on one bank, while large boulders sat on the other.
“James, this is amazing.” I couldn’t find the right words to express how beautiful this place was, or how happy I was that he’d brought me here. I smiled sincerely. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He reached out and tucked a curl behind my ear.
We stared into each other’s eyes and time seemed to stand still. I thought he was going to kiss me, when his stomach growled loudly. We laughed at the same time.
“Let’s eat lunch,” I announced in response to his rumbling stomach.
We sat on a large boulder in the sun. Opening my backpack, I handed him a sandwich. I ate one to James’ three. We chatted while we ate and for the first time all day James gave more than one word answers. The pond provided the perfect setting. I felt relaxed and free to be myself.
He patted his stomach. “That was great.” I laughed at his enthusiasm.
“Is it safe to swim in the pond?” I asked, eyeing it longingly. It looked so inviting.
“You would swim in it?” He sounded skeptical.
“Of course.” I lifted my ponytail off the back of my neck. The humidity made my hair curlier and messier yet. “It would be so refreshing. I’m used to a dry heat.”
“Awesome.” His dimples showed again.
“Is it safe?”
“Yes.”
That was all I needed to hear. I quickly stood up and stripped down to my bra and underwear, while James appeared rooted to the spot. I heard him suck in his breath. Tossing my clothes on the rock, I jumped into the bone-chilling water. There was no other way to get into water this cold. I stayed under, holding my breath for as long as I could. I resurfaced, laughing.
I wiped the water from my eyes and saw James scowl.
“What the hell, Mikayla?” he shouted upset. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was only trying to have a little fun.” I trembled, thinking how close I’d come to ruining our perfect afternoon.
Sternly, he said, “You have to promise not to do anything like that again.”
“I promise.” I made a show of crossing my heart.
He nodded, accepting my apology.
“You should join me,” I said, grinning wickedly. I splashed at the water, soaking him.
He didn’t waste time. He quickly pulled off his shirt and unzipped his jeans. He was wearing black boxer briefs that fit him just right. He was so beautiful that he could have been the next Calvin Klein underwear model. He took several big steps backwards, then ran and jumped into the pond, holding his legs with his arms, cannon-ball style. A huge splash erupted, hitting me full in the face.
“Did I splash you?” he asked innocently, as I wiped water out of my eyes.
“Yes.” I splashed him back. We both laughed.
We goofed around, splashing and showing off. We made a contest out of jumping off the ledge and rating the biggest splashes. Of course, James won every time. Then we raced each other from one edge to the other, which was something I was good at because at one time I had been on a summer league swim team. I hadn’t laughed so much in months. I didn’t want this moment to ever end. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed until teeth began to chatter, signaling we’d been at it awhile.
“Your lips are purple,” James declared, swimming over to my side and lightly touching my lips with his fingertip. My breath caught in my throat.
“I don’t want to get out,” I admitted, visibly shaking.
“Come on, we’ll warm up in the sun.” He strode over to the large boulder in the sun and lay down on his back, his hands folded underneath his head. Feeling shy all of a sudden, I lay down next to him without touching. I didn’t know if I was ready to get that close to him yet. It had been a perfect afternoon and I didn’t want to ruin it by feeling too much, and I knew being that close to James would make me feel things I’d never even come close to feeling before.
“James, this is amazing.” I couldn’t find the right words to express how beautiful this place was, or how happy I was that he’d brought me here. I smiled sincerely. “Thanks.”
“You’re welcome.” He reached out and tucked a curl behind my ear.
We stared into each other’s eyes and time seemed to stand still. I thought he was going to kiss me, when his stomach growled loudly. We laughed at the same time.
“Let’s eat lunch,” I announced in response to his rumbling stomach.
We sat on a large boulder in the sun. Opening my backpack, I handed him a sandwich. I ate one to James’ three. We chatted while we ate and for the first time all day James gave more than one word answers. The pond provided the perfect setting. I felt relaxed and free to be myself.
He patted his stomach. “That was great.” I laughed at his enthusiasm.
“Is it safe to swim in the pond?” I asked, eyeing it longingly. It looked so inviting.
“You would swim in it?” He sounded skeptical.
“Of course.” I lifted my ponytail off the back of my neck. The humidity made my hair curlier and messier yet. “It would be so refreshing. I’m used to a dry heat.”
“Awesome.” His dimples showed again.
“Is it safe?”
“Yes.”
That was all I needed to hear. I quickly stood up and stripped down to my bra and underwear, while James appeared rooted to the spot. I heard him suck in his breath. Tossing my clothes on the rock, I jumped into the bone-chilling water. There was no other way to get into water this cold. I stayed under, holding my breath for as long as I could. I resurfaced, laughing.
I wiped the water from my eyes and saw James scowl.
“What the hell, Mikayla?” he shouted upset. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry,” I quickly apologized. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I was only trying to have a little fun.” I trembled, thinking how close I’d come to ruining our perfect afternoon.
Sternly, he said, “You have to promise not to do anything like that again.”
“I promise.” I made a show of crossing my heart.
He nodded, accepting my apology.
“You should join me,” I said, grinning wickedly. I splashed at the water, soaking him.
He didn’t waste time. He quickly pulled off his shirt and unzipped his jeans. He was wearing black boxer briefs that fit him just right. He was so beautiful that he could have been the next Calvin Klein underwear model. He took several big steps backwards, then ran and jumped into the pond, holding his legs with his arms, cannon-ball style. A huge splash erupted, hitting me full in the face.
“Did I splash you?” he asked innocently, as I wiped water out of my eyes.
“Yes.” I splashed him back. We both laughed.
We goofed around, splashing and showing off. We made a contest out of jumping off the ledge and rating the biggest splashes. Of course, James won every time. Then we raced each other from one edge to the other, which was something I was good at because at one time I had been on a summer league swim team. I hadn’t laughed so much in months. I didn’t want this moment to ever end. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed until teeth began to chatter, signaling we’d been at it awhile.
“Your lips are purple,” James declared, swimming over to my side and lightly touching my lips with his fingertip. My breath caught in my throat.
“I don’t want to get out,” I admitted, visibly shaking.
“Come on, we’ll warm up in the sun.” He strode over to the large boulder in the sun and lay down on his back, his hands folded underneath his head. Feeling shy all of a sudden, I lay down next to him without touching. I didn’t know if I was ready to get that close to him yet. It had been a perfect afternoon and I didn’t want to ruin it by feeling too much, and I knew being that close to James would make me feel things I’d never even come close to feeling before.
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