On her way to the motel room, Lyla passed the pool, practically empty except for a middle-aged couple and their noisy toddlers.

Why go back to that smelly room?

She pushed open the wrought iron gate to the pool, spread her towel on a lounge chair, and reclined in the warm sun. She closed her eyes and inhaled the familiar, comforting odor of fabric softener embedded in her towel.

A SPLASH startled her. When she opened her eyes she discovered two tattooed hands gripping the edge of the pool. She sat up abruptly, her eyes wide behind her sunglasses.

A guy bobbed out of the water. "Didn't mean to splash you. Sorry." He turned and swam toward the shallow end where he met his kids.

She dabbed the water from her legs and lay back on the recliner. Exhaustion had finally caught up with her, and within minutes, she dozed off.

She opened her eyes to the handsome face of Jack looking down at her. He leaned in and kissed her gently.

"Where's Carissa?" she whispered.

He smiled. "Don't worry about her."

"I'm dreaming." She yawned.

He flashed his smile and kissed her again. "You should go back to sleep."

She squinted against the sun at Jack. "I want to be with you." She looped her arms around his neck.

"You need sleep," he whispered. "You can't go on like this."

"I'm okay."

"It's hot." He wiped the perspiration from his forehead. "I'm gonna cool off in the pool."

When he peeled the T-shirt over his head she couldn't help but stare. His broad shoulders and chest were slightly sunburned pink.

"You want some lotion?" She found a bottle in her bag. "You're getting too much sun."

"Sure." He squatted beside the lounge chair. She squeezed a dollop of lotion into her hands and applied it to his shoulders and upper back. As her hands moved back and forth, up and down, she could feel the musculature of his buff body.

"You got soft hands," he sighed. He walked to the edge of the cement lip and dove gracefully into the pool, breaking the water with barely a splash.

Lyla rubbed lotion onto her arms.

With an inviting smile, he called, "Come in with me."

She surveyed the area for Carissa. Not a single Spring-Breaker in sight.

The middle-aged couple packed up their kids' toys and herded the toddlers out of the pool area, the kids protesting to no avail.

"Come on," Jack chuckled, showing off his dimples. "We got the whole place to ourselves."