"His name never came up."

By then Ellen had joined us in the kitchen. She told Ann how much she admired her apartment. Ann invited us to sit down and said lunch would be served shortly.

Ann was 100% correct when she said if I enjoyed paella lunch would be a success. I do and it was. She had also prepared and chilled fresh sangria and we all shared a pitcher.

I gathered from the course of our lunch-time discussions that Ellen had been invited over by Ann for lunch and to get some sun on Ann's terrace. After the dishes were cleared, Ellen excused herself to change into a bathing suit. After Ellen went in to Ann's bedroom with the bag she had brought with her, I told Ann that if I knew that was to be the afternoon's activities I would have brought along a pair of shorts too.

"Don't be silly. We have privacy, you can sit in your underwear or less for that matter."

We went out on Ann's terrace. The sun was strong and there were three chaises lounges arranged side bby side. Ellen came out in a two piece bikini and lay down on the right side. I took off my shirt, left my slacks on and sat on the left. Ann excused herself for a moment and returned having changed. She brought with her a portable spritzer and some sun tanning oil. Ann's suit was something else. Two straps were fastened behind her neck and broadened out only slightly as they carried forward over her breasts and then met at her lower belly where they formed a minimal patch that covered her sex. I admired the architect who designed that bit of coverage. Ann flipped a switch that piped some music out to the terrace and lay on her back in the middle between Ellen and me.

It didn't take long for me to realize that my slacks had to go. Reading my mind, Ann said that I should take a bath towel if I wanted and improvise something. Following that suggestion, I went to the bathroom removed my slacks and the boxer shorts I was wearing and wrapped a towel around my waist and rejoined Ann and Ellen.