Page 18 of The Deadbeat DILF
“I’d better get to bed.” He set his glass on the counter. “Good night, Brooke.”
“Night,” I said, my voice a little weak.
Why was he running away? It wasn’t like I’d shown him anything scandalous. Just a little skin.
I grabbed my mug, turned off the kitchen lights, and went to my bedroom. Pressing my back against the door, I held my tea as its steam curled into the air before fading away.
How long had it been since he’d seen a woman like that? Was it a few months, like me? Weeks? Days?
Surely not. He was handsome, tall, and fit. If he went to a bar, he could easily pick up a woman for the night.
There was no point dwelling on it. In the future, I’d just have to make sure my robe stayed on properly.
I crawled into bed and picked up my historical romance, but my eyes couldn’t focus on the words. My mind kept straying to the way his eyes had slid down and lingered, just for a few seconds, before he quickly looked away.
CHAPTER SEVEN
By the time the weekend rolled around, I was ready to have a little fun. On Saturday morning, after I returned from my pilates class, I found Robert on the couch, a rental website filling the screen.
“Do you want to go swimming?” I asked.
He looked up at me. “Swimming? Where?” He closed his laptop.
“There’s a swimming pool here. I don’t use it much, but I figured it could be fun.” When I first moved in, I swam a few times, enchanted by the fact I’d lived in a building with its own swimming pool. But as time went on and I grew busier, I used it less. I realized it wasn’t very fun swimming by myself. Sure, I could swim laps, but I found other forms of exercise more enjoyable.
Robert stood up. “I haven’t swum in years. Let’s hope I haven’t forgotten how.”
I laughed. “If you drown, I’ll save you.”
“Were you a lifeguard or something?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Just a competent swimmer.”
He put his hands to his chest, pretending I’d wounded him. “I used to be a lifeguard, actually. It was my part-time job during the summers when I was a teenager.”
“Ah, so a hundred years ago.”
He elbowed me, and it was the lightest touch, but my skin tingled. What was with me? Maybe I was just touch-deprived. It had been a while since I’d been with someone.
“I’ll go get changed,” Robert said, disappearing into his room.
I went into my own bedroom and stepped into my walk-in wardrobe, scanning the selection of swimsuits I owned. I should have chosen one at random or even a conservative one-piece, but my hands drifted to a turquoise blue bikini set, the one that made me look the best.
It shouldn’t have mattered whether I looked good or not. It wasn’t like I was trying to impress Robert. But I couldn’t help myself. I got changed and checked myself in my standing mirror.
The light blue color looked lovely against my complexion and blonde hair. The bikini top revealed some cleavage but still looked classy, and the cut of the bottoms created the illusion of an hourglass figure, making my waist look small and my hips look wide. I checked that everything was properly covered, then put on a crochet maxi dress to cover myself up.
I grabbed two fluffy white towels and a bottle of sunscreen before meeting Robert in the living room. He wore dark blue swim trunks and a white t-shirt. I tried not to feel disappointed that the t-shirt covered him up. He was my tenant, not eye candy.
“It’s up on the roof,” I said, heading toward the door.
“A rooftop pool?” Robert’s eyes widened as he followed me out of the apartment and down the hallway to the elevator. “Your building’s even fancier than I thought.”
I laughed as we stepped into the elevator. “So, tell me the story about your lifeguard job.”
“You really want to hear about it? It’s ancient history.”
I nodded, maintaining a straight face. “I’m actually very interested in the 1920s.”
