Poolside

Julie stepped aside to let the teary eyed blonde pass.

Poor kid… She thought.

It must be hard, she thought, switching genders in a contest that **** you to be sexy. By comparison, her change had been easy; hell, welcomed even.

He…she? Whatever she wanted to be called now must be headed toward her room, which she shared with Ryan’s mother. She’d already been looking to avoid staying there. The strange woman with two bodies was very unsettling to be around. Sometimes they moved in concert, and sometimes spoke in unison like those creepy twins from The Shining. Farra seemed to be getting a handle on that, but the alternative was a silent clone busying herself about their small apartment while the other tried to talk to her.

Julie felt a bit bad, because she seemed like a nice enough woman. But the whole thing was just so weird.

Still, this gave her a more legitimate reason to stay away for a while. Ryan probably needed her Mom now. Julie remembered Ryan from her babysitting days. She hadn’t watched him regularly (the Jones-Alis were wealthy enough even then to have a housekeeper) but she did have to look out for him once and a while when he was staying with the Coopers. Even then, he’d wanted his mother. Well, now he was on her way to her, and good for them.

Julie herself was on her way to the pool, clad in a bikini that fit her as none had in 18 years. She felt better than she had in 18 years. She’d long forgotten what it was like to feel this full of life. If these people thought giving her the fountain of youth was a punishment, well… she’d take those beatings any day.

She stopped and admired herself in one of the hotel’s big, picture windows. Her tummy was smooth, her breasts high and perky, her hair full and well treated in the way that only a student with enough time to get to the salon twice a month’s could be. She’d never fully appreciated just how good she’d look back before she had Stacy. What was it that old 90s song said? You don’t know what you got til it’s gone.

She had it back, now, and was loving this whole experience more than she cared to admit. There was a skin crawling horror to what they were being put through, if one were to stop and think about it too long, but she had no intention to do that. For now, she wanted to enjoy her body, and the reprieve she was getting from the mess she’d left back home.

When she arrived back at the hotel complex’s central pool, she was surprised to find it occupied. The tall lesbian girl was futzing around the bar, while Loretta sat by the pool. She still wore the red dress she had when she’d arrived, only now the heels that went with it sat by her side while her feet dangled in the pool.

She turned to Julie and smiled. Her voice had a mild southern accent to it that was really quite pretty.

“Looks like someone’s getting comfortable,” She said with a smile.

Julie tensed.

“Relax,” Loretta said with a cheerful little giggle, “It was an observation, not a judgment.”

Julie did, stretching out her newly limber body.

“Sorry. Just kinda feels like the one thing you’re not allowed to do around her is enjoy yourself,” She said. “Not if you wanna get along with the others anyway.”

“Well, some of them are getting it pretty rough,” Loretta said. “The two of us seem to have gotten off pretty easy, though.”

She patted the empty space next to her.

“Here. Sit down.”

“Mind if I take a dip first?”

“It’s everyone’s pool, isn’t it?”

Julie smiled at that, then took several large steps back. Loretta studied her, bemused, and she sensed that the woman behind her was watching, too. She broke into a run, going right past her before launching herself forward in a torpedo dive. She heard Loretta screech just before she’d have hit the water, but Julie didn’t splash her or anyone else. The running dive was perfect, and the water simply parted for her.

She surfaced a moment later, throwing her hair back over her shoulders as she came up for breath. She floated in place for a moment, her strong legs scissoring to keep her in place, then tipped to her side and floated back over to where Loretta sat. The redhead applauded her with a cheery grin.

“That was quite a trick!”

Julie hefted herself up, propping her arms on the lip of the pool.

“I went to UAlbany on volleyball and swimming scholarship,” She explained. “Did pretty well too, before I had to drop out on account of Stacy.”

Loretta cocked her head.

“Stacy?”

“My daughter,” She explained.

“Ah…That explains a lot,” Loretta said, “I’m guessing this is a second chance of sorts, then? I hadn’t shown up when they introduced you, so I apologize if it seems like I’m playing 20 questions with you.”

Julie shook her head.

“It’s okay. It’s good to talk about,” She said. “It’s just been a hard seventeen years, you know? It’s not just good to feel young and awesome again, but I feel like I’ve got my whole life in front of me again.”

Loretta nodded along.

“And even the worst outcome here can’t be that bad?”

