The Desert Rose by Larry McMurtry Page A

no cock or something but from what she could see in the moonlight there was nothing wrong there. There were times when she loved to swim, almost liked it better than anything, so she swam a lap or two while Mel rested and watched.
    “Pepper, you’re so gifted,” Mel said. “If my father couldhave got hold of you at the right time he’d have had you in the Olympics.”
    “How come?” she asked.
    “Well, he’s a swim coach,” Mel said. “But of course if you were a swimmer you’d just be peaking. Sixteen’s the best year.”
    “Where was your father a swim coach?” she asked, that was an interesting piece of information.
    “In New Jersey, at a high school in Trenton,” he said.
    It was sort of startling, she had assumed his family must be rich too, though actually she’d never spent that much time thinking about his family, obviously he didn’t have any around very close.
    “A swim coach?” she said. “So how come you got so rich?”
    “I just happened to be good with money,” he said. “Sort of like you’re a good dancer. I’m that good with money. Or maybe a little better.”
    Her hair was dripping, he reached out and sort of sluiced the water off of it, he liked it that she cut it so short. It was unusual for him to touch her, but he did it and he didn’t seem nervous, maybe it was the dancing or the coke. She wanted to kiss him, when were they going to get a better time? but he didn’t, he had just wanted to stop her hair from dripping apparently. It annoyed her a little, enough was enough, she was normally willing to make a move if she felt like something but with him she felt it ought to be him, he was too much older.
    “Pepper, I think you’re getting impatient,” he said immediately, as if he had just read her mind. Her bangs were stuck together, he sort of took a finger and gently smoothed them out. They dripped on her face again and at that point he did kiss her, not for long, sort of light, but still it was a kiss, plus he caught the drip just when it hit the corner of her mouth. It was a delicate move, not something Buddywould have come up with, she liked it, but then Mel smiled and asked her if she wanted to go in the Jacuzzi, the night was getting cold.
    She said sure, so they did, he had already turned it on. Mel had a nice little body, very trim, but once they got in the Jacuzzi he didn’t renew the move right away, she didn’t know what to make of it. Maybe he was so old-fashioned he thought you had to get married before you fucked. It didn’t seem possible he was that old-fashioned, but something was weird.
    “Hey,” she said. “Did you mean it about getting married, Mel?”
    “Yes, I did, Pepper,” he said. “I’d like to marry you very much.”
    “What would it be like?” she asked. She felt a little cautious. He had always been extremely kind, but still, a guy who collected old underwear could turn out to have bad tendencies of some sort.
    Mel chuckled, he seemed delighted that she had asked.
    “Pepper, from your point of view maybe the best thing about it would be that I’m very rich,” he said.
    It was interesting he emphasized that, because she had been thinking that too, no more living in a duplex with a yard full of peacocks and her mother’s stupid boyfriends. Plus she could stop modeling in order to get clothes and she would never have to do things like hand out fried chicken at Gino’s, which she had done the summer before for practically no money.
    “I have so much money that now it makes itself faster than I can spend it,” Mel said. “That can be nice.”
    I bet, Pepper thought.
    “That’s the simplest part of it, you’d like the money,” he said. “I guess you’re thinking this is all weird, I could have just tried to sleep with you instead of making movies of you in old underwear. Though actually I find it excitingto make movies of you, and I suspect you find it a little exciting too.”
    Then he touched her breasts. “I do want to sleep