Through the living room-window, framed by the golden jambs, the image of Julia entering the pool looked like a work of art. Her skin gleaming wet in the sunlight meant she had dove in already. After spending so many days at the beach, she had achieved a little tan. Still, her skin looked healthy, smooth and soft. If I looked closer, I could see the white string of the thong she was wearing was immersed between her buttocks. Every time she moved, her ass muscles and upper legs bounced a little. To test how the water was, she would kneel down. Then, an almost imperceptible, hidden bump would become visible to me. To some other, it wouldn't be noticeable. But it was very discernible to me, since I was taking the time to watch her. The fabric was so thin and so wet from the pool water that the lips of her vagina were imprinted with pornographic fidelity in broad daylight.
My father-in-law slept on the other side of the pool, leaning back in the lounge chair like a hippo, flesh falling on either side. My mother-in-law was applying sunscreen on her legs next to her husband, but with her back to me. Laura told me to go in the water, even for a little while. I refused. "My belly really hurts", I lied. I was actually terrified that being near Julia might give me such an obvious erection that my girlfriend would get angry at me. I was, after all, in the living room, staring at her best friend's ass through the window.
Julia was teasing to jump in, but she didn't. She seemed to be looking for the sun to dry off the water from the first dive. Occasionally, she would twist her neck to get her hair out of her shoulders. When she did this, the thick black tufts moved in unison down her back. As she turned to look for something in her bag, the elastic skin that covered her didn't even wrinkle at the waist. And the movement was so delicate, so smooth, it seemed as if she was dancing. Julia had bigger boobs than Laura, but less fabric in her bikini. Her nipples were printed out like ring bells.
Through the left window frame, Laura appeared, running to her parents' side. She said something to them, and her mother nodded. Then she trotted along the edge of the pool until she reached Julia's side. I couldn't hear what she said to her. But Julia nodded too. Afraid she might catch me staring at her friend, I stood up and went to the kitchen behind the living room.
"Baby! Baby!" I heard her calling.
"In the kitchen!" I yelled back.
She appeared startled behind the door. The left strap of the flowered dress she was wearing had slid down.
"They called me for a job! A real job!"
"Are you serious, baby?" I said, genuinely happy about the news. "I can't believe it. The insurance company?"
"No. No. The firm, babe. The law firm!"
Laura and I were studying law. A year ago, thanks to my father, I got a job in a Government Office, and she was worried because she couldn't get anything. We were twenty years old and we were just starting our working lives in professional fields. Everything was starting to fit together like the pieces of a puzzle, and we were very relieved about it. I hugged her and kissed her out of excitement.
"I have to go to an interview now!"
"Now, now, now?"
"Now, now, now, now."
"Then, go on, silly. Don't be late."
"Yes. Yes!" she said excitedly.
She climbed the stairs making a clattering noise with each step. The sounds of closets and wooden drawers could be heard throughout the house. After a moment, I saw her leave through the door as she shouted her goodbyes. She got into the car and disappeared behind the front gate.
I went back to the living room to continue my staring. But Julia was not there. I looked for her all over through the window, but there was no way to find her. The only figures I could see were those of my father-in-law and mother-in-law. Not a very nice view, by the way. I went out to the pool out of sheer curiosity. Laura's parents were sleeping under the parasols. The silence of the cottage was eerie. A breeze ran along the edge of the pool and chilled my bare feet in the shade of the roof. I felt I had to get closer. The heat of the sun burned the soles of my feet. But I didn't move, because just then I saw her.
Under the water, as if behind rippling glass, Julia was swimming. The white of her wet bikini in combination with the sunlight gave the illusion she was naked. Her hair moved like a horde of tiny fish behind her head. Her ass muscles quaver like jelly with the slow-motion kicks she gave underwater. I think she saw me, because she stopped right in front of me and came out of the water.
"Are you working as a lifeguard today?" she asked with a grin.
Her hair lingered on her shoulders. She wiped her face with her hands, and her honey-colored eyes looked at me. I smiled because I didn't know what else to do.
"Will you help me out?" she said, holding out her hand.
"Yes, I'm sorry."
But when she jumped, she was so close to me that I felt the heat of her body dangerously near. I sighed nervously and looked at my in-laws. Noticing that they were still sleeping, I looked back at her. But it was too late. My nerves had played a trick on me. Julia slipped and ended up hitting the frame of the sink with her knee. I heard a groan of pain.
"Oh, Julia, are you okay?"
We both looked at her knee at the same time. It was bleeding.
"I'm such an idiot," she blamed herself.
"No. I was distracted. Come here. Let's sit inside and see if we can find something."
I sat her down on the armchair from where I had been watching her before. The wound didn't seem too deep. But a ray of light flashed in my head. And I decided to play, no matter how risky it was.
"In the shack there are some gauze and Ethanol," I said, trying to see how she would react. "I'll get them. Wait here."
"No, no," she said, "I'm going with you. I don't wanna keep staining stuff with blood. They'll get mad at me."
I stared at her for a second. I realized at that moment that was a way of communication.