That Summer In The Country

Five

Five

In the days leading up to her new job, Alina tried to stay in the cottage. She did not need anymore temptation then she already had. Aleksander made it a point to ride by every morning when he was doing his chores, and even with her aunt there, he did not restrain himself. Alina could feel Aleksander's eyes on her through the window, watching her every time he passed by. It didn't help that they were in some of the hottest days of the year. Sweat was constantly pouring down her, and she kept on flashing back to memories of them fucking in Novyi Zem.

The weekend before she was due to start her work at Morozova Industries, there was a knock on the door. "Coming!" Alina called. She got up from her room, went down the stairs, and opened the door. "Mal!"

He smiled at her. He was shirtless, except for a pair of black swim trunks, with a towel over his shoulder. "Alina!" he smiled at her. "What are you doing?"

"The same thing I've been doing all summer," she replied, "my schoolwork so I can finish my homeschooling."

"You're wasting away, that's what," he said, "listen, I was going to go for a swim. Why don't you come and join me for one? You look like you're sweating your ass off."

Alina smiled at him, and instantly hated herself for it. For as long as she could remember, Mal could always make her weak in the knees. She wasn't supposed to be getting close to these boys. Her aunt had warned her specifically. But Mal was different than Aleksander. Mal was her old friend, someone she'd known since she was a kid.

It was completely different than Aleksander and her and the fact that they'd had sex together.

"Mal, you know we're not really supposed to be---"

"Oh, come on Alina. You're one of my oldest friends. What do you think is going to happen? That we're going to ravish each other just because we see each other half naked? Everything between us is completely innocent."

Alina's heart clenched. Old friend. That was all that Mal saw her as. Well, she supposed that if Mal only thought of her as an "old friend" there was nothing wrong with going swimming with him now. "Alright," she said, "give me a moment to get changed and I'll be right back."

Alina went back up the stairs and grabbed one of her swimsuits. She almost grabbed the orange one she'd worn in Novyi Zem with Aleksander, but thought better of it, grabbing a pink one with ruffles. She slipped into it. There was a knock on the door.

"Alina, are you----"

She jumped and saw Mal leaning against the door jam with a smirk on his face. "My, my," he said, "Little Alina isn't so little anymore."

Alina blushed, and found herself covering her body with her arms. As if that would help. She was still half naked.

"Oh, don't cover on my account," he said, "I actually like the view."

She blushed. "Mal, come on----"

He stepped forward. "Oh, come on Alina. I'm not a fool. I know that you like me. I've known since we were younger and you pushed me into the pool."

"I was ten," Alina muttered.

"And it was adorable then as it is now. The only difference is, I'm not an idiot ten-year-old. And I can actually act on it now," he said.

"Act on it now?" she asked. "Act on it----"

He stepped forward, closing the space between them, and then his lips were on hers. She was aware of everything. The sweat that was pouring down her neck. The feel of Mal's chest pressed up against hers, naked. The smell of sunscreen and the taste of Mal's lips on hers. How often had she dreamed of this? Yearned for this? From the time they were kids to the time that they were teenagers and he had been one of the few people that actually bothered to stay in touch with her. He was one of the few constants in her life and she could hardly believe that it was happening.