[interesting]

This may sound odd to some at this point to some, given all that I have already related about myself and my relationship with Danielle, but having her and her friend Rita join me in their swimming pool did not bother me in the slightest. In fact, their presence did nothing to my feelings, one way or another. For some reason, when they entered the water, despite my own feeling that something was about to happen, I couldn't be worried about it. At that moment in time, on that night, it felt absolutely normal, as if I had always been bred for this moment.

As I swam across the water, I watched the two girls frolick. Rita stepped out of the water and went across to the deep end and the diving board. I followed her hips as she made her way in her two piece blue and white striped bathing suit. She was becoming a beautiful young woman. She had nothing to complain about. As she dove into the water from the diving board, my gaze turned to Danielle, who was also stepping out of the water. Her long reddish hair clung to her body, accentuated by the greenish two-piece bikini she wore. The top covered much more than the bottom. I watched her dive into the water as well.

Rita had surfaced in the meantime and swam back to the shallow end. I kept in the middle, clinging to the edge. Danielle surfaced as well; she headed straight for me and hung on the edge right beside me.

"Are you okay?"
"Sure..."
"Seriously."

I looked away, then back at her.

"I'm fine."

Rita had swam up on the other side; they were surrounding me. The idea of a 'sandwich', me being the meat, made me smile. Rita spoke up too.

"We didn't want you to feel uncomfortable and everything."
"I'm not. Not anymore."
"I'm sorry."

Rita actually seemed sincere. I smiled at her.

"Would you like to have a girlfriend?"
"Of course I would. But it has to be right... I wouldn't go out with just anyone."

I was tempted to ask if she wanted to be my girlfriend, but I kept my mouth shut. It was better not to thread on that ground. Rita continued.

"I just never imagined someone your age without a girlfriend..."

I didn't know what to answer to that so I shut up. Rita kept going.

"But I guess it's cool, saving yourself for the person you'll marry."

I didn't want to let her know that I wasn't saving myself - I would probably go out with the first girl who didn't say no to me, and work my way into loving her. But that wasn't what she wanted to hear. Danielle interrupted Rita.

"Rita, be nice..."
"Sorry."
"Rita can be a pain sometimes, but I like her anyway."

I smiled at Danielle. Both Rita and her swam away from me, to the other side of the pool. Danielle took some time to dive into the water, resurfacing almost exactly where she had disappeared, while Rita just remained there quiet. She had probably thought I was vexed, when in fact I was just apathetic. Danielle, emerging from the water, cleared her eyes and turned to me.

"Is there something wrong between you and Paul?"
"Oh no... he's at his computer."
"You seem off."

So she had noticed. I was wondering how far I could talk to her, especially in the presence of Rita.

"I'm not feeling too good, but I'll get better. I may just be tired. I should get back to him."

I made a move to get out of the water. That's when I heard Danielle's voice, almost like a plea, reach my ears.

"Don't go."

The suddenness of her tone had startled even her. I settled back down into the water. She blushed and I could tell she had been much more forward than she had wanted to be. That was my first clear sign that she might feel something for me; but of course, it would be wrong to act upon it. I was trapped: I really didn't want to leave because I wanted to pursue the extent of Danielle's feelings towards me, but I also couldn't get involved with her, for so many different reasons that I didn't even to elaborate on them.

Rita tried to defuse the tension.

"I know. Let's play a game."

It partly worked, mostly because I turned away from Danielle and towards her.

"A game like what?"
"I don't know. Tag?"
"We played that this afternoon."
"Marco polo?"

Danielle didn't seem too enthusiastic about that one either. Rita was coming up short. She finally went back to something else.

"How about we keep playing truth?"

I nodded slowly. It seemed reasonable. Danielle somehow managed to gather her courage because she stared straight at me.

"How about truth or dare?"

I shivered in the water, but not because of the cold. I was afraid of playing with her, afraid of what I might be asked to do. Telling the truth was one thing; acting out dares was another entirely. And yet, there was something about the idea of playing the game with Danielle that made the idea enticing. Rita seemed as unsure as I was about the game. But Danielle insisted.

"Here's what I propose: we all choose both options; we get a dare from one person and a truth from the other. Does that sound fair?"

It did sound fair to me, but I didn't want to answer until Rita acknowledged, and she seemed to face the same dilemma as me. Finally, she gave in.

"Okay sure. But nothing too much."
"Of course..."

I finally gave my own blessing. I looked back towards the house, wondering how long Paul would work on his things before he came to get me. I had no way to tell.

"We can play until Paul comes to get me."

Danielle smiled. It made me feel better. This game was her way of letting me know that she wanted to spend time with me, any form of time. Perhaps she felt the unease that was creeping in between Paul and me. Perhaps she felt, like I did, that this might be her last chance to get to know me a little better. Or perhaps she had other reasons.

In any event, a new game was taking shape, a new game with entirely new rules.