Leah was looking forward to the pool party she was finally about to have. She was grateful Hank was going to grill for her to keep everybody fed. The guys were going to bring their own beer while Nancy was going to bring a pitcher of sangria. It was shaping up to be a fun afternoon. Not to mention, of course, Boomhauer was going to be there.
She picked out her cutest bikini, which was white with orange and pink floral print, and a pink sarong skirt to cover up with when she wasn't going to be swimming.
Peggy came over to help her get things ready, setting up seating arrangements and tables to put the food and drinks.
"It's going to be a lot of fun today!" Peggy said happily, "And thank you so much for inviting Luanne and her family. I know it means a lot to her that she gets to come to things like this."
"Of course! I'm always glad to see them. I just love having Gracie around, too."
Soon everyone filed in, first the Gribbles, then the Hills, the Kleinschmidts, the Souphanousinphones, Bill, and finally Boomhauer, who Leah thought looked incredibly appealing wearing nothing but a tiger print speedo.
There goes any of my productivity for the day, she thought, as she stared at him.
"Eyes in your head, Shug," Nancy murmured with laughter.
Leah sat at the umbrella covered patio table with Nancy, Peggy, Minh, and Luanne, who was holding Gracie. The guys stood around their cooler of beer. Only Bobby, Connie, and Joseph were swimming.
"Do you want to swim?" Leah asked the table.
"I do!" Nancy declared, and downed the rest of her sangria.
"We're coming too!" Luanne said, hopping up with Gracie.
"You guys go on ahead," Peggy insisted, "I'll be in later."
Leah looked at Minh questioningly, who shook her head and raised her still filled glass.
When Leah stood from the table, she slowly untied her skirt wrap and dropped it in the chair.
"He's looking!" Nancy whispered in Leah's ear.
Good.
They all slid into the pool, at the opposite end of where the teenagers were splashing. Luanne held Gracie horizontally, letting her move her arms and legs to swim supported in the water.
"This feels so good," sighed Nancy, ducking down to her neck. "Could you imagine doing yoga in this?"
"There actually is aqua yoga. I've never tried it, though, but maybe we should look into it."
"Are you getting in?" Nancy called over to where the guys stood.
"I like the view from here," Dale responded, eyebrow quirked suggestively.
"You'll like it even better up close and personal!"
"Can't argue with that," Dale chuckled under his breath. He tossed his empty beer can into Leah's recycling bin, turned his baseball hat around, and clambered into the water.
Lucky joined Luanne and Gracie. He kept ducking under the surface, then would pop up after a moment to surprise Gracie, who would giggle in delight.
Kahn and Minh went in together and floated side by side.
Peggy must have felt more confident by now after more people had gone in, and climbed down to join everybody else.
"I'm going to get started on grilling," Hank told no one in particular. He whistled happily as he lit the propane, and Bill stood beside him.
Boomhauer thought Leah looked incredible, in her two piece swimsuit, her suntanned skin glowing in the afternoon light. He thought, almost victoriously, about the heated kisses they had shared, and how he would get to do it again, hopefully today.
He dropped into the water casually, and Leah turned to him, biting her lip. He nodded hello to her as she glided over to him. They stood next to each other near the pool's edge, some distance away from everybody else.
"Hey," she smiled brightly.
"Hey," he smiled back, "How's the snake doing?"
"I haven't seen him. Hopefully he found a nice nest somewhere and won't scare Nancy anymore."
They conversed together for a while, standing alone while everyone else swam and played around in the water. Leah had missed him, missed being near him and talking to him. She felt more centered when he was there, as though he kept her grounded and at peace.
"I'm glad you came," Leah said.
"I'm glad you invited me."
"You know you're always invited," she grinned, "I mostly threw this party so I could see you again."
"You can see me any time."
"Can I?"
They gazed into each other's eyes, completely oblivious to anything around them. Only mere inches separated them, and Boomhauer wanted to kiss her again.
The charged energy between the two was abruptly drenched in one of Dale's obnoxious cannonballs.
"Dale!" hissed Nancy, who was floating on a raft in the middle of the pool.
"What? I have to practice somewhere!"
"Do you want a towel?" Boomhauer asked Leah. Her tied up hair had begun to fall down in damp tendrils, which Boomhauer brushed behind her ear.
"No, that's alright," she smiled, "Dale's just going to do it again, anyway."
Boomhauer's hand was still gently holding the side of her face, long after her hair had been swept from her cheek. Again they gazed into each other's eyes, the charged energy picking back up from its disruption.
"Soup's on!" called Hank from the grill, spatula raised high in the air.
"All this swimming has me starving," Peggy said, and paddled to the ladder. Everyone else followed her or clambered over the edge, moving to get their towels and ultimately to the spread of food on the table.
Last to leave, Leah climbed up the ladder right in front of Boomhauer, which was quite all right with him.
The food was as good as always. Leah had made a few extra vegan dishes, including German potato salad and artichoke hummus, which all received many compliments. Boomhauer nervously accepted a burger from Hank, which Leah teased him about.
After everyone finished eating, they all jumped back into the pool. Boomhauer and Leah stayed near each other, but tried not to let themselves get too swept up in each other's inviting gazes. At least, not until the others all left.
