by Janice Sims
“I’ve got the swimsuit covered, but I left the hat in the car.”
She proffered the navy cap she’d found. “What about this one?”
“Is it yours?” he asked, examining it with his eyes.
“Yes, but I’ve never worn it.”
“Then I’d love to wear it,” he said, accepting it and drawing it on over his neatly cut hair. “Give me minute. I still need to get my CD player from the car.”
Minutes later he was back with the CD player in hand. Dominique took the steps, and they headed the for path through the pecan trees several feet away from the house and gardens. It was warm, but hours remained before the hottest part of the day arrived.
Blair matched her step for step in companionable silence as they mounted the trail and delved into the grove of trees. They kept a good pace that was somewhere between a walk and a jog. Twenty minutes later, they rounded a bend of red maple and oak trees to catch their first real glimpse of the blue waters of the lake.
Blair walked forward. “It’s beautiful! I’m surprised that your house isn’t right here on the lake.”
“Daddy talks about a cozy little cottage here, away from the house, sometimes, but that’s all. We like keeping the lake secluded.”
Walking through some of the brush, he unearthed a canoe and its paddles. “Want to paddle around the lake?”
Dominique helped him turn the canoe over and drag it into the water. Then they both climbed in.
She was surprised that she was able to relax and enjoy the canoe ride up and down the lake. As they took turns paddling, Blair entertained her with stories of his exploits with his sisters, Thelma and Marie. Thelma was the strong and studious one, and Marie was a diva to her heart.
“I’ve heard a lot about your sisters. What about you? How do you describe yourself?” she asked Blair, after they chuckled over a story of how he and Thelma had ruined eighteen-year-old Marie’s date with a much older man.
“I’m the man with a plan,” Blair told her. “One day I’m going to be really big, and I’ll have the grand house, and the land, and a garage full of cars.”
“And a black book full of gorgeous women to share it with?” she prodded gently.
He shook his head. “No. By that time I’ll be ready to settle down with one special woman. I’ll be ready to quit the racing circuit and stay home.”
He wasn’t much different from her dad, Dominique thought, who’d pursued his dreams relentlessly until he’d made the bank happen. The most significant difference was that her father had accomplished most of his success with her mother at his side. Blair had just as good as told her that he wasn’t ready to settle down yet. Was she? She felt the weight of his gaze on her. Suppressing her disappointment, she stared out over the deep blue water and listened to the buzz of insects in the breeze.
They both turned at the sound of a vehicle and saw the SUV the staff used to run errands. The chauffeur got out and carried a large picnic basket and a bright red comforter to the shade of a big oak tree. With a wave, he was back in the truck and gone before they were a quarter of the way from the shore.
“Lunch is ready,” she said, suddenly aware that she was very hungry. “I’m hungry. Give me one of those paddles. I know how to use it.”
Blair’s soft cotton shirt brushed her arm while he adjusted his hands on the paddles. “Let me handle this, Dominique. I’ll have us there in a minute.” His strong arms flexed as he bent forward and pulled the paddles back in a smooth series of strokes that demonstrated his competence. This time he was all business. Catching a tantalizing whiff of his tangy aftershave as he leaned forward, Dominique admired his sculpted muscles and flawless technique. Where had he learned that? She asked him.
“Crew team in college,” he answered with a confident grin.
In no time at all, they reached the other side of the lake and Blair was helping Dominique out of the boat.
He wasn’t breathing hard, but she noted a faint sheet of moisture on his forehead. His big hand enveloped hers when they crossed the grass and headed for the picnic basket beneath the tree.
Five
Blair spread the red comforter on the grass while Dominique unpacked the basket. He switched on his portable CD player to fill the air with the sounds of classical music. Somehow it complimented the serene beauty of the lake and the surrounding land.
Together, they cleaned their hands with the moist wipes they found in a small plastic canister and went through the packages of food. Dominique ate carefully at first, conscious of Blair’s attention and her own desire to make a good impression. Gradually, she relaxed enough to really enjoy the food. They stuffed themselves on the sumptuous feast.
