That first weekend she spent at Hannah and Ben's was like a dream she didn't want to wake up from. The meals they had together, the fun, the laughter and all the shared moments in between all combined into a kaleidoscope of memories she would treasure for all her life. And what's even better was that there would be more memories to come, now that she and Ben have arranged for her to visit every weekend.
There were, however, some memories she chose to put away-like the way Ben looked at her, the way he sang to her, the way he moaned under her touch, the warmth of his embrace and the feel of his lips against her cheek. To think about them paved the way for a myriad of emotions she dared not decipher, though sometimes she had to remind herself not to trek in that direction. That way could only lead to heartbreak, and she wasn't about to sacrifice this happiness for selfish desires. She had an amazing daughter in Hannah and a great friend in Ben. They were more than she could ever have hoped for. She had no right to ask for more.
And yet…
"You alright there, Kenobi?"
Startled, Rey turned away from her closed locker and faced a fellow general labourer, Tallie Lintra, who was just untying her brown hair to let it loose.
"You've been standing there all zoned out for a while," Tallie continued when Rey didn't speak. "Everything alright?"
"I'm fine, Tallie. Just tired from the shift, that's all." Rey opened her locker, her eyes homing in on the pictures she had taped to the inside of the locker door. There was still that photo of her younger self and a then healthy Benedict Kenobi, but beside it, she had taped on a picture of herself, Hannah and Ben by her restored pick up truck which Chewie had taken the previous weekend. She had gone to the center of town almost immediately after Hannah sent the files over and had it printed. A bigger photo was already framed and mounted on her wall.
"Who's the hunk?"
Rey nearly jumped out of her overalls and glared at Tallie, who had somehow managed to sneak up behind her without making a noise. "Jeez, Tallie, you nearly gave me a heart attack."
"Sorry." She didn't sound sorry at all. "But seriously. Who's the hunk and that little girl with you in the photo?" Tallie scrunched up her nose before her eyes widened. "Wait a minute...Kenobi, I thought you were single?"
"I am. He's just a friend and that's his daughter."
"Yeah, but the daughter looks a lot like you."
Rey refused to say anything more, and just simply stored her hard hat and retrieved her car keys. She had been acquainted with Tallie Lintra long enough to know that the girl was a gossip, and the last thing she wanted was to field questions or endure the stares and whispers of her coworkers.
"Was that photo from when you got your new truck?" Tallie continued, clearly unperturbed by the silence as Rey took off her overalls and changed into a tank top and shorts . "People have been talking about your new truck, you know."
That gave Rey a pause. She honestly just wanted to ignore the girl and go home, but she felt the need to speak up about it. "It's not a new truck. It's my old truck. My...I just got it restored."
"You mean that was that beat up old thing you used to drive?" Tallie whistled. "That must have taken some serious cash."
"Bye, Tallie." Rey waved and hurried out of the locker room before the woman could talk her ear off some more. She wasn't about to tell the tattletale of the junkyard how she got her new ride.
Rey didn't stop hurrying until she was close to the parking lot. Finally, she could go home and talk to Ben and Hannah again, as they have always done. She would have dinner in front of her computer while they took Ben's laptop with them on the dining table. It was a little extra effort on their part but Rey appreciated it. It made her feel less alone.
She stepped out of the junkyard garage, striding past her coworkers vehicles in the parking lot when she saw someone that made her freeze in her tracks.
There, circling her pickup truck was the junkyard boss Unkar Plutt. His buttoned shirt still had the stains from when he spilled the morning coffee she had made for him on himself, and his belly protruded over a belt that was wound too tight around his large hips.
Plutt turned towards her and gave her a smile that sent an unpleasant shiver down her spine.
"I see you've bought a new truck," Plutt said, running a hand over the vehicle's hood. Rey made a mental note to wipe the hood later.
"It's still my grandfather's truck." Rey took a step forward, hoping to get inside the truck but Plutt was in the way. "It was just restored, that's all."
"Is that why you asked for half the day off last Friday? To get this truck restored?"
Rey was about to say no, but quickly realized that she couldn't tell Plutt about her trip to Coruscant. Not only would it be too complicated to explain about Hannah and Ben, she just didn't want Plutt to know that aspect of her personal life, and so she nodded. "Yes."
