Men risk their lives for people who trust them ...women risk their trust to people willing to give their lives to them. -Unknown

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November 30th - Last Day of Fall

With the rising of the final fall sun, dawns the cold reality of what we have done under the lunatic moon last night. And with that fait accompli, I realize that I am insanely in love with this dark little girl goddess still sleeping softly in my arms. Who for whatever strange insane reason, she has decided to love me madly back. In doing what we have done, so we have sealed our fates in blood, and for better or worse we are riding out the winter waves together now.

Last night in the moonlight I took something special from her. So today I have decided to gift her something of myself back in return. So with the Annex pool being officially closed for the Thanksgiving holiday, today we will tempt fate. I have decided to take May on a little misadventure ...back to the beginning of us. To celebrate the death of who we were yesterday, and rebirth of who we will be tomorrow.    

"Rise and shine, sunshine..."  May finally stretches awake as the sunlight starts warms her skin.

"Morning May." I pull her a little tighter into me.

"Yeah, it kind is, isn't it?" May pushes herself back into me, wrapping her arms around mine and squeezing herself ever tighter into my embrace.  

"Mmmm ...morning boy, my favorite." May mummers throatily. But before we start up again where we left off last, I offer her a dangerous dare.

"May?" I muse for her bemusement. "How would you feel about partaking in a little misadventure this morning after breakfast?"

"I feel like ...I like the sound of this misadventure thing, you seem to speak so highly of." She muses back. "Why? Now that you have had your way with me ...twice, I dare say? What fate do you have to tempt me with today, my mister Devil?"  

"Only the best misadventure that San Fall has to offer up to the daring connoisseur." I try to assure her of my ill intent. "Ride or die?"

"Then lead on mister Devil, we don't have all day to die." May laughs happily. 

I only hope she doesn't cut out my heart and kill me, when she finds out what I have in mind for our little morning of misadventure?

After a somewhat scary slow motorcycle ride down the Hills, with May holding onto me with her death grip. Laughing all the way down to the Annex with the wind. We arrive at our fated destination and return to the beginning of our story at the Annex.

So you've seen this scene in movies a thousand times ...it's that "Magic Moment" in the pool at night. The one where the room is dark but the indoor pool is lit up. An iridescent aqua glow seems to come from no place in particular, just simply ethereally everywhere at once. Where wavelets of light dancing up out of the water illuminating the universe and setting the celestial love scene. Rising up out of the primordial waters those sexy scintillating ripples of light dancing across the reflective tile walls, reflecting up into the darkened cave.

It's the perfect moment for two warm teen bodies to heat up the cool waters with their hot youthful passion. Swimming together innocently in the iridescent liquid before hesitantly coming closer to face each other intimately in the churning waters. To ease into the first tentative touch, hesitant kisses slowly start probing. Quickly turning and churning desperately with the hungry of their carnality, then melting passionately into the other's intimacy.

Her wet T-shirt plastered over her bare chest like a second skin, her heart flaring and jutting outward with inflamed passions. And when she mounts up onto him tenderly, her stringy wet hair trailing down into his face, as tiny droplets of water like tears cascading down his enraptured face. The girl kisses him down harder ...then suddenly crashing more tender kisses that coincide with passionate groans of carnality as he begins to take her right there in the water with wild abandon.

Yeah ...well ... this is so not that moment.

No, this is the other moment in the pool ...the truely terrifying one. The one that is about facing down your years of fears. Or in our current case, May facing down one of her biggest fears. Her abject fear of the water.

So I find myself standing just outside the door to the pool office. Watching over her as May peels off her clothes, to reveal a tankini one-piece bathing suit that she borrowed from her sinister sister. Seeing her in a tight bathing suit is unbelievably sexy to me. Well, save for the pilomotor fear reflex everywhere on her skin, more commonly known as "goosebumps". 

If I am being honest, I am glad that I have already seen her nubile in the pale moonlight. So I am not so shocked at the scarified display she is showing. Because if I hadn't already read the hundreds of scars scrawled on her skin, I might have been shocked at the scarification. Especially the wickedest scar, that starts on her back, and runs like a crescent moon jaggedly all the way around her shoulder blade under the side of her rib cage.

My dark goddess is a slight and demure creature to begin with, but for someone so small to have so many hard scars? I know that my sharp intake of breath would have betrayed my shock. Just as I know that she is already acutely self-conscious about being so close to water. I don't want to combine that with being acutely self-conscious about her body. At least not in front of me.

