Summer '69 // Chapter 6

All three of them enjoyed the refreshing water. The waterfall’s cascade made their plunge pool swim a churning, effervescent experience, and they all dove under the water, touched bottom and tried handstands, swam beneath the heavy cascade but got beaten down by the water pressure, coming up laughing and determined to try again. The churning water removed the water’s translucence, and it was easy to forget they were all naked. After a while, even Oro appeared more at ease. His great laugh and fun smile returned.

Ari knew what was missing and he swam to shore, leaving Oro and Rebecca splashing each other with hand shoveled water, laughing and cackling. When his hands scraped the rocky bottom, he went on all fours then crouched, knowing his erection had subsided but wanting to check before he turned around where the other two could see him. The excitement of it all had hardened him, but once they were swimming, he’d become adjusted. All was good. His dick had gone down but stayed plumped, making it look quite all right—not like what Oro had, but nothing to be ashamed about. Except of course the bright coin-sized red blotches from the bug bites. At least the cool water had soothed him.

With that out of his mind, he relaxed, strode to the spot on the beach where they’d dumped all their stuff, pivoted and sat down cross-legged, hoisting up the transistor and setting it on a calf, working the dial. Their radio was a bright red Realtone, all the way from the Land of the Rising Sun; it had been Rebecca’s sister’s, and served them well, though the AM dial didn’t light up anymore. Ari turned it on and thumbed the dial through static until he found the station with the Spanish music they’d been listening to in the truck. He put out the radio’s kickstand and set it on the beach, facing out toward Oro and Rebecca in the water, Oro chasing Rebecca now, Rebecca disappearing under the water and Oro guessing where she would pop up again.

The excitement he felt watching Oro and Rebecca together was stark and unexpected. It was kind of like when he watched them dance together. They looked so damn good. Oro could dance. Man, and he brought out so much fun and joy from Rebecca that Ari couldn’t, what with the two left feet and all. But now they were naked. Buck naked under the water. Oro was a good young man. Like when Rebecca’s boob bopped out of her dress the other night, Oro looked away. It was a safe feeling he felt, despite this crazy kind of jealous lust that was growing hotter inside him. Oro had probably caught another glimpse today of Rebecca’s bounty. They’d been respectful with each other’s nudity, but, hey man, your eyes just kind of wandered sometimes. We’re all human. And what if Rebecca got a glimpse of that jungle python Oro sported. What the hell would his pale suburban princess think of something like that? Much as he hated to admit it, he was pretty sure the sight of it would turn his wife on. These damn bug bites. That deep hunger started to growl in him, and he couldn’t wait to get her back to their pad and do the deed with her. Too bad sex was off the menu for the time being.

Yeah, Rebecca would take another look at Oro’s penis. She would probably think she was mistaken the first glance and look again to confirm it. Once confirmed, what would Rebecca’s sex drive do? It was funny. Just the other day they’d made that joke about him getting bug bites all over his pecker on purpose so it would be bigger. It had just been a little joke, but look where they’d ended up, practically in a situation where the bug bites manifested a larger phallus for Rebecca’s enjoyment. But hang on a sec here—what the heck was he thinking? What an odd place for a husband’s thoughts to travel. He knew where it came from though. Rebecca’s little sister Abby had gone to a huge music festival upstate—even Joni Mitchell was going to be there—and Abby had gone full counter-culture away at college. Free love, freak flag, groovy; the whole deal. Abby had been such a sweet teenager, but now she was at NYU, and NYU was different from when he and Rebecca had been there—though they’d seen the changes coming. Ari’d talked to Rebecca’s mom on the phone, and she’d asked Ari some of the scarier questions she wouldn’t ask Rebecca for fear of frightening her good daughter. How’d she put it? “What is free love, Ari? What does that mean?” What it means, Mrs. Goldblum, is that now you’ve put the image in my head of my pretty little sis-in-law writhing around on a bed in a tangle of shaggy college boys.

Ari chuckled to himself and reached past the radio to the zippered pouch he’d brought. Inside the pouch was the surprise reefer he’d found inside the record player the other night. He brought out the baggie and a Zig-Zag sheaf and set himself to rolling, sitting up naked and cross-legged.

Here’s the thing: Rebecca wasn’t Abby. Hell, Abby wasn’t even Abby, not for real. The girl was just trying out a scene and looking to fit in. Rebecca was definitely not that kind of girl. Sure, she loved sex and all—like, really loved it—but she was the straight-laced daughter of...

Shit, just like Abby.

Yeah, but Abby wasn’t really into free love and all that, was she?

Man, he guessed, you never knew.

* * *

Rebecca popped up close to the waterfall, and the sound of the crashing water was so loud she couldn’t hear the transistor anymore.