As they worked their way through the rest of the basket, Dominique leaned against the tree trunk and let the bubbling champagne fizz on her tongue. Blair sat close with his flute of champagne and the container full of their dessert.
“Chocolate-covered strawberry?”
Blair grasped one of the treats by its green foliage and offered it close to her mouth. Dominique blinked. This was getting kind of intimate. She opened her mouth to sink her teeth into the firm fruit and closed her lips to relish the flavor of decadent chocolate.
“Good?” He held the last little chunk of strawberry for another bite.
Nodding, she took the last piece and let the sweet taste fill her mouth. She picked another strawberry from the container and was surprised when Blair leaned close expectantly.
She fed him, her fingertips tingling against the warm brush of his lips. Their gazes met and held as he chewed and swallowed. Then he was leaning close to gently kiss her lips with a wet warmth that sent sinful currents of desire spreading through her. His mouth was soft and provocative. The man could kiss something fierce.
Her fingers gripped the soft cotton collar of his shirt and she inhaled his scent, an intoxicating blend of Blair, his cologne, soap, mint, and a hint of sweat. She felt his hand massaging up and down her arm, while the other caressed the nape of her neck.
Dominique sighed and let the moment end, but a part of her wanted to go up in the flames he’d generated.
“I could spend the day kissing you,” Blair remarked.
“It was wonderful,” she said, still feeling the afterglow. In a series of quick, efficient movements, she began closing the containers and repacking the basket. She was a little nervous and didn’t want to get too caught up in what they had just shared.
A clump of bushes nearby erupted with rustling sounds. With a suspicious glance, Dominique turned to investigate. She relaxed at the sight of a squirrel scrambling up the tree.
Blair’s fingers brushed her arm. “Feeling a little jumpy?”
At the contact, her stomach dropped and she realized just how vulnerable she was. “No, just making sure my little brother’s not spying on us.”
“Would he do that?” He snapped the lid on a couple of containers and handed them to her.
“Yes, he would.” She fitted them back into the basket, her ears full of the sound of Mozart coming from the CD player and Blair’s laughter.
With the basket repacked, they made themselves comfortable on the pillowy softness of the comforter.
The champagne had relaxed Dominique to the point that she actually felt a little drowsy. Beneath the shade of the tree, she lay on her stomach with her chin in one hand. Blair sat with his back against the tree.
She asked Blair what made his company’s high-performance engines different from others and watched his eyes light up with enthusiasm. He talked about combustion chamber designs and the engine stroke. Though she was interested in what he was saying, she felt her lids grow heavy. As he waxed poetic about maximum torque, she drifted off to sleep.
The provocative beat and lyrics of an Usher song awakened her. Dominique lifted her lashes and looked around.
Blair was off the comforter and standing near the lake, dancing. As she watched, he executed a few of the steps she’d seen in the music video. Then he st
opped to grab the hem of his shirt and pull it over his head. Ultra-smooth brown skin, the color of a creamy chocolate bar, rippled with the play of his muscles. Dominique’s mouth watered.
She watched him fold the shirt and place it on the grass. Then the zipper of his pants came down. Staring hard, Dominique glimpsed black material in the opening. With his hips flexing, Blair bent over and removed his shorts. She stared, transfixed by the sight of prime male flesh clad only in mid-cut swimming trunks that hugged his shapely rear and athletic thighs like spandex. She swallowed hard.
The man possessed the perfect body. Nice chest, tight butt, flat abs, and toned thighs. Unaware of her scrutiny, he took the last couple of steps to the lake and slowly walked into the water.
Dominique sat up, blinking. Blair Thomas had a body to die for. Suddenly the water swallowing his form looked mighty inviting. She kicked off her sandals and stood.
