For pdg_mortie POOLS CLOSED

[sweetsalome]

    Salome never really got out of her bathing suit, oh for bed time and for general school she changed, but during the day clothes were optional.  Especially on hot days like this one, leaning on the door frame, she chewed on her lip and shifted her bag and towel from one arm to another.  It was dark outside, and so she hoped the pool would be empty, who else would be swimming at night:?  Glancing outside, she sighed and then looked back toward the bedroom.

    "Mortie!  C'mon!"

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[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

He was debating whether or not to take his contacts out. The chlorine would ruin them and he could still wear this pair for another week. On the other hand, if he took them out, he wouldn't be able to see that well and it was dark outside making matters worse...

He sighed and took the lenses out. Put them away in their small case on the dresser. He had already changed into a pair of swimming trunks and a tank top. Deck shoes on his feet, he was NOT going to walk around on the pavement barefoot.

He smiled to himself at Salome's impatience. He'd worked all day, she probably laid around doing nothing. No wonder she was anxious to go anywhere. He finally left the room, stopped at the linen closet and grabbed a large beach towel. The keycard for the gated pool as well as his apartment keys were tucked into his pocket.

"Where's the fire?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

She was chewing on her thumbnail when she watched him walk out, despite what he said, he was very cute. It almost made up for the frustrating self debasement routine he had almost every night. It was like he came home from work and everything they had done the night before didn't mean a thing. She might have to smother him with a pillow.

Shaking her head she grinned broadly and shrugged. "I'm hot! I want to cool off, and I can't go without you." She was bouncing around like an over active magpie and grabbed his hand as soon as he stepped out of the door.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

"I'm sorry, I should have left the pool key with you." He'd do that tomorrow, he decided. Didn't make any sense to keep it in his wallet if she wanted to go swimming while he was at work.

Taking her hand he shook his head, laughed. "How much sugar and or caffeine have you had today? You're making me dizzy." He was trying to follow her bouncing movements with his head, finally stopping when she obviously wasn't going to stand still.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"You should have! I had to walk all the way down to the beach, it was a nice walk, just a little long. Don't worry, I didn't pick up any crack whores on the way back." She gave him a huge grin, because, maybe she did.

Walking along the sidewalk (in her bare feet) she raised an eyebrow at him when they got to the gate and she waited for him to do his thing. "I had a sno cone, at like, two that's it. I don't do Caffeine or a lot of sugar. True story. How was work?" Beaming at him, she still did her own little dance as she waited for him. Old man, so slow. She didn't say that.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

He unlocked the gate and held the door open for her, wincing as he watched her take every step in her bare feet. She was going to drag all sorts of dirt back to the apartment, he just knew it.

He also ignored the comment about the crack whores. He hoped she was teasing and after the silverware incident he was trying to not overreact to things. Not that he understood why she wanted to say things to intentionally bother him in the first place.

"Work was...like it is every day. Got there early, I changed into scrubs and a surgical gown...did what I do...came home."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"Anything interesting happen at work?" She walked into the enclosure and moved over to a set of plastic lounge chairs. There was no one around, just like she figured. Dropping her bag, she shook out her hair from the pony tail holder and then started to strip off her clothes.

The tee-shirt, the shorts all were folded and put down on top of her bag. Readjusting the straps of her bathing suit she grinned at him and moved backward to the edge of the pool.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

"Depends on what you call interesting." He shrugged. He performed autopsies, filled out charts, stuck toe tags on bodies. It was all pretty routine for him.

He watched her undress, smiling when she folding her clothes and wondered if she always did that or if it was because of him. As she backed up towards the water he finally toed off his shoes and pulled his tank top over his head. He folded it and placed it atop her clothing before stretching and flexing a bit, just to loosen up.

He didn't say anything to her as he walked quickly to the edge of the pool and dove in without so much as a splash. In a swimming pool, he was a decent swimmer, laps were fun to do.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Leave it to Mortie to be an absolute silent swimmer, what fun was that? Though it was oddly suiting of him. Grinning she shrugged and fell back into the water. It was cold, at first anyway, it chilled her to the bone and as soon as she pushed up from the bottom of the pool her skin began to adjust to the water.

Resurfacing she laughed and shook her head out before flipping up on to her back and floating through the water, staring up at the sky.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

She wasn't really swimming, he noticed. Even as he swam laps back and forth across the length of the pool, he was aware of her floating in the water. And her splash into the cool liquid was hard to miss.

He turned his head in her direction as he took deep breathes every few strokes. He swam freestyle for a while, then turned over onto his back and swam the back stroke.

He didn't usually play in the pool, he'd swim his laps and then leave for the most part.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

The two swimming styles showed off the two very different personalities of the people in them. Salome lounged around, floating in relaxing, occasionally swimming a lap or, more often standing on her hands and seeing how far she could make it on only her hands. While Mortie did his laps back and forth in the pool, very purposeful and very, well, Mortie.