Plutt harrumphed and took his hand off the hood. "How were you even able to afford this with your salary and the loan payments you're still making? Don't tell me you took out another loan to get this done."
Rey felt indignant and shamed at the same time, and she clenched her fists at her sides. "I didn't pay for it. It was a gift from a friend."
"A gift?" Plutt raised a bushy brow, wrinkles on his forehead moving up to a receding hairline. "This is quite an expensive gift coming from someone who's just a friend."
Rey started to speak, but was unable to find the words, so she kept her mouth shut again.
Plutt took a step forward. "Rey, nothing in this world is free. People will always expect something in return. The more money they invest on you, the more they want to get out of you."
"Ben's not like that," Rey blurted out.
"Ben? So it's a guy friend, huh?"
Rey's lips tighten into a fine line as she mentally kicked herself. She shouldn't have said anything.
"Rey, I'm just looking out for you." Plutt moved closer until he was circling Rey. She could do nothing but follow him with her eyes. "Your grandfather, rest his soul, trusted me to be your loan guarantor, your employer, and I hope, your friend. I just want to make sure other men don't take advantage of you."
Rey felt her anger spike, not for her, but for Ben. Ben had been nothing but kind to her, and she couldn't just stand idly by while he was slandered.
"Ben's not like other men," she said, doing her best to speak calmly even though her words came through gritted teeth.
"All men are the same, dear girl." Plutt stopped in front of her, and Rey looked up at him defiantly until he put his hand on her shoulder, and she felt as though she had turned to stone. "You can't let yourself trust so easily. Men will always want something, especially from someone as pretty as you."
From her shoulder, Plutt slowly slid his hand down her arm, and Rey felt as though she was coated in slime. Her only consolation was that the moment lasted only for a second before Plutt pulled away, but the disgust, horror and humiliation remained.
Plutt stepped aside and Rey walked as calmly as she could to her truck, breathing heavily when she reached the driver's side door. After gaining a semblance of control, an idea, a desperate idea formed in her head, and she looked up to see Plutt still standing there, still staring at her the way he had always done-with hunger in his eyes.
"Mr. Plutt?"
"Please, dear, call me Unkar," Plutt corrected. "We've known each other for almost a decade. Hell, I've known you since you were a teenager. I think it's time you called me by my first name, yes?"
"Yes Mr. Plu-I mean Unkar." The name felt thick on her tongue, and she felt like choking. Slowly, she stepped away from her vehicle so she could face her boss again. "Unkar, I...I would like to...to tender my resignation."
The air seemed to have been sucked out in a vacuum until Rey was barely breathing, hands clasped in front of her, knuckles turning white.
Unkar's face darkened. "Why? Is it because of this Ben character you've been talking about?"
"N-no." Rey shook her head, though the vicious way in which Plutt spat out Ben's name frightened her. "I...I got a job offer in Coruscant."
Plutt shook his head, his cheeks and jowls jiggling. "No. You signed an agreement to remain in Jakku until you have fully paid your loan to the bank. That was one of my stipulations before I agreed to be your guarantor."
"Yes, but if I get this job, then I could pay the loan faster," Rey tried to reason. "And I won't be moving to Coruscant. I will still come back here to Jakku every weekend. I'm not going to run away from my financial responsibilities, I swear. And either way, I won't leave my grandfather's house."
"No." Plutt's tone was firm. "Even if I could trust you not to run away, I need to think about my business. You're one of my best employees and I'd hate to lose you. Besides, with your grandfather gone, somebody has to look out for you."
He said the last line softly, as though he wanted to sound fatherly, but Rey thought he only succeeded in sounding sleazy.
She started to protest, to tell him that she could take care of herself, but he spoke first. "If money is what you're worried about, I could give you a raise. All you had to do was ask, my dear."
Rey narrowed her eyes suspiciously. She may not interact much with her coworkers, but she knew enough from their grumbling that Plutt didn't just give raises. That was one of the reasons why his employee turnover was so high.
"You'll give me a raise?" Rey asked, her tone incredulous. "In exchange for what?"
