Chapter 11
June Daniels watched with growing jealousy as the guests played and swam in the green water of the pool. It was hot and there was a faint sheen of sweat on the delicate features of her face.
She wiped her brow with the back of her arm. How she wished she could put on a swimsuit and dive into the pool. But she was an employee, not a guest, at The Cornhole.
There was too much for her to do. She had to give a tennis lesson to one of the guests and then go about organizing the dance tonight. She had to put up decorations.
It was noon the day after she made it with Roberta Owens, and the sun was high in the sky. It seemed to be turning all its heat upon her.
She saw one of the male guests, giving her the eye. She ignored him. She knew she looked good in a blouse and white shorts. She had a neat body with pert breasts that attracted men ... and women.
It was damned uncomfortable under the blazing sun. And the pool looked so inviting.
"Miss Daniels?"
She turned and saw Larry approaching her. It was the first time he had addressed her like that. She wondered what he wanted. She didn't feel like fending off more obscene advances from him. She just wasn't in the mood to fight him off again.
"Yes, what is it?" she said, ice in her voice.
"Mrs. Topperman sent me to tell you she won't be able to make her tennis appointment," Larry said. "She has a very bad headache."
"I'll bet," June said sweetly. "Where did you see her?"
"In her room."
"And you're going back to entertain her?"
She knew it was none of her business but she was in a blue mood. She wanted to hit out at someone and Larry was available.
"No, I'm not," he said. "You're right, though," he added. "She was not alone when I saw her. Don was with her."
He put a faint grin on his handsome face. "I guess sex means more to her than tennis," he said. June froze.
"Sex?" she said. "Sex can be something beautiful. But you're talking about plain screwing. Man and woman. Or rather boy and woman. I bet you're having a ball lying down with all the old dames here."
There was uncontrolled anger in her voice.
"Yes, thank you," said Larry coldly. "I'm having a wonderful time. If it's any of your business."
June flushed. She knew she had been out of line.
Larry turned to go.
"Wait," June said quickly. "Don't leave. I . . .I'm sorry. I'm in a horrible mood and I took it out on you."
"That's okay," Larry said, feeling awkward. It had been some time since he had talked to his former fiancee.
"You're funny," June said.
"What do you mean?"
"You haven't made a pass at me," she said. Then added: "Not that I want you to. But every other guy here has tried at least once. You haven't. I suppose you think I don't go for boys anymore."
"I haven't heard anything," Larry lied. "And I don't make passes ... at fellow employees."
"You hesitated. What's the real reason?"
Larry shrugged. Was she trying to get him into a corner?
"Maybe I'm not interested," he added.
"Then you did hear something," she said sharply.
"No, and I don't pay attention to gossip anyway."
"Well, there's no reason that we can't be friends."
She herself didn't understand why she was talking this way. She wasn't friendly with him any more. Why act different all of a sudden?
"Sure. I can always use another friend," he said.
"Think you can get off now?"
"What have you got in mind?" he asked.
"I have a couple of hours to myself now," she said. "I want to go for a swim. I can't here. I was thinking of the lake."
"I guess I can take an hour off," Larry said. "Don can cover for me."
"Want to go with me?"
"Okay."
"Meet me at the car lot in ten minutes.
Okay?"
Larry nodded his head and went to leave a message for Don. Then he went to the car lot and waited for June.
It was funny how he still felt about the girl. Maybe it was because there was no danger with her. Yet, she belonged to a lesbian now. She did seem different though. She was still sweet. He felt comfortable with her.
June arrived in a cotton dress and they got into her car. She made a tight U-turn and drove out of the lot.
"Did you bring trunks?" she asked.
"No, I forgot."
"Well, that's okay. You can go swimming nude if you want. Don't mind me. It won't bother me. But don't get any ideas because of my liberal attitude. It just means that your nakedness won't affect me one way or the other. I won't be thrilled nor horrified."
"What will you be wearing?" he asked.
"I have one of those new string bikinis under my dress."
Larry laughed. "Is that fair? You'll have on a bikini and you expect me to go in naked."
"You don't have to go in at all," June said. "You can sit on the bank and watch me."
"I think that's what I'll do."
There was tall corn on either side of the road. There was a blue haze in the horizon. The sun was to the left of them. There wasn't a cloud in the sky.
It was called Corn Pond because of the corn growing all around. It looked clean and was clean. June parked and they got out.
She opened the trunk of her car and took out a beach blanket. She and Larry spread it over the grass and she took off her dress.
June looked good in a string bikini. Devastating. Her smooth breasts were two-thirds visible. The bikini bottom was actually just a loin cloth. Her navel was decorative and just underneath it a faint line of down started and ran down and disappeared under the loin cloth.
Larry sank down to the blanket.
"You're the one who's funny," he said.
June had been about to dart to the water of the lake. Instead, she joined Larry on the blanket.
"What do you mean?"
Larry looked at her half-naked body and didn't feel lust. He liked her. He was safe with her.
"Obviously you don't like men anymore," he said. "Yet you invite me here because you wanted company. Why me? And then you take off your dress without a blush and you don't seem to care that I could see so much of your skin."
