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She doesn’t deny it. “Yeah, the curse of growing up on a farm. If I ever do leave, that’s going to take some getting used to.”
I catch how she says if, not when.
It’s not news to me that Lennon’s life plan has never not included remaining in Landry. Or that I’m really the only complicating factor.
We keep drifting along the surface of the lake until the sun truly starts to shine, burning away any lingering mist and bathing the surface of the lake in sparkles.
“We should probably head back,” I tell Lennon.
She nods in agreement, so I paddle to the left. The green hull of the canoe slowly spins around to face the way we came from.
I’m distracted by maneuvering the canoe around a floating dock, so I miss the moment Lennon takes my sweatshirt off. I glance over in response to the movement I catch out of the corner of my eye and watch as she shimmies out of the shorts she’s wearing as well.
“Wh—” I clear my throat, taken totally off guard. “What are you doing?”
She grins unexpectedly, as she tosses her clothes in a heap on the floor. “Exactly what it looks like.”
Before I have the chance to blink she’s in the lake, her brown hair looking black when her head emerges from the water and she bobs beside the canoe.
“Come on, Winters.” She leans back so she’s floating on her back. “Water is warm this time.”
I glance around. There’s still no one else in sight on the lake. We’re close to a small cove with a rock outcrop that will keep motorboats away. And the shoreline here is densely wooded, no houses visible.
My eyes return to Lennon floating.
I smile at the sight.
Lennon is serious and responsible and often inscrutable. A playful, joking Lennon is rare. A version of herself I hardly get to see, and have never seen her show anyone else besides Earl.
I stand, the canoe rocking slightly as pull my hoodie off. Lennon shifts so she’s treading water. Her hazel eyes are focused on me and filled with heat. I pull down my shorts, and after a moment of hesitation, add my boxer briefs to the pile. Wearing them back wet under dry clothes will suck.
When I break through the surface of the water, she’s right next to me. “It’s nice, right?”
“Definitely warmer than last time.” When we came here in high school it was spring, not summer.
Now that I’ve adjusted to the initial shock, the water feels refreshing. I’m way more focused on Lennon than the temperature, though. She’s close enough I can see every freckle on her face. Study the droplets of water clinging to her eyelashes. Watch the pulse of her heartbeat thrum beneath her jawline.
A line of water streaks down from her darkened hair to her cheek, and I brush it away with my finger.
“You know,” she starts. “SinceI’mnaked, andyou’realso naked…”
I groan, having no trouble figuring out what she’s suggesting. “Len, there’s no way I can keep us both afloat and actually move once I’m inside of you.”
“Thought you weresoathletic, Mr. Hotshot Baseball Pitcher.”
I smile and shake my head. “Not that athletic. We’ll drown.”
She floats closer, winding her arms around my neck and wrapping her legs around my waist. “What a way to go, though,” she whispers.
I manage a laugh before her lips are on mine. Our bodies fit together like two puzzle pieces. Her hands travel up my back and across my shoulders, slipping into my hair. I got it cut recently, so there’s not much to pull. But her fingernails graze my scalp, and it feels so good I don’t care.
My hands slide down to her hips, the water adding a slipperiness that’s surprisingly erotic. The last—only—time I kissed a girl in the water, it was her.
Things were uncertain between us in a different way back then. Every time I kissed her, I was worried it would be the last time. I’m not worried about that now. And I’m no longer a fumbling teenager either. Just because sex seems logistically impossible doesn’t mean we can’t do other things.
Lennon gasps when I pull her right on top of my erection, severing the connection between our mouths. “Make yourself come on me,” I whisper, moving my lips down the side of her neck.
“Here?” she murmurs back. I can’t see her face from this angle, but I’m sure she’s looking around our surroundings. Even if someone has showed up, it doesn’t matter. They’d have to be right beside us to see what’s going on beneath the water.