Plutt put a hand over his heart and feigned a hurt expression. "My dear, you wound me. Truly. I'm just being helpful."
"You just told me nothing in the world is free," Rey reminded, which made Plutt laugh so loud, she nearly jumped.
"Touche," he said with a grin, then stepped closer to put his hand on her shoulder again. She tried to move away but he tightened his grip. "I already told you what I want, my dear. Stay in Jakku. Work for me and make me my morning coffee like always. Nobody makes my coffee like you do." He gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, moving his thumb back and forth across her exposed skin. Each pass of his thumb felt like he was smearing grease. "Any other concerns?"
"No, sir." Rey swallowed. She didn't want to say anything more. She just wanted this conversation to end.
"Good. I'll have Erin draw out the paperwork for the raise." Plutt finally let go of her, but not before chucking her chin up lightly. "Chin up, Rey. Things are going to look up for you from here on out. I'll make sure of that."
Ben stopped typing on his laptop and stared at his silent phone. It was half an hour past seven in the evening, and Rey still hadn't called. He had tried to video call her the minute he got home almost two hours ago, but she wasn't online so he had resorted to calling, only for the calls to go straight to voicemail. He had left several already and sent her a number of texts, all of which were left unanswered. Even Hannah was beginning to worry, and he'd had to put on a brave front and tell her Rey was probably doing overtime at work, though he himself didn't believe that. Rey always let him know ahead of time if she had to work extra hours.
He got off his office chair and walked around his desk to pace in his study. He was still in his work clothes but he had no inclination to change. In fact, he didn't want to do anything else but try and contact Rey, but he had exhausted all his options. Niima Junkyard's office hours were over so there were no answers to his long distance calls, and he had no contact information of Rey's coworkers or of her friends, Finn and Poe. And even if he did, the couple lived in D'Qar City so they wouldn't be able to check on Rey.
He began biting at his thumbnail as he calculated the time it would take for him to make the trip to Jakku himself. He needed to get to her. His instincts were telling him something was wrong, and his mind was running through the worst case scenarios.
He shook his head and grabbed a fistful of his hair. He had to keep it together. He had to stay calm for Hannah, even though sweat was beginning to bead over his cold forehead. The thought that something had happened to Rey gnawed at him, making him physically ill, and he resolved to go to Jakku if she still didn't call or answer his calls within the next hour.
Then, his video call app rang, and his knees nearly gave way as he scrambled back towards his laptop to answer. And when he saw Rey's face, he was hit by instant relief, though with it, came a bit of anger.
"Rey! Where were you?" he questioned, his voice a little shrill. "I've been calling and texting you the past couple of hours. I was about ready to drive to Jakku to check up on you."
"I'm sorry, Ben. I didn't mean to make you worry," came Rey's soft reply, and whatever anger Ben may have felt dissolved into concern. Her hair was stringy, and she was in a bathrobe, telling him she had just had a shower. Her skin was shiny and splotched red in some places, like it had been scrubbed raw, and her eyes were puffy as though she had been crying.
Ben leaned in, his rapid breaths now slowing. "Rey...what happened?"
Rey was quiet for a moment, eyes averted, and her thumbnail between her teeth before she shook her head and gave him a small smile. "Stress from work. It's nothing, Ben. And I'm sorry for not answering your calls. I was in the bathroom for a while."
"Why? Are you sick?"
"No. I just needed...a long hot shower, that's all."
Ben pressed his lips together as Rey once again averted her gaze. She was acting strange. "Rey, you know you can tell me anything. What's wrong? Really?"
He waited patiently for her to answer, his concern growing with every silent moment that passed between them. He found himself wishing he was there with her, to hold her and tell her everything was going to be fine, to have her in his arms and comfort himself with the fact that she was still there, as well as can be. Because despite everything she had said the previous weekend, the lines she had drawn and his own acceptance of what should not be, he was still very much in love with her. If only he didn't need to deny it for her sake and for Hannah's.
After a time, Rey let out a shaky breath and said, "Ben, I know I'm supposed to take half the day off this Friday again so I can arrive at Coruscant before nightfall, but...I can't. I'm going to have to travel on Saturday morning instead."
