Chapter 3
Rei and Shinji came back downstairs 45 minutes later. They had quickly reassembled themselves and made a quick journey downstairs to try to avert any more suspicion than necessary. If any of the parents or adults in the room had any doubts or questions as to what happened, they didn't voice them. Misato happened to catch Shinji's eye a few minutes after he had re-emerged with Rei and winked at him.
She knows, Shinji thought, trying not to blush and give it away.
Rei's parents were no longer the only ones who had arrived. There were now an additional nine people in the living room; six adults and three teenagers. All in all, including Rei's family and Misato and himself, there were five families present in the house. Shinji wasn't sure whether he should include himself and Misato as a "family", but the two of them made up a household.
Ahh, what the hell, Shinji thought again, Why can't I call Misato family? Being around her feels more right than anywhere else that I've ever been. She's…amazing. Maybe if she wasn't so much older than me… Well, no sense in wishing for things that can't happen.
Meanwhile, Misato was having thoughts of her own.
I thought that Rei would be a perfect match for Shinji. It looks like I could be mistaken. Usually when a couple does it and finds a real connection there's a sort of a glow around them. I don't sense that with Shinji and Rei. I mean, they seem happy enough, but I don't think Shinji's really happy with her. You know…maybe if he weren't so much younger than me… Nah. He probably doesn't like older women.
Shinji looked around the room at the other teenagers. They all looked about his age. There was a red-head; she was tall and a little bit lanky. Her arms and legs were skinny, while her bosom and hips were starting to fill out. Shinji breathed a sigh of relief when he saw a sandy-haired boy with glasses sitting on one of the couches.
Thank god I'm not the only guy in the neighborhood, Shinji thought, This was beginning to feel like a bad episode of the Twilight Zone. The only teenage boy in a neighborhood of teenage girls, it boggles the mind.
The third teen was a more athletically-built boy with dark hair. By the look of him, Shinji guessed that he might have been a wrestler or even a martial artist. Truthfully, Shinji thought, he made him a little bit nervous. Shinji didn't like to be around people who were bigger than him. He didn't like to feel that intimidated. The sandy-haired boy walked over to Shinji and shook his hand warmly.
"I'm Kensuke Aida," he said brightly, "Welcome to the 'burbs. You need info about anything, I'm your guy. I can hack any OS that's ever been written, and I can—,"
"Talk somebody's ears off in a nanosecond," the red-head interrupted, "Shut up, Kensuke."
Then, turning to Shinji continued:
"Don't mind the computer nerd; he forgot to take his meds today. I'm Asuka Langley Soryu. Pleasure to meet me, huh?"
"Yeah, sure," Shinji replied, Not just a little full of herself.
"I'm Toji," the dark-haired boy said. His voice was low and a little bit gruntish. He also had a thick slur in his accent that suggested that he used to live in the city.
"You got a last name, Toji?" Shinji asked.
"Suzuhara," Toji's parents replied, walking over, "You'll have to forgive Toji. He's not a very social creature. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, so he grew up having to be tough and self-protecting."
"I know the feeling," Shinji replied, "So, you're the neighbors, huh? Glad to meet you. This seems like a nice part of town."
"By comparison, it is," said Misato, "We've still got problems out here: The occasional robbery, an assault once in a while, sure, but compared to the inner city, where they have drug busts on an hourly basis and still have a problem, this is paradise."
Shinji nodded thoughtfully at this. An hourly basis? That's definitely a problem, if it wasn't an exaggeration.
"So what do you folks do for a good time out here in the 'burbs?" Shinji asked.
"Well, Misato hosts these house parties once in a while," Rei's father answered, "There's a community tennis court down the street about a block. I'm sure Misato drove you by that when you came in."
"Yeah, she did," said Shinji, "but I'm not much of a tennis kind of a guy."
"Neither's Kensuke," said Kensuke's mother, "He's not much of an outdoors type, period. He just sits up in his room and plays on his computer all day long. We practically had to pry him away with a crowbar just to get him to come here."
"And even so, he brought his laptop with him," Kensuke's father added.
"Dad, I have to be able to access the Net at anytime in case there's some sort of crisis or situation!" Kensuke protested, "It's my civic duty to be able to hack into any database to provide information to my allies! It might save someone's life!"
"Uh, you do know the Cold War's been over for at least fifteen years, right?" Asuka asked.
