Balance (Constellation)

Her pumps stayed behind on the flagstone. The moon overhead was a slender sliver. Outlined against the night sky were the tops of the swaying border pines that edged Frank and Jennifer's property. Finished with brunch, Celeste lay back on the wide deck chair, studying the constellations, fingering the yoke of her evening gown as she reviewed her evening's performance. Impulsively she opened the side zipper and wriggled free of the snugness of her clothing… dress… bra… panty hose. Beautiful abandoned feel of nudity. She stretched luxuriously, then walked the length of the pool. There at the tip end of the diving board she balanced easily, bouncing gracefully, feeling the cool night air touch her nakedness at every point. Her body knifed the water with nearly the same precision of a decade earlier when she was diving captain of the conservatory team. Surfacing, swimming slowly to the distant end of the pool, she was lost in thought. She climbed the metal rungs of the ladder and disappeared into the cabana for a towel ...»