The crease in between Ben's brows deepened. "Are you saying Plutt refused to give you time off?"
"No. I never got to ask him. But he…" Rey trailed off and bit on her lower lip as if to stop herself before she continued. "Look. I just don't want to be further indebted to him than I already am. Bad enough that he's the guarantor for Grandpa's medical loans. I don't want to owe him any more favors."
Ben narrowed his eyes. There was more to what Rey was telling him. There had to be. But before he could further pry, knocks echoed through his office door, and Hannah peeked in.
"Daddy, the pizza's here." She entered the study, carrying the box of pizza with her, which she gently placed on the desk. She squealed when she saw who was on the laptop. "Rey! Omigosh, you're here! Daddy and I were so worried when we couldn't reach you earlier."
"Sorry about that, honey." Rey put on a smile. Ben knew she was just trying to appear okay. He could tell she was still upset. "Are you guys having pizza for dinner? You didn't cook?"
"Nope," Hannah answered, standing closer to the laptop so Ben had to back away a little to give his daughter more space. "Daddy and I couldn't concentrate on cooking. We were so worried about you. So Daddy decided on pizza instead."
"I'm really sorry," Rey apologized again. "But I'm fine. Really. I just got sidetracked, that's all."
"Are you ready for this weekend, Rey?" Hannah asked. "Daddy says he's giving you swimming lessons. Do you have a swimsuit yet?"
Ben felt his fingers clench on the armrests of his chair. With everything that went on the past week and just that night's panic over Rey's late call, he had almost forgotten about the swimming lessons he had promised her. Once again, his mind was swarmed with images of Rey in a swimsuit, and he had to distract himself by opening the pizza box and gorging on a slice.
"No, I don't have one yet. None of the stores at the center of town carry swimsuits," Rey said.
"Then let's shop here in Coruscant!" Hannah suggested excitedly. "Daddy can drive us to the mall and I can help you pick. Right, Daddy?"
Ben could only nod as he stuffed his mouth with a second slice of pizza, concentrating on the salty, gummy mozzarella, the slight sweetness of the salami, the hint of bitterness in the bell pepper. Anything to get his mind off things. But when Hannah started talking to Rey about whether she wanted a one piece or a two piece, he had to excuse himself with the guise of getting something to drink. He practically fled to the kitchen, popped open a can of beer and chugged it down. Good God, if he could barely keep himself together with just his imagination, he couldn't begin to fathom what it would be like when he actually saw her in a swimsuit. He could only hope he won't embarrass himself.
Daddy was acting all weird. One minute, he would be talking animatedly to Rey on the laptop about almost anything, but whenever she butted into the video call conversation to mention Rey's swimsuit, he would immediately excuse himself and leave her alone to talk to her mommy. It happened three nights in a row, up to the Friday night before Rey had to leave for Coruscant the next morning. His behavior confused her, until she saw how red in the face he was. She realized then that Daddy was embarrassed, though why he would be, confused her even more.
Hannah flipped through her phone, swinging her legs under the table while Daddy sat across her in the restaurant, head turning and craning from time to time for any sign of Rey. It was finally Saturday, and they had agreed to meet Rey in the mall by Coruscant's Central Square instead of the house. That way, they could have brunch together before going shopping for Rey's swimsuit, then be home for an afternoon of swimming lessons. Just for Rey though, not her. She could swim since she was five. Daddy was a great teacher, so she was sure Rey would learn quickly.
She eyed her father, who had settled for staring out the restaurant's glass walls, chin propped up by a palm. Pulling up a photo she liked in particular, she turned her phone to him and asked, "Daddy, you think Rey will look good in this?"
Ben turned to look, and almost immediately, his cheeks colored and his eyes widened before he reached out to make Hannah's phone face away from him. "Hannah, that's...that's too much."
"Too much what?" she asked. "Too much flowers? Too much pink maybe?"
"Too much...it's just too much, okay?" he said through gritted teeth and looked away again.
Hannah pouted and scrolled away from the printed bikini she had just shown her daddy. She happened to like that one. It had pretty pink flowers on it and she thought it would look great on Rey.
