At the motel, he found her in a poolside setting lifted straight off a Florida postcard: a lounge chair by a palm tree, a green bikini, sunglasses and a floppy straw hat. She even had the requisite one-knee-drawn-up pose.
She didn't look bad. The unforgiving bikini provided no place to hide physical flaws yet presented no problem for her body. The bikini top was crowded but borderline respectable. The scanty bottom, however, belonged on some topless rollerblader down at South Beach.
Loraine had put it all there to be looked at.
The pool area, circled by the small three-story motel, wasn't crowded. November was warm though still too early for many snowbirds. A young mother waded with her three children at the far end. Across the pool, two women sat on the edge talking and dangling their feet in the water. A balding, overweight man had strategically located himself in the center of the pool in line with Loraine's legs and was enjoying what he considered his good luck. A bikini can unlock a lot of imagination. She noticed but ignored the sneaky peeks.
After greetings, Ray sat on the edge of a lounge chair facing her. Up close for the first time in daylight, he noticed the lines across her forehead. Her nose seemed more pointed, and she was even older than he had supposed at the party. He chalked it up to the wine then and the bright Florida sun now. She had tied her red hair back. Oversized sunglasses hid those unflinching pale green eyes.
He felt this calm poolside scene didn't match her frantic phone call. "What's this all about, Loraine?"
"I enjoyed last week at your place. I'm glad we hooked up."
"Yes, it was fun. I never expected a follow-up call." He started to relax, must have overreacted. How bad could the situation be? She was there lounging about poolside as carefree as a puppy. "You sounded as though you needed help. You didn't mention this poolside event and the green bikini."
"Chartreuse."
"Really kind of skimpy isn't it?"
"Yes, glad you like it." She moved her sunglasses down on her nose and looked over at him. "First time I've worn it. It's a thong in the back. Here...I'll show you."
"No! Stay still. Don't move anything." So much skin made him uncomfortable. He glanced around quickly to see who else was taking an interest. A young man with a towel around his neck appeared and sat innocently a few chairs away. Ray guessed soon another man and then another, would show up to enjoy looking at the pool. He began to think he had given her too much credit for being clever.