Surfacing, she gasped for air and clutched her naked form. After all the time she had spent in this pool, the water had never felt so good. The freshening chill shocked her system like peppermint, and unlike a bath, she was able to stretch and move. She began swimming to the other end of the pool, relishing the sensation of the cool water kissing her breasts, tickling her stomach and back, and licking between her legs like a paintbrush. She moved at her own pace, her speed decided only by how fast she wanted the water to roll over her skin.
Reaching the shallow end, she rested her chin on the edge of the railing below the surface and let her body float up. Her eyes bolted open as she heard someone enter the water nearby. Covering herself, she looked back to see Xavier, settling in the pool like it was a hot tub. Like her, he was naked, and she was almost tempted to look down.
“What are you doing here?!” she hissed.
“I wanted to join you. You were having so much fun.”
She blushed and looked away, embarrassed from the joy she had felt just a moment ago. She readjusted her arm across her breasts and Xavier sighed.
“Honey, we’re a little past that. Relax; I know what you look like. Besides, I’m in the same boat as you are.”
She refused to meet his gaze. “Stop that. I’m not an exhibitionist like you. I’m nothing like you.”
Xavier moved over to her and she screwed her eyes shut, afraid of how he was going to molest her. She could feel the movements in the water, reaching for her covered breasts. But instead, he gently grasped her hand.
“Do you think people cover themselves because they really believe that nudity is sinful, or because they are afraid of the world not accepting their true selves? Be proud of who you are. You don’t have to hide your beauty, especially from me. I’ll accept you for everything you are.”
The way he spoke, that gentle and soothing way, it would have made her heart flutter if coming from anyone but him, though that wasn’t to say Helena didn’t feel something when he spoke to her. He gently pulled on her arms, and as if forgetting why she had held them there in the first place, she dropped them and let herself be exposed, under the water at least. Xavier moved past her to the wall, then pushed off and began swimming across the pool in the backstroke. Helena kept her eyes shut, not wanting to find out whether or not “it” would float.
“Come on, just standing there naked doesn’t count as skinny-dipping. You’re allowed to enjoy yourself, just like you were a minute ago.”
“Why are you doing this? Why make me do this things?”
Having reached the other end of the pool, Xavier turned back to her. “Sorry! I can’t hear you from all the way over there!”
Muttering curses, Helena swam over, feeling like she might as well have been crawling on all fours. She reached the end and growled, “So why?”
“So that you’ll have a little fun for once. Stop taking everything so damn seriously and live on the wild side.”
“Oh, so that rope thing was fun? And I shouldn’t take the rape of my friend seriously?”
Xavier sighed and began swimming back to the shallow end, this time with Helena following. Only once they both touched the wall did he answer. “Sophie doesn’t seem very upset. Hell, she hasn’t even had her first kiss yet, let alone lost her virginity. Admit it, being bound was the most thrilling experience you’ve had in a while, even more than when you beat up punks. You felt alive when you were tied up. You sensed everything like never before as if you had just rediscovered your own body. The exciting possibility of getting caught, the erotic feel of the ropes clutching your body like hands, you were high as a kite on endorphins. And this whole day, you were looking forward to coming here. You didn’t care about breaking the rules. If anything, it made this more exciting for you. You’re having fun, enjoy it.”
Helena lowered her head below the water and blew bubbles in frustration and embarrassment.
Xavier looked over to the clock. “Tell you what, swim with me for twenty minutes and then you can go.”
“Fine.”
For the next twenty minutes, she tried to push Xavier out of her mind and simply enjoyed the pool. She did slow laps and lazily floated on her back, her exposed breasts pointed at the ceiling. He mostly left her alone, swimming off on his own. It felt so strange to her, to be swimming naked with a man, the Antichrist of all people. It was like this pool really was from the Garden of Eden.
‘No! No! Don’t make that comparison! He’s evil! He’s a monster’
“Helena, watch this.”
She followed his voice, spotting him on the diving board like the statue of David. She yelped and looked away, afraid of seeing him so boldly displayed. But a part of her wanted to see. Even after all the times he had been with Sophie, Helena had never gotten a look at him nude. It had always been too dark. He was very masculine, almost buff. It filled her stomach with butterflies for a reason she didn’t understand.
“I’m serious. Watch this.”
He did a few quick jumps on the board to build up energy and then leapt off. In midair, he spun around and curled his body into a flip, simultaneously. Even Helena couldn’t hide her surprise at the sight of the stunt. She had seen Olympic divers perform similar maneuvers from the high jump, but never off the diving board just a meter above the water. To think he could do it with so little room and time.
He surfaced, sputtering but with a grin. “I learned to do that from a monk when I swam in the River Ganges. Do you want to try?”
Narrowly stopping herself, she turned up her nose at him and looked away. “As if.”
“Come on, you’ll be happy that you tried it. Even when you are at your lowest, you should always try to make happy memories. However this ends between us, whether we live our lives together or our paths diverge, don’t you want to say you had the courage to get up on that board and make yourself smile?”
This was strange, why was he being so nice to her? Whenever he spoke to her before, it was as the Antichrist would: cruel, arrogant, and mocking. But now it was like he was a completely different person. When she saw him speak to others, he was always kind and charming, but she had learned to see through that false persona, sense his deceit. She wasn’t feeling it now. This wasn’t the mask he wore to cover his evil; this was a whole other side to him. She had felt this before, when she saw his photo album. Helena tried to resist, but any willpower she built up just poured out of her like a colander.
“Fine.”
She moved to the edge of the pool and climbed out. Walking to the diving board, she realized as if for the first time that she was naked. Sure, she had been naked this whole time, but at least she had to water to hide herself with! But on the other hand, Xavier was right when he said that he had already seen her like this.
‘I guess it really isn’t that big a deal.’
She stepped onto the diving board and again felt a small twinge of nervousness, realizing she had basically put herself on display for Xavier like a trophy. She shook those thoughts away and cleared her mind, trying to focus on how she was going to do this. She dared a glance at him. The smile he was wearing was warm, supportive, and sent a rush through her. She again tried to push these strange feelings away, and after a quick hop to built up energy, she leapt off the board. She was far from graceful and hit the water before she even knew what she had to do.