Arms around each other they walk toward the sauna and jacuzzi room at the end of the ap, calling for Tash and Angela.

“Want to jacuzzi?” Virginia asks Jim.

“Sure,” he says coolly.

They follow Sandy and Erica and Tash and Angela and Rose and Gabriela and Humphrey and one or two others down the hall and into the Jacuzzi room. Sandy snaps on light, water heater, sauna heater, water jets. The room is hot, humid, filled with Angela’s most tropical houseplants, hanging in a network of macramé. Redwood decking, redwood walls, domed skylight, big blue ceramic tile Jacuzzi bath: yes, Sandy and Angela live a good life. They go into the changing rooms and strip.

Of course they do this often at Sandy’s place, social nudity is casual and no big deal at all. That’s why Jim’s left eye has gotten stuck looking straight into his nose, from trying to watch both Virginia and Erica undress at the same time. Surreptitious knuckle in there to free the poor thing, for more looking you bet; video saturation has trained Jim, like everyone else, to a fine appreciation of the female image. Now when arms are crossed and those blouses come over those heads in a single fluid motion, breasts falling free, hair shaken out all over shoulders, the men exhale a happy connoisseur’s sigh. No doubt the women get a little peak in the readout too, moment of pseudotaboo exhibitionism here, quite a thrill just to Take It All Off in Front of Everybody, whoah, besides here’s all these wrestler/surfer muscles everywhere.… But it’s a casual scene, sure, of course, obviously.

Naked, they go out into the Jacuzzi room and step into the bath. Rose and Gabriela, long-time allies, duck each other under the hot water. Steam and laughter fill the room. Debbie Riggs, Humphrey’s sister, comes in to find out what the noise is all about. The water’s too hot for Virginia and she sits dripping on the decking beside Jim. They all talk.

Bodies. Wet skin over muscles. We all know the shapes.

Ruddy light breaks in wet curls of hair.

Wrestlers’ bodies, swimmers’ bodies, surfers’ bodies, spa bodies.

Tall breasts, full from the collarbones down.

Cocks float in the bubbles, snaking here and there, hello? hello?

Hello?

Curled pubic hair: equilateral eye magnets.

Blink blink, blink blink, blink blink (in the brain).