We left Rock River and headed home, fully intending to take a final swim closer to our house to make things more convenient for us all, but we never made it to the river. On the way back, Tom took a slight detour to put gas in Darlenes' car so she could get to work in the morning. It was just a quick loop off of the highway, maybe a couple miles at best. We were warm and packed into the sedan, and had no choice anyway, so nobody protested. After topping off the tank, Tom went inside the store to pay, and emerged with a 30 pack of beer. "Here ya go" he said "That's for not bitching about the detour and to prime us up for later." A mile later he said "Well look at that, they're still going." as he pointed to a house with a half dozen cars in the yard. He slowed and drove by, taking it all in while explaining that it was the home of the other couple who were in the river with us the day before. Al and Cheryl were friends of theirs and Gina and Melissa knew them too, but not as well. We kind of knew them by sight, but that was about it. Suzy commented about the nice house and property, and Darlene interjected "They have a pool too!" to which Tom mumbled "One track mind..."
In the 15 minutes it took us to get to our vehicles, we had all downed at least 2 beers and were working on our third. Suzy invited everyone to stop at our place which was on the way, before we went to the bridge, to have a "Real drink". We pulled in together and went inside, kind of happy the wood stove still had some fire left in it. As I stoked it up, she went to the liquor cabinet and grabbed the Gran Marnie and glasses. We spent the next hour in still damp clothes sipping liquor in the heat of the stove until Toms' cell phone rang. "Yup", was all we heard as he hung up. "Al said there's plenty of leftover food and booze at the house if we're done screwing around in the river" he said.
"All of us?" I asked, "Or you and Darlene?" "You're in Vermont dipshit" was his reply, "We don't do engraved invitations." Suzy said "Well let's get cleaned up and go" and Darlene replied "It'll take too long to go home, shower, change and get there - we're almost completely dry, they know what we've been up to so let's just go-now!" We all just kind of agreed, and headed to our vehicles, Suzy bringing the bottle with her.
We rolled into the driveway and ended up parked on the lawn with several other vehicles. A stumble and scramble to get out of the vehicles, everyone grabbed for whatever beer and other alcohol they had, and cans were popped before car doors were even shut. "Got to get in synch with the crowd" Tom said, explaining that everyone there probably was more than a few drinks into the evening.
Tom rang the bell and Cheryl answered the door, telling us to keep walking right through to the patio, and giving us funny looks up and down realizing we were still in the same clothes from our trip. "Behave!" was the last thing we heard from her as the sliding glass door closed behind us.
The concrete patio was beautiful with a wooden deck adjoining the house and a separate gazebo and a pool house as well as an in ground pool with steam rising from it and those overhead propane heaters common at commercial gathering places. Al greeted us and pointed out the beer coolers and told us there was food in the pool house. He asked about our swim that day as he was joined by Cheryl and they listened intently to the brief details as he introduced us to a few other guests. At one point, one of the guests made mention of the heated pool and how smart Al was for figuring out how to heat it for no cost using the excess heat from his solar panels, heat pump, and wood furnace. "Except for January and February, they get to use it if they want to" he said. "We love it" replied Al "I might put a greenhouse over it next year and use it all year and start my plants inside as well." By then, Gina had dipped her hand in the pool and pointed out "It's like bath water, so warm!". Melissa changed the subject almost immediately, "Let's eat" she said and headed toward the pool house with everyone else in tow.
We filled our plates and found places to sit outside, talking with some of the other guests. It was cool enough out that no one mentioned our attire because as the temp dropped into the 50's, people left and came back in jackets, sweaters and hats, except for a few that excused themselves, thanked Al and Cheryl, and left the gathering.
By the time it was fully dark outside, the crowd had dwindled down to our group, Al and Cheryl, and a couple of friends who lived close by. The beer was still flowing and most of us had decided that we'd call in for work in the morning, in the case of Suzy and I - head home in the morning.