She scrolled through another bikini, this time with colorful butterflies on it, and showed it to her daddy again. "How about this one then? The butterflies are pretty and-"
"Hannah." Daddy's voice was firm this time. "Don't show me any more of those photos. Just...just keep it between you and Rey, okay?"
"But why, Daddy?" Hannah whined. "You're going to see Rey in a swimsuit later anyway, so what's the point of keeping it a secret?"
Daddy blinked and opened his mouth but no words came out. She tilted her head and eyed him curiously, when he suddenly stood up, his face bright. "Rey!"
Hannah turned to the direction Daddy was waving and squealed at the sight of Rey, coming into the restaurant with her duffel bag in tow. Unlike the dark sweaters she and her daddy were wearing, Rey wore a lovely pink, if a little frayed cardigan over her white top, her jeans ripped on the knees though Hannah wasn't sure if that was for fashion or if those were an old pair. Didn't matter though. Rey was here!
She got off her seat and ran towards her mother, wrapping her arms tight around her shoulders as Rey knelt down for a hug. Hannah giggled when Rey planted kisses all over her cheeks before standing up to greet Ben with a hug. Hannah saw them kiss each other on the cheek, and she had to stop herself from jumping up and down. Every little kiss, every little hug, every hold of a hand her parents shared made her want to do a victory dance but she also knew she had to restrain herself. She couldn't allow herself to be too obvious.
"How was your trip?" Daddy asked, leading Rey to sit beside her. "The truck running okay?"
"Yes, it's running very smoothly, thank you." Rey's smile faded a little. "Although, Plutt did give me a bit of grief about it."
"What do you mean?" Daddy asked.
Hannah looked up at Rey, who had her lips pressed together in a fine line. Hannah knew from conversations that Plutt was her mommy's boss. And the way she described him made her think of a blobfish with arms and legs.
Rey chewed on her lower lip. "He was...asking how I could afford a restoration with my salary."
"And what did you say?" Daddy pursued.
"I...I told him it was a gift from a friend." Rey averted her eyes, and Hannah instantly knew she didn't want to talk about it anymore.
She tugged on the sleeve of Rey's cardigan. "Rey, did I tell you about what I brought to show and tell last Tuesday?"
"No." Rey turned her attention to Hannah, and the relief on her face from the change of subject was obvious. "What did you bring?"
"A praying mantis!" Hannah mimicked a praying mantis's front legs with her hands. "Daddy found it drowning in the pool and he went to go save it."
"Did he, now?" Rey looked up at Daddy, who simply shrugged.
"I had to. I couldn't just leave it there," Daddy explained, then grinned. "At least it's good practice for me in case I need to save you in the pool."
Rey frowned. "What? Are you saying I could drown?"
"There's always a risk, but it'll be fine," Daddy quickly added when Rey grew pale. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you, okay Rey?"
"Okay." Rey nodded. She still sounded nervous, but she didn't hunch up her shoulders anymore, and she began flipping through the menu. "So, what are we having for brunch? I'm starving!"
Hannah continued to munch on her fries and chicken tenders while Daddy and Rey talked over plates of nearly-finished surf and turf. She wasn't fond of seafood so she chose to order from the kids menu.
She looked up at her parents and did her best to hide a grin. She had dominated the conversation earlier with talk of how a lot of the girls in her class, and even some of the boys got scared of her praying mantis, but now, she was just letting Daddy and Rey talk by themselves. She didn't mind listening quietly from the sidelines if it meant her parents would grow closer. Sometimes, they would try to get her to join in, but she would excuse herself, saying she can't talk when her mouth was full. Besides, they were talking about books she had no interest in. Probably some of those small but thick books with a bazillion words in them and some adult stuff she wasn't supposed to read yet.
Daddy and Rey were still talking books by the time they left the restaurant, though they had since moved on to movies based on books. Daddy even invited Rey out to watch a movie in the cinema, and she could feel her father's disappointment when Rey said 'maybe next time'. Hannah was disappointed too.
"We can still watch a movie at home," Rey offered. "There's still a ton of movies on Netflix that we could watch."
