Read Online Diving In by Gretchen Galway - Free Book Online

No thank you.” She couldn’t think of any excuse, so she just stared at him from her spot in the middle of the pool.  
    He didn’t look offended. “Sure, no problem.” He got to his feet. “I promised you privacy, and I meant it. I’ll leave you alone now.”
    She bit back an apology. “Thank you.”
    “Don’t worry about it.” He waved and slipped his feet into his sandals. “I’ll see you later. Or not. Whichever you prefer.” He flashed the grin at her again as he walked away and disappeared behind the fake boulders of the landscaping.
    He was flirting with her. She’d noticed him checking out her body. Free-range professional models flocked to Maui, yet he wanted to look at her ?
    The worst thing was, she’d been laughing and smiling in return as if he were just any other guy.
    She marched through the water and sat on the edge of the pool with decade-old, horribly good memories washing over her.
    It had been late, and they’d been sitting around in her room with six or seven other people in the semi-darkness, drinking and eating, sharing stories about sexual fantasies or experiences that were true, false, in-between, inhibitions melting away the way they did sometimes those first years in college; most of them were still too young to be jaded or careful.
    Ansel was just visiting his sister. He’d brought a fondue set. It had been a big joke; they were all going to eat fondue in Rachel’s room, even though it barely held four people standing up, let alone the two dozen hungry college students excited to dunk random stuff into melted cheese instead of studying.
    But Rachel’s roommate had kicked them out. Nicki, though she had a human biology midterm at nine the next morning and was already in her pajamas, immediately flung open her own door. The crowd filed in, and the sound of laughter and the smell of melting cheese attracted the entire floor and the one above them. Two hours later, everyone was full and half-asleep, drunk, happy, sad, and naturally thinking about sex. Some paired up and disappeared into their own rooms. One couple started right there and were encouraged for a few minutes before disgust prevailed and they were evicted. The rest of them began talking. A trio of aromatherapy candles was the only light in the room, inviting confidences. A few people, two men and a woman, said they were gay. One guy said he wanted to be a psychiatrist, then got drunk and told everyone to shut up.
    And then they were all gone, and it was just Nicki and Ansel.
    She remembered it all like a movie she’d seen in the theater, owned on video, shared copies with her friends, watched too many times, and now despised.
    They hadn’t actually had sex. Sometimes she wondered if that made it all that much worse. Not only had Ansel forgotten her, he hadn’t even mustered the enthusiasm to finish the job. Right when she’d worked up the courage to unzip the fly of his jeans to feel him—to feel any man was new, but him , oh my God—he jumped back, fell out of her bed, and half-ran, half-crawled into the hallway, never to be seen again.
    Next she heard, he’d gone back to UC Davis, his school at the time, though he dropped out soon after for a while.
    Nicki, who never saw him in person again, kept that damn fondue pot for six years. To this day, the smell of melting cheese made her want to vomit.
    And he didn’t even remember her.
    It’s a test , she told herself. If he were a different guy, I might be tempted to go for it .
    Thank goodness she wasn’t tempted.
    She sank into the water, arms spread out along the edge, and lifted her face to the sun.
    He liked her. She could see the like all over his face.
    Remember the cheese , she told herself. Just remember the damn cheese.

Chapter 6

    A NSEL WALKED AWAY FROM N ICKI at the pool, intending to return after he finished his errand about the solar panels. Grinning, he savored the memory of her standing in the water like a goddess, all that shining feminine skin