Unbuttoning her blouse, she watched Blair swim across the lake. Sliding her arms out, she dropped the blouse on the comforter and undid the button and zipper on her capri pants. As she shimmied out of them, she saw that he’d stopped swimming to tread water.
He was watching her with simmering eyes that scorched her skin. “Oh, Dominique,” he said a low, vibrating tone that tickled her ears, “on a scale of one to ten, you get a twelve.”
“Thank you.” A sensual thrill arced through her and almost made her lose her balance. She stepped out of the pants and placed them on the comforter.
In nothing but her caramel-colored bikini, she stretched in the sun.
“Come on in, the water feels good.”
Striding towards the water, she locked gazes with him. Slowly wading in, she barely felt the cool water.
Blair met her halfway. He leaned close to touch his lips to hers. “You’re so beautiful that I can’t stop looking at you,” he murmured. His hands smoothed up and down her arms. “And all I can think about is kissing and touching you.”
“I’m enjoying you, too,” she admitted. “And it sounds like you’re having fun.”
“Yes, I am.” He bent towards her and their lips met again for several little kisses that culminated in a deep tongue lock with their bodies clinched tightly together.
Dominique moaned softly and was surprised to hear Blair’s groan. They were still standing in the water, but she was virtually lying on his sexy body. Sensual heat filled her and flowed down her insides, melting her all the way. She gasped involuntarily at the glide of his hand on her bare waist, just above her hips. The other hand gently stroked her face and neck.
“Dominique,” he whispered.
Lifting her hands, she cupped his face and brought it close for another searching kiss. His arms tightened around her. When the kiss ended, her fingers traced a path down his neck and glorious chest to his flat stomach. She felt his muscles harden. She was hot, hot, too hot to be standing in the lake with Blair like this, only a short distance from her family’s home.
“We’re going to boil this lake over,” she laughed softly, stumbling back a half step.
“But we’d both go up in flames,” he countered, catching her hand.
“Oh yeah.” Her gaze locked with his and she trembled beneath the heat she saw there. It was too soon to be thinking of jumping his bones, she told herself, but the feeling persisted.
His grin released some of the tension. Still holding hands, they dropped down into the water. For the first time she realized how refreshingly cool it was.
“Can you swim with one hand?” he asked. “I want to keep this one.”
“I’m a good swimmer, but I haven’t learned that one yet,” she said. “Maybe you could show me?”
“I’m kind of busy watching you right now.” He countered. “You’ve broken new ground. I’ve never had a date fall asleep on me before.”
“It was the champagne,” she said, trying to justify her actions.
“Sure, tell me anything.”
Her mouth curved upward. She stretched out on the surface of the water to float and look up at him.
Standing next to her, his hands supported her until she was floating. Then he turned, moved away, and dived down into the lake.
The motion shifted her body on the surface but didn’t turn her over. The surface of the lake stilled and remained smooth for several minutes. Listening hard, Dominique watched and waited anxiously for him to surface. Hadn’t he said he was a good swimmer? Just when she thought she’d have to mount a rescue, his head broke water. He swam towards her with a series of strong kicks.
“Want to race to the other side of the lake?”
“You’re on,” she said, accepting his challenge.
On the count of three they took off. Blair made it to the other side first, but Dominique caught up with him on the way back. Trying not to laugh as she swam as fast as she could, Dominique flew through the water.
With an eye on Blair and the shore where she was heading, she saw a small figure running on the land ahead. It was her brother, Jon. She saw him gather something green and something blue into his arms and run off.
Dominique swam even faster, pulling ahead of Blair.
When she reached the shore, she ran across the thick grass, calling out to her brother, who’d already disappeared.
“You win,” Blair called from the shore. “What’s up?”
“I think my brother’s playing tricks on us,” she explained, filling him in. Briefly, she wondered how long her brother had been hiding and spying on them. She and Blair had done nothing but kiss and strip down to their suits. Even so, she didn’t relish the idea of her parents hearing about every little detail.