The peak of the day was over, and slowly everybody gathered up to leave. They all thanked Leah on their way out, and soon there was no one left but Boomhauer.
"I'll help you clean up," he offered. He stacked up the dishes, as Leah didn't use disposable plates, and brought them inside.
Boomhauer scanned the living room while Leah tidied up the kitchen. He saw a lot of folk-art pieces, earthy objects like stones and crystals, bamboo shelves, a chakra tapestry, and several hand painted pictures he wondered if she made herself.
His eye was drawn to the framed photographs on the built-in bookshelf. She had displayed mostly pictures of her family: hotshot Simon wearing a leather jacket in front of a fancy car; burly Michael, bearded and strong, who looked much like their father in size and stature; Warren and baby Easton, Michael's sons, both with round cheeks and curly locks. But there was one particular image that Boomhauer was so captivated by he had to pick it up to get a better look. The frame itself was a simple gold, but inside was a beautiful woman with long, golden hair, a flowy white dress, and a crown of daisies placed gently on her head. Even in a still image, frozen in time, she exuded a graceful, ethereal spirit.
"My mother," Leah said behind Boomhauer. He jumped a little, startled by her sudden presence.
"You look like her."
Leah smiled. "We would get that a lot."
He placed the picture frame back with the others and turned to her. She was still in her bikini, and he was still in his tiger print speedo. So much of their skin, so close to each other.
"I missed you," she said after a moment of deliberation, "I, um, hope that's not weird to say."
"Weird? Why would it be weird?"
"I don't know. I just don't want you to think I'm obsessing or something."
He couldn't help but chuckle a little, and drew nearer, his eyes on hers.
"I could never think that. I missed you, too."
Slowly they leaned closer, closing the small space between them, pressing their bare skin together. Deeply they kissed, the long day of passionate tension finally finding an outlet.
Boomhauer's strong hands grazed along her body, and she wanted more, unable to wait for it for much longer. She pulled back, breathless, and grabbed the hand that he had on her hip. She began tugging him to the hallway, towards the room that Boomhauer was certain was her bedroom.
He had been wanting this since the first time he first met her, and the more their relationship whirled on, the more he wanted it, and surely now the desire between them had reached culmination.
It was strange, however, that he found himself hesitating. Why was he still unsure as to just when the right moment was? Surely this was it?
"What?" Leah breathed, sensing his uncertainty.
How he could look right at her, transcendently beautiful, desperate with desire, and still tell her "I can't," he would never know.
"Why not?"
"It's just…" He dropped her hand and nervously rubbed the back of his neck, casting his eyes anywhere but on her.
"Just what? Just me?" Leah sat tensely, looking fretful. "Do you not like me, or-"
"No, nothing like that...of course I like you."
"You never seem to want to...go to my room, or…"
He rubbed his face now, letting her trail off, so she continued on.
"Everyone always tells me you're quick to sleep with different people all the time, and I've seen the women in and out of your house, or you'll be gone overnight. So what's wrong with me?"
"Nothing is wrong with you."
"Then why-"
"You're special to me."
She blinked.
"What?"
He sighed, dragging it roughly out like dragging it over gravel. It was so hard to talk about his damn feelings. But he had to, if she really had the wrong idea…
"Yeah, I sleep around. That's just sex; they mean nothing to me. But you, you mean so much more to me. I want to have more with you than just that."
It took her a moment to process, and finally the feeling of foolishness set in.
"I'm sorry...I didn't realize…"
He still wasn't looking at her, so she turned the side of his head to face her, their noses inches apart.
"You're special to me, too."
Her eyes were so captivating, striking and intricate, yet held a genuine gentleness as she looked into his eyes, seeing into his soul.
"I really like you, Leah, and I don't want to ruin what we have. I never felt like this about anyone else."
"I really like you, too," she smiled, "And I've never felt like this about anyone else, either. You're too amazing for me to let go."
He held her hand, grinning, feeling ecstatic that she felt the same way.
"There's someplace I want to take you. Well, maybe you've already been there, but we can still go together. I want to take you out more, I want to be with you more. This past week was killing me, barely talking to you, I can't keep doing that."
"I know," she admitted, "I tried to keep my distance from you.I wanted you to think I was, I don't know, cool I guess, not annoying. I didn't want to keep coming up to you all the time, as much as I wanted to."
"Hey, you can come up to me any time," he smiled, "My days are so much better when you're around."
"So where is it you want to take me?" she smiled playfully.
"It's going to be a surprise."
"A romantic surprise?"
"Well...yeah. Of course."
"That sounds wonderful," she murmured, and kissed him on the cheek.
He turned to face her again, this time meeting her lips with his. They hardly had a slow start, practically picking up right where they had left off, just as fervent and steamy as before. Boomhauer was beginning to feel uncomfortable, only a thin patch of fabric still covering him, while Leah's kisses grew more eager...and she was hardly wearing anything, either.
She pulled back from him, panting and starry-eyed. "We won't go all the way," she breathed, "but we could still do other things…?"
There was no way he could deny himself that wanting gaze any longer. He nodded, and quickly she grabbed his hand, leading him down the hall to her bedroom…