She watched him, her eyes peeking up out of the water, she wanted to tackle him, or pull him under the water, but she knew he would flip out. While she might have come on strong, she backed off really quick after she was rebuked. Mortie needed time to warm up to things and something told her pulling him under the water wasn't a way to do that. Sighing a little she sank under the water and moved along the bottom of the pool until she reached the other side.

Climbing out of the pool she went to the diving board to work on her dives.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

After the first few times she dove off the board, Mortie stopped swimming laps and opted to tread water while he watched her. She had the body of a swimmer, she must not always simply fool around in the water, he realized as he studies the lines and angles of her body, the curves on her slender frame.

He finally tilts his head back, wets his hair again and uses his hands to push it all away from his face. He'd get out of the pool, but she doesn't seem ready to go and he'd get chilled sitting poolside waiting for her. Instead, he swims to the shallower area where the water's not over his head and leans against the pool wall.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Next time up the ladder, she realized he had stopped swimming laps, figuring this was an okay time to approach him she dove off the board one more time and this time didn't immediately come to the surface. Very quickly she pushed through the water and came up a few feet away from him. She have swam, half floated the rest of the way until she was in front of him, smiling shyly. Behave yourself, act proper, don't be a little wild thing. She silently reminded herself.

"You move really well through the water, Mortie." She moved a bit closer to him, brushing her hair away from her face.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

He smiled as she swam over to him, let his arms rest outstretched in front of himself as they floated on the water's surface. Once she came close enough, he turned one hand over, palm up, in invitation as he wanted to hold her hand in his.

"It's good exercise. You dive often?"

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Reaching out, she took his hand and pulled herself a little bit closer to him, her fingers moving over the back of his hand. "Oh yes, I love diving off the boat, though you have to be careful you don't hit coral. Though the waters are so clear you can usually see so it's not dangerous."

She took a deep breath and sighed happily. "I'm glad your home."

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

Once he had a good grip on her hand, he slid his fingers up to curl around her wrist and then pulled her closer still. Against his chest so he could wrap his other arm around her waist. He liked the way their bodies felt pressed together beneath the surface of the water, the way she looked as the pool's lighting reflected off the water droplets on her face.

"I'm glad I'm home too. It's nice to come home and not have the apartment totally empty and silent."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

Very slowly she wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes were wide as she looked up at his face. The water made him look pale, sharp but pale, and very lightly she moved her fingers over his face. Touching his forehead and then his cheek, brushing the drops of water away as she did so. Lightly she brushed her fingers over his soft bottom lip, he was so soft and warm, she pressed closer.

"I am glad I can do that for you, sometimes I think about trying to do something special for you. Something for you to come home to. . ."

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

He parted his lips as she ran her fingers over them, his eyes watching her intently. As she spoke, he kissed the tips of those fingers, lightly and just enjoying the small act of intimacy. It was enough for him at the moment.

"You don't have to do anything. It's just nice that you're here visiting me. Staying for..." He pressed his lips together and wondered how long she'd be content to do this then shrugged his shoulders against her arms. "For however long you want to stay."

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

The kisses made her smile, no matter how self critical she was of herself, everything seemed to be better when he kissed her like that. She wanted to kiss him, but didn't make a move to, just let her fingers drift over the soft flesh.

"I know I don't have to, I just want to, that's all. If I had to do it, I probably wouldn't want to." Chuckling, she looked down between them. Leaving, she knew she had to do it, sooner or later, she didn't want to though. It wasn't just that she had a huge crush on him, it was the fact that going home was now really scary to her. When she didn't know anything better it was normal, now it was frightening. "Sometimes I don't want to go home, it's not like here."

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

"I've heard people refer to Southern California as "Planet California" before because it's so different. I guess New York is probably the same way?" He thought she was just talking about location, the feel of the city. Maybe, just maybe, him. Or at least he hoped he was a tiny part of why she liked it here.

"I'll miss you when you go." He offered quietly. And he would. A lot. He figured she'd go back to New York, school, her life and their relationship would be over. Longer than most he's ever had, even if she only stays a short time. He could live with that. He'd miss her but permanence wasn't something he'd experienced before.

He idly skimmed the water with his fingers, causing small ripples to form around them. It was nice out here. The air was warm and still, the water cool and calm. And they were alone and talking in hushed tones seemed appropriate and oddly comforting.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

"You're nice, you are loving, and tender and he's . . .So different from you. It's not the cities, Mortie." Very slowly she looked up at him, and even as she tried to put on a brave face, she knew it wouldn't work. She could feel how sad her expression was, and so she ducked her head to hide it from him.

