Jack had to go to class in the afternoon. "Sorry," he said to Kelsey, his arm around her waist.

"Great," she replied with a laugh. "I need you here, and you're off to carouse with the Three Skankiteers."

"The what? The who?" Marian asked, nearly spitting out her iced tea.

They were sitting in the bleachers, taking a union mandated break.

"Man, one of these days you're going to meet them and call them that to their faces," Jack foretold, shaking his head. "You're going to be so embarrassed, and I'm not going to be even a little bit sorry for you." He leaned in and kissed her cheek. "And for the record, no carousing of any kind is going to be happening, I want you to know. It's all going to be note taking and answering questions about how laws and society changed after the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire."

He turned to Marian. "So I'll see you at six?" They were going to meet for dinner. Kelsey had to stay and film until well into the night, because they only had the venue for a limited number of days.

Marian nodded.

Jack took off, hopping lightly down the steps, balancing effortlessly on the balls of his feet, his athlete's reflexes propelling him to the bottom as if flying. He turned and waved before heading to his car.

Kelsey, who was sitting on the bleacher above Marian, watched uneasily as the other woman smiled and waved to the man she loved. Her smile seemed awfully broad, her wave very enthusiastic, to be giving to someone else's boyfriend. But maybe this was common in RW. RW stood for "Real World," and was something Kelsey frequently said in her head to remind herself that Hollywood and the craziness that surrounded it wasn't how most people lived.

Marian turned to Kelsey, her smile remaining in place. "He's such a nice guy. You're lucky, Kelsey."

Kelsey nodded. "I know," she said. "I didn't even know guys like him existed, you know? I've only been around show business types for so long."

Marian put a hand on Kelsey's knee. "When I said you were lucky, I didn't mean--I wasn't trying to imply--about last summer--I--"

Kelsey put her hand on top of Marian's. "I know," she said again. "It's okay. I know what you meant."

Someone called the break over the PA, and the two women rose to head back to the pool deck.

Kelsey got her cap on and jumped in the pool to get wet again before filming began. She reflected as she got out that it was a good thing she'd spent all those years modeling, if for no other reason than she was now nearly immune to how she looked to most other people. Part of being an actor was being willing to put yourself out there, being willing to go there, without shame or embarrassment.

Even after her assault, Kelsey was able to put aside her self-consciousness when it was time to work and lose herself in her part. It was only when she saw or felt Jack's eyes on her that she landed back in her body again, and considered how she looked to him as a woman, as a female creature with a curvy body.

"Lookin' good, Kels," one of the crew called as he walked by.

"Stop, Frank, you'll turn my head," she returned cheerfully, waving a dismissive hand at him.

****************

"So how was our girl?" Jack asked after they'd placed their orders. They were in a small Italian bistro on Sunset.

Marian took a sip of her wine and nodded. "She was doing great when I left," she said. "Starting to get a little pruney, maybe, from all the time she spent in the water, but otherwise okay."

Jack smiled. "Yeah, nothing can really prepare you for spending that much time in a pool, I suppose."

"It definitely takes some getting used to, even for us swimmers," Marian agreed. "But she's spent most of her life being looked at, so at least that's not hard for her, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Well, for some people, it's hard to be the only person in a soaking wet racing suit, especially when you're the focus of everyone there?" Marian took another drink of her wine. "There must be fifty people on deck, most of them guys, all of them there for the sole purpose of pointing cameras at her and recording her every move." Marian shook her head. "I mean, even when I was at the Olympics, with all that attention on me, there were seven other girls for people to look at, and we were being viewed as athletes. I hope we were, at least."

She looked at Jack over the rim of her glass. "You know, I had a glass before you got here, maybe it's making me say some strange things. Never mind, let's just change the subject, okay?"

But Jack was shaking his head, hazel eyes boring into Marian's. "No, it's okay. Like you said, we're both swimmers, we know what's what. We've spent our lives up on the blocks wearing little wisps of lycra, which, let's face it, were usually more revealing than if we'd been standing there wearing nothing at all." He shrugged. "Like you said, we got used to doing it, and seeing it, but it can be difficult for regular people."

Marian licked her lips and finally sighed. "Well, that's just it, Jack. I don't think it's that hard for Kelsey, that's all I'm saying." She set her glass down. "Usually regular people are really, really embarrassed about being on display like that? But she seemed fine, and maybe that comes from her experience as a model." Marian shrugged. "She was a lingerie model, too, right?" At Jack's slight nod, she continued. "So she's probably used to it, and maybe even likes it, who knows?"

Jack, finally catching the drift of what she was trying so carefully to say, sat back and crossed his arms. "She's just doing her job," he said, blinking.

"No, I know that," Marian rushed to say, raising her hands in a pacifying gesture. "I was just surprised, especially after everything that's happened to her, that she could be so comfortable with so many people, so many strangers, really, seeing her. I would've thought she'd be more, um, careful, wary, you know? That's all I'm saying. She just seemed to enjoy the attention," Marian finally said unwillingly.