"At home?" Daddy repeated, his voice a bit shaky, though he was grinning from ear to ear. "Sure, we can do that. Maybe tomorrow morning."
"I'll make the popcorn," Hannah declared. Yes, she would be the one to prepare their snacks. That way, her mommy and daddy can be alone in the living room for a while again, just like last time when she had left them to get popcorn in the kitchen. She could still remember the strange noises Daddy made followed by laughter from both of them. And she wanted nothing more than a repeat of that.
Still hand in hand with her parents, who were still neck deep in their conversation, Hannah dragged them into the department store, past the bags, shoes and clothes section until they reached the swimwear. She pulled on their hands until she felt her father let go.
She turned to look, and saw Daddy's face turn the same shade of red when she had him look at the swimsuit pictures in her phone earlier.
"I'm...going to uh...go look for swimming goggles. And uh, maybe a kickboard and a life jacket." He backed away and waved. "Let's meet up at the department store entrance. Just text me when you're done."
Hannah watched Daddy scurry away, and she looked up at Rey and said, "I think Daddy's just embarrassed to see you in a bikini."
Rey's cheeks turned pink. "I am not wearing a bikini."
"Why not? I think you'll look great in one!"
"But it's cold."
"We have a heated pool."
Rey's lips trembled, and she gave Hannah a pained look.
Hannah sighed. "Okay, no bikinis."
"Thank you." Rey let out a breath. "Hey, why don't we ask help from the saleslady?"
"Okay, let's!"
Ben sat on one of the chairs by the rectangular pool, smearing himself with sunscreen while waiting for the girls to finish changing into their swimsuits. Coruscant may have a cool climate, but that didn't mean people didn't get sunburn. He and Hannah burned easily, and by the looks of things, the sun was going to ride high in the sky all afternoon.
He began to wonder if Rey burned as easily as they did. Maybe not, he thought, thinking about how tanned she was. She lived in a desert town and was used to working under the sun. Maybe she won't need it. Maybe she will. Maybe she'll let him slather lotion all over her...
Fuck.
Ben shook his head vigorously as though doing so would help shake away the thought of running his hands all over Rey's skin. Maybe the whole swimming lesson was a bad idea. Fuck, maybe his tight blue swimming trunks which barely left anything to the imagination was a bad idea. But there was no backing out now. They had been planning this for almost the entire week. He just had to reign himself in. Try to be nonchalant about this. He was just a good friend teaching her a new skill. Nothing more.
The sliding door at the back of the house opened, and Hannah ran out first in her purple one piece swimsuit with frills. Rey followed behind their daughter, still wearing a terry cloth robe, her arms wrapped around her shoulders as though she were cold or trying to cover herself. Probably the latter. It was after all, a hot early afternoon. Good thing he had anticipated the unusually hot weather and didn't crank up the pool heater.
"Put on some sunscreen, Hannah," he instructed, pointing to the bottle he had placed atop the neatly folded towels on the other pool chair. "You too, Rey. After that, we'll do some stretches."
Rey nodded quietly, white teeth over her lower lip as she untied her robe and shrugged it off.
Ben sucked in a breath, and he went stock-still, even as his pulse raced. Rey was wearing a white, high cut one piece with a neckline that plunged down her chest, showing off the small swells of her breasts. She had no cleavage to speak of, but it was never something that bothered Ben, although he was certainly bothered in a different way now. He had never seen so much of her skin, and the bathing suit looked stylish and tasteful, hugging her curves in all the right places.
"D-Do I look okay?" Rey asked. She was obviously embarrassed, crossing and uncrossing her arms and fiddling with her fingers. "A saleslady picked this out for me and Hannah approved. I've...I've never owned a swimsuit before so…"
"You look...you look great!" Ben cleared his throat and smiled. He hoped he didn't come off as creepy, and he had to discreetly adjust his trunks before standing up and gesturing to where Hannah was putting sunscreen on herself.
Rey walked over to their daughter and sat on the pool chair with her, putting globs of sunscreen and lathering herself with it. Hannah helped her smear some on her back, and that's when Ben realized her swimsuit was practically backless, and the cut at the bottom was high enough that it accentuated the shape of her rear end, which to be frank, was very...shapely.