“Well…I wouldn’t go that far. I love my husband,” Julie said, before reluctantly adding. “And my daughter. It was just a really bad day when I got pulled in here.”

“You two want anything?” The tall lesbian called from the bar, “I’m playing bartender tonight.”

“I suppose I wouldn’t mind a glass of wine,” Loretta said.

“Margarita for me, please!” Julie added.

“You weren’t alone in having a rough day. Mine was pretty ugly too.”

They began talking as AJ brought them their drinks, Loretta about her politically gifted asshole husband, Julie about her lying, rebellious daughter.

“I think that was the part that hurt most,” Julie said as she recounted the mornin’s events, “It’s not <just that she lied. It’s that she had to eat up our praise while she was doing it.”

“I wish I could say the truth is better,” Loretta said. “Hunter doesn’t even bother trying to hide his little missteps from me anymore. He just skips straight to apologizing if I even ask. Apologies laced with reminders of what all we stand to lose if we split or I cause a scandal for him.”

“Affairs,” AJ chimed in from the bar. “They’re not missteps, they’re affairs. Fuck the sugarcoating; we got nothing to hide here.”

“Yeah, and those reminders aren’t really reminders, either,” Julie added. “They’re threats.”

Improbably, Loretta beamed at that.

“You’re absolutely right! And it really is nice to just come out and be honest about it,” She admitted. “

She lifted a glass in toast.

“Thanks, girls,” She said.

The other two lifted theirs along with her. Julie finished the margarita off in one long swallow. Though she wasn’t drunk, the buzz in her head was now cresting and it was very pleasant. The sun was still up, but it was waning now. The evening was young, and she felt more alive than she had in years.

“This is nice,” She said aloud, before she could stop herself.

AJ looked at her incredulously, and Loretta with sympathy. Julie opened her mouth to apologize, but decided to stand her ground instead.

“No, I’m sorry. I know that you and a lot of the others have had some really nasty stuff happen, but for me, personally, this is nice,” She said. “And not just feeling young again. Do you guys have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve had a vacation? It’s been years, and certainly never anywhere as nice as this.”

She shrugged.

“I’m really sorry about what everyone else is going through, but this is a pretty sweet deal for me.”

Loretta reached down and put a hand on her shoulder.

“You don’t need to apologize for shooting straight with me, hon.”

“Me either. It’s kinda my whole thing,” AJ said, “You may wanna hold that back from some of the others who got really fucked over earlier, but for what it’s worth I don’t blame you.”

Julie smiled at their understanding, but it quickly turned into a frown.

“The only thing I feel bad about is Wayne,” She said, “He’s stuck at home dealing with Stacy all by himself, while her Mom’s off enjoying a tropical getaway. Plus, I have no idea how he’s going to make ends meet without my…”

She stopped, because Loretta was giggling softly.

“I’m sorry,” She said, “But I guess you haven’t read the material. I guess I don’t blame you. It’s kind of a lot, but I took some time to look it over when I got in. I don’t have a roommate, so I had time to kill before folks started getting out and about.”

“You don’t?” AJ asked. “Why not?”

“Got eliminated,” Loretta said. “They’d shacked me up with Amelia.”

Julie lifted herself out of the water and plopped down on the lip of the pool. She didn’t care one bit about anyone’s roommate, but she was very, very interested in the game and how it was affecting her family.

“Was there something in our materials about the people back home?” She asked.

Loretta nodded.

“Basically, while we’re gone, it’s like nobody notices,” She explained. “And the people who took us are making up any lost wages and more. The only who thinks anything of it are your two emergency contacts.”

She sipped her drink.

“Doesn’t matter to me of course. I was just a trophy wife.”

“Well, that does make me feel a little better.” Julie admitted. “Still feel bad for Wayne, holding the fort down by himself.”

Loretta yawned.

“You girls plan to be here much longer?” She asked. “I’d love to join, but I’ve been up since 5 this morning.”

“I’ll be here if you wanna rejoin us later,” AJ said.

“Come ooooon,” Julie teased as she saddled up to the bar.

She plopped her wet as down on one barstool and patted the one next to her.

Loretta sighed.

“Alright…but let me freshen up real quick,” She said. “Maybe slip into something more comfortable.”

“See you in a few!” AJ said.

“I, on the other hand, will have another.” Julie said, waggling her glass for AJ to fill. “I wanna see what this new body can take.”