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I nodded. “That was my plan. What do you think so far?”
Her smile lit up the entire room, and it struck me that Gemma had never smiled at me like that before. It wasn’t her bright customer service smile either; it was a genuine smile from her. I pressed a hand to my chest, as if she had struck me there. I tried to shove all that down.
I had asked out Gemma last year because I wanted to get to know her. She was excitable and fun to be around, and my dad seemed like he was finally on the right track. Finding my sister crying on the couch after I first slept with Gemma reminded me why my sister had to be my sole focus. But there was a part of me that wondered, what if I didn’t have to sacrifice my happiness for my sister? Wondered if I could have it all.
Gemma held my sketchbook to her chest. “Fe, I love it!”
“Am I forgiven yet?” I asked. She put her finger on her chin and pretended to be in thought. I reached over and tickled her. “Am I?”
She giggled uncontrollably as she squirmed underneath me. “STOP!”
I shook my head. “Nuh-uh, not until you answer the question.”
“I guess.”
“You guess? Would it help if I gave you more orgasms?”
A sly smile curled around her lips. “Maybe…but dinner first! Your girl’s hungry.”
I smiled at the idea of her being my girl, of this wild and adventurous woman being someone I could keep. Only in my dreams.
“Okay, okay. Let me get dressed,” I said and went upstairs.
I put on a button-down and grinned when I saw Gemma’s reflection in the bathroom mirror.
“You don’t have to dress that nice,” she said. She slid her arms around my waist and kissed my neck.
“You look so cute in that dress. I can’t go to dinner in my ratty t-shirt.”
She moved away from me and did a little twirl. “This old thing?”
“It matches your hair,” I said as I combed out my beard and then my hair.
She grinned and exaggeratedly put her hands in the pockets. “Thanks. It has pockets!”
I didn’t know what it was about women, but they loved to tell you that either their dress had been on sale or it had pockets. Sometimes both.
“Come on, pockets, let’s roll,” I said.
“I’ll drive,” she offered.
We drove to the other side of the lake to the crowded bar near the resort. We sat outside waiting for a table, and I slid my hand into Gemma’s on reflex. Her hand fit into mine like we were two pieces of a puzzle locking into place. I needed to stop thinking we could have anything outside of the next couple of days. This thing between us stayed at the lake. We couldn’t bring it back to Drakesville.
We didn’t have to wait long until the host sat us outside on the dock with a view of the lake. It was nice to feel the breeze on our faces as we scanned the menu. I ordered a beer, but Gemma stuck with lemonade because she said she drank too much at the breweries earlier. True, but I wouldn’t tell her that.
“What’s good here?” I asked.
“Crab cakes, crab cakes,” she chanted.
I felt a smile tug at my lips at her excitement. I scanned the menu and then closed it. We both ordered the crab cakes and relaxed into a comfortable silence.
I took a sip of my beer and watched her close her eyes as the wind whipped in her hair. She looked so beautiful and at peace that I couldn’t help myself. I took my phone out and snapped a photo of her.
One blue eye snapped open, and she gave me a suspicious look. “Did you just take a picture of me?”
“You told me to.”
Both her eyes opened, and she gave me a confused look. “Huh?”
