That Blue Gibson

CH 24

"We have another gig tomorrow night," Dave said, looking over at Liz. They were sitting at the edge of his pool with their bare feet in the heated water.

"I thought you were done with the tour," she replied, her mind obviously on something else.

"Just the first leg, but it's a support thing for Taylor's band," he explained and leaned back on his elbows. "You wanna go?"

Liz looked over her shoulder at him. "Only if I can be in GA," she countered.

Dave shrugged, "If you want to bounce around, who am I to stop you?" In all the years he had been inviting girls to gigs, from Scream to Vultures, every single one of them had demanded backstage passes. "I can bring you back at any time, though. Just find a security guy to let you through."

She shook her head and turned back towards the pool, "I like being in the crowd," she said quietly. "I promise I won't send a Muppet back this time."

Dave burst out laughing at the memory of the giant blue costume in the hallway. "I was halfway through fucking the poor guy before I realized it wasn't you," he joked.

He watched Liz's shoulders jump in mock surprise. "I paid him $200 and he didn't even let you finish?" she shot back.

"Well, I wouldn't let him take the head off, so..."

They laughed for a bit when the pool light clicked itself off, throwing the area around them into darkness. A far away porch light cast long, dark shadows across the water.

"Hang on," Dave said and started to pull himself up to turn the light timer back on when Liz shook her head.

"Leave it," she whispered and he slowly sat back down. "How warm is this water?" she skimmed her fingertips over the top.

"Should be 82," he replied, looking around for the floating thermometer when Liz pulled her phone from her pocket and tossed it on the grass behind her. He stared at it for a second and heard a gentle splash as Liz slid into the pool.

"You know I don't have any female security guards with tiny shirts you could wear," he called as she swam to the middle of the pool, still in her jeans and t-shirt.

He heard her laugh echo off the water and watched her stand up once she reached the shallow end. "I don't think I've ever been swimming outside in February," she called back to him.

"You'll regret it the second you get out of the water," he warned her. He could see the shoulders of her white shirt shrug in the dark, then disappear back under the surface, gliding back towards him. She gripped the side of the pool just to his right and looked up at him, a smile pulling at the side of her mouth and Dave felt his head spin a bit. He only hesitated a moment before pushing himself off the concrete and into the water next to her, allowing himself to go under.

Liz laughed when he surfaced, shaking the water from his eyes. "Sucker," she grinned and swam back towards the shallow end.

Dave treaded water for a moment, trying to figure out her game. "Marco," he called after her.

"Wahlberg!" Liz laughed and reached the other end of the pool near the steps.

Dave smiled and followed her wake, stopping a few feet in front of her. He was thinking about how much he laughed around her when she stood up and leaned against the wall behind her. His mind instantly screeched to a stop when his eyes adjusted to the dark corner of the pool. The water lapped around her waist and her white shirt clung to her wet skin, exposing the black bra underneath. Her long hair fell in wet waves over her shoulders making her look like some sort of ethereal water demigoddess. Dave realized his mouth was hanging open and snapped it shut with an audible click of his teeth. He stood and waded through the space between them, his eyes locked onto hers. Slipping his hand behind her neck, he pulled her to him, but she fixed her hands on his chest to stop him. She looked from her hands and back up to him before taking a deep breath.