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“Getting us back to shore. I thought that’s what your hand paddling was trying to accomplish.”
His sweatpants disappear next. I swallow and look out at the lake. All three feet of it I can see in front of me.
We’ve shared plenty of heated moments, but this is the most I’ve seen of Caleb. Ever.
There’s a quiet splash, then a dark head bobs to the surface of the lake beside the canoe.
“Fuck, it’s freezing,” he informs me.
“Not surprised,” I reply.
“I didn’t hear you offering to jump in, Matthews,” Caleb responds, before he swims toward the wayward oar.
“Here.” Caleb’s back beside the canoe, holding he paddle. He holds it up to me.
I stretch over to grasp the wooden handle, and I don’t realize that was a mistake until I feel the canoe follow my movements. It tilts to the left. All of a sudden, lake water is pouring inside. Caleb was right. It’s cold.
I yelp, and then jump ship. Literally.
When my head emerges from the lake, Caleb is treading water beside me. “Didn’t you