“Hello? Anybody here?”
Jerked awake by the voice calling out from the pool area, I sat up from the couch slowly, trying to focus. Oh yeah, I was still out on the lanai. My eyes tracked the strange voice to a young guy standing down by the pool. He saw me sit up, so he started walking along the deck towards me.
I stood up to greet him but my legs were a bit wobbly, and I didn’t feel quite right. I couldn’t lift my head up straight without a searing pain shooting down my neck. I managed only three steps by the time he was up on the lanai himself. I put my hand out to shake his, and he grabbed mine firmly. I tried to straighten my head again, this time managing to see his face fully.
I stared at him. My eyes couldn’t decide what to focus on. He was beautiful! Tall, dark, and deeply handsome. In the relative shade of the covered lanai, his buzzed dark hair sculpted the outline of his head and merged seamlessly with the kind of beard that made me weak in the knees—short, dark stubble, clean neck lines. I was still holding his hand and had yet to speak.
“Uh…hi. My name is Sam. Sam Wainwright. I’m here to work on the pool.” Then he dazzled me with a smile of bright white teeth, and my knees completely gave way. I let go of his hand and grabbed the island countertop to steady myself.
I looked at him with a sheepish grin. “Sorry about that. I’m not feeling too great at the moment. I think I got too much sun.”
“Do you need to sit down?” he asked.
“Yeah, maybe I should.” I pulled out a stool and sat, then looked at him again. Yep. Still gorgeous.
“Uh…my name is Jack. Uh…Jack Schaeffer.” I sounded like I’d forgotten my name for a minute. Ugh!
“Nice to meet you, Jack. Are you gonna be staying here for a while?”
I rubbed my temples, hoping to push the pain into the background. “Yeah, for three weeks. I just arrived on Saturday.”
“Well, you picked a great place to stay. I love this house. It’s one of the best ones I get to service in the Islands.” I wondered what sort of services he provided and if they went beyond taking care of pools. I’m such a perv.
“I see your shirt says Paradise Pools. I’m assuming that’s who you work for?” Small talk is hard when you are mentally undressing the guy and fantasizing about sex in the hot tub. Geez, I was horny all of a sudden.
He laughed politely. “Yeah, a college buddy of mine, his dad owns the business, and he gave me the job last year. It keeps me busy and out of trouble. Plus I get to be outside, so I can’t complain.”
“Madge told me you come here twice a week. What needs to be done to the pool so often?” Take an interest in his work, maybe he’ll take an interest in me? I was grasping at straws. I didn’t want him to start working just yet. Looking at him made me feel better.
“Well, on Mondays I check the chlorine levels and do any servicing of the pumps and filtering systems down below the pool. Takes about an hour or so. Thursdays are the bigger job. I have to clean the pool, including run the robotic bottom scrubber and empty all the filters and traps. It takes the better part of two to three hours, depending on how dirty it gets.” He spoke about his work with pride. I liked that. I liked him.
“Sounds like you enjoy it. Well, I’ll try to stay out of your way. I don’t think I’m going out in the sun anymore today, anyway.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, you said you think you got too much sun. Just how long were you out in it?”
“That’s the thing—I didn’t think it was long. I swam in the pool yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours at the most. Then this morning I walked on the beach no more than thirty minutes. I do have some patchy sunburn on my back and neck and shoulders. I guess coming from the Chicago winter, my body just isn’t ready for this kind of intense sunshine. Oh, and I have been driving around for three days in a convertible with the top down.”
He laughed. “That’ll do it. Give yourself a day to recover and drink lots of water. People come out here to Hawaii, and they rent convertibles all the time. They forget their head is exposed directly to the sun, and the rays here are insanely intense, being near the equator. Can give you a brutal headache. Did for me when I first started out here. Better slather on the sunscreen before you do any more driving. Put it in your hair, too. It’ll keep your cool hair color from fading too fast.”
I absentmindedly stroked my hair with my right hand. He noticed my hair? Huh? Interesting. Was he just being thoughtful and polite, or was there something more there? Get a grip, Jack.
“Well, I better get busy. I have another service call after this one. If you have any issues with the pool or hot tub, just call this number and one of us will come out, usually the same day.” He pulled a business card from his wallet and handed it to me. It said the owner’s name was Thomas A. Barlow. So much for flirting with me. He was all business.
I watched him walk back along the deck towards the far end of the pool, the mounds of his round ass moving in perfect tandem in his cargo shorts. Any exposed skin was a beautiful bronze tone. He disappeared behind the landscaping at the end of the pool, and it looked like he went down a set of steps, because his head went lower and lower behind the flowers until he disappeared. I guess the pumps and what not were all down there, hidden from view.
