by Anne Eliot
He scanned ahead and checked out the empty dock.
Perfect. I’m alone.
He made his way over to it, pulled off his plaid shirt, t-shirt, kicked off his shoes, and stared down at the water rippling in the breeze.
Maybe swimming isn’t such a good idea. Maybe sunscreen first.
He tucked his retainer and glasses into his discarded shirt, and grabbed up his bottle of sunscreen, slathering some on as he contemplated the dark water again. He hated that he couldn’t see the bottom. With a pool, he could always see the bottom.
But this...hell...
He watched as a stringy water plant and some dry, brown leaves drifted across the surface until they slid whisper quiet under the dock.
Creepy.
He shuddered and looked across to the other side. In the distance a large fish, a trout possibly, flung itself out of the water and flipped before it splashed back down.
Double creepy!
No way am I going in...no way!
A movement and a flash of color caught his eye to the left of the dock behind a large scrub oak. He caught his breath.
The lake, the dock, the mountains in the distance, all twisted into a grayish blur, blasting out of focus except for the sight of Vere—who appeared to be sound asleep—stretched out on the hidden flat rock that jutted into the lake.
Her giant sweatshirt had been turned into a pillow. Her hair, unbound, tumbled wildly across the rock and all around her. He had the strangest déjà vu sensation.
Have I dreamed this? Or IS this the dream?
He shook his head slightly in an attempt to right his thoughts, right the universe that now spun beneath his feet.
How could Vere just be here alone? Was that safe? Where was Jenna? Did the girl not fear being hit with a flying fish?
His clarity slipped again, as his gaze moved over the rest of her.
Hell.
This was not the fashion disaster, one-piece-nightmare swimsuit he’d expected Vere to own.
She was wearing a dark red bikini! A very small, very fashionable, impossibly sexy, dark red bikini.
He ate up the sight of her. She was gorgeous in it. He was dying to get a closer glimpse at what looked like a perfect, definitely oval shaped, tucked-in, super cute belly button in her flat, tan stomach!
Her bikini bottoms tied in a bow on each side.
They stretched perfectly over her hips as though the suit had been custom made just for her. He noted her long, slim legs didn’t look at all gawky like this.
Nope. Not in this outfit. Is a bikini an outfit?
Hell.
He felt all of his blood rush into his swim trunks.
He pushed back the sudden feeling of guilt for his uncontrollable attraction to her. Who could blame him?
How could the sight of her, or any girl for that matter, sprawled out in a bikini not get him all worked up? He was a guy, right? And she was a girl. A beautiful girl in a bikini.
And he hadn’t seen that in a very long time.
Sadly, she was not just any girl. He had no right to think about her like this. He had to remember that, but how?
She’d already exploded his heart last week with the guitar gift and now she’d just blown his mind by simply taking a nap!
Did she not understand the little puff of air from her sweet little mouth had just shattered him into ten million pieces of desperate longing?
You look like a gaping fool right now. Get your shit together.
He looked around.
Who cares. The girl of my dreams is the only one around and she’s asleep, not watching me. And it’s not as though I’m going to have the chance to see her like this again. I’ll look my fill, and then add the memory to my list of torturous things I can never explore further about Vere Roth. And be done.
He glanced around again, but then back at Vere.
Dude. You need to walk away. Right now. Walk the hell out of here. Let her sleep in peace...
The sudden simultaneous throbbing that had started up in his head, combined with what was already happening down in his swim trunks, must have robbed him of half his brain.
One more minute. Just a tiny bit longer...
She sighed in her sleep, a sound which stole away his ability to move one more inch.
He needed a moment to gather his...control. But damn her bikini top...and damn me for being a weakling...and damn that bikini top AGAIN...and how she fills it up like that.
Who knew?
If a bear, or a buffalo, or a mountain lion had trampled out of the woods just then, he would not be able to run or even attempt to save Vere. He was the one who needed saving now. He swallowed and craned his head forward and swallowed again. This was madness. He was full on ogling her like a creepy stalker now—and he couldn’t—wouldn’t stop.
But her skin...
He’d only ever seen her face and neck, maybe some arms, and kneecaps, but this—this girl—with this skin, all laid out being kissed by the sun. Plus every single, creamy curve of her? And all in one glance?
A strand of her golden-brown hair caught in the breeze and settled itself across her chest before it whipped up and caught against her lips.
Lips that have never been kissed. Remember that, dude.
Remember that.
His own reality came crashing back around him. The facts were that he was millions of miles away from ever being able to make contact, or deserve the kind of sweetness that made up Vere Roth.
He forced himself to look away.
He knew, without a doubt that he wanted her, but it wasn’t his usual understandable, physical kind of want. He wanted what he couldn’t have. He wanted her to be his, as in, his girlfriend. He wanted the right to love her.
He thought back to what she’d said to him on this very dock. How it was all supposed to be ‘easy and simple and full of butterflies’.
He’d mocked her then, but now he admitted the truth. He’d felt the damn butterflies from the first moment he’d seen her.
So, fine. They did exist for him and in huge amounts.
As for the easy part. That did not.