He quickly turned away and stood near the edge of the pool, wanting nothing more than to dive in and cool himself down. But he couldn't. He still had to do stretches with Rey and Hannah, and it was all he could do to breathe through his mouth and close his eyes to center himself. Mind over matter, that's what this was. Just mind over matter.
He managed to calm himself down just as Rey and Hannah stood beside him for the stretching exercises, and they mimicked him as he did squats, arm swings and shoulder stretches.
Once they were warmed up and ready, Ben dove into the deep end of the pool, Hannah jumping in after him while Rey took the stairs at the shallow end, which was about chest deep for her. Ben swam towards her while Hannah swam to the side of the pool to grab her inner tube.
Ben stood up and turned to his daughter, who had managed to maneuver herself so she was now sitting in her inner tube. "Sweetheart, aren't you going to help teach Rey?"
"You go teach her, Daddy," Hannah called, kicking a bit so she was further away. "I'll watch."
Ben shrugged and waded to Rey, who had managed to put on her goggles. "Ready, Rey?"
"Ready." Rey gave him a thumbs up as she hopped slightly in place. "What do we do first?"
Ben began Rey's lessons by teaching her how to hold her breath underwater. He held both her hands as she sank down, blowing bubbles like he had instructed her to. It wasn't the first time he held hands with her of course, but it still didn't stop his stomach from fluttering, especially when she tightened her grip on him from time to time.
After Rey succeeded in holding her breath for an extended amount of time, as well as successfully retrieving some coins Ben threw for her to the bottom of the shallow end, he decided it was time to teach her how to float. He started her on the dead man's float, which would have her floating face down and applying what she learned with the breathing exercises earlier. She was barely a few seconds into floating when Ben found himself distracted with the curve of her ass sticking out of the water. The only time he stopped staring was when Rey moved herself upright and gasped for air.
"How...did...I...do?" she said through labored breaths.
"Good. Good. You're a natural at this," he complimented as he readjusted his shorts again. Teaching Rey was a lot easier than he thought. It was trying to control his bodily reactions to her that was making it damn near impossible. "Now you gotta learn to float on your back."
He told her about taking air into her lungs to create buoyancy while breathing as normally as possible. Telling her to relax while splaying her arms and bending her knees, he supported her head and back at first, focusing intently on her face so his eyes wouldn't wander towards her nipples which protruded through her white swimsuit. Why the hell did they have to pick white? Sure it looked luminous against the nice tan of Rey's skin, but it showed him more than what he should be seeing.
Letting out a breath through gritted teeth, he let go of Rey, and she smiled when she was able to float without assistance.
"I'm doing it! Ben, I'm actually doing it!"
"Yes, you are. Now stand up and let's try again, but this time, without my help."
They moved through the lessons quickly, with kicking exercises while holding to the side of the pool, then using the kickboard to go around the pool, even to the deep end where Hannah still floated in her inner tube. He taught her how to tread through the water, and how to doggie paddle until she was paddling around him in circles. It wasn't her most graceful, but it was a huge step forward.
Ben later had Rey wear a life jacket so she could practice arm strokes while she swam back and forth from the shallows to the deep and back to him again. Pretty soon, Hannah joined her mother in swimming, encouraging her all the way, and Ben joined in, swimming with the girls.
"You're learning quickly, Rey," Hannah said, treading with Ben while Rey held on to her life jacket, kicking lightly. "It took me five lessons from Daddy before I was brave enough to go to the deep end by myself."
"The only reason I'm brave is because I have you two with me," Rey said, pulling her goggles up the top of her head. Ben could see the water's reflection sparkling in her eyes, and see the pink tint on her cheeks which were flushed from the exercise. "And your Daddy did promise that he won't let anything happen to me."
Ben had to smile at that. He liked that she trusted him, and he felt pride welling up in his chest. "Then, let's go swim some more until you're ready to do it without the life jacket."
Getting back into coaching, he swam alongside Rey and got her to swim at the shallows without the life jacket, making her go to and fro from one side to the other. He had her do it several more times in preparation for her swim at the deep end without any floatation device. He had to, especially since the sun was starting to set, and they were all pruny from being in the water for hours.
