by Bella Drake
I looked over at Lucy’s place and wondered what she was up to. The fully illuminated cabin cast its reflection across the lake, dwarfing my little cabin oasis. I could hear classic rock music playing and was nodding my head when Led Zeppelin came on. Well, at least she has good taste in music. I was three beers deep when I saw Lucy emerge from the house. She was dancing and had a bottle of wine in her hand. Oh shit, here she goes. I wasn’t as scared as before, but I was still a little cautious.
She put the bottle on the patio table and walked towards the dock. She had a robe on and halfway to the dock, she dropped it. I sat up quickly, trying to zoom in but unfortunately, my human eyes did not have zoom. She was in a white bathing suit and from what I could see, she looked smoking hot. She walked down to the end of the dock and without hesitating, dove in. When she surfaced she let out a yelp.
“Woo-hoo!” She must have known I was watching because she looked over and waved at me. I was, of course, standing out of my chair, looking like a stupid pervert trying to get a better look at her. I sat back down but continued to watch her swim. I was surprised when she swam the length of the lake like it was nothing. She was out of sight at the far end. Man, I was glad she was in such good shape. Who knows if I would still be alive if she didn’t have those swimming skills.
After a few minutes, I started to hear the splashing of her arms as she returned from the far side of the lake. She was pretty close to my side and when she was just offshore she stopped. She was treading water and looked over. “Hey!” she shouted.
I stood up and walked down to the end of the deck. “Hey! Uh, thanks for the beers!” I shouted.
“No problem. Nice night for a swim.”
“Yeah, not for me,” I said laughing.
She started laughing. “I guess I don’t blame you.”
It just came out. I didn’t plan it but instinct took over. “You want a beer?” I asked, holding up one of the Coronas she left me. She paused in her answer, but then nodded and started swimming over. Oh shit, she said yes. Crap, why did you do that? She’s not crazy, relax.
She made quick time swimming over. I stood back from the ladder to the dock and let her climb up. Her skin was tan and glistened in the light of my fire. She had nice tits that were barely covered by the bikini she was in. I did my best not to perv out too hard, but hell, I hadn’t been with a woman up close in… fuck, forever. Trust me, prospects don’t get to fuck the chicks. Her nipples were hard from the chill of the water and stood out. The bikini bottoms barely, I mean barely, covered the holy grail and my mind went to mush instantly.
“Hey neighbor,” Lucy said.
“How’s it going?”
“A lot better than last night.”
“Yeah, that was a bit out of control.”
“To say the least.” She was standing there dripping and it got awkward quick.
“Oh, let me grab you a towel.”
“No, you don’t need to bother.”
“It’s no problem. Make yourself at home, I’ll be right back.” I handed her my beer that I’d just cracked and ran up to the house. When I got back she was standing by the fire with her back to me. Her ass was amazing. “Here you go.”
“Oh, thanks.”
She took the towel and starting at her feet, gently sopped up the droplets on each leg. Then she moved to her stomach and then, finally, dabbed her tits and her face. I thought she would wrap the towel around herself, but she didn’t. She folded it and sat it on the chair across from me on the other side of the fire pit. “It’s too hot for modesty,” she grinned.
“Cheers to that.” I definitely wasn't complaining.
“Thanks for the beer.”
“Actually, thank you for the beer,” I replied.
She raised her drink, “Cheers.”
“Cheers. So, how is your leg?”
“Ugh, it fucking hurts… look.” She twisted her leg and extended it out full-length for me to see the bright red and blistery patch on the outer calf.
“Ouch. I told you it would hurt the next day.”
“You were right about that!” she guzzled her beer.
“Hey, I wanted to thank you again for saving me from drowning.”
“Well, we are even then.”
“What, what do you mean even?”
“I saved you, and you saved me.”
“Okay, I get how you saved me with those crazy Olympic swimming skills but how is it you think I saved you?” She looked at me across the fire and didn’t say anything. I didn’t push for an answer. I got the impression she was planning on offing herself last night and for some reason, I had something to do with why she was still here. “I got your note.”
“Oh right, sorry about my rambling.”
“No, it’s fine really… hell, we all hit bottom at some point or another right?”
She smiled but I could tell she felt foolish. “I thought this place was abandoned, is it yours?”
“Uh no, it’s actually my sister’s and her husband’s. They hired me to fix it up.”
“It’s a cute little place.”
“Well, it’s no palace like yours.”
“No, I didn’t mean it like that. I really like it. In some ways more than my place.”
“Oh yeah, how’s that?”
“Well, when you look across the lake at this little cabin it feels like a home. Like it was built by hand with love. I can see kids running around and people laughing and fishing. It just feels like a home. My house on the other hand… yes, it’s impressive and lavish, but it lacks any of those things. It looks like a place where some lonely mom and maybe a nanny would bring the kids while the husband is working or fucking his secretary on some business trip.”
“Woah!” I said laughing.
Lucy laughed at her analogy. “Look, I’m just saying this place is nice. Really nice.”
“I like it too.”
“You look good here like you belong.”
“I don’t know about that, but I feel pretty comfortable here. That is, as long as I’m not drowning in the lake,” I joked.
