Invisible by L.A. Remenicky

for hours as my heart pounded, feeling like it was going to beat right out of my chest and into his hands. I hoped he held it gently. It was fragile and wouldn’t take much to break it again.
    His arms were still wrapped around me as he whispered, “I love you, baby. Forever.” He released me and started to turn away, but I couldn’t let him go this time.
    “I’m not fighting it anymore, Jax. I love you so much it hurts.”
    He enveloped me in his arms, and his mouth claimed mine again. The kiss went on until we were both out of breath and I grabbed hold of his shirt to keep from falling to the ground. He looked into my eyes. “You sure?”
    “I’ve never been so more sure of anything in my life. My heart just had to catch up with my brain.” Then my stomach interrupted and reminded us that we had stopped to eat lunch. How embarrassing.
    “I guess that means I’d better feed you before we finish this. But I’d rather do that back at the cabin in the bed anyway.” Jax stared into my eyes as I blushed. “There it is. I think I fell in love with you the first time I saw you blush when you looked down at your feet in the principal’s office. Because I was a stupid kid, it took me a while to figure out what I was feeling.”
    He held my hand and led me to the backpack where he started pulling out sandwiches and chips. I smiled when he unpacked a bottle of Dr. Pepper. “You remembered. It’s still my favorite.” We sat and enjoyed our lunch, holding hands as if we were afraid the other would disappear if we didn’t hang onto them. “Was that thunder?” I hadn’t seen the lightning, but just then the wind picked up, blowing the grass around into a crazy dance. “I think we’re going to get wet, Jax. We’d better hurry.”
    “Good thing we’re going downstream.” Our paddling propelled us even faster down the river. The wind picked up more, blowing leaves and twigs in our faces.
    I saw the porch of the cabin just as the rain started pelting us, soaking us in seconds. It was coming down in sheets. I shivered as I bowed my head to keep the rain out of my eyes. We probably looked like cartoon characters paddling in fast forward .
    By the time we reached the riverbank, my teeth were chattering so hard it was embarrassing. Jax jumped from the canoe onto the ground, and we pulled it back towards the shed. The rain was too heavy, and I wasn’t much help, so Jax just flipped the boat over, and we hurried to the safety of the cabin.
    When we reached the porch, I could barely grab the doorknob my hands were so cold and stiff. Jax opened the door, and I tripped through the entrance, dropping the backpack and blanket as I limped to the bathroom for some towels. He went to the living room unbuttoning his jeans. Having already taken off his jacket and t-shirt, I stopped to stare as I tried to unzip my own. The sight of his bare chest and arms made me forget how cold I felt. I was mesmerized by the play of light on his chest muscles. Jax stepped out of his jeans and pulled down his boxers, reaching for a dry pair of sweatpants. I couldn’t look away. He looked up at me and grabbed my hand, smiling as soon as he realized that I was staring.
    “God, Lainie, you’re freezing.”
    He unzipped and removed my jacket and then slowly unbuttoned my shirt. When the air hit my bare skin, I began shivering again. Once my shirt was gone, he unzipped my jeans and pulled them down. I jumped as his cold fingers reached for the waistband of my underwear. He used a towel and started rubbing warmth into my chilled skin. In one smooth motion, he dropped the towel and lifted me into his arms, carrying me to the bedroom.
    “Get in bed, Lainie. We’ve got to get you warmed up; your lips are blue.”
    Jax pulled off his sweats and crawled into the bed with me, pulling me to him and wrapping his arms around me. God, he was already generating heat like a furnace. I snuggled closer and let his warmth engulf me. When I stopped shaking, I