"You always seemed different from the other boys," June said. "I felt safe with you. And there's no reason for me to feel embarrassed at wearing a string bikini in front of you. We're going to be friends, aren't we? No sex between us. Don't make a pass. I won't like it. You won't get anywhere."
"I won't make a pass," Larry promised, grinning and stretching out. "That's one thing you'll never have to worry about anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Just what I said."
"It sounds so mysterious to me."
She jumped to her feet and ran to the edge of the lake. She looked back thoughtfully at Larry and then waded in. When the water was breast high she started to swim.
Larry watched her. She was a damn good swimmer.
Finally she came out. She walked to the blanket and knelt down.
"You look awfully hot," she said. "I'll bet you'd like to go for a swim. Why don't you admit it."
"Sure. But I won't go in naked in front of you."
She laughed.
"Are you shy all of a sudden."
"Why should I show everything I got?" he said.
She licked her lower lip. "Would you go in if I took off my bikini?" she asked.
Larry tilted his head.
"Aren't you tempting fate? How can you be that sure about me?"
In answer to his question, June untied the bow of her halter and it fell away. Her breasts were bare. White, round, tipped with coral. Then she got rid of the loin cloth. She was stark naked. The wiry mystery of her girlhood was visible. Through the bush could be seen the shape of her pussy.
Silently, Larry got to his feet and started to undress. He finally stood in front of her, naked.
She saw how stiff his long, slender penis was and knew she had excited him. He turned and went across the grass, down into the water and soon he was swimming in the blue lake.
June lay back and her breasts pointed to the sky. She was full of thoughts. His nakedness hadn't awakened her libido. That was strange. She knew she wasn't queer.
She looked at his body as he came back. It was almost hairless, except for his armpits and pubic area. She saw the tan of his skin. She felt like touching it. She had the feeling she would get excited if she touched him. She also had the feeling she would see him get excited. She felt afraid.
"Tell me something about yourself, Larry," she said.
"Not much to tell," he said. "I'm an average fellow from an average small town. You've known me all your life."
"Would you mind terribly if I asked you some intimate questions?" she asked.
"I wish you wouldn't."
"Do you have something to hide?"
"Doesn't everyone?" he said
"I suppose so." She took a deep breath. "I feel close to you, Larry. It's been a long time since I said that to you. I'm more than just curious. I feel a closeness, a genuine closeness. I have a feeling about you. Something is troubling you, bugging you. I want to help if you'll let me."
He craned his neck and stared at her.
"I don't want any help. You don't ask me questions and I won't ask you."
"Is there something about me that turns you off?"
"Nope."
"You know all about me then," she said. "I'm just not curious."
"Even my mother doesn't know the whole story," she said softly, as if to herself. "The whole story?"
"Yes," she breathed. "You want to know . ... " She stopped, looked at Larry. "You must know about me!" she cried.
Larry was silent.
"I sleep with girls now," June almost cried. "Yes, it's true. I don't want to bed down with men. And yet...."
"And yet what?"
"I'm talking too much."
"That's because you want to talk," Larry pointed out.
"One of the smart ones," she sneered.
"You don't have to be nasty."
"I'm sorry. I want to talk but I won't. It's too awful. If you only knew." She stared at him. "Funny, isn't it? We both have something to conceal."
"You're wrong about me."
"No, I'm not."
"Okay," Larry said. "But it's my problem. I don't want to talk about it."
She suddenly laughed. "You wouldn't strip until I did," she said. "I'll bet if I told you everything, you'd open up too."
"Maybe you're right," he said. "In that case, I don't want to hear it."
But she plunged on, glad to get it off her chest.
"I was fifteen and my father raped me. I keep seeing me in bed and him on top of me and that horrible look of lust on his face. Then I feel him going into me, tearing into my flesh, hurting me, making me bleed. I've dated boys and when they paw me I start seeing him and I freeze up. I need some sex so I get my satisfaction with women now. But ... but ... I love you, Larry."
"I wish you hadn't told me," Larry said.
"You must promise me you won't tell anyone. I'll die of shame. Mother never knew."
He put out his hand and touched her arm. It felt silky-smooth under his fingers.
"I won't tell anyone. And why must you feel shame? Or guilt? Or anything? It wasn't your fault."
"He was my father," she cried out. "But it wasn't your fault."
"He was my father," she cried out. "You were raped. It couldn't be helped." She looked at him.
"Next you'll tell me that what I need is to go to bed with some man and this mental block will disappear."
"I'm not an anlyst," Larry said. "I can't tell you anything." He took his hand away from her sun-kissed arm.
"You desire me, but you wouldn't stoop low to get me," she said. "But you want me. Here I am, naked, and you have a hard-on."
Larry looked up at the sky.
She stared at his profile.
"Are you going to rape me?"
He shook his head. "You'd despise me." He thought about his problem. The yen he had to give it to women in the ass. The first experience he'd had with Aunt Martha.
He said nothing, and they dressed and went to the car. They got in and drove back to the The Cornhole.
He kept thinking, wondering if there was a way to break the spell that held June in check. Was there a way he could break through to her? The thing that kept coming back into his mind was that maybe ... maybe ... he'd learned something in his experiences with Martha and with the women at The Cornhole, something he could use to get through to his beloved June.
It was just a hunch, just a feeling he had.