Moving through the water, she wrapped her arms tighter around him and pressed her cheek against his. Eyes closed and she let one of her hands move down his shoulder blade, feeling the power under her fingertips. "When I go, will you call and talk to me? Will we still have what we have here? I don't want to lose you, Mortie."

Afraid that she might show any more emotion she fell silent and listened to the moving of the water against the sides of the pool. There was a TV going somewhere in one of the apartments and she could hear it. There was the beating of his heart and his breathing, and nothing.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

He held her for a long time, breathing slowly and deeply as he thought about her words. Letting his head rest against hers, his arms tighten across her back and bringing a hand up out of the water to cradle the back of her head, Mortie finally answered her. His voice was a rough whisper against her ear, "I'll call you and try to talk you into going to college out here."

It was the best he could offer at the moment. The last time he'd mentioned anything about getting her away from her father--and Mortie has an uneasy feeling that he was the He Salome was speaking of--she shut down. He didn't know if they'd wind up together when it was all said and done but he did want her to be safe and happy no matter what else was going on between them.

He went back to just holding her, focusing on the way she felt, wet and somewhat clammy, soft and fragile. Finally, he turned his head and began to press small, soft kisses against her damp face, his lips parted just enough to let her feel his hot breath on her skin.

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

For a long time, she let him hold her, rock her in the water. Soothing her and making her forget about the home she would have to go home to. She wanted to tell him, tell him everything but she was so scared that he would freak out, get nervous that she kept her mouth shut. Maybe later, when she came back, then she would tell him, she would sit down and explain everything. If he could handle it then everything would be okay.

His lips made her whimper, and out of habit her hips raised and pushed against his before pulling back. Eyelids fluttering she turned her head and lightly caught his lips in a tender kiss. Soft and sweet, nothing desperate or demanding, she just lightly sought his mouth out with hers. After a few moments of the light kiss she opened her mouth and sucked carefully at his bottom lip.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

His eyes closed as she caught his mouth in a kiss and he kept them shut as she continued to suck at his bottom lip. He wasn't going to stop her from these gentle intimacies, not when she seemed to be comforted by them. Soothed. He's spent the last day telling himself that there was nothing wrong with their relationship and that some societal norms could stand to be bucked, shaken up a bit.

After all, he wasn't hurting her. She wasn't hurting him and they kept to themselves about it. And she'd be eighteen soon enough. Besides, it wasn't as if he had any other prospects on the horizon. No one was as understanding as she'd been. He could be open and honest, be with her or he could lie and keep secrets while trying to be with someone the general populace would deem suitable.

And there was the fact that he was drawn to the girl in his arms. He wanted to care about her, for her, in ways he didn't usually want to care for anyone living. She stirred that passion in him, something that told him she was special and maybe even right for him.

If only...

[sweetsalome.livejournal.com]

After she had feasted gently on his mouth, she pulled back and looked at him. Swallowing hard she reached up and gently brushed his wet hair from his forehead. Why did this have to be so difficult? If he was just like all the other men who passed her by, hell if he was just like all the men who grabbed at her this whole thing would be easy. She could have just moved on, without thinking twice about him. But he wasn't he was actually intimate with her, she felt with him things she hadn't with anyone else.

Licking her lips she watched his mouth very careful and finally spoke, her voice soft and low. "Mortie, I - I care about you. I adore you. I know it may sound silly, or childish, but I wanted to tell you. I know you are older then me," her voice tightened a little bit at that part. "And sometimes you get nervous that I'm not eighteen yet. But I wanted to tell you, I think it's important not to let fear hold you back. So I don't know how you feel, but I wanted to tell you how I do." Smiling she cleared her throat a little bit and then pressed close to him.

It was almost a hug, but it was more to hide her blushing cheeks and her embarrassment that she might have just spilled her guts to a man who was waiting to get rid of her. No, she had to do it, she had to say what she felt.

[pdg-mortie.livejournal.com]

If it were possible, he managed to hold her just that little bit closer and tighter after her outburst. Her words were sweet, sincere and heartfelt, he believed that. Trusted her that much and it warmed him to hear her say she cared, adored him even.

He turned his head to kiss her temple and then he pulled back, pulled her away from him so that he could see her face. "I worry about our age difference for a lot of reasons. Yes, because of the moral and ethical implications--I know I'm a horrible judge of right and wrong sometimes. So I worry about things other people are able to trust instinctively." Mortie ran a finger down the side of her face, across her chin and the dropped his hand to the top of her chest and slowly slid it over until his palm rested firmly over her heart. "But that's not the only reason I worry about you being so young. I've done a lot of things you haven't experienced yet, made choices you haven't made yet and if we're together I worry that you'll make choices based on what I might want an not what's best for you. I don't want you to miss out on something better because you're with me."