"Yeah?" Kensuke retorted, "Well, what about terrorists? In today's world, they're a bigger deal than Communists."
"I can see that you're a great patriot, Kensuke," Shinji said, his tone friendly. Then, he dropped his voice and added under his breath, "if a little paranoid."
"Thanks, Shinji," said Kensuke brightly. Then, he turned to Asuka and the others and said, "See? There are people who appreciate me."
The crowd rolled their eyes as if to say "yeah, sure." Kensuke didn't notice. After all of the awkward small talk was out of the way, the party really started to get moving. Misato opened the enormous fridge in the kitchen to reveal a gigantic array of hard and soft drinks. Each of the teens grabbed a soda and Misato grabbed beers for each of the adults. Misato picked up a large remote and pressed a button. Rock and roll began to pour out of speakers throughout the entire house and yard.
"Okay," Misato said gleefully, "now it's a party!"
"Cheers!" Shinji shouted in reply. Everyone in the room started milling about and enjoying themselves. After about an hour, Asuka walked up to Shinji and asked:
"Do you swim?"
"When the situation calls for it," Shinji replied.
"I'd say the situation calls for it," said Asuka, "It's summer time, and we're at a party that has a large, in-ground pool."
"And I have no swimming trunks," said Shinji matter-of-factly.
"That's okay," said Misato, walking over, "I have a couple of pairs here for when I have company over. You can use one of them until you get a pair of your own. They're up in your closet for whenever you want to get them out."
"But—I--," Shinji stammered. He hadn't been in a pool in several years, owing to the fact that he hadn't had access to one in several years. Shinji also had a low self-image. He didn't feel that his body was worth seeing in anything less than shorts and a T-shirt.
"I'll come in with you," said Rei, sidling up beside Shinji and taking his hand.
Shinji found himself in a predicament. To say no at this point would make him look like a world-class spaz in front of all of these people. On the other hand, he really didn't want to get in the pool. He thought fast, the gears of his mind racing furiously, until he had his idea.
"How about we go for the hot tub, instead?" Shinji asked.
"We can do that in a couple hours, when it gets dark," said Asuka slyly, "I just don't want to feel anyone trying to grope me while we're in there!"
Asuka started laughing after she had said this. Clearly, she thought she had just made a joke worthy of Saturday Night Live. Shinji and the other teens who had heard this chuckled unamusedly, trying not to make the atmosphere too awkward.
Damn, Shinji thought, frustrated, now what am I going to do? I really don't want to show off my pale, white skin in front of all these ladies! It's too embarrassing! I can't do it! I won't
"Well," Misato said, "I'm gonna go for a swim. Anyone else that wants to come along is welcome."
With that, Misato went upstairs to change. She came back down later in a blue bikini that had white, Hawaiian flowers printed on it. Shinji's jaw dropped open. He tried hard not to, but he found himself staring unashamedly at Misato's C-cup breasts, imagining her offering them for him to lick and suck at his pleasure.
Shinji snapped himself back to reality, realizing that he was starting to drool. He watched Misato walk out the patio door and out toward the pool. While she walked, Shinji followed every sway of her hips, every bounce of her ass, and every gentle jiggle of her magnificent breasts, which were slightly perky in the afternoon air. He was mesmerized.
Oh, why, he asked himself, why, why, why did I have to be male? I'm horny for Misato, but I'm embarrassed to get into a bathing suit so I can get in the water with her! What am I gonna do?
Just then, Shinji heard Misato dive into the pool, and his mind was made up in an instant. He dashed upstairs to his room and fumbled around in the closet for a pair of trunks and pulled them on. He yanked his T-shirt over his head and removed his watch. Then, he stepped out onto the balcony and looked down into the backyard, examining his view of the yard for the first time. He had a hope, and he prayed it was right.
Looking down, he saw the pool, and in it: his prize. Shinji focused his eyes hard, trying to read the depth marks painted on the side of the pool. He could see that his balcony was definitely closer to one end of the pool. Shinji prayed that it was the deep end.
He saw the indicator that he was looking for. Dimly visible through the haze of the afternoon heat, Shinji read a mark that said "20 ft." on the side of the pool. Shinji punched the air in triumph. He was over the deep end of the pool.
No time to think about how crazy this stunt is, he thought, climbing up onto the railing, Any sane person wouldn't even think about doing what I'm about to do. But I've gotta try. Hell, it might even be fun, who knows?