An Unexpected Surprise

"It's been years since we've been swimming together, Alex. I can hardly wait."

"Yeah, it's been a while, huh? Not since that time by the lake. That was what, two, three years ago? Something like that?"

"Something like that. That was the whole group though. This time it will be just you and me."

"And everyone else in the pool too, don't forget about that."

"Oh, right. Them. Well, I suppose if you want to ruin my fun, go right ahead and remind me of that."

"It's what I do, Clara. If you have too many happy thoughts all at once, I'm worried you'll just fly off into the sky never to be seen again."

It was still early in the morning, and Alex had to admit that he was feeling a bit better now that he was up and walking about. His earlier dark musings remained in the back of his mind, like an itch he could not quite scratch, but he was able to push them aside, especially as he was anticipating the rest of the day. Clara was right, it had been some time since the two of them had gone swimming, but he still remembered it well, both the sight itself, as well as the fun that they had had as a group. Just hanging out as friends, it seemed so long ago to him now, but then again, perhaps not that long in the grand scheme of things.

Whatever the case, it didn't much matter at the moment.

"What about this pair?" Clara asked, turning around to scrutinise her boyfriend. The two of them were standing in a clothing store, on the way to the pool. Actually, it was more than just a pool, the building was a so-called leisure centre, with a swimming pool, a gym, and a bunch of other related things. Alex had been there a few times before. In spite of what he said to Clara, he knew that it was often empty early in the day, which was why he had chosen to schedule it at that time. But before they could go swimming, Clara needed to acquire certain articles of clothing, or at least, she needed to do so if she wasn't going to be swimming naked.

Not a prospect that he particularly disliked, he had to admit, and he had fun toying with the idea for a moment before Clara poked him, drawing him back to reality.

"What was that for?"

"You were zoning out."

Alex considered denying it for a moment, but realised quickly that she was probably not going to fall for it. He shrugged instead, and shot her a half smile. "Um, I was appreciating your beauty?"

"I'm sure." She snorted, giving him a look which let him know that she had guessed exactly what sort of beauty he had been appreciating. Honestly, he felt like the most unlucky slave owner in the face of the world. How many others had to put up with this?

"Anyway" Clara said. "What do you think of these?"

Alex peered for a moment at the items in her hand. It was a set of two piece swimwear, coloured brightly red. The first thing that came to his mind upon seeing it was that it was rather small, leaving little to the imagination. Both the top and the bottom were slim, cut down, and exposed about as much skin as they possibly could. It wasn't the sort of swimming clothes that Clara would usually go for, he was pretty sure.

"They look...fine?" He said. "Not much to the imagination, though."

"Good." She said, looking pleased with herself. "I am done hiding. After last night, and what we did, and what we promised, I thought I might be a bit brave. I saw these and thought they'd show off my body nicely, don't you think, master?"

Alex nodded for a moment, his mind conjuring the image that she painted. Her nearly naked body glistening with the water of the pool, clad only in that swimming top and bottom. How the hell was it that he'd seen her naked, and yet the image of her wearing technically more clothes than that was still so magnetic? Then, he sighed, realising she'd baited him.

"Damnit, Clara."

"Is it really my fault that you're that easy?" She laughed.

"You're supposed to be a slave, you know." He grumbled. "Whatever, just pay the money and let's go."

Clara laughed, the sound cheering him even though he grumbled. His earlier worries still preyed on his mind, but here and now, it was easy to force them back, stuffing them into the darkness from which they had come.

The question was, would they still remain there later?

It was about half an hour later, and Alex was starting to enjoy himself more. The walk to the outskirts of the city had been fun enough, the weather was nice, and the sun beating down against him was a pleasant feeling with Clara at his side. The two walked, chatting easily, like the old friends that they were. Around them, the world spun on, uncaring of their problems or their fantasies, and Alex somehow found that thought comforting in a way. It took them a fifteen minute walk, and then a bus ride to get to the leisure centre, which was situated near the edge of the city. One of the reasons it was usually not full. Alex didn't know the logic behind the placement, but he guessed it was due to the size of the place.

