Because his pool is untended and filthy, romance author Robert Fine needs to hire a pool boy for the summertime position at his estate. So at the beginning of summer, he places an ad for a pool boy to hire. Enter Kent Tacoma, an ex-Navy stud, handsome, who lands an interview. Almost immediately Robert enjoys his company and himself, hiring Kent on the spot. As Tacoma tends the pool, Robert cannot keep his hungry eyes off the young man. All he can think about is his desire. Unfortunately, Tacoma starts to break Robert’s house rules with a local bad boy named Katz Strong, Tacoma’s opposite. Soon a jealous Robert is convinced Tacoma is under Katz’s bad influence. As Tacoma pulls away from Robert and grows closer to Katz. Robert finds his rage building. Can’t the three men just get along? As summer comes to a close, Tacoma becomes the center of everyone’s attention. Whose heart will survive the heated summer?

The Pool Boy

Once at home, enjoying the air conditioning, I put the groceries away, filling the house again. Thereafter, I put light jazz on the stereo, showered, and shaved for a second time that day because I became sticky-hot with a heavy beard, and decided to take a short nap in a narrow library on the second floor, next to Tacoma’s bedroom. There, a room filled with numerous books and a comfortable and puffy lounge, I drifted off to sleep. And there, I dreamed:


Evening. I sported a light, summer robe made of cotton, reached for two wine glasses and a bottle of Zinfandel in the kitchen. I took a short walk down and over the cobblestone pathway that led to the East Garden and the pool area. Empty Adirondack chairs waited for me. Once there, among the tranquil and perfect summer evening, stars in the majestic looking sky, I spotted Tacoma floating in the pool on a slim raft.


Chapter 32