I sat on a deck lounge chair out of the sun, sipping cold water, hoping to catch a glimpse of Sam working. He had given absolutely no indication of interest in me aside from his comment about my hair, so I knew I was being silly. But even sitting there wishing he might be the one made my head not hurt so much.
I was nearly dozing off again when I heard him walking up the deck. I shielded my eyes with my hand and watched him approach.
“Get everything in good working order down there?”
“Yep. You’re good to go. No problems. Didn’t expect any. I did clear out a couple of the pumps, so the hot tub should heat up a little quicker for you. You feelin’ any better?” Was he really concerned about me?
“Yeah, a little bit. Your advice helped. This is my third water bottle and the headache is moving into the background.”
“Always works for me. Stay hydrated. Keeps ya goin’, in more ways than one.” We both laughed, and I nearly dropped my water bottle when I saw his eyes crinkle up into the laugh. They were the deepest crystal blue color I had ever seen, and just like Seth’s, they had a fire in them. If anything, Sam’s eyes were way more intense. Playful at the moment, but still seriously intense. I caught myself staring and forced my eyes down to his feet.
“Hey, question for ya. Where can I get some flip flops like those, and a decent pair of sunglasses?” When in danger of revealing yourself as a perv, change the subject quickly.
“Hmmm. I grabbed these things at a swim shop in the big mall in town. My feet are size 13, so it’s hard to find my size at department stores. Sunglasses are another thing. I wouldn’t skimp on those if I were you. You need true polarized lenses. I’d go to a higher end place and get the real deal. You’ll pay a lot for them, but your eyes will thank you.”
“Cool. I was there yesterday, but I can always go back. Thanks.”
“Okay, well I’m glad you’re feeling a little better. Take it easy. I’ll be back on Thursday. Will you be around?” I wondered why he would care.
“Not sure. Probably. I don’t have a lot of plans except for sitting around reading or swimming.”
“Cool, well hopefully I’ll see you then. Have a great evening.” He turned and headed back towards the rear of the pool. I watched him go, and this time I caught the back of his head as it disappeared behind the side of the house. I stood up and went across the lanai and down the hallway to the laundry room. There was a window from which I could see the driveway. Sam came around the garage and put a tool bucket in the back of a small, white pickup truck and jumped in. I couldn’t be sure, but I think he looked right at me in the window as he pulled away. He was smiling.
I didn’t want to get myself all worked up with false hope and wanton lust for Sam, but at the same time, he seemed to indicate he hoped he would see me again on Thursday. He’d said it two different times. Was he just being polite, or was he interested in me? I had no way to know.
I don’t necessarily believe in gaydar—at least I don’t think I have any. I took very few chances to even flirt. I never know if a guy is gay unless he reveals himself somehow. Sam had given me nothing to go on. Figures a guy that gorgeous would be straight.
I let it go for now. If I was here on Thursday, maybe things would become clearer. For now I was going to assume he was a thoughtful and interesting, though very straight, guy. A guy who looked criminally good in his cargo shorts.
With my headache receding, I decide to eat, my usual activity when I am at loose ends. I pulled out the rotisserie chicken and carved off a leg, a thigh, and a breast – essentially half the chicken – and put it in the microwave to warm up along with a helping of quinoa pilaf. I made up a lettuce salad while I waited the three minutes, then took it all to the island and enjoyed every last bite, washing it all down with another cold water bottle.
Despite having napped, I still felt groggy. Eating four chocolate-covered strawberries put me over the edge. I needed sleep, but it was only five o’clock—too early for bed. So I went to the lounge, fired up the TV, and watched some mindless comedies for a few hours.
At nine I called it a night. I did my usual prep and settled into bed with my iPad. I was going to read a little more of my spy novel, but then I had a different idea. I started the internet browser and googled “Paradise Pools Hawaii”. Turned out they had a website with a logo which matched the one on Sam’s t-shirt. I searched through every picture on the site, hoping to find one with Sam in it, but no such luck. No mention of him anywhere.
There was a picture of Thomas A. Barlow, the owner. He was obviously a native Hawaiian, late forties or early fifties, about 5’10” with short black hair. He looked like a guy who preferred being outside rather than standing in a suit to be photographed. Bummed I didn’t find a picture of Sam, I did a google search on his name. Had a ton of hits for a character in the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life” with Jimmy Stewart and some Australian politician. But no one who looked like my Sam Wainwright.
I realized I was starting to obsess over a guy I had known for less than ten minutes. It was silly and stupid. Give it up, Jack. He’s straight. Move on, already. I went back to reading my novel, and thankfully the action picked up. An hour later I had fallen asleep with the lights on, drooling on my pillow.