“Yeah, let’s not go there shall we?”
“Deal.”
“So, what’s your story, Matt? All I know is you’re a contractor and your sister hired you to fix up this place. Any wife or kids?”
“Oh wow. Well...”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry. I was just...”
“No, no… it’s fine.” I was quiet for a few moments thinking about Cassie. Lucy sat silent, waiting for me to speak. “I was married. High school sweethearts in fact.”
“How sweet.”
“It was. We had a little girl that we named Cassie after my grandmother. She was perfect, she was an angel. We were happy, really happy. I had a good job working as a finish carpenter and my ex Angie was a pre-school teacher. She would take Cassie to work with her. It was… well… perfect.”
“It sounds wonderful.”
“It was until Cassie got sick.”
“Oh no!” Lucy put her hand to her mouth and tears instantly fell down her face.
“Six months, that’s all she had.”
“Oh Matt, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah me too, me too. And, if that wasn’t enough, my wife ran off with the doctor.”
“No, she didn’t?!”
“Yep, she sure did.”
“Oh Matt, that is the worst story ever.”
“Yeah, it’s not the best campfire talk.”
“You poor thing.” I could tell Lucy wanted to give me a hug or something, but she kept her distance. “Geez, and to think I thought I had it bad with a second cheating husband.”
“It’s all relative.”
“I can’t even imagine what you went through.”
“She’s with me, I know that more than ever.”
“You think she is around you?”
“Oh, I know it.” Lucy looked a little uncomfortable when I said Cassie was with me so I changed the subject. “So how about this cheating
guy of yours? At least it looks like you made out okay.”
“Oh no, we had a prenup.”
“I never understood those prenups. I mean, who does that if you’re in love?”
“Well, it kind of made sense since we both had money. We thought we would keep our finances separate.”
“I guess that does make sense and hell, that’s not a bad problem to have,” I said laughing.
“No, my problem was never finances – it was walking erections.”
“What?!”
“Yeah, I seem to collect guys with uncontrollable walking erections that can’t help but fuck anything and everything.”
“Whoa, I can see how that might be a problem.”
“Uh, you could say that.”
“Man, that sucks. I can’t believe both of your husbands cheated on you.”
“Yep, you’re looking at a two-time loser.”
“Don’t blame yourself for the misdeeds of those assholes.”
“No, I guess you’re right, but I chose them, so there is something to be said for that.”
“I don’t think so. I think we are with who we need to be at the time and we learn something from that person. Then, when you find the real one, all the mistakes that were made are in the past.”
“Matt, do I detect a little bit of a romantic in you?”
“Hey, I’m not ashamed of it. I am romantic. Can’t a guy be romantic?”
“Oh yes. Please, don’t get me wrong. I just didn’t peg you as a romantic, that’s all, but it’s good. Really, it is.”
“Oh, because I have tattoos and swing a hammer and ride a Harley?”
“You ride a Harley?”
“I’ve been known to.”
“God, I haven’t been on a Harley since college.”
“You on a Harley?” I asked, laughing.
“What! See? You did it too. Can’t a girl in a Prada dress ride a Harley?”
I smiled, “Would you like another beer?”
“No, I should get back to my side of the lake.”
“Oh, alright. Well, thanks for stopping by and thanks for making my jeans smell like springtime.”
“My pleasure, Matt.” Lucy got up and I could see the full length of her body as I looked her up and down. She saw me do it and laughed a little. She knew she was hot, and why not? she was. She didn’t seem stuck-up like most rich chicks. There was some edge to her for sure. “Hey, why don’t you stop by my place tomorrow after you finish up here? I have a railing inside that has a little wobble to it. I’ll trade your expertise for a home cooked meal.”
“Sounds like you have a deal.”
“Good. See you tomorrow?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Bye Matt.”
“Lucy,” I said, holding my beer up to her.
I watched her walk away. Good lord, that ass was perfect and she had legs for days. She got to the end of the dock and turned around.
“Oh, Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t pee in the lake.”
She pushed off and dove in, making quick time crossing the lake. She climbed out on the other side and when she did, it was as if she knew I was watching her because she turned and waved. I was a little embarrassed about that. “I can’t believe she saw me pee in the lake,” I said to myself. I started laughing. “So, tomorrow it’s dinner with the lady of the lake. This should be interesting.” I looked up into the sky. “Well Cassie, here I go again.”
Chapter 10
Lucy
I can’t believe I just swam over there. Lucy, you have lost your mind, I thought as I climbed out of the lake. I turned to see if Matt was watching me and thank God, he was. I waved. My friends and I always used to say that if a guy is watching you walk away he is into you. Well, I swam across the lake and he was still watching, so I guess that says either he has nothing better to do or he is into me. He must've liked the note. God, he was so good looking I wanted to devour him right then and there. I was just glad he didn’t think I was crazy… or did he? Who knows? I dried off from my swim and realized the house was a total disaster.
I can’t believe he saw it like this. There were empty bottles of wine everywhere and Ho-Ho wrappers on the floor. “Oh shit, is that actually a Ho-Ho with a bite out of it sitting on the fireplace mantel? I don’t even remember doing that. God Lucy, you need to get this together.”
I spent the next day cleaning up the cabin. I did my best to clean up the bones and horns left from the fire and I also swept up the ashes. By the end of the day, things were looking back to normal.
I put Jeremy’s gun back in the closet. I was thankful to Matt that I didn’t blow my brains out. I looked up at the wall where I was going to do it. God, can you imagine? I thought. I felt amazing as if I had a new lease on life. The new Lucy, like my younger self… the one that I and others loved. The one that people liked for who I was and not what I owned. That Lucy was back.
I started going through my CD collection and had fun throwing all of Jeremy’s music into a trash pile. I should have thrown this Kenny G shit on the fire, I thought to myself. I went through everything in the house from top to bottom that belonged to Jeremy. Clothes, toothbrushes, everything. I filled a couple of trash bags, just like I had with my things at his Portland apartment. I dragged them to the garage and stuffed them into the trash can. I went out to my Rover and carried up the couture-filled trash bags up to the master bedroom and hung my nice things up. I lined up my bags and my shoes carefully on the shelves in my closet.
Once I was done, I stood back and looked at the thousands of dollars of clothes, bags, shoes, and accessories. I started to cry. A few weeks ago, all these things meant so much to me – they were me. I would have sold my soul for a Birkin bag. Now, all I saw was a waste of money. Who did you become Lucy? I was ashamed and crying, grieving the death of my old self.
I went downstairs and went through some cooking magazines, then found a recipe from that Mario Batali guy. “Hmm… home cooked lasagna, that sounds perfect. What man doesn’t like a home cooked lasagna?” I tore the recipe out, threw some jeans on and headed for the store.
I hadn’t left the property since I’d arrived. I had forgotten how beautiful it was up here. I didn’t see the beauty on the way in because my mind had been taken over by a cloud of helplessness. Now, instead of killing myself, I’m making the hot neighbor guy some lasagna. I was able to find all the ingredients at the local market and grabbed a couple cases of beer. I could tell that Matt was definitely a beer guy.
When I got back to the house, I could hear Matt’s saw going across the lake. It made me smile in anticipation of dinner. I was a believer that people come into your life for a reason and the fact that I was still alive because of him, was proof to me. If that was the only reason we'd met I was thankful, but something deep in my gut told me there was more to come. I, for sure, didn’t want anything serious. I just wanted some fun and if that was this delicious man, then I was game for sure. Though he looks like a bad-ass, I can tell he’s sweet inside and has a good soul. I thought about his daughter and how sad he seemed and... God, the wife. I couldn’t believe she left a man like him for the fucking doctor. I wondered if his wife was like me, wanting an easy rich life. I wondered if she regretted it yet, or if she was still high on the wining and dining. “Her loss,” I told myself.
Chapter 11
Matt
It was hot again and I couldn’t wait until the siding was done so I could work inside. I knocked off early so I had time to shower before I went over to Lucy’s to fix her railing or whatever. I was learning that Lucy was a mystery and you never knew what you were in for. I put on my best pair of jeans, ones that only had two holes, and my nicest T-shirt. I drove my van so I could bring some tools just in case the railing really was broken.
The road on the right fork was way smoother than the one to the little cabin. Of course it was, I thought. I hadn’t really seen the cabin in the daylight and it was as impressive in the fro
nt as it was on the lakeside. Huge pillars towered up three stories. Man, someone really has some money. I walked up and rang the doorbell. It was what you would expect from a rich person’s house, with multiple chiming bells like you hear driving by a church on Sunday.
“C’mon in!” I heard Lucy yell. I opened the door and the smell hit me. It was the smell of home-cooked food. “I’m in the kitchen!” she yelled again. The house was spotless. The bottles and various shit thrown everywhere were no longer there. It was now the home of a tidy person. “Hey, Matt. I’m glad you could make it.”
“Yeah, I moved some things around with my schedule.”
Lucy laughed at that. “Well good, because you get to try my famous lasagna,” she said, opening up the stove to check the done-ness of the lasagna.
“I can’t wait, it smells great. So, it’s famous huh?”
“Not really, it’s the recipe from some famous chef… so in a way, I guess it is.”
“Well, I have been living on hotdogs. A Stouffer's frozen lasagna would be gourmet to me.”
“You will enjoy it then. Can I get you a beer? Never mind, like I need to ask,” Lucy said laughing and grabbing me a beer from the fridge.
“Thanks. So, where’s this railing you want me to take a look at?”
“Oh right. It’s at the top of the stairs. It seems like it’s loose.”
“I’ll take a look.”
“Great, I’m going to make a salad. You eat salad?”
“If it’s in front of me I’ll eat it.”
“My kind of man.”
“We’ll see about that,” I said laughing. Lucy looked fucking hot in tight jeans and a tiny tank top. She wasn’t wearing a bra and her perky tits were at attention and jiggled when she laughed. I’ll have to break out some jokes. I climbed the stairs and pushed and pulled on the railing until, indeed, it was loose by the top banister. It was a metal railing and attached with bolts from below on the solid hardwood, slab-floating steps. “Looks like a bolt came loose!” I shouted to Lucy in the kitchen.