"Rita, I'm beginning to think you've got nothing better to do than hang around an aging ghost."
"What if I like hanging around with aging ghosts?"
He watched her strip off into that skimpy bikini which would have gotten her beheaded if she'd worn it in his day, smothering herself with sunscreen and laying down on the bright green towel she brought with her. The sun was beating down on them, turning her skin a light tan that reminded him of Italian women sitting in a cafe drinking rich coffee. She kicked off her black jandals, resting her head on the flannelette towel and closing her eyes, he wondered if she wanted some of those 'sunglasses'. Looking out towards the lake, he noticed a tentacle flipping high in the air, slamming down on the clear blue water and spraying the smaller children standing on the shore. He heard a giggle escape from her lips, she'd obviously seen it too.
"How long till school ends?"
"Two days, I think."
"What are you planning on doing this summer?"
"I'll probably go to Spain, you know how I like it there."
"I know how you like the men there."
"Pssh."
He heard her laugh, it seemed so mirthful and relaxed for someone he knew to be depressed and rather sombre at the best of times. Her bikini reminded him of underwear, he thought to himself. Much too revealing, he would say to himself later on. He decided to copy her, laying down on the grass and looking upward at the clear blue sky. It must be hot, he thought, Rita looked rather thirsty. Beads of sweat were beginning to form on her forehead, she looked ... ohgod, he could not be thinking THAT. Rita was like a daughter to him, this counts as incest, he told himself. He was a rogue, he couldn't be thinking of Rita like i that /i ! She was almost 500 years his junior, all that remained of his body was probably dust, and here he was thinking of a young, beautiful, i alive /i girl in a way that was completely inappropriate. He was thinking of her like the Baron did, this was not right.
"Nick, is everything okay? You look a little worried."
"Oh, it's nothing."
She sat up, the beads of sweat running down her neck and going down...oh...oh. He looked at the grass, i grass is green, grass is thin, just like Rita. /i
"Nick, what's wrong?"
"Oh, just thinking about how borings its going to be in the castle alone. Its nothing, really."
Crossing her arms and looking at him suspiciously, he knew she could see right through his lies. Those deep blue, penetrating eyes narrowed, raising a delicate eyebrow, the humid air making her curls a little larger.
"Really? What is it?"
Could he tell her? Did he dare tell a seventeen-year-old girl, with a pulse, that she looked very stunning in that bikini and would she please take it off? Deciding against it, he put on a smile and laughed a little.
"You've got grass in your hair."
She smiled at him, lying back down on her bright green towel and slowly closing her eyes, almost seductively Nick thought. The summer sun beat down on her sweaty form. He sighed quietly, turning around and lying face down on the grass, transparent head facing her, thanking God that she hadn't noticed the large bulge in his breeches.