Flirting with Fire: A Summer Camp Swingers novel

She clearly wanted to, but something stopped her. “I… don’t think so,” she said at last.

I hid my disappointment. “That’s okay.”

“Sorry. I hope you aren’t upset.”

“Nope,” I lied. “I told you, it’s your body.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s go ahead and tell the girls, though.” At least we can make them happy.

* * *

The girls stripped as soon as we told them. I wasn’t surprised at mine, but Allie’s didn’t even hesitate. All of a sudden I realized that they’d tried it before, probably during a sleepover, and maybe more than once. I glanced at Allie and watched her come to the same conclusion.

Emily drew us back to the present. Her swimsuit landed on the side of the pool with a soggy plop-plop. The other girls tossed their own suits, and water darkened the flagstones in spreading circles where they landed.

Then Susie splashed Carly and streaked up the stairs. Carly raced after her, and they shrieked toward the deep end. At some unspoken signal, they both cannonballed into the water. Spike and Buck paddled after them, and the girls kicked away in a game of chase.

Emily and Madison went the opposite direction, toward the shallow end. Molly climbed the stairs and shook the water from her coat in a rainbow spray of droplets. Then she lay on the warm stone, while the girls stopped on the steps in front of her.

Overhead, the sun climbed toward its zenith and blazed down steadily. The summer haze did little to stop it, and sweat prickled at the small of my back.

“Let’s have a seat.” I gestured toward the shade on the breakfast patio.

Allie joined me, and I righted the sunscreen bottles before I settled into a chair. We watched the girls in silence. The younger ones were playing a game that only they and the dogs understood. The older girls rested with their elbows on the stairs and chatted about who-knew-what. They were pretending to be grown-ups, doing the exact opposite of the younger girls.

“I… had no idea,” Allie said. “I mean, they couldn’t care less. I thought they’d be self-conscious or something. At the very least that they’d need some time to adjust.”

“It’s ’cause they’re kids. They adjust quickly.”

“No. You saw it too. They’ve done this before.”

“Probably,” I agreed. I watched her out of the corner of my eye. “Are you okay with that?”

“I guess,” she said after a moment. “I mean, it could be worse. They could’ve been playing doctor with boys or something.”

I chuckled and didn’t mention Christy’s suspicions about Laurie, that she’d been “playing doctor” with girls. At least Laurie and her friend were teenagers. The other girls were all too young.

Allie and I were on the same wavelength.

“They grow up so quickly,” she said. “I mean, they already know about sex. Well, Maddy and Em. I didn’t learn until high school! Not for real, at least. Even then, it was only the stuff they taught in Health class.”

“Exactly. Fallopian tubes and vas deferens.”

“I didn’t figure out the rest until college.”

“Me either,” I fibbed.

“They learned about it last year. In fifth grade! Not just the body parts, either. Consent and everything! I’m not complaining,” Allie added quickly, “but I don’t know if I’m ready for Maddy to deal with that stuff.”

“It could’ve been worse,” I said. “Christy wanted our girls to go to Catholic school, Holy Spirit.”

“Ken too.”

“Sex Ed there is nonexistent.”

“It’s asinine.”

“It’s both! I mean, ‘abstinence pledges’? What the fuck?”

“Literally!” Allie agreed with a laugh.

“Ugh. Don’t get me started.”

We fell silent and radiated agreement.

“So, yeah,” I said at last, “you and I might think fifth grade is too early, but the people with the education degrees say otherwise. Besides, I think they’re doing it the right way.” I told her about my conversation that morning with Emily.

“Is that what we’re supposed to do?” Allie laughed. “No wonder you keep trying to get me naked!”

“Of course!” I shot her an unrepentant grin before I nodded toward Emily and Madison. They were still reclining on the stairs, still relaxed, nude instead of naked. I mentioned it to Allie.

“I guess you’re right,” she said. “‘Naked’ has a connotation of ‘exposed’ and ‘vulnerable.’”

“Exactly.”

“So… you want me to be vulnerable?” She had a habit of moistening her lips when she wanted to remind me of her tongue stud. She did it now. Then she smiled, sly and suggestive. “Vulnerable to what?”

To me, duh!

I ignored him. “I want you to be comfortable. How is up to you.”

“You don’t wanna see me naked,” she said matter-of-factly.

My expression said otherwise, but I didn’t pursue it. We were just friends, after all. Right?

“Hey, Dad…? Dad…? Dad!”

I sighed. “Fair Juliet calls…”

“Saved by the bell,” Allie said, although I wondered who she thought had been saved this time.

“Dad…! Dad!”

“What!” I suppressed my annoyance and feigned a smile.

“Come play with us,” Emily begged.

“Yeah, come play!” Susie said.

The others joined in.

“Please, Mr. H.?”

“Please, please?”

“We want you to throw us,” Emily added.

“Yeah, come throw us!”

“I think there’s an echo in here,” I joked to Allie.