Flirting with Fire: A Summer Camp Swingers novel

“Yeah, they’re right,” Emily said, although she didn’t seem too happy about it. “Remember what they told us in class?”

About consent, I imagined, and Allie confirmed it with a glance.

“Oh, all right,” Madison huffed.

Allie waded into the water and then toward me.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

The girls realized I’d shifted from dad to grown-up, so they kicked toward the deep end. They were worn out too, even if they hadn’t been doing the heavy lifting.

“No problem,” I said to Allie. “We aren’t husband and wife, but we’re a team.”

“And a pretty good one,” she agreed. She looked past me and called, “Girls, time for more sunscreen, especially without your suits.”

“Oh my gosh, yes,” Susie said immediately. “I turn into a lobster if I don’t.”

“Hey, Dad…,” Emily said, “I think we’re gonna get out for a while. Then maybe can we have lunch?”

“Sure. Why don’t you get a shake now, though.”

“Okay.”

The girls climbed out of the pool and dripped toward the breakfast patio. Molly rose, shook off the water, and trotted around to join them. Spike and Buck traded a couple of confused looks.

For the umpteenth time I wondered how three dogs from the same litter could be so different. Labradors were supposed to be a smart breed, but I couldn’t tell by looking at ours. Molly had all the brains and the common sense to boot. Spike and Buck reminded me of teenage boys, and not in a good way. I didn’t want to blame testosterone, but the evidence was pretty clear.

As if to prove my point, Buck started licking himself. I couldn’t blame him, though. I’d tried it myself, and more than once. (Hey, I was a teenage boy at the time. Don’t judge me.) Even today, I sometimes wondered if well-hung guys like my brother-in-law Tom had tried it too.

Did he… succeed? Get it? Suck seed?

Fortunately, Allie snapped me out of it before the little head could really get going.

“Wow, that was easy,” she said.

“What was?”

“The girls. They didn’t argue.”

“Yeah,” I chuckled, “that’s my secret, wear them out first. Then they’re easier to manage. Works every time.”

“Does it work on grown-ups too?”

My eyebrows twitched upward. “Why? Do you know someone who needs it?”

“No,” she fibbed. “Just asking.”

“Mmm.”

Up on the patio, Emily wrapped her towel around her slender body and went inside with Molly. Madison and Carly took Susie’s advice and used the blue bottle of Coppertone Sport, SPF 100. They were both pale where their swimsuits normally covered, although I didn’t think they’d had time to burn.

I spared a glance at my own skin. I had a decent tan, but I could still burn if I spent more than an hour or two in the sun. I normally didn’t forget sunscreen—too many bad sunburns as a kid—but Allie was a serious distraction. She was a pleasant one, to be sure, but still a distraction.

Speaking of which… “You wanna help me fix lunch?”

“Sure,” she said brightly. “But let me cool off first.”

“Sounds good.”

“You go ahead. I’ll join you in a few minutes. I wanna enjoy the quiet.” She tried not to grin, and I took the hint.

“Right. Okay. Well… enjoy.” I climbed the stairs and felt her watching my ass. It was one of Christy’s favorite things about me, and I was pretty sure she bragged about it to her girlfriends.

I dried my face with my towel and let Allie have a good look. Then I turned for a front view, and my penis began to swell. Fortunately, I wasn’t a teenager anymore, so I didn’t have to worry about a full erection. Unfortunately, the increased blood flow created a different problem, snark.

I thought you said she wasn’t interested.

She isn’t, I replied. She just wants a show.

So… what? Now you’re a Chippendale?

Whose side are you on? I griped.

Allie smiled and kicked off backward. I had a perfect view of her body, even though it was covered by a swimsuit. Unfortunately, “look but don’t touch” was the order of the day. Besides, we were just friends, right?

“Hey, Dad,” Susie asked when I joined them, “is it okay if we lay out for a while?”

Madison corrected her, “Lie out.”

“That’s what I meant.”

“Then why didn’t you say it?”

“Ugh. You’re worse than my grandma.”

“I am not!”

“Are too. C’mon, Carly, let’s go over there.”

They took their towels and headed to the other side of the waterfall.

Madison watched them go, nonplussed.

“Don’t worry about it,” I chuckled.

“‘Lay’ is a transitive verb,” she said stiffly.

“Exactly. It requires an object. ‘Lie’ is intransitive.”

She wrinkled her forehead. She knew I was right, but she was wondering how I knew.

I leaned toward her and confided in a low voice, “My mother was an English major too.”

“Really? Cool. Mom says it’s important to use the right word.”

“The lightning bug and the lightning,” I agreed.

Madison’s eyes flew wide. “You know that one too?”

“Mark Twain, of course.”

She beamed.

“What about him?” Allie asked from behind me.

“Mom, he knows about Mark Twain and the lightning bug!” Madison gushed.