One of Cheryls' friends, a middle-aged blonde named Angie, who worked in a bank and had been hanging near the heater in shorts and a t-shirt started complaining about the cold. "You guys look warm enough" she said to us, "I'm going to change". "Me too said Cheryl" "Come on Debbie" she said to a chubby brunette who had been introduced earlier as her sister and was perpetually hanging near the bar. As the three of them left, we all kind of mentioned to each other that we were getting pretty drunk. "Maybe we need to go for a swim" said Gina. "Oh shut up already!" Melissa replied, and we all got a chuckle from it as they exchanged a short burst of insults at each other. "What's so funny?" we heard from behind us and as we turned the three women were coming out of the house with Angie in the lead. "Aqua Princess here wants to go swimming" said Melissa, and was met with a funny look from Angie. "Now? Kinda late, and cold." she said. "No matter" said Melissa, "We had our swim for the day, I'm spent - let's do a shot!" "I'm in" said Debbie from behind Angie. "Me too" said Cheryl, "I'm done playing hostess - now it's MY party time!". With that, I felt a kick under the table and Tom gave me a funny look and glanced toward the three women. It took a minute, but then sunk in. Each one of them was dressed similarly to us, and had I not met Al and Cheryl in the river, it would never have dawned on me. Angie was wearing a pair of tight black dress pants topped with a bright red turtleneck sweater over a white cotton turtleneck with the cuffs and neck showing and a gold necklace hanging to her chest, the kind of outfit she'd probably wear to work this time of year. Cheryl and Debbie were more casual, Cheryl in a royal blue turtleneck sweater and faded jeans, and Debbie in jeans, a white cotton turtleneck and a high crew neck sweater over it. "All of them?" I whispered to Tom. "I don't really know, maybe they're just cold." he replied with a puzzled look on his face.
Not a word was said about swimming or clothes by anyone as Melissa poured ample shots of the Gran Marnie, about half a cup full each, using up more than half the bottle. Nobody shot it back, rather sipped at it, while Debbie brought us another round of beers, and then another. By the time more than an hour had passed, Tom and I came to the conclusion that our imaginations had run wild for a minute or two when we saw the other women.
The conversations ran the full spectrum, including a fair share of dirty jokes and sexual references, and questions about the long-absent Al, who last we knew was in the garage putting stuff away. Cooking, housework, cars, jeeps, booze - but not a word about our river trip, until Melissa announced that not only did she have to piss, but her crotch was itchy. "Scratch it" I said. "I have, but I've probably got fucking mud in it!" was her response as she semi-staggered to the pool house bathroom. "Mud?" slurred Debbie with a perplexed look on her face. Suzy looked at me and I shook my head back and forth to mean "no" as did Tom with Darlene, and Gina picked up on both our cues. Nobody really answered her and we changed the subject, not wanting to admit what we had been up to earlier. It probably took ten minutes, but Melissa finally returned, which prompted Debbie to ask her directly. "Never mind" several of us told Melissa. "What are ya, embarrassed or something?" she asked. "Just not a topic for here" I told her. Cheryl looked at us, pursed her lips and rolled her eyes as Angie now caught on and pressed the question "What's not a topic for here, we're all adults?" she said. Before anyone could answer, Debbie began to look us over with a drunken grin on her face, and locked her eyes on Darlene. "I bet I know why that sweater is so dingy looking" she said, "You guys have been playing in the river like my whacko sister does!" Angie, perplexed, looked straight at her and asked "What the fuck are you mumbling about?" and Debbie replied "They like to swim with their clothes on, at least my sister does, and so does the little Lesbo here" she said pointing to Gina. "I'm bi, said Gina". "But you still get off getting wet fully dressed don't you?" Debbie said. "So do you bitch, but only when you get drunk and wet yourself!" came out of Cheryl who to this point had been silent. "Not only when that happens" said Debbie. At that point Angie started shaking her head and looking at us all. "Wetting yourself, swimming in your clothes, mud? What the fuck are you all talking about? Are you that drunk?" and she took a good belt from her cup, shaking her head in disbelief.
Suzy blurted out "We like to swim with our clothes on, and get messy, and get muddy too", "It's fun, and freaky. And before you ask, yes, wet ourselves too sometime." Darlene said "Don't knock it until you try it." And admitted that she loved the mud because it reminded her of the hippie chicks in the pictures from Woodstock back in the 60's. Now Angie was looking and listening intently as each one of us gave our part of the story, and we told her about earlier in the day. The women even told her about how they orgasm in their wet or muddy jeans and how good it feels. She looked us over and said "Dressed like that?" "Yup, answered Cheryl - anybody and everybody swims in a bathing suit." Even Debbie, after calling us freaks, admitted that she loves the feel of water creeping up, pressing her clothes against her body, wetting her breasts exciting her nipples, and weighing her down. She finished by looking straight at Angie, tightening up her sweater, pulling up the turtleneck underneath to her chin, and saying "All the way up to here!" with a smile.