"Okay May, I have a guard jacket for you to wear." I press the thick jacket into her slightly shaking hands.

When she finally emerges from the office, the light from the pool is reflecting off of her unsheathed golden eyes, wide with fear. May is hugging the bulky jacket herself tightly, but still trembling. I can see the fine hair on the back of her slim neck is rising in horripilation. Originally, this response was made the frightened animal seem bigger and a more formidable enemy. Unfortunately her enemy today is water, which is not intimated by anyone ever. To be honest, this is probably the first time that I have actually seen fear in her darkness. She looks of fear and adrenaline to me, and I think that she is as about close to terrified as I can safely take her.

"It's okay, May, I'm right here." I lightly touch both her shoulders and guide her into me. "I got you."

"Okay." She whispers tightly back.

"There is a bench to sit on against the wall, three feet to your left." I intone calmly, guiding her along with a steady hand. "I thought we would sit here first and just listen to the water for a while? If it's okay with you?"

"Okay." May intones.

I gently glide her over to the bench in front of Old Joe's office and sit her down carefully. Taking care that she doesn't slice herself up on the nice sharp aluminum bench edge, that has been waiting so patiently for someone to come along and cut themselves.

"Are you doing okay so far, May?" I ask after getting her situated.

"Okay, so far." She nods seriously, holding on to me for dear life. 

If my intention was ever to make her reliant on me and clutch on to me with a death grip? Then I have succeeded and then some. Sadly, this was not my intention with May's first swimming lesson, but nonetheless, it is what it is.

"The first lesson I teach is usually just sitting here at the edge of the water. Just watching the water dance, to get a feel for how it moves and swirls out there in the pool. But in our case instead, we are going to sit here silently and listen to the water sing to us for a while. Does that sound okay so far?"

"Okay." She courageously agrees with this insanity.

So for a thousand heartbeats, we sit stone still listening. Letting her feel her way out of her darkness, without trying to control her immersion into the sounds I know she is hearing. Or at least really listening to the sea song for probably the first time in her life. So I sit and listen with her to the sound of the water with my eyes closed. Trying to discern out important noises from the general background pool sounds. When I finally feel her head tilt to the side inquisitively, I decide it's time to start explaining the sounds of waters songs.

"So the first sound in the water that I hear, I call the sizzle. It's the sound the water makes as rolls and recedes off the sloped ramp steps descending into the pool. To me, it sounds a little like the sizzling sands at home, when the shore surf scrapes back down across the sand to the sea. For me, that is the closest thing to the sound of waves breaking that I have here."

"Hmmm." May nods, whether she is agreeing that she hears this noise or acknowledging the fact that I have spoken? I am not totally sure, so I press my luck ever onwards.

"Now a little further out from the sizzle is a light slapping sound. This is from the little waves lapping back off the edges and slapping into each other. Before heading back out to the middle of the pool."

"Ah huh." May rocks slowly to the side trying to echolocate the origin of the slapping waters.

"Now there's a stronger clapping sound that is a little sharper than slapping. That is from when those waves start bouncing around when the water gets choppy." I continue to try to explain the inexplicable to her.  "This happens a lot when there are more people in the pool. So file that away as a sound that will alert you to possible problems."

"Now that hollow ploinking sound just there?" I direct her attention towards the drains that run along the side of the pool.  "Can you hear that?"

"Yeah okay, I think I heard that 'hollow ploinking' noise." May nods seriously.

"That particular ploinking noise is only made when the wavelets smack up into the back tile inside the drain, that runs along the sides of the pool. That's an important sound, because that sound tells you're right where the edge of the pool is."

"Hollow ploinking sound. Edge of the pool. Got it." Her words are staccato short and clipped.

"Okay, this last sound is a little harder to hear ...because it's all the way across the pool from where we are right now. The sound you're trying for is the sound of water being poured into the pool from the filters." I direct her attention back across the water. "Listen for a continual waterfall noise, but constant sounding, like static in the background?"

"I can't find that sound?" May rocks her head around searching for the sound. "Okay yeah, I think I hear the sound of steady water being poured like from a pitcher. But it's hard to hear over the other water noises."

"That sound is the sound of the filter system recycling the water back into the pool. The reason you want to know where that noise is, because that's the dead end of deep end. At least in this pool anyways." I intone seriously. "So if you hear that waterfall sound any louder, you'll know that you are right by the deep end and need to be most careful."

