Since we didn't know what kind of party we were going to be attending, I threw a swimsuit in a bag with a couple of beach towels. Nick added a suit he'd brought from home. We didn't want to add to the work David and Hayley were doing to throw a pool christening party so we decided the least we could do is not contribute to their laundry by using their towels. David told Nick it was a barbeque so we assumed casual dress was in order.
We both dressed in jeans and t-shirts. I pulled my hair back in a braid so I wouldn't have to worry about it being everywhere if we decided to swim. I think we were both hoping the party might be a little risqué at least, possibly even something along the lines of their Halloween party. We left a few minutes early so we'd arrive on time.
"Come on in," David greeted us at the door. He and Nick shook hands and he kissed me on my cheek. "Glad you two could join us," he said.
"We were happy to get your invitation," I told him. He led us through the living room and out to the patio. It was larger than when we there for the Halloween party. The fence around the yard was the same, a tall privacy fence that concealed the pool and yard from all the neighbors but the house directly behind it. That house was two stories like David and Hayley's. It sat far enough away that I doubted anyone looking out would see much except during the daytime. The rest of the yard looked completely different from our previous visit. The new pool looked long enough to swim laps in and the liner was a gorgeous dark blue that made the water look blue in the lights strung around the area. They'd put small groups of chairs and a couple of big potted plants along the walkway that surrounded it. It looked very inviting and we could see four people sitting at one of the patio tables closest to the barbeque pit. A tantalizing smell permeated the air as one of the men got up and lifted the lid to check on whatever was being cooked.
"Hey guys," Hayley said from behind us. She was carrying a platter of corn on the cob she handed off to David. "Did you get introduced yet?" she asked.
"Not yet," David told her as he carried the corn over toward the grill. We followed Hayley to the table where the others were sitting.
"These are some college friends of David's who are in town visiting from Denver." Seated at the table were two couples who did indeed look to be around David's age. "This is Heather and her husband, Ethan," she said introducing a blonde and her taller, blond companion. "These two are Leslie and John," she indicated the dark haired man and sandy haired woman next to Heather. "We've all been friends forever. Good friends," she emphasized. "Guys, this is Nick and Jada," she finished. "Jada and I worked together before I decided to go back to school."
David appeared behind us with a beer for Nick and a glass of wine for me. He'd added a splash of soda to mine so it fizzed a bit. He and Nick pulled the other table closer along with two more chairs. We sat down and made small talk as we all appraised each other. Heather was blonde and curvy with what appeared to be about C cup sized breasts. She was the heavier of the two women but by no means fat. Ethan was tall and slender with a runner's body. His collar length hair looked yummy on him. I could see the edge of a tattoo showing under the short sleeve of his shirt. Leslie was tall and lithe. Her hair was cut fairly short but looked good with her more angular face. She wore it kind of spiky all over. She didn't have much for breasts but her frame couldn't have handled a large set anyway. John was taller than her and broad, probably close to 6' with a football player's physique. He had the tiniest bit of a belly but it looked great on him. They were all dressed casually in pants and shirts except John whose legs were showing below knee length shorts.
We laughed and chatted, offering to help out but were turned down by both Hayley and David who insisted he was the grill man. I was pleased to see Hayley bring out a nice green salad to go with the steaks and corn David had sizzling behind us. Even if all we did was swim afterwards, neither Nick nor I wanted a heavy meal. As Hayley passed David plates, he began filling them with the grilled corn and our choice of steaks. It looked and tasted delicious. We all dug in and learned more about each other as the food was consumed. When everyone had finished eating, Hayley outlined the plans for the evening.
"We have a couple of rules about the pool before anyone takes a dip. The first is pretty common, no glass around the pool. If you're drinking wine, please leave the glass over here on the patio. We have markers so you can identify which one is yours while you're in the pool. If you want beer, we have cans in the cooler. Second, please keep an eye out for other swimmers while you're in the pool area. We don't want anyone to drown." We all nodded in understanding.
"Horseplay can be fun but let's not let it get dangerous," she continued. We all mumbled an agreement.
"As you know, we invited you here to christen our pool," she reminded us, looking right at Nick and me. "We don't mean just an inaugural swim. We really want to christen it." She looked around at all of us as her meaning became clearer.
"We have a fun game to play with all of you to get you into the pool. It isn't a new game but we do have a condition. The condition is the part that should make it more fun. Before we start the game, you can dress in whatever you want. It can be what you're wearing now with your swimsuit underneath or just your clothes or just your suit. Whatever you wear to play the game, your swimwear in the pool has to be somewhere on your person. If you prefer a swimming suit, that's fine. If you want to take off more that's fine, too. You can do whatever you want with whoever is agreeable in the pool and out."
"You can do anything in the pool except pee in it," David added. We all chuckled along with him.
"We'll let you all decide and if you aren't wearing your suits now and need to change, we have time for that. The game is old fashioned strip poker but until you are down to the suit you want to wear in the pool, whether swim or birthday," she said with a wink and a wicked grin, "you can't get in the pool. You can change your mind at any time after you're in the pool. Take more off or put something back on but until you lose everything you want to lose in the game, no pool for you."
My first thought was that this might be the first time anyone tried to purposely lose at strip poker! I had already decided to go inside and put my suit on. I could tell by Nick's face that he was debating whether to do the same. I suspected I would take it off eventually but I wanted the choice. Besides, it wasn't any different really than the bra and panties I was already wearing. I grabbed our bag and we went inside to one of the upstairs bedrooms.