Dominique and Blair searched the grass and bushes, only to confirm that Jon had taken their clothes. Luckily, they both found their shoes. Dominique shivered as she slipped into her sandals. Despite the sun, cold lake water still dripped down her legs. She squeezed some of the moisture from her hair. She knew she looked a mess.
“I’m going to strangle him,” she fumed, remembering all the other little dirty tricks he’d played on her and her dates. There was the time she’d been living with her parents and he’d told her date that she was out with another man; then there was the time he’d told one boyfriend he was about to get dumped. And how could she forget the time that he’d torpedoed an egg into Phil’s Mercedes?
“Let’s walk back to the house,” Blair suggested. “It’s not as hot as it was earlier, and the house isn’t that far.”
“You didn’t bring your cell phone?” she asked, taking one last look around the area, hoping they’d missed something.
“It’s in my car. I didn’t want any interruptions,” Blair explained.
She expelled the breath from her lungs. “Mine is in my purse at the house. Right now walking is the number one choice. The only other option is to wait here until my parents miss us and who knows how long that would take?”
Blair lifted his CD player. “Let’s leave the basket. We walked over here. We can walk back.” As they stepped back through the clearing, he took her hand. “I really enjoyed myself, Dominique. I hope you’ll go out with me again, without any prompting on your dad’s part.”
She squeezed his hand. “Sure. I had fun, too.”
The late afternoon sun beat down on them as they trekked back to the house, but the walk was pleasant because they enjoyed each other. Dominique turned her enjoyment of Blair over in her thoughts. What did it mean for her and her life in Red Oaks? She didn’t have an answer.
A green Chevy pulled up behind them as they made their way up the driveway.
Dominique cursed under her breath. She recognized it as town gossip, Willie May Ryker’s, car. Dominique sped up. She and Blair were nearly at the front door when the car door slammed and the woman hurried to catch up with them on the steps.
“Yoo-hoo, Dominique! Have you guys been for a swim?”
Dominique eyed the older woman, who was sweating a little around the edges of her short, natural hair. Although she addressed D
ominique, the woman’s big eyes were all for Blair.
“Yes, we have been swimming,” Dominique answered politely. “How are you Mrs. Ryker?”
“A little parched, but otherwise fine.”
“Maybe Mama has something cool for you to drink,” Dominique said, aware that she’d opened the door for a grilling session.
Willie May nodded. “I surely hope so. Why don’t you introduce me to your young man?”
As Dominique made hasty introductions, the front door opened and Willie May’s daughter, Lally, hustled them into the house. “There’s no need to stand out there in this heat,” she remarked.
Inside, Lally got Willie May a glass of lemonade. Willie May held on to it, sipping and grilling Blair shamelessly. Dominique heard that the absolute last day Blair would be in town was June twenty-ninth, and she also got to hear the names of Blair’s other sponsors. She even recognized some of the names. Apparently Blair needed all the sponsors he could get to fund the work on his cars and his races.
The grilling session continued until Dominique’s mother entered the kitchen. “Why Willie May, I didn’t know you were here. Lally just got finished with her work. Are you picking her up or staying to visit with us?”
Willie May’s dark brown coloring deepened. “I was here to pick up Lally and I felt a little parched,” she began.
“Not a problem.” Dominique’s mother surveyed the entire group. “You’re all welcome to stay to dinner.”
Lally rolled her eyes at her mother. Willie May was known for the lengths she went to get an entire story.
Willie May cleared her throat. “Thank you, Deborah, but I believe we need to get on home. It was nice to see you, Dominique. Nice meeting and chatting with you, Blair.”
With that, the woman turned and made her escape with her daughter.
When the door closed, Deborah Winston eyed Dominique and Blair. “You can thank me later.”
Dominique ran a hand through her frizzy wet hair. She knew she was not looking her best. “Thanks, Mama. I didn’t think she would ever leave.”
Shifting his feet uncomfortably, Blair added his thanks.