Learning To Swim For Real

Chapter 15: Kelsey's World

"Car's here"

Jack read the text and gave himself one last look in the mirror before heading out. He walked nimbly up the path between the guest house where he lived and the French doors on Kelsey's patio. He let himself in, calling out, "I'm here!"

"Be down in a sec!" he heard from upstairs.

They were going to some big party, thrown by someone related to the studio who was producing Power Through, Kelsey's new movie about Marian Lowell. It wasn't for the movie exactly, but a lot of people related to its production were going to be there, so Raymond thought it would be a good opportunity for Jack and Kelsey to meet people and get to know who was who. Jack, of course, was a little nervous.

"Hey, you," Kelsey sang out as she came down the stairs.

Jack turned and stared.

Kelsey was wearing a barely there backless halter dress in tropical shade of blue. It was so short that Jack wondered how she could possibly sit down in it, and on her feet she wore strappy sandals so high she was almost eye level with him. Her black hair had been brushed to a high gloss and left loose, so it hung down past her shoulder blades, brushing against her bare skin, accentuating her new tan. The cut down the side was so extreme that every time she moved she exposed a fair to middling amount of side boob, a fact which made Jack very uncomfortable. As for the front, it was so low that Jack was pretty sure he could see the beginning of a suck mark he'd put on her breast the night before. You wouldn't really notice it unless you knew to look for it, but Jack did know, of course, so he saw it right away, a tiny purple bloom on her pink flesh.

She got to the bottom of the stairs and did a little twirl in front of him, bringing the scent of her perfume to him. "How do I look?" she asked with a smile.

"You look, uh, pretty marvelous," he said, swallowing as he leaned in to kiss her, just under her ear. "Just really, um, wow, you know?"

"Marvelous and wow," Kelsey repeated, nodding and laughing. "I'll take those adjectives, I guess, thanks. And you look damned good yourself, Jack, I must say. And you smell amazing!" As they headed out the door, she continued, "I think for the first time since we met you don't smell like chlorine, what did you do?"

"I put conditioner in my hair, actually," Jack admitted as the driver opened the car door. The studio had sent a car for them. It was Jack's first time in a chauffeured car, and he grinned as he looked around the opulent interior. "There's this super expensive, made in Australia conditioner that's especially for swimmers, with all kinds of weird stuff in it that I break out for special occasions, you know?" He gestured at himself. "Same with the clothes."

"I see that," Kelsey said. "This might be the first time I've ever seen you in actual shoes, Mr. LaGuardia. I didn't even know you owned any."

"Well, they're not handmade in Italy or anything," Jack said, lifting his shoes for her perusal. "Speaking of whom, that guy's not going to be there tonight, is he? Don?"

Kelsey made a face while checking her make up in her compact. "No. I mean, I don't see why he would."

"Well, which is it?" Jack asked.

"He has no reason to be there," Kelsey said. "But he's friends with the same people as me, and he is in town, so I suppose it's possible?" She shrugged. "Don't worry about him, okay? He's a non-issue in my life."

Jack blinked at her. "Yeah? Well, that non-issue was being a real pain in the ass the other night when I was trying to lose my virginity, that's all I'm saying," he finally said with a grin.

Kelsey leaned in and kissed him, a kiss which he returned with great ardor, placing his hand between her legs and rubbing her thigh.

"You know, Ms. Carlisle, all this swimming you've been doing has made your legs even more spectacular than they were before," he murmured as he kissed her.