Then, he saw Hannah climbing up the pool's side ladder. "Where are you going, Sweetheart?"
"I'm just going to get something. Be right back!" Hannah grabbed a towel from the pool chair, drying herself up as she opened the sliding door and disappeared inside the house.
Ben frowned. What was that girl up to this time?
"I'm ready, Ben."
Ben turned back to Rey. She was looking up at him expectantly, and she was bouncing up and down gently, perhaps psyching herself up for the swim.
"You're sure?" he asked.
"Yes." She nodded, then began to take slow steps further into the pool and pulling the goggles down over her eyes again. "Just stay there. I'll swim back to you."
She was kicking away before he could say anything more, and he watched as she splashed towards the deep end, arms moving one after the other until she reached the end of the pool and grabbed hold of the edge, taking in deep breaths as she did.
"That was great, Rey!" he encouraged. "Now, come back to me."
He watched her take another deep breath before launching herself back in the water, past the deep part and into the shallows until she reached his waiting arms, pulling herself up to his chest, sputtering a little as she moved the goggles over her head again.
Ben could barely contain his excitement. "You did it, Rey! You can swim!"
"I did it!" Rey laughed and lifted her hands off the water, and he half expected her to give him a double high five but she surprised him by throwing her arms around him. "Oh my God, thank you, Ben! Thank you."
His arms were around her in an instant, and she laughed and squealed when he tightened his embrace. This was a shared triumph, and he was so giddy from it, he couldn't stop smiling and laughing along with her.
He pulled back from the hug, his hands still linked behind her as he stared into her smiling face. Her eyes were partially covered with wet hair, and he instinctively reached out to push them away from her face and tuck them behind her ear.
They locked gazes; hazel eyes to hazel eyes. Laughter died and smiles faded as he continued to stare at her, his arms still around her while her hands rested on the planes of his chest. The droplets on her skin seemed to grow luminous under the rays of the setting sun, casting such a warm glow around her that Ben felt heat rise up his cheeks. They were so close; closer than they had ever been, and he could feel the warmth of her body against his.
The adrenaline and euphoria from earlier shot through his veins all at once, making his heart race. He glanced lower and stared at her mouth; at her pink lips which were parted with her shallow breaths. He could feel his own shoulders heaving when he saw her glance at his lips, and before he knew it, he was angling his face, his breath mingling with hers as he closed the distance between them…
"Daddy! Look what I found!"
Ben let go of Rey in an instant and spun around to face his daughter, who stood by the open sliding door, carrying three large water guns-Super Soakers-in her arms.
Hannah stopped at the edge of the pool, eyes moving from one parent to the other. "Uhm...did I interrupt anything?"
Ben snapped out of his trance. Nothing had happened. Absolutely nothing, and he felt a strange mix of relief and disappointment which he quickly buried under mischief. "Come here, you little squirt!"
Hannah shrieked when Ben got out of the pool, shooting at him with her Super Soaker before he managed to grab one she had discarded and began shooting her with it. Rey was quick to join in. Soon, the girls teamed up against him, squirting water all over him and backing him into a corner by the fence until he decided to fight dirty. He dropped his Super Soaker, hauled Rey and Hannah over his shoulders before jumping into the pool with them.
"No fair, Daddy, no fair!" Hannah cried out after emerging from the water.
"That was a dirty trick, Ben!" Rey followed and began splashing Ben. Hannah joined her until all three of them were splashing each other, laughing and chasing each other in the pool.
They didn't stop playing until the sun had completely gone down along with Ben's enthusiasm. Their frolic in the pool may have ended with a high note, but what happened or rather what didn't happen earlier hung over him like a dark cloud, and he trailed with heavy steps behind the girls as they went back inside the house.
It wasn't until he had showered and changed that Ben managed to pull himself back together. He should just forget about whatever it was that had passed between him and Rey. It was nothing. And even if it were something, he still shouldn't act on it. Their friendship was on the line here, as well as Hannah's happiness.
And so, he plastered a smile on his face and hurried down the stairs for dinner, determined to pretend, determined to forget.