Their food arrived, and they spent a few minutes get getting situated, though Jack's appetite had disappeared. All he could think about was his Kelsey, standing on the blocks, long legs, beautiful back and shoulders, perfect, 34B breasts, on display for the crew to see. Which was ridiculous because she'd been on display pretty much nonstop since the age of fourteen, and in much less, for many more people. Basically the entire world, if the truth be told. She'd been doing it since long before she was "his" Kelsey, in fact.

He swallowed his pasta with difficulty, and looked over at Marian. She looked back at him, full of sympathy and apology.

"I'm so sorry, Jack," she said, putting a hand on his forearm. "I've ruined your meal, and I didn't mean to."

Jack shook his head. "I know that. Don't worry about it, it's not your fault. You're just telling the truth."

"Maybe you should talk to her," Marian suggested. "Just tell her how it looks to other people."

"But then she'll know we've been talking about her," Jack said, shaking his head again. "It's none of my business. This is her job, her career, she knows what to do, how to behave on a set," he concluded.

"You're right," Marian said. "Let's just drop the whole thing, okay? Forget I mentioned it." She drained her wine glass, and an obliging waiter came and filled it again.

"So, you never drink?" Marian asked.

Jack shook his head. "I mean, I've drunk alcohol before, and I've even been drunk before, just the one time, and it was enough for me." He smiled ruefully. "It was pretty awful, what I can remember of it, I mean."

"What happened?" Marian asked. "I mean, may I ask?"

Jack shrugged, a little boy gesture that was completely charming. "I guess. I was at a party, and I got in a fight with Kelsey, and I had a few drinks to get back at her, and I wasn't used to alcohol, obviously, so it didn't take much to get me good and polluted, you know?"

"You got in a fight?" Marian repeated. "That's hard to picture." She laughed. "You seem so easygoing, I mean." She nudged his leg with her foot under the table. "Was Kelsey mean to you? You can tell me."

"Well, yeah, let's just say that it was all her fault, okay?" Jack said with a grin, crinkling his eyes. "So I ended up back at my house with two girls I'd just met that night, and I woke up the next morning with basically no memory of the night before after the car ride home."

"Yikes." Marian made a face of sympathy. "That doesn't sound good, Jack. And it also doesn't sound like you at all. I mean, haven't I heard the guys at the pool call you 'Choir Boy Jack'?" Marian had begun working out with Jack's team the week before.

Jack nodded, abashed. "Not my finest moment, I'll admit," he said, flashing a grin Marian's way. "Luckily, nothing happened, and Kelsey forgave me, so no permanent harm was done, except to my head and ego. I'm pretty sure I lost a few million brain cells that night."

"Kelsey forgave you? What do you mean?" Marian sounded confused. "I thought you said it was 'all her fault'?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I should qualify that, I guess. Bad things, wrong things, were said and done on both sides that night," he concluded, taking a drink of water. "The upshot is that this boy Jack does not drink," he announced, setting his glass down with a smile that reached his eyes.

"Spoken like a future lawyer," Marian laughed. "Or maybe a politician, I don't know."

Jack laughed very loudly at that, proclaiming, "Never, never will I be a politician."

They said good night in the parking lot, and as they did, Marian impulsively leaned in and kissed Jack on the cheek.

He leaned back, smiling, surprised and maybe a little pleased.

"Thanks for tonight, Jack," Marian said, looking at the ground between them. "You don't know, but I've kind of been having a rough time lately, and being with you made me forget for a little while, so thanks for that. It was really nice, I had a really nice time." She finally looked up at him and smiled.

"Me too," Jack responded, taking her hand and giving it a squeeze. "See you tomorrow."

He drove home, musing over all they'd talked about, wondering whether or not he should say anything to Kelsey about any of it.

He walked in and found her sitting in the warm glow of the lamp, looking over tomorrow's scenes, wearing his old shirt and looking positively ethereal. Oldies played softly in the background.

She glanced up, expression soft with fatigue, eyes gentle as they landed on him. She rose and walked into his arms as Sam Cooke's "(What A) Wonderful World" began to play, and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world for them to move together to it, to come together and dance.

Jack put an arm around her waist, and let one hand rest on her beautiful bent neck, resting his cheek on her hair. He could feel her soft breasts pressing on his front, her warm exhalations on his collarbones, her arms around his shoulders and under his hair.

"Hey, you smell like me," he said with a soft laugh. He hugged her even closer, which made it almost, but not quite, impossible to dance to Sam.

Kelsey shook her head slightly. "I know," she replied, her voice muffled. "Get used to it, coach, because this is me for the next couple weeks."

"Works for me," Jack replied.

They danced in silence for a few beats, listening to the words of the beautiful song.

"But I do know that I love you
And I know that if you love me too
What a wonderful world it would be"

"Jack," Kelsey whispered, rubbing her hips into him in the most exquisite way, "is that an, um, banana in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

"Please," Jack replied, "it's at least a watermelon, and I'm ecstatic to see you." He grasped her hair and pulled it back, lifting her head so he could kiss her deeply and long.

"Yum," she murmured when they finally stopped for air, jumping lightly onto him, wrapping her legs around his waist, smiling.

"You want me to take you somewhere?" he asked, smiling back at her as if surprised to find her face to face with him.

"Yes," she said, nodding, smiling. "Yes, Jack, take me, take me."