Wet black cotton panties

Wednesday, 7 October

The weather continues variable. Yesterday it was windy and cold, horrid really. Salt spray whipped up in the Bay and blew against my windows. Half the chairs in the terrace were blown across against the garden wall. Mother said the table tipped over once and the umbrella which is canvas over a wooden frame went over and carried the table with it till it landed in the flower beds and the wooden umbrella frame broke. As I write Daddy has it down in the garage to glue it.

Then, of course, today was warm, hot really, still, sunny and hot. I ran into the house with Jessy and Josie and we all started getting out of our clothes like we did the other day. Only this time the competition was even fiercer! I had the skirt and my top off by the time I got out the back doors and Jessy was tripping over her panties as she skipped down to the pool. Her friend Josie, however, beat us both and bounded spread-legged, mid-stride, into the middle of the pool. I gave it over and dove in with my panties still on. Those two laughed but really I didn't care. I've done it before, you know.

To make good on my promise I just began swimming my laps from where I came up. I always swim true competitive crawl stroke, with a combination flutter/scissors kick that my father taught me about ten years ago. And I do proper flip-turns at each end, every twelve and a half metres. Josie said she was impressed and actually tried to stay with me for a few laps, but she gave it over and ended up lounging in the corner with Josie.

When Mother got back with little Lisa they came out onto the terrace. Jessy told her about my frustration at not getting out my my panties fast enough and Mother just laughed. Then Lisa accepted the dare-- who dared her, no-one knows! --and undressed right there beside the pool. Josie cheered her on. She and Josie have a kind of unspoken symbiosis, as though they are twin sisters of different mothers, somehow. Lisa adores her and Josie is always doting to Lisa, making her feel welcome as one of us even though she's ten years younger and gets scarcely any of our references. Lisa does things-- like this for example-- as a way of earning Josie's respect and acceptance, the same way she does to gain Jessy's. That leaves me to be the 'wet blanket' always keeping the others in line, but they do heed me when I have some sense to say and we're never at opposite ends of anything where propriety is concerned.

After my 25 laps I rested in the other corner of the pool. I really should have timed myself because I really think my time today was better than most. I stopped timing myself long ago-- there really isn't any point. I don't compete any more and am probably too old to join the high-school team now. And I'm not going to focus on sport at university.

We lolled round the pool till it started to cool off too much and then all repaired to Jessy's room for the usual Facebooking and Twittering. I have not updated my Facebook in ages and actually dared to put on some of the pics we took last time we jumped into the pool like that-- of course we're naked in the pics but they don't show anything terrible! Some colleges look at that, you know. I went on MySpace and responded to the usual email requests. One girl from Connecticut told me she had seen me at the Shore this past summer and wanted to know where I shop. Another girl who is 14 asked me if I have ever done any babysitting for strangers. Many of the others asked me what my plans are for attending concerts this fall and I did tell her about Hey Monday coming to Philadelphia. I dispensed my usual brand of long-winded advice and updated the page with a few dates and stuff. That's the kind of thing I get, you know... thanks to Daddy of course.

Oh, and I did get out of the wet panties and put on some dry ones, and a flannie as a cover-up, for supper when Daddy came home. Josie stayed and then her mother collected her after we had played Pictionary with Lisa. That's the kind of thing I prefer to do... thanks to myself, of course.

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