Beargrass Lake spread out below us, bright and blue under the afternoon sun, ringed by pines and dark rock. Zane’s access sat in a small sheltered curve of shoreline away from the public beach. A short weathered dock stretched into the water. The shallows were clear enough to show smooth stones under the surface, and tiny waves flashed silver where the breeze touched them.
For a second, I forgot to be embarrassed.
“Oh,” I said.
Zane stopped beside me. “Yeah.”
“That’s not an adequate description.”
“No?”
“No.” I stepped onto the shore, where pale grass gave way to flat stones warmed by the sun. “This is unfairly beautiful.”
He stayed a few feet behind me. “Unfairly?”
“Some places should give warnings before they make a person feel underdressed for their own life.”
His laugh was quiet. “You’re dressed fine.”
I looked down at my dirt-streaked legs, dusty sneakers, black shorts, and tank top damp at the spine. “Zane.”
His gaze moved over me slowly, not careless and not polite, and my breath caught.
“You’re dressed fine,” he said again, lower this time.
The lake breeze slipped over my hot skin. I looked at the water because looking at Zane had become an advanced-level activity.
“I didn’t bring a swimsuit.”
“I didn’t ask you to swim.”
“No.” I pulled my hair tie loose and shook my hair off my neck. “But the lake did.”
Zane made a low sound. “Daphne.”
I turned back.
He stood at the edge of the shade with the water bright behind me and restraint written through every line of his body. His hands were still loose at his sides, but his shoulders had gone tight. His eyes stayed on mine. He looked like a man standing at the last good place to stop.
I was so tired of stopping.
I bent and untied my shoes.
Zane didn’t move.
I pulled off my socks, set them inside my sneakers, and stepped onto the first flat stone at the water’s edge. The rock was hot against my bare feet. The lake lapped cool over my toes, and I sucked in a breath.
“Cold?” he asked.
“Perfect.”
I stepped farther in until water covered my ankles. The bottom was slick in places, but the stones were smooth, and the coolness climbed my calves like relief. I turned around and found Zane watching me with his jaw tight.
“Do you bring all your community service workers here after sign-out?” I asked.
“No.”
The single word landed hard enough to silence the next joke on my tongue.
