Celeste Peters

Even though Marc's sudden movement toward me came as a surprise, I remained soundless as we dropped with a splash into the clear blue water. Slight coldness envelops the back of my body and scalp, while the front of my body remains deliciously, spine-tingly, warm.

Marc's strong arms tighten around me before we both surface for air. I wrap my legs firmly around his torso, my heart beating so fast it feels unnatural against my ribs. It might be his heartbeat mixed with mine. With one arm around his broad shoulder, I move the slicked wet hair out of my face with the other.

"Celeste! Celeste! We saw lions today!" Laila yells out to us, running with her sister to the shallow side of the pool where there are large steps leading into the water. She and Nina are holding hands, and are in their animal print swimsuits—Laila in a pink flamingo one, and Nina in a zebra one.

Heat fills my cheeks as I register more of what's happening. I'm still mostly naked, with my boobs now smashed against Marc's chest. They're covering the tattoo over his heart that I couldn't really read when he was standing in front of me earlier and I wish I could just lean back and see it, study it. Only a small scrap of swimsuit separates my most sensitive part from Marc's solid ten out of ten abs. I'm not kidding, when I first saw him shirtless moments ago, I nearly took my swimsuit bottoms off and begged him to just fuck me already.

But I can't think like that now with his daughters seconds away from finding me topless, straddling their dad tightly like I'm a monkey in heat.

He's treading toward the side of the pool with his back toward the girls and me facing them over his shoulder. Our rapid heartbeats are still beating hard against each other. "That's amazing! How many lions were there?" I finally respond back to Laila.

"There were two! They were so cute!" Laila says. The girls are now ankle deep in the water. They must think this type of touching between Marc and I is normal in a pool because they don't seem to pay any mind to what's happening.

Marc's breathing hard and leans down to the side of my cheek. At first I think he's going to kiss me and a zap of pleasure runs down my spine, but then he whispers hoarsely in my ear, "Get on my back, and grab your top. You can put it on behind me."

My fingertips register the goosebumps on his shoulders and I nod. I start moving to his back, my breasts gliding against him in the process to keep myself hidden from the girls, and my stomach doing somersaults. His breathing becomes more uneven as I move. Every part of him is taut, smooth, and manly. I wrap my legs and arms around him from behind as casually as possible, despite the thundering in my chest.

"That's amazing! T-two lions?" I say to Laila from behind Marc as I subtly grab my bikini top from the edge of the pool with shaky hands. Marc wraps his large hands around my thighs to keep me in place, and the touch shoots heat up my legs.

"Ms. Celeste! The water isn't so cold! You don't need to hang on to Daddy. It helps to swim around a bit to warm up," Nina says as she starts swimming toward us.

Oh my God, she's so cute, it hurts!

I finish tying my swimsuit behind Marc just in the nick of time and Nina grabs on to his shoulders from the front. "Dad, you are so warm! Hug me!" she says.

"Wait! I'm coming!" Laila starts swimming toward us and I have yet to release myself from Marc. Or maybe he's yet to release me? His hands are still firmly planted on my thighs, even though the swish of my swimsuit tie signaled I'm done covering up. And I don't really want to let go. It's like his skin is enriching lotion that my skin is now eagerly drinking up.

Marc's laugh rumbles through his chest and it's like a warm blanket around my heart. "Do I look like a flotation device?" he says teasingly to his daughters who are giggling as they grab on to him. Laila is on his arm and Nina is hanging around his neck, while I'm on his back—my new favorite place to be. We're all holding on and laughing as Marc starts swimming over to the shallow end, pretending to shake us off. "I think I need to see a doctor to get these giant moles on my body removed." We all start laughing even harder and band together to hold on tight. Once he reaches the shallow end, he stands up with all three of us still on him and now out of the water.

"Alright let's see here, who should I remove first?" He tickles Laila and she shrieks. Nina grabs on to my hand, her little eyes growing wide in amused horror with fat droplets of water hanging on to her eyelashes. She squeezes tight as Marc grabs Laila and flings her into the air in front of him. She lands with a splash across the pool and Nina squeals beside me. "Who's next?" Marc says menacingly.

"Not me! Not me!" Nina's pleas go to waste as Marc grabs her with ease and throws her toward her sister who watches with pure joy. Another big splash and I squeeze around him tighter knowing I'm up next.

"I seem to have a really big mole behind me. Can you girls help me get it off?" he asks once Nina's head bobs up from the water.

The girl's race back and their small fingers start to tickle my sides. "Get her, Dad!" Laila says.

"I don't think you'll be able to get this mole off," I say challengingly to Marc through my laughs.