Not for his life, and not for him. He glanced back over at her and shook his head. Could he ever tell her just how deeply he’d fallen for her? Was he admitting he was full-on in love with her? And, if this was love, he needed to stop it.
It was bad enough that he’d almost seriously kissed her in front of Aunt Nan when she’d handed him the guitar; but now he had this feeling that his heart might implode. Explode.
Whatever. People didn’t just fall in love in a couple of weeks, did they? Delete the idea of love from your head.
She loves Curtis. You two are friends—that’s it.
Get over it and be happy you get to know this girl at all. You’d rather have a her for a friend at the end of this than nothing.
Nothing, he knew for a fact, was never worth it.
But damn...
He wanted to kiss her upper lip first.
The one she drove him crazy with every day when she chewed on it. And then he’d kiss her bottom one, because that poor lip was sorely lacking in his attention. And then again, after a long while of more kissing, he’d make her laugh, kiss the giggles right off her mouth. After that, he’d see if he could try to convince her to take that bikini top off and...maybe...
Maybe what? You ass.
She’d flip out. Take your freak fantasy and walk away.
As he turned, totally shaken now, he accidently dropped his bottle of sunscreen. The bottle thwang-kathumped, as loud as a metal drum, rolling across the dock, thwang-kathumping the whole way.
Vere stirred and locked gazes with him.
Karma.
He’d been silly to think he could head out after turning into an insecure, stalking ass, sporting a giant woody while ogling an innocent, unsuspecting girl!
Hell no. Now he had to pay.
Instead of shock, fear, or surprise, Vere simply sat halfway up on her elbow, shaded her sleepy
brown eyes, yawned, smiled, and said, “Hey. Yay! You’re here.”
He tried not to groan out loud.
He was now in true, physical pain. Worse, she was about to notice why! Because she’d just doubled the problem in his swim trunks with her beautiful smile.
Hell!
“Thought you were too chicken to try this,” she added. Her voice had came out all raspy-sexy. Her eyes were heavy with sleep. A length of hair slid over her shoulder, curling around her tanned hips!
Tangling into the little red bikini bows!
Beyond hot. Shit!
He knew he was going to die, or at least go to hell for each and every one of the six-thousand, twisted thoughts bouncing through his brain right now.
He couldn’t answer her. Only blink like a fool.
“Must have fallen asleep. I need to switch sides or I’m going to get burned.” She flipped over to her stomach, totally at ease in front of him—and unaware of his extreme discomfort.
While she settled her head on her arms, and found his gaze again, some of her hair slid off the rock and spread like a fan of floating curls just under the surface of the water.
She looked like a real, live mermaid!
The remaining mass of hair billowed around her shoulders and trailed down her back, the ends of it resting just above her waist where his fingers longed to touch.
“What?” she asked, probably ramping in to the fact that he hadn’t uttered one word. “It’s so hot, isn’t it?”
Karma was unbelievably cruel.
Quickly, without a second thought, he took a huge breath and jumped into the lake.
He let himself sink slowly under the surface.
The cool dark water calmed him inside and out.
Plants, fish and other lake creatures were no longer frightening to him at all.
He pushed every ounce of breath out of his lungs and opened his eyes. Enjoying the silence under the water, he watched as his air bubbles wobbled up, popping at the surface.
He noted the bright, Colorado-blue sky above as he contemplated his new phobias: gnome girls, mermaids and impossible love.
As if on cue, Vere dove into the water, grabbed his arm, and yanked him up.
31: guy language
VERE
“UGH!” Vere shouted, trying to catch her breath. “Why do guys always hold their stinking breath under water for as long as possible? Charlie does it! My dad does it! Every guy I’ve ever known does it! Guys suck when they swim.”
She and Dustin were treading water facing each other. She pushed her heavy, wet hair off her face. She hadn’t had time to bun it before jumping in when Dustin didn’t surface—in what she deemed—an appropriate time for him to come up.
“It’s what guys do. What can I say?” Dustin laughed, but it wasn’t his usual, easy laugh. It sounded forced.
“Not funny.” She glowered, scanning his face to see if he was okay. She was relieved when he added his usual impish grin, but realized he wasn’t wearing the retainer or the glasses.
How she’d forgotten—how she’d missed—his real smile and his real over-the-top beautiful face outside of the ugly hats he wore. She felt so comfortable around him. When had she begun to take his amazing looks for granted? Or...had she? Because right now he was so amazingly stunning with drops of water all over him, she was pretty sure she wasn’t taking it for granted.
So he’s beautiful.
So I notice.
So what? I can’t turn off my eyes, right?
“First time to hold my breath in a lake though.” His voice sounded more normal that time. Had she imagined the tension in it? “I wasn’t under there that long,” he added.
She cupped her hand, filled it with water and splashed him. “You were too. I bet you knew it freaked me out.” She splashed him again, this time harder to show she was serious about the freaked out part.
His eyes suddenly struck her as bluer than she remembered. Maybe it was the sky, reflecting into the lake with the bright sun? Or maybe it was because he seemed to be looking really deeply into her eyes.