The leisure centre was, well, a centre. It was a large building, several floors tall, big enough to serve as many functions as needed. Alex had used it a fair amount since coming to the city. The upper levels housed a gym, and some sports centred areas. There was a small cafe near the bottom. By the front, a reception desk, and to the back, the swimming pool itself, as well as the maze of lockers and changing cubicles.

Clara had never been to this place before, and he could tell with the way she paused, eyeing the building in surprise.

"Pretty big, right?" He said. "Not like back home."

"Not really." She agreed. "But look, the parking area is so empty. Where is everyone?"

"Well, it's early in the day, and also the week." Alex said. "So I would assume ''working'."

She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Thank you for that, mister obvious."

He shrugged, not rising to the bait. He could feel the shadow of last night, the doubts that it had inspired, starting to lift away. It was just fun to be here with her, anticipating the day that they would have together.

The couple headed to reception, where they were met by a man behind the desk. He smiled, welcoming them to the centre, and traded some banter with Alex, whom he recognised. The reception area was a large room, there were some chairs scattered here and there, an old TV was set into the wall, the sound was muted, but the picture played. One side of the room was set with small round windows, which looked into the pool itself. Clara peered through one, curiosity overtaking her.

The swimming pool took most of the ground floor of the centre; it was clearly themed after a desert island, with the floor being worked to look like sand, and false rocks and small islands jutting from the water. The pool was separated into several sections. One of them was the main section, which was the largest, and the most mundane. It was simply a swimming pool, shallow at one end, and growing deeper towards the other. There was enough room for a lot of people, and the walls, floor and edge were all worked to the desert island theme. The second part of the swimming pool was a looping track, starting at the deep edge of the pool and looping around to the shallow edge, where a false current kept the water flowing. A so-called lazy river. During the weekends, or late in the day, it was often full of kids or lazy swimmers enjoying the feeling of being pushed along the track.

The final section was in the deep part of the pool, or rather, beside it. It was a small hot tub, where you could relax after swimming, or before going in if you wanted to loosen your muscles.

All in all, Alex could see that Clara was impressed as she looked back at him.

"Pretty good, right?" He said.

"I'd give it six out of ten." She muttered, and he laughed, shaking his head.

"Let's get changed, shall we?"

The two headed through a side corridor, entering the changing area was an immediate difference. The floors and walls were tiled and ceramic, the air was a lot colder, Alex and Clara both felt it as they stepped through. The corridor was lined with lockers, and up ahead, Alex could see that there were changing cubicles, some small, for single people, and others family sized for children and their parents.

Alex took a deep breath, the mist gusting from his mouth. Sound reverberated oddly here, bouncing between the tiled surfaces, and he could hear the distant churn of the pool itself. But there was no talking, no speaking.

"Looks like we have the place to ourselves after all." He said.

"Looks like it." Clara agreed. "Lucky for us, right? We can have some fun."

"Yeah..." Alex agreed, trying to force a smile. His earlier worries resurfaced now, and he could feel his heart beating fast. Did he trust himself enough to go on? Clara had no idea of the sense of conflict that filled him as he took a step forward. He scanned for a changing room, the bag he'd brought containing his swimming trunks slung over his back.

"We should get one together." Clara said.

Alex nodded. He'd been intending to do it anyway.

That was when the two of them heard a familiar voice from the way they had come. Both turned as someone else stepped into the area, taking the same path as they had a moment before.

"Clara? Alex? The hell are you two doing here. Not that I am really complaining, of course. But you get used to having a place to yourself, and you sort of start to expect it."

The woman who had walked through the door had a backpack slung across her shoulders, same as Alex. She was wearing a set of form fitting jeans, and a sleeveless white top. Her blond hair was done up in a ponytail, and her blue eyes twinkled with surprise as she came upon them. A mischievous grin crossed her face, as both Clara and Alex shared a look. Neither of them had expected this, and both wondered what it would mean for things moving forwards.

Clara was the first to speak.

"Oh, hey, Lilly. I didn't expect to see you here either."