As Harmony crossed the circular drive, she noticed through the darkened living room window of Mick’s house, the lit pool, a shimmering blue that beckoned her like a monsoon rain after a drought. And why not? she thought, veering to the left, taking the flagstone path past the honeysuckle shrub whose delicate sweet fragrance had her plucking a tiny flower and tasting the droplet of nectar at the base. She rounded the side of the house, trailing her fingers along the glorious magenta bougainvillea that climbed the interior garden wall, feeling pleased with her decision but a little guilty, too. No one is here, so if I take a quick dip, who does it hurt? She stepped past the dark bark of a jacaranda tree, its branches bedecked with pale-purple blossoms, and out into the back garden. Fairy lights hung from the branches. There were garden lights discreetly placed among the flora and fauna, and beyond that was the pool, glimmering under the stars, steam rising in the cool night air. She twirled, arms outstretched, taking in the beauty and serenity of the garden. This was what she’d imagined when she’d packed up her car in Wisconsin and headed to LA to make her fortune, become rich and famous. Ha. And just like that the jubilation, the magical sheen of the adventure vanished. The sudden weight of reality had her arms dropping to her sides, and her eyes felt hot. Fuck it, she thought thrusting her chin out. I drove all the way up here, canceled my date. At the very least, I’m gonna swim in that goddamned pool.

*   *   *

Kevin watched, hidden deep in the shadows of Mick Talford’s living room, as the voluptuous strawberry blonde with the tight skirt and full lips stepped into the light, twirled once, twice, paused, seeming lost for a second, and then her shoulders squared and she marched across the back garden. An almost angry determination was present in every footstep. She shed her clothes piece by piece until finally, at the pool’s edge, she discarded her bra, her thong, and dove into the water.