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"Sure," I say with way more confidence than I'm feeling. It's not that I'm afraid of the boat itself, it's more that I have this fear of either falling over or falling out of the boat. Either scenario would be mortifying.
He walks toward me, holding out his hand to help me step inside. I grab on, and the moment he closes his big hand around mine, I feel this energy pass between us. I have to hold myself back from jerking my hand out of his from the intensity of it.
I get into the boat and gesture for him to hand over the tote bag and cooler. Once those are in the boat and settled, Cooper steps in and sits in the captain's chair, starting the boat at the same time. I sit in the co-captain's chair and take the opportunity to stare at Cooper as he does his thing.
He looks so confident and sexy as he maneuvers us out of the slip and away from the marina. His police uniform takes him from being sexy to panty-melting. I need to stop thinking about what's underneath the uniform before I embarrass myself.
Cooper looks over, catching me in my thoughts. A blush creeps up my face and he smirks, making me feel like he knows exactly what I was thinking.
I turn forward, not allowing him to read my wayward thoughts anymore, and watch as we break away from the marina and out onto the open lake. Cooper speeds up the boat, and we skim across the water, bouncing when we hit the wakes of other boats. The wind is whipping my hair back, making me wish I had a hair tie.
We take a curve into one of the offshoots and away from the main arm of the lake. The cove goes back quite a ways, and Cooper starts to slow down. We make it around another curve, and suddenly the trees open up, and all I can see is the horizon.
The view is breathtaking even without the sunset. It's like the lake sits up on a hill, and everything below it is forest and skyline.
Cooper comes to a stop in the middle of the cove. He lets down the anchor, turns off the boat, and all at once, it's silent. It feels like the world just stops and the sounds of nature echo around us. The wind blows softly through the trees as the crickets sing and the birds chirp. It's awe-inspiring.
"This is beautiful," I whisper because speaking any louder would disrupt the calm surrounding us.
"Yes, it is," Cooper says, and I look over at him, but he's not looking at the lake, he's looking at me. His amber eyes darken as they roam across my face. I can feel a blush move across my face as I run a hand through my hair, knowing full well it's a knotted mess after speeding down the lake.
"I'm going to take some pictures now, and then I'll take some more as the sun is going down," I say as I stand up and dig into my camera bag, pulling out everything I need.
I picked up photography when I was about fifteen. My parents knew how much I loved painting and felt bad that I couldn't because of their job, so they bought me a camera for Christmas. They thought if I could capture the views I saw while traveling, I could use the pictures as inspiration when I painted over the summer. It made a huge difference, and while I enjoy painting more, photography has become a passion as well.
I find it fascinating how changing little things, like the camera angle or lighting, can alter the entire mood of the picture. It's another way I get my thoughts to slow down and allow myself to notice the beauty around me.
The way the wind blows through the green leaves of the surrounding trees, the stillness of the dark lake that expands into the rocky shore, a heron swooping down to catch its dinner, it’s all captured through the lens of my camera.
After taking a few shots, I put my camera down and seek out Cooper. He's relaxing on the back bench, looking delicious.
"All done?" Cooper asks with a smile.
"Yes, sorry for checking out for a minute. I told you, when I zone out, I'm usually completely unaware of what's going on around me until I come back and it's been two hours," I say jokingly.
"It's only been about twenty minutes, so don't worry."
"Wow, I'm so sorry. I'm sure you've been incredibly bored."
"It was actually really cool watching you work." His eyes heat as he looks at me, and I'm pretty sure I can feel my entire body melting. How does he do that with one look? "Are you hungry?" He gestures to the cooler.
"Starving," I say, sitting down next to him on the bench seat.
"I have sandwiches, chips, and some fruit. Oh, and some snack cakes for dessert because they are the epitome of a lake snack." Cooper looks at me with the cutest grin on his face.
"That sounds perfect. I haven't had a snack cake in years." Cooper's head whips up to mine with wide eyes.
"Seriously? These things are my only vice. I don't let myself buy them unless I'm on the lake because I'd eat ten a day if I bought them regularly," he laughs. "Okay, I have turkey or ham and I have no preference, so it's your choice."
"I'll take the ham, please," I say, holding out my hand for the sandwich. "Can you pass me the chips as well?"
"Sure," Cooper says with a curious look on his face. I know what I'm about to do is odd, and anybody else would have just eaten the sandwich as is, however, I don't like regular sandwiches, and I'm starving, so here goes. I take the top off of my sandwich and start layering the chips across the middle, making sure the whole thing is covered, and then place the top back on.
"Really?"
I pause, my sandwich halfway to my mouth, and look over at Cooper whose eyes are wide with shock. "You're really going to eat a sandwich with chips on it?"
"Well, I don't like them without the chips so yeah, I guess I am. Why?"