"Waterfall sound. Deep end. Be extra careful. Got it." May nods along, filing away the navigation information for her mental map.

"Okay May, well that's pretty much the end of lesson one: sound orientation." I try to put a smile in my voice for her to hear. "So are you ready for lesson two? Let's go meet the water?"

"Please don't push me in the water."  Her slender elfinine hands immediately lock on my arm with a death grip, and her voice is strident and tight.

"May, I swear to you, I will never ever, ever...ever...push you into the water." I reply evenly, moderating my tone to calm. "Even if you were an Olympic Swimmer or  Navy Seal, I would still never push you into the water. That's a very serious pool rule violation. Never push anyone in the water...ever. Okay?"

"Okay." Her voice relaxes slightly, but her death grip on my arm has not eased up in the slightest.

"No, what I mean by let's go meet the water is that we slowly walk over to the edge of the shallowest end of the pool. To where there is a descending ramp that goes down into the shallow water." I reassure her of my intentions.

"The water in the shallow end is only four feet deep. So even if you were to accidentally fall in? Which I will never let happen. You can just stand right up, with your head above the water." I quickly add when the death grip tightens. "But we aren't going into the water, not today, anyway. What we are going to do is sit on the edge of the ramp and just touch the water, with only our hands and feet only. Okay?"

"O...kay." May intones wearily, and I can clearly tell that she is seriously not thrilled with this idea.

"Now when we stand up, you are going to have to shed the jacket you're wearing," I instruct her evenly. "There are two reasons why it is important only to be wearing a bathing suit around water. First bathing suits are made from materials that are designed to be in the water. Unlike say regular clothes, that will weigh you down if they get wet. Think of how heavy your wool sweaters get in the rain? The add about thirty pounds."

"You said there were two reasons? And the second reason is you want to see me in my super sexy swimsuit?" She tries to smile and fails, but I give her credit for the effort at gallows humor.

"No. I mean, yes of course. I love to see you in all your swimsuit sexiness. But that's not the second reason." I chuckle along with her fatalism. "The second reason is to change your mindset and mentality."

"Because that jacket you are wearing is fur lined and bulky, so it feels warm and safe. But it's not safe, it's just warm, and it's never going to help you in the water." I instruct her with all seriousness to the contrary.  "So when you're in your bathing suit and here in the pool, or by any water? I want you to only be in your bathing suit. That way you will be immediately self-conscious about where you are at, and what you will need to do to stay safe."

"Does it change your mindset? Being in your lifeguard outfit?" May quirks inquisitively up at me.

"Absolutely," I assure. "In fact, the only time I ever wear my lifeguard gear is when I am on duty. If I swim off duty on my time? I always change into other trunks, without giving it a second thought."

"Are all lifeguards are like that?" May runs her finger down the side of my bare arm, and I can tell now that she is just trying to bide time to avoid meeting the water.

"No. In fact, I'd have to say based on what I've seen around San Fall? No one besides Old Joe Blake is as serious about the pool rules as I am." I shrug into her so she can feel the gesture. "But back home the old beach guards are, because those are the rules of the beach. You don't walk around the beach with your guard gear on trying to look cool when you're not on duty. So when you are on duty, everyone knows you're large and in charge, no questions asked."

"Huh?" May frowns down. "Yeah, I guess that sorta makes sense."

"So you ready to go meet the water now?" I push my luck.

"No," May replies bluntly, then sighs resigned. "But I will force myself to try. But if I hate it? You take me away, no questions asked?"

"No worries, I am you myrmidon in all things." I stand slowly, with her hand in mine. 

She trades hands never breaking contact, as she sloughs off the heavy jacket back onto the bench. After she finally sheds the false sense of safety, she stands up and takes my hand. I can see she is unsteady on her feet, the wet pool tiles are an unfamiliar slick surface to her and fraught with danger. So I use a firmer hand while cautiously guide May gently over to the edge of the ramp to meet the water.

"Okay, you are directly facing the pool now," I inform her calmly. "So now we sit down right here, on the wet tiles. Then we will inch up to the edge of the water. I want you to sit right behind me, so I will always between you and the water. Just like we do with the wind when we ride on the Deathwish. Okay?"

"Okay." I see her steel herself to face her fates and fears.

So keeping her slight hand tightly in mine, I slowly lower to sitting first, with my legs submerged down the ramp. May crouches behind me and holding on to my back, and slowly her legs wrap around my waist tightly and cross Indian style in front of me. She hugs herself to me, fusing herself around my back so hard that I can feel her hummingbird heart racing, beating a thousand times a second.

