He glided out into slightly deeper water with Alyssa hanging on to him tightly. She wrapped her legs around his waist, her deliciously smooth thighs gripping him as she clung to him as though her Life depended on it. He cupped her firm bottom in his hands and stayed still, letting her get used to being surrounded by the water. The nervous teen gradually relaxed her death grip around his neck, but still hugged him closely. John waited until she had stopped trembling and seemed more relaxed.

"Very good!" he congratulated her, as he glided back to the shallow part of the pool. They just hung out for a while there, with John letting Alyssa build up her confidence level about being surrounded by so much water.

“There's one Last thing I'd like you to try today before we end the lesson," he said. John ducked down in the shallow water and scooped up the blonde girl, cradling her in his arms, as if holding a baby.

“Now just relax, I've got you," he said to reassure her. "Remember this water is very shallow, so you can stand up in it easily."

Alyssa nodded, wondering what was going to happen next.

“Now straighten yourself out as though you were lying on a bed and stick your arms out to your sides," he explained.

He saw the flash of fear in her eyes, but she fought it hard and relaxed as he had asked. She straightened out in the supportive embrace of his arms and carefully Laid back in the water. When water began to lap at her ears, she felt a fresh tide of panic rising within her, but she looked up at John's caring face and controlled herself.

"Excellent!" John said, impressed by her show of courage.

“Just relax like that and float on top of the water."

Alyssa stayed calm and just relaxed, feeling the reassuring presence of his strong hands under her back and bottom. With her head partially submerged, her ears were under water and John's voice felt muffled and insubstantial. She didn't want to disappoint him though, so she stayed relaxed and floated as he asked.

*I'm going to move my hands away in a moment,* she heard him think clearly.

Alyssa's eyes flashed open, wide with panic, as she protested, +Wait! Don't!

+I won't let anything happen to you, you know you can trust me,* he told her, his thoughts strong and comforting as he quelled her fears.

She nodded and felt his hands drop away and then... nothing. She still floated peacefully in the water, the water lapping gently at her sides. The feeling of weightlessness was something she had never experienced before, and Alyssa found it was not as terrifying as she had imagined. Eventually she even began to quite enjoy the sensation, finding it soothing and restful.

John let her float for a couple of minutes, before encircling her in his arms again and lifting her head from the water.

“That was exhilarating, John! Thank you so much!" she gasped excitedly.

“You were amazing. For someone who had never been in a pool before today, you were incredibly brave!" he said, very proud of her.

As always, Alyssa's heart Lifted to hear his praise and the beautiful young woman beamed a huge sparkling smile up at him. The pool didn't seem anywhere near so frightening to Alyssa as before and she felt much more confident as they moved to the side and climbed out. They walked over to the towel rails and each took a lovely warm towel to wrap themselves in.

"Thanks for my swimming lesson, that wasn't nearly as bad as I'd feared!" Alyssa admitted as she smiled at John.

“You're welcome honey, it was fun teaching you," John said, returning her happy smile. "You're a very fast learner, I'll be able to teach you to swim in no time."

“Ok, I trust you, John scooped her up and kissed her soundly, causing Alyssa to squeak excitedly in surprise. She wrapped her arms around him and returned his kiss passionately.

She said, smiling up at him.