Angie seemed intrigued as Suzy told her about our creative uses for whipped cream, pudding, shaving cream and whatever else we could find, and asked a dozen questions. Then she admitted that she always liked shows like Nickleodeon when she was younger, but never really found anyone else into it. Everyone gave her their version of fun, except Melissa, who was fairly silent until she finally blurted out "I just like to drink beer, eat pussy and get mine eaten, so I'm into whatever gets me there!" We all burst out laughing at that one and went back to our drinks.
Angie suddenly seemed quiet, then she stood up, straightened out her sweater, smoothing it over her tits and pulling it down over her hips, rolled up the cuffs exposing the white sleeves underneath, and pulled the white turtleneck straight up under her chin. I think we all thought that she was about to excuse herself and leave, but without a word, she stepped away from the table and walked over to the pool. She put a foot in the water, swirled it around a couple times, and stepped in onto the first step, about a foot deep. Her next step took her to her knees, and with only a moments hesitation, to almost her waist with the next. She stopped there and turned to face us, and said "Debbie, I know what you mean" as she stepped back slowly lowering herself into the armpit deep water. Her outstretched arms were still dry as she stood there and Debbie said "I didn't hear you". as she got up from the table and walked to the pool. "That last laugh got her" said Cheryl pointing out the wet spot on the rear of her jeans as the light hit her. Debbie wasted no time in joining Angie, both of them now mid chest in the water. "Wait for us" said Cheryl without consulting any of the others. We joined her heading to the pool, and one by one, slowly entered the water down the stairs. Suzy and I followed Cheryl and made it to Angie and Debbie together. "What next?" asked Angie. "Put your arms down for starters and relax" said Suzy, "Like this" as her arms went into the water and she dipped down soaking the remaining few inches of her sweater up to her chin. While Cheryl followed suit, Debbie grabbed Angie around the waist and knelt down, pulling her down with her, finishing the soaking. Angie just regained her footing when Darlene dove in from the side, still wearing the thick white sweater and knit hat. Tom jumped in, Melissa and Gina sat on the edge and slipped over the side. We all made our way to the middle where it was about chest deep and congratulated Angie for "Joining the club". She just smiled, put her arms straight up in the air, shouted "Hurrah" and slipped below the surface, popping to the top in a big splash.
As if on cue, Al came out of the house. "It figures" he said. "I wondered if it would end up this way". "Come on in, the waters' fine" laughed Angie, "And bring beer!" Al rolled his eyes and walked over to the cooler, picked it up and brought it to the edge of the pool. He then began to take out cans of beer and toss one to each of us, and when he finished, grabbed one for himself and sat down at the edge, dangling his legs in the water. I don't know if he dressed for the pool or the weather, but wearing jeans and a turtleneck under a hockey jersey, he very nonchalantly slipped over the edge and bobbed out to meet us.
The water was warm and the beer cold, and we just stood around and talked while we sipped on them until Angie decided that we should try going down the slide. She lead the way, and one by one, we took turns sliding down into the pool, climbing out, up the ladder and back down again.
If it had been the middle of the afternoon and we were in bathing suits, no one would have even noticed, but here, several hours after sunset, was a group of half drunk adults who had gone out of their way to dress for the occasion, sliding swimming, and jumping in and out of a swimming pool not only fully clothed, but wearing winter clothes to boot.
Finally, we had enough, and all ended up huddled under the heat fixtures with multiple towels, trying to sober up and dry off a bit. We laughed about our "End of the summer" party and our tubing trip, and said we needed to come up with something for the next time, when it's colder and we can't play outdoors. With multiple ideas exchanged, as we all began our goodbyes and started to leave, Angie walked over to the pool. She turned to face us and said "I can't believe what happened here tonight, this was crazy/" As we all laughed and said "It's normal for us, believe it." She replied "Oh. I do, I sure do", and with a big smile on her face, turned and walked down the steps back into the pool for one more good soaking.
The next day we headed back home, with no plans to be back there at least until mid to late November, at best. Suzy stayed in contact with the other women over Facebook and occasional emails. Right around Veterans Day she opened one from Al entitled "Pool Finally Closed". It was just a quick note to everyone that the weather had overcome the ability to heat the pool so he had closed it up until spring, and check out the attached file. We opened it up and to our surprise there were pics of our little party, and a whole string of captures from the weeks afterwards showing Angie and Cheryl in the pool, fully dressed, Angie usually in bright colored turtleneck sweaters and those tight black pants. The last, with heavy steam rising and snow visible in the foreground, showed them both in thick turtleneck sweaters emerging from a swim with big smiles on their faces. Indeed, she had "Joined the club!"