But Oro was onto her, popping up almost five feet away and shoving a ton of water at her, making her laugh and gag on a mouthful of water, putting up a hand in self-defense. Oro had the greatest laugh, deep and honest, and she’d never heard him have such a good time as they were having now. Even more than when they danced together. And she got it. They were naked and they shouldn’t be, and yet, somehow, it was all okay. And that felt so free. So damn liberating. She kind of couldn’t wait to tell the girls at home all about it.

No time for that reverie right now; she was taking on water and Oro would sink her soon if she didn’t dive, dive, dive, man. Then she was gone, toes pointing straight down, sinking to the bottom, launching up and out, headed to shore this time.

She came up closer to Ari, waving to him, giving him a thumb’s up for getting the radio on. He said something but she couldn’t hear him and he waved her closer. Oro popped up behind her, but refrained from bombing her with water. She shouted out to Ari, smiling now she saw he had a joint rolled. Oro didn’t partake, but she sure as hell wouldn’t mind. It was turning out to be a greater day than even expected.

But when she got closer, she realized Oro was right behind her and she was naked and she could either stand up or kind of stay on all fours like a dog with all her lady parts pointed right at him. A funny feeling squirmed up from her middle and she had to flex her thighs to brace against a strange shudder that passed through her. She asked Ari to say it again and now they were further from the waterfall she could hear him well.

“I said, it’s shower time,” Ari said, eyes narrowed and holding up their bar of soap, smoke trailing from his nostrils.

“Toss it.” She held up two hands to catch the bar, staying under the water on her knees.

“We got one bar, babe, I’m not tossing it and risk losing it in the churn.”

“There’s no churn, Ari. Just toss me the soap.”

Ari showed her with his expression he would do no such thing. She would have to stand. Stand naked in front of Oro.

And yet despite how shameful that seemed, something in Ari’s proposition was revealing. Her husband didn’t mind her standing naked in front of Oro. Didn’t mind if Oro saw his wife naked.

And, hell, this wasn’t Long Island. This was a whole different world from where they grew up.

But all that was were sweet whispers meant to veneer the luscious truth behind it all. She wanted to stand up naked in front of Oro. She wanted Oro to see her naked body.

Why the hell would she want something so taboo? So forbidden.

Sweetest fruit that taboo fruit, she figured.

“All right,” she said, hoping Oro wouldn’t be offended by the sight of her naked body—but knowing their polite friend would look away if he was. He’d done it just the other night.

She stood and held out her hands to catch the soap.

Ari looked her naked body up and down. It aroused her. She showed him a steady face, like he wasn’t going to dominate her with this soap game.

Ari’s eyes went to her side and she heard splashing water, the sound of Oro standing as well.

“Ari,” she said, wagging her held-out hands to receive the soap.

“Just come and get it,” Ari said.

She put her hands on her hips, one hip out. “Aren’t you coming to shower, anyway?”

“I’m cool right now,” he said, reefer in one hand, the other out and offering her the soap.

“You’re not coming with me?” Who would wash her back for her?

Now Ari offered the soap toward her side, saying, “Oro, would you take the soap, please? Rebecca’s being difficult.”

Oro chuckled, striding past her, timid but obliging to Ari. Her eyes traveled to the side on their own, watching Oro’s gleaming wet and lean, muscular body. His physique was gorgeous, more so in the bright sun. His tush was perfect. Her eyes went up to the blue sky.

Spanish music played through waves of static and the sun burned on her shoulders. That heavy feeling sagged lower in her tummy; her heartbeat kicked up a notch and something else happened. Arousal. Wow. She could feel it begin to throb through her, drying her mouth, focusing her vision into sharp clarity. She lowered her gaze again, watching Oro’s dark hand take the bright white soap from Ari, watching him stand upright and turn toward her. Her eyes darted to Ari, trying to avoid indulging in a glimpse of Oro’s manhood.

But she couldn’t help it.

When she saw it, she looked away again, an anxious tension seizing her breath. Stunned. Hearing gone, ears like they were stuffed with cotton. Her eyes darted again, caught a split-second glimpse again before Oro passed her by, his penis a startling thing. It was long; long enough to beat against his thighs as he walked.

The sheer wrongness of a married woman regarding the sexual equipment of another man twisted what already frantic vibes of electric lust thrummed through her. The starkest, purest wash of high-test prurience slithered through her like a python through hot muck. Her ear lobes burned and her cheeks flushed and she did her best to hide from Ari the sexual shock she’d just endured before his eyes.

Ari cocked his head, smiling a strange and casual smile, smoke flowing from his nostrils. “Go get washed up, Rebecca. I’ll be along in a minute.”