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She finally emerges from the bedroom wearing a flirty yellow polka dot sundress that’s got ruffles from top to bottom. I am doomed. Not only is it impractical for touring this mega facility on the water—what if there’s a sudden updraft?—but the dress is begging to be touched, played with, hiked up around her waist while I stroke her to kingdom come.
Oh jeezus, I am just as atrocious as that next-door neighbor creep she told me about. Lock me up and throw away the key. Clothes don’t beg for anything. But fuckity fuck that body, and that apron, and that dress, and that friendly, chattering tone of hers. And her soft, open heart.
“Ready!” she chirps, dabbing on some lip balm.
“Good. Let’s go,” I say, a little too gruffly. But I don’t want to go anywhere. I need to run my hands all over all those soft curves, rub my thumbs over her nipples, taste her skin, explore all the wonders underneath those frills.
“Uh, it’s hot out there, I’m gonna grab us some water bottles, too.”
“I’ll get ‘em,” she chirps.
“Ah no that’s…”
But she’s already filling it with ice and water, attaching the lid with a forceful snap, and padding over barefoot to hand it to me. I hold all the bottles and coffee cups in my arms while helplessly watching her bend over, showing me her cleavage while she pulls her sandals on.
“What’s that noise?” she asks.
I look around. “I don’t hear any noise.”
She shrugs. “I thought I heard a bear growling outside. Probably just my imagination.”
Not your imagination, my girl. That was coming from me.
Chapter 13
Penny
As it turns out, Lock Day is way better than I assumed it was.
The vast, highly-secured facility is full of special exhibits, and we even get to walk across the lock walls that are normally inaccessible to visitors. A tour guide explains how the water comes in by gravity and allows the passage of huge freighter ships that come up from Lake Huron, run up the Saint Mary’s River, and go on to Lake Superior and down the western side of Wisconsin to unload in Minnesota. Or, in the case of ships going the other direction, following Lake Huron around the peninsula and under the Mackinac Bridge to Lake Michigan and down to Chicago. It’s pretty cool and staggering to think of how much depends on the passageway in this little town that’s a stone’s throw from Canada.
The entire time we are touring the facility, I keep getting the sense that Joshua is watching my face. Is he trying to make eye contact for the sake of eye contact or is he watching my face for a reaction, like friends do when introducing each other to their favorite TV show? I’m reminded he’s taken this tour many times before.
“You know,” I say after we end the tour, “I never would have done that on my own, but that was pretty cool. Thanks for sharing that with me.” We’ve exited the heavily guarded USAC area and have wandered to the quaint downtown of “The Soo” for a bite to eat. We pick up some delicious-looking portable crepes and meander toward the waterfront park to find a place to sit and eat our late lunch.
When a sudden wind off the water kicks up, I realize my choice in a dress might not have been the best. I yelp and make a feeble attempt to hold my dress down in front. Meanwhile, Joshua is all over it. He squats down and wraps both of his huge arms around my legs, holding my dress flat against my legs.
“Thank you,” I say, laughing. “But you can’t stay like that all afternoon.”
We must look like weirdoes, me standing in the middle of downtown, Joshua kneeling, his face pressed up against the outside of my leg. “Sure I can,” he says, laughing. “I can eat just fine down here.”
“Joshua!” I snap, laughing harder.
“Penny, you know that’s not…jeezus.” Now he’s laughing and I’m about to drop both of our crepes.
“I think the wind has calmed down some,” I say. “You can get up now.”
He replies, eyes level with my lady bits, “Maybe I like it down here.”
I shake my head. “You like to pretend you’re a good boy, but you’re not!”
He stands and takes both crepes out of my hand and offers me his arm. “You finally got me pegged, Penny.”
“Oh my god. Let’s find a place to sit and eat before we get in trouble,” I say.
* * *
Josh becomes extra animated when he talks about the ships.
