The Pool Guy Came Tuesdays, and by July It Wasn't the Pool novel · Chapter 21 of 24
Chapter 21: The Monsoon Table
Joelle's POV
The storm came in from the south at four on Friday, a purple wall with lightning in it.
I stood under the pergola with a glass of wine and watched it cross the golf course.
The air went still and sweet and green.
I heard the truck at the curb.
I didn't turn around.
"It's Friday," Nico said from the side gate.
"I know what day it is."
"I'm supposed to be on Shea Boulevard," he said.
"And yet."
He came across the deck in his polo and work shorts, with his hair flat to his forehead and his ears already red.
The first gust hit the pergola, and the slats rattled, and a patio chair went over.
"We should go inside," he said.
"We should," I said. "Take off your shirt."
He took it off.
He stood in front of me bare-chested in the green light, and the wind pulled at his curls.
I put my glass down on the long teak table under the pergola.
It was a slatted table, eight feet long, with gaps between the boards and a smooth silvery surface.
I had never once sat at it.
"On the table," I said. "On your back."
"Joelle, it's going to pour."
"Then you'll get wet."
He looked at the sky and at me.
Then he climbed up and lay down on the teak, with his head near the end and his feet hanging over the other side.
The wind blew a few warm drops across his chest.
"Tuesday I let you drive," I said. "I'm taking it back."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Hands over your head. Hold the edge."
He reached back and gripped the end of the table with both hands.
I stepped out of my sandals and my dress.
Lightning flickered across the valley, and I felt the thunder in my feet before I heard it.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–6 of The Pool Guy Came Tuesdays, and by July It Wasn't the Pool are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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