"You're doing great, May." I calmly reassure her. "I got you."

"Okay." Sitting all the way down behind me, and rest her head between my shoulder blades and heaves her held breath heavily into my spine. We stay fused like this for a long time, with her firmly attached to my back. As the heartbeats go on, a thousand slowly drops down to the hundreds. When May's breath finally becomes normalized down from heaving to breathing, I push my luck with her a little further.

"Okay May, now whenever you feel ready, try to lay your hand flat down on the outside of my thigh. So you can feel the water lapping up at you." I instruct her hopefully.

"Mmmm." Slowly she slides her hand down across my ribs and slides her slender hand down the side of my thigh and touches the water hesitantly.

"So what do you think of your first touch, so far?" I ask hopefully.

"It's warmer than I expected?" She skims her fingertips lightly across the surface.

Without me suggesting her, she tentatively she stretches out her toes touch the water. Then slowly allows her foot to dangle, then submerge completely next to mine.

"Not too terribly bad." She sighs.

"Cool." I let go the pensive breath that has been holding in my chest. "So here in the shallows the water is friendly, playful even. But out a little further in the pool, the water likes to play tricks, sometimes."

"You ready for lesson three? Getting in the water?" I go for broke.

"No." She breaks me right back. "Can't we just sit here like this and just feel the water, please?"

"Absolutely." So we stay this way for a long time.   

I am slowly moving my legs back and forth in the water, pushing the water around so that she can feel the eddies and currents swirling around her skin.

"I want to be alone with you..." She whispers softly into my skin. "...all the time."

"I want you alone as much, maybe even more." I reach over my shoulder and gently run my fingertip across her soft lips.

"I don't think that's possible." She smirks and kisses my fingertip, flicking the tip of her tongue provocatively out over the tip. "Sometimes it's all I can think about. How to get thru the day, for just for those moments of us alone."

"Yeah." I sigh in absolute agreement.

"No one ever told me that being in love was going to be so ...big?" May muses thoughtfully. "That it would hurt sometimes ...not to be with you. That it's almost unbearable to even breathe by myself some days."

"I don't think that anyone has ever been in love like I am with you, May." I freely admit my heresy. "But then again ...maybe that's what everyone everywhere thinks the first time they fall?"

"Mmmm." May nods slowly. "Is there somewhere we can be alone here? Now?"

"Ah, we are alone?" I counter cleverly.

"I meant ...even more alone?" She whispers softly with a sly susurrus smile. "Hint, hint, hint ...please god take the hint?"

"Ah, we can always go to the showers?" I sigh resigned, playing along with her new sexy time game.

"Oooo a shower? I do so like the feel of you in the shower." May muses mischievously. "It reminds me of that first kiss in the rain that day, but better. With all those soapy, sexy tough guy muscles just writhing around and doing muscley stuff. Oh, how I love doing stuff alone with you...and to you ...my daring boy."

May flushes, and while I can't really see her skin blush in the gloaming light, I can feel the heat of her face against the back of my shoulder.

"Maybe, are you thinking bad thoughts, again?" I inquire almost innocently.

"O..." She elongates the sacred Om sound salaciously.  "...maaayyybeee."

"Oh, Maybe?" I muse for her amusement. "Wait isn't that my line in this particular play?"

"May...be..." May smiles wistfully. "...we should be alone...now?"

"Most def." I wholeheartedly agree and shift slipping out of the water, rising her up with me to standing.

"I'm blind, not deaf, ya big dummy." May sighs and shakes her head.

"Then lead on, my dark mistress." I sigh resigned to my fate.

"Oh yeah, and we are so getting pizza after." May grins up hopefully. "I'm totally thinking meat lovers? You know ...cause we are lovers and stuff now."

"Sure, why not." I snort. 

"Okay, by water, see ya alter?" May singsongs pleasantly, almost sounding like she means it, until I hear her whisper under her breath. "Better luck next time flocker."  

Oh yeah, I do love our mid-morning swimming lessons. Even if we do end up spending far, far more time alone under the rain showers than the pool.

And so ends the last day of Fall. We have weathered together all the storms of the season so far, and then some. So I am seriously looking forward to the dead calm of winter to come, for whatever fate awaits us. But winter is coming, and on the horizon is always the winter wave. Rising on the outside growing bigger and bigger, until it crests to crash down on us. But now that we are together in this insanity, I know that can weather any storm the sea sends to us.   

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