skinnydipping when we've got this!" she reassured him as she enjoyed his playful fingers dancing on her breasts.

"Wish we could have the whole gang together for Nude Day!" Nate grunted, gazing up at her in even greater admiration than usual. "So hot!"

"Maybe someday we will," Sally teased. "I'm game. And Grace was sure lovey dovey with you tonight!"

Grace was acutely aware even through her arousal that the rickety guest room bed was making an awful lot of noise. Recalling now how vaguely jealous she'd always been of Sally when she'd overheard that noise, she only found herself even more turned on at the risk of being overheard. Besides, there was little risk of that just now with Sally's moans growing louder and more primal by the second. Grace closed her eyes and imagined some wonderful guy was making love to her just that passionately, and she let herself moan out loud as well. Not as loudly as Sally, but loud enough to feel a deep satisfaction with each push down into the plush fabric clutched between her thighs. There was no doubting when Sally came, and Grace drank in the delicious secret but didn't let herself go just yet.

Nate could let loose as well as Sally when he came. Once he did, Sally gave him a final squeeze within and lay flat atop him for a triumphant kiss. It was during that silent moment of joy that they both heard the rocking of the bed next door and Grace's own passionate gasps and grunts. Sally raised her head just a bit and they looked one another disbelievingly in the eye.