She swam closer and scanned his entire face again. “Your hair seems to be lightening up a bit all over. You might want to re-color it soon, before your roots grow out?” she said finally, when she realized she’d stared too long all over again.
“Yeah. It’s on my list. I’ve been hiding it non stop. Don’t worry.” He shook out his wet hair.
Vere was close enough to reach over and move one long, wet strand out of his eyes. “I could trim it again,” she said absently.
“Wait.” He smiled. “You’re going to have to repeat that move in one second. I’m not the best swimmer...so I need my hands to keep me floating.” He shook out his hair again, deliberately spraying her face with the water from his hair.
She laughed, and obligingly moved the wayward piece of dark brown hair again. She liked how it stayed put, just where she set it.
“Thanks. Where’s your sidekick?” he asked.
“Jenna’s with my parents. She wanted to bag one more big peak for the season.” Vere shook her head, unable not to keep studying the angles and planes of his face, remembering the first time she’d ever seen him.
She figured it was a darn good thing Jenna had decided to go on the hike with her parents because, duh and holy cow. There was no disguising this guy in this lake.
Worse, before Dustin had jumped in, Vere’s gaze had been stuck on his ‘award winning six-pack’ like a staring weirdo.
Ding-dingity-ding!
And the first prize goes to Mr. WOW! Did you see that dive off the dock?
She had also not missed his perfect, muscular, biceps, and shoulders. And legs...and all of him!
Stupid assets! Jeez.
Encouraging this guy throw on a suit and swim had been a very bad idea. Jenna would have tagged all of that muscular perfection right away. She would have started asking questions. She would have flung herself at him. Or worse!
Mega-bullet dodged.
Vere tried to erase the image of his perfect assets from her mind as she taunted him by swimming around in a circle using her best side stroke.
He spun along with her, keeping his shoulders under the water, but turning along with her strokes, facing her the whole time. His gaze was pensive. An expression she’d never seen before, and she thought she’d seen them all.
She wondered if he was going to bring up her crying attack and lame eavesdropping. They still hadn’t talked about it yet, so she knew it was inevitable.
Does his look mean: Awkward conversation comes next?
Hoping to avoid it, she splashed him with a big arc of water, and paddled backwards away from him.
His brows shot up. “Oh. Oh you want to play that, do you?”
“Yep.” Because that, Vere could handle way better than how her heart felt when she thought about him being sad for so long without any friends. She added, “But beware. Tangle with me, you’ll lose. I’ve been trained by Charlie at this sport.”
She turned quickly and hit the surface of the lake with a perfect hand-to-water slam. She got his head, dead on, with tons of spray.
“Oh...no you didn’t!” He swam after her and splashed her back, hard.
Vere retaliated with her epic, two handed water flood. “Ha!”
He coughed, choked and couldn’t get out of it.“You want to hold your breath so long, why don’t you start again now?” she teased, letting the guy catch his breath as she changed positions for her grand finale.
While he wiped water out of his face, Vere laid her entire arm flat against the water and held it rigid, digging it just into the water’s surface to create a perfect, mini-tidal wave. It rose up about three feet and aced him right in the mouth, causing him to choke all over again.
He looked so surprised as he wiped his face a second time she couldn’t help but giggle. “What? Didn’t think I had it in me?” She giggled again. “You ready for another? Start holding your breath, city boy.”
Fun
water fight: A++
Dustin raised his eyebrows high, but instead of retaliating as she’d expected, he sucked in a deep breath and dropped back down under the dark water.
Fine. I can wait. He will not get to me twice. Don’t count, Vere. Don’t let him win. How many seconds has it been?
She paddled over to where he’d disappeared and peered around looking for a flash of swim trunks or pale skin under the surface.
Nothing.
“You jerk. Come up,” she called into the water.
Was he heading toward her in a surprise, dunk attack from behind? If so, bring it. Charlie invented that game, and she beat him at it every time.
She dove down as deep as she could to meet him head on, but again, he wasn’t there. Why did this always have to freak her out so badly? She resurfaced and glowered.
“Dustin McHugh, if you think you’re scaring me...well you are. You win. Okay? YOU WIN!” she shouted. Vere’s gaze searched further out into the lake to be sure he hadn’t surfaced somewhere out of reach.
“Dustin!” Vere’s heart picked up its pace as panic set in. She took in as much air as she possibly could and went under again. This time, she swam in a long, deep circle. Her hands reached through the water in every direction but came into contact with only water. Her lungs felt as though they’d burst, but she stayed down, her eyes wide open in the murky water, looking for any sign of him.
Large, very warm arms circled her waist from behind. She knew it was him, safe and sound, and probably thinking this was all very funny.
She went limp with relief and let him pull her up.
She gasped in a huge breath of air as she broke the surface and turned to kill him.
He did not drop his arms when she gripped desperately onto his forearms for support, treading water along with him.
“Weak swimmer, my ass. You suck!”
“You told me to start holding my breath, so I only did what you asked.” His gaze was bright and unreadable. He remained silent, and she felt swallowed up for a moment into the intensity of his gaze.
“Couldn’t you hear me calling? What in the hell were you trying to do? Kill yourself?” She glanced down and realized her hands were over the scars on his wrists.