"I think I can handle it," he replies. And like some sort of fuckin' ninja, he somehow maneuvers me in front of him and lifts me up with ease, as if I weigh two pounds. His large hands grasped onto my sides send waves of awareness throughout my body. He hurls me in the air, despite me trying my damndest best to hold on.

I yelp out as the girls splash around in excitement and I land back in the water. Bobbing up for air, I find Marc's beaming face with dimples fully on display. He's so freaking handsome. I swim back to him, trying to ignore the pull to wrap around him again. Sadly, the time to touch his body feels like it has now passed.

He's now throwing the girls in the air and I start helping him. After a couple of minutes of playful throwing, Laila swims to me and jumps on my back. She leans her head over my shoulder. "We missed you, Ms. Celeste."

"I missed you too, Laila! You guys came home so early! Everything go okay at the zoo?"

"Nina peed on herself!" Laila says from behind me as Nina jumps on Marc's shoulders.

"You did too!" Nina fires back.

"Only a little. You couldn't really see it," Laila says.

"They didn't have a change of clothes at the gift shop or anything?" I ask, glancing at Marc who has a tinge of red covering his cheeks. I'm not sure if it's from the sun shining over us or from him being embarrassed. Either way he's cute.

"I didn't even think of that," Marc says a little remorsefully.

"That's okay!" I say back warmly, trying to sound as encouraging as possible. "At least you got to see lions! I bet you girls were most excited about them."

Marc gives me a look that makes my stomach beat in time with my heart. He now has this subtle smile over his lips, as if he's pleased with what I just said.

"We didn't just see lions! We saw monkeys, and leevers too!" Laila says.

"Leevers? I've not heard of that animal." I tilt my head to Laila.

"Lemurs," Marc corrects her.

"Ahh," I say before giggling.

"Dad, can we go on the water slide now?" Nina asks.

"Oh, shit. I forgot to turn it on," Marc says.

"Ooooooooo! Daddy said a bad word!" The girls tease and taunt him and I can't help crack up and join them.

"Marc, we may need to wash your mouth out with soap!" I throw a hand to my chest as if I'm a high society woman who's been offended.

"Says the pot to the kettle," he teases back as he lifts himself out of the pool.

My responding laugh is cut short, and I watch the water ripple down Marc's tanned backside to his black swim trunks. Holy fuck, the view of his wet, muscled back in the sunlight is doing all sorts of things to my abdomen. He has two subtle dimples on his lower back that I could major in if I ever went to college, along with a minor in whatever the tattoo on his chest says.

He lifts a panel on the side of the slide and presses a switch. Gurgling sounds fill the air and then soon, water starts streaming down the white slide. The girls are already out of the pool and start racing up the steps to get to the top of the water slide. I get out too and catch Marc's eyes grazing down my body as I move toward him. More flutters fill me, and I openly check him out too as he stands frozen near the panel.

When our eyes meet, I'm reminded that he came home early. "Hey, are you okay? Like the whole leaving the zoo early thing. I feel like that might've been stressful."

"Yeah, it was rough. I had no idea what to do and they couldn't stop crying. But, I'm glad we came home earlier. Things are better now," he says pointedly with a smile, as if it has something to do with me.

Giddiness overtakes me and I smile back. "I'm glad you guys did too. But I'm still proud of you for going. You crushed it, pee or no pee."

He chuckles and glides a piece of hair out of my face. The touch is so sweet, so personal, I'm left breathless for a moment. "Thanks," he says, bringing his arm back down.

Little bodies on the slide next to us swoosh past and the girls land with a splash into the pool. Nina jumps into the air, barely leaving time for herself to breathe as she calls out, "Dad! Celeste! Did you see us?"

"We did! You girls went so fast!" I reply.

"It's your turn! We'll catch you," Laila says.

"No. What have I told you girls about catching people? Only the adults you're with can do that," Marc says. "Have you been on a waterslide before?" he asks me.

I shake my head. "Never, and I'm so flipping excited!" Without wasting another second, I ditch him and run up the steps. I've been wanting to go on this water slide for so long! I get to the top and hop on. Instantly the jet stream of water propels me forward. I slide down in a loop before being spit out into the pool. The girls are squealing as I come up for air and they're already out of the pool, running back up for another go. 

"No running!" Marc calls out after them.

We spend the rest of the afternoon playing—each taking turns on the slide and going through games like Marco Polo and Chicken Fight. During our time at the pool, I forget about everything—everything that's going on in my life and everything about who I am. For a moment, it feels like I am a part of this family and they genuinely enjoy spending time with me. It feels amazing to be around them, and just this once I'll let myself feel it all, every healing drop.