Chapter 4
Lucy would normally sleep in when she was home, but there was something about staying at the lake that always made her excited to get up in the morning.
This morning, there was the added bonus that she had bought coffee at the grocery store the day before. No need to ask her neighbor to move his truck again. But as she started to make the coffee, she kind of regretted not having an excuse to knock on Ryan's door.
You're being stupid, she told herself.It's just Ryan.
And really, it was just Ryan. The immature hockey player who lived next door to her friend. The guy who wasn't serious about anything. Well, actually, he was serious about hockey and his role as one of the rising stars on the Detroit Pirates. Lucy admired him for that.
Maybe that's why she felt a pull towards him after she saw him yesterday. He didn't seem like the immature and fun-loving guy she had come to know. He was dour and depressed. It all made more sense now after the call from Sydney a few weeks ago asking whether her parents had an extra week available at the cabin.
"I think Ryan needs a break," she told Lucy.
"A break from what?"
"Andy said Ryan's in a bit of a funk after the team's loss and needs someplace to go clear his head."
Sure, Andy had some expertise in how to handle the health of the Pirates' players — both physically and mentally. But this was Ryan. He could always brush off a loss. The saddest he ever looked was when Lucy saw him a week after he had to have his appendix removed and was sulking around because he couldn't play with the team.
But yesterday, when she knocked on the door, the man who answered wasn't the Ryan she knew. Maybe that's why she didn't recognize him at first. Or maybe it was because he wasn't wearing a shirt, which had completely distracted her. She had never seen him like that. So raw and bare, not only emotionally but physically as well.
The coffee pot began beeping at her, breaking her out of her thoughts. A day later and Ryan was still making her flustered. Inviting him over for a cup of coffee this morning may be a nice thing to do, but she needed to get her own cup first to straighten her head out.
She grabbed her mug, then headed towards the large bookshelves in the living room. The shelves were piled up with copies of all kinds of books her family had read over the years. They loved to all come here together and sit outside to read. Her mom preferred beachy romances, her brother was into anything with a car, and her dad was a mystery reader. In the summer before her sophomore year of high school, Lucy readJane Eyreby Charlotte Bronte. From then on, summer at the lake meant reading the classics for her.
She scanned the shelves and to her surprise found that her dad had restocked them the last time her parents were there. On one shelf were some tattered copies of a few novels she had read already along with a new Edgar Allen Poe collection in the mix. She grabbed it and turned to the table of contents. Sure enough, her favorite short story was in there. It would be a nice read before she had to dig into her work.
Lucy headed out to the deck with her coffee and her book. It was still early, but the weather was perfect. Warm but not too hot. It wasn't too muggy and sticky yet. A breeze was blowing off the lake where a man was swimming.
Lucy stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath. Ryan was in the water and he hadn't seen her yet. The deck was shaded by tall trees that also gave her a little bit of cover. So she wasn't spying necessarily. She was just watching discreetly and wouldn't interrupt him. After all, he needed a bit of a break after the heartbreaking end of the season.
She set her coffee and book down, then pulled out her chair as quietly as possible so she wouldn't disturb him. Then she started drinking and stared out over the water. It was calm today and not too choppy. Maybe she would take her canoe out for a little bit later on. And yes, she knew a canoe was a boring, not exciting like a seadoo or a speed boat. But living the life of a lawyer was crazy sometimes and she liked to find ways to slow down, especially up here.
She saw something move out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Ryan climbing out of the water near a secluded part of the dock that both cabins shared. As he pulled himself out, Lucy couldn't help but notice the way he moved, the taut muscles in his back and the sunlight glistened off his bare ass.
Oh god, he's naked!
Lucy quickly averted her eyes, trying not to move too much so Ryan wouldn't see her. Why the hell was he skinny dipping in the lake? It was barely seven o'clock and no one was out on the water yet and… Right, no one was out on the water yet. She should be inside, sleeping soundly on her vacation or maybe making breakfast or something. Instead, she was outside on her porch drinking coffee and getting ready to dig into Edgar Allan Poe while trying to ignore the gorgeous naked man.
She opened the book and held it up to her face but definitely wasn't about to read it. Instead, she peeked over the edge in as casual a way as she could. Ryan was still standing on the dock, but he was now wearing a large towel around his waist. Lucy wasn't sure if she was relieved or disappointed by that development.
She dropped the book on the table since there didn't seem to be a reason to hide behind it anymore. Ryan was at least somewhat modest now — or at least as modest as a man could be with only a towel wrapped around his naked body. But as she looked at him, she realized it was still a pretty damn good sight. Chiseled arms, sculpted back muscles, shoulders wide and muscular.
She always thought of Ryan as a kid. A young guy who barely knew how to do his own laundry and had a tendency to lock himself out of his own apartment when he went on road trips. A guy who had to have his mom live with him after his appendix was removed. A guy who, if it wasn't for his strict athlete diet, would likely spend every night gorging on pizza and beer. And even with the athlete diet, there were nights when Lucy had seen him down a large Detroit-style pizza for no other reason than because he could.
But Lucy was also staring at this gorgeous man, hands low on his hips, water dripping down his body, as he stared out at the calm water. A man who was sure enough of himself that he didn't feel subconscious when taking a dip in the early morning water without any clothes on. It was definitely a different side to Ryan that she hadn't seen before — in so many ways.
Lucy was staring so intently that when he finally turned, she wasn't quick enough in averting her eyes. She wasn't thinking straight. Instead of looking cool and calm with her coffee and her book, she probably looked wide-eyed and crazed like a deer caught in the headlights of a hockey player's pick-up truck.
Ryan's shoulders slumped and whatever confidence he seemed to have possessed moments earlier slipped away. Instead, he gave her a tight smile and headed up the flagstone walkway toward the cabin, his feet moving slower as he got closer. His arm fell to the edge of the towel that was tucked in and he held on to that spot, his hand tightening as if he was using all his strength just to keep it on his body.
"Hey, Lucy," he finally said.
"Hey." She took a sip from her mug, trying to look cool and collected. "I made coffee if you would like some."
"Yeah, I guess. I need to get dressed first."
I wish you wouldn't, she thought. "Sounds good. Front door is unlocked so just help yourself."
