AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It was a short two-minute drive to the lake, and Lena pulled the SUV into an open, gravel-covered area nestled between a cluster of trees. Gabby grabbed the bag of groceries, Lena grabbed the blanket, and I followed behind. We headed into the forest, following a small trail that led to the lake and I was suddenly in awe of my surroundings. This place was beautiful. The water was so pristine and glassy smooth; as if the lake had never been touched by humans.
“Here, help me spread this out,” Lena handed me a side of the blanket.
We each ate some food and talked about our lives. They told me about how they’d met Brodie and Jackson. Lena’s story was particularly interesting and it broke my heart to listen as she recounted it all. She’d had a rough life growing up, and an even rougher time until she’d met Jackson. Gabby’s tale of how she and Brodie became a couple was sort of funny, and even she couldn’t help but laugh at how stupid she’d been when she’d first met him. I told them all about my brother and Ash, the way we were always a threesome. How my brother had died. I even told them the story about how Ash and I had decided to have sex that first time. How I wanted to lose my virginity, and Ash volunteering.
“What red-blooded man wouldn’t want to volunteer for that job?” Lena laughed.
Now that I thought about it, it was funny, but I felt a bit abased at how naïve I’d been. I nibbled on a piece of cheese as my cheeks warmed with chagrin.
“Sorry, Mel. I don’t mean to make light of what happened. You told Ash—a gorgeous man, by the way—that you wanted to lose your virginity, and you told him you were going to have sex with the one guy he hated most. Of course, he would volunteer.”
“I know. But I’ve been so stupidly in love with Ash my whole life, for me it was the best option possible,” I admitted. “When he told me he wanted to be my first, I thought I’d heard him wrong. I couldn’t believe he was telling me that my fantasy was about to come true. And now, because of my stupidity and forgetting to take my pill, I’m going to have his baby. I didn’t trick him into a baby, though. I want you to know that. I really did forget about the pill. I was so high on the experience of being with him that it didn’t occur to me that missing a pill would be a problem. Then when my brother died, I forgot to take it a couple more times.”
“We know you didn’t trick him,” Gabby said.
“Do you think he thinks that?”
“No. At least, he’s never said that. No. I seriously doubt he thinks that,” Lena said. “No one thinks that.”
“I hope not.”
“Hey, let’s take Jackson’s boat out. Do you know how to work it, Lena?
“I think so. It has a motor. What could be so hard?” We got up and headed toward what looked like a pile of brush. She shoved the branches away to reveal a small, metal boat that lay upside down. “Give me a hand.” She placed her hands on the edge and Gabby and I flanked her on each side and lifted it up and over. It was a small boat with a small outboard motor.
“This looks fun,” I said.
We pushed and shoved it into the water, getting our feet wet in the process. Then we all hopped in when the motor cleared the silt and the prop became completely submerged.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Gabby said.
“Don’t worry. I’ve seen Jackson do this all the time.”
“Wait, shouldn’t we pick up the blanket and stuff first?” I asked, pointing back at the grassy area with our stuff.
“I’m sure it will be fine. We won’t be out very long.”
Once we were a safe distance from the shore, Lena pulled the cord on the motor. It started right up. The view was gorgeous. I’d never seen a lake so calm and smooth. Like glass. We traveled down the lake until I could barely make out the blanket we’d left on shore. As we headed farther into the lake, we turned a corner after passing some land that jutted out into the middle and then we headed into a wider part of the lake. “This lake is a lot larger than I thought.” My eyes about popped out of their socket at the sight of snow-covered peaks. “Is that Mount Shasta?” I asked.
“Yeah. Isn’t it gorgeous?” Lena answered, beaming with pride. “I love this lake. I love coming out here with a good book and just sitting here in the boat while Jackson fishes.”
I dipped my fingers into the water. “Burr. This water is so cold. Does it freeze in the winter?”
“No. It’s not cold enough since this lake sits right in the heart of a valley. We occasionally get some snow, but it melts pretty quickly.”
We kept on going for about fifteen more minutes.
Gabby looked up at the sky and pointed. “It looks like some clouds are coming in. So much for our warm sunshine.”
The clouds came in quickly, and along with them wind.
“We should probably head back. I don’t like the look of those clouds,” Lena said as the wind blew her long, red locks into her face. She swiped them away, but it was no use, they just kept coming back. The strong wind was blowing all our hair out of control.
Gabby reached into her pocket and came out with some hair bands. She handed one to me and one to Lena.
“Thanks,” I said, taking the elastic and pulling my hair back into a ponytail. Lena did the same.
“I usually have a spare or two,” Gabby said and started laughing.
