Swimming

If she knew I was watching she showed no signs of it.

I had caught a stray whiff of her shampoo as she turned a corner, and here I was, watching her slip off her bathrobe and hang it on a tiny hook fastened to the wall. This left her in a lilac two-piece.

Rachel marched purposefully to the edge of Bruce's indoor pool, steadying herself.

A moment later she had dove into the pool. I wanted to see her wet body in that tiny string bikini.

"Perv," a voice that sounded suspiciously like Max scolded.

Rachel resurfaced, granting my wish. She shifted in my direction. "I thought I heard you, McGinnis," she laughed. "What would your mother think if she knew you liked to stalk girls in their swimsuits?"

She was teasing, which I thought unfair. "I'm a guy, Grayson, what do you expect?" I retorted lamely.

Rachel shook her head. "You're something else, Terry McGinnis."

She was a graceful swimmer. Actually, everything she did was graceful. Even the way she punched a Joker in the face had a certain rhythm to it.

I folded myself onto the ground and watched her. Rachel swam a few laps around the enormous pool. When she decided herself done for the day, she treaded water to the steps and pulled herself out.

Smirking, she purposefully pranced around the pool the long way to her towel.

Rachel dried herself, the mischievous grin still present on her face. She was toying with me…and it was working.

I had to hand it to Rachel, though; her body was that of a supermodel's.

While she worked out constantly, her body wasn't toned and muscle-y. She looked soft and huggable, like a woman should. I secretly enjoyed those rare hugs I received from her. The shape of her middle was like an hourglass, and her legs seemed to go on and on.

"You're perverted," Rachel chided, joining me at the pool's edge. "I saw you checking me out."

I became increasingly aware of a slight blush on my face. "Oh, like you haven't done it to me," I shot back.

"Not in a bathing suit, anyway," Rachel replied. "But if I find one picture of me on the Internet…"

"You're so funny," I responded dryly. "Like I would do that."

"I know," she said quietly. "Bruce doesn't have you doing any manual labor today?"

"I actually have the rest of the day off…until after dark anyway."

"Oh darn," Rachel said, snapping her fingers. "It's hot when you take off your shirt."

"And you think I'm perverted," I retorted.

A flirty smile flitted across her face. "You're cute when you're offended."

"Just cute?" I asked, returning the smile.

"Alright…you're hot when you're offended, Mr. Ego."

"Much better," I replied. "My ego thanks you, Grayson."

I put my hand on top of hers unintentionally.

She noticed too, staring at our entwined fingers like they had come out of nowhere. She didn't pull away, opting to put her head on my shoulder.

I like that she felt so comfortable with me. I liked it a lot, actually.

The next thing I knew she had kissed me. Not of the passionate, tongue-in-mouth variety, just a sweet, gentle kiss.

Of course, two seconds later, she had jumped into the pool again.

"Hey!" I protested, wiping water from my face. Why could I never figure her out?

Rachel emerged from the water, grinning. "What's the matter McGinnis? Don't you wanna come in?"

And then she was gone. I looked around, wondering where she could possibly be hiding.

I'd forgotten she'd inherited the power of invisibility from one of her mother's ancestors. I had no idea what was coming until I felt a hand on my shoulder.

Rachel turned visible a second before she pushed me in.

I could hear her laughter, the light, melodious sound I cherished with all my heart.

But she wasn't supposed to know that. I had to seek revenge.

Rachel was still standing on the edge. That gave me an idea.

"Terry?" she squeaked, watching me carefully. "Terry-"

Too late. I seized her ankle and pulled her in.

"I'm going to kill you, Terry McGinnis!" she shrieked.

I gave her an evil grin. "You deserved it, Rach."

We were standing in the deepest part of the pool. Treading water, she moved closer, draping her arms around my neck.

"You're right. I did," she said thoughtfully. "I'm sorry."

"I doubt that," I mumbled. "You'll do it again, given the chance."

"Again, you're right," she grinned. "But I'm going to do this again, too."

And her mouth pressed itself over mine in another sweet kiss.

"You wanna know a secret?" she asked, pressing her body against mine. "That was only my second kiss."

This I didn't expect. She'd kissed me twice…

"I'm your first kiss?"

She nodded. "Feel lucky, McGinnis."

And with that, she let go of me, climbed out of the pool and walked away.

"Hey Rachel!"

She turned. "Yeah?"

"I like that it was me. Meet me for coffee later?"

"You're something else, McGinnis. I'll be there."

Rachel was wrong. It was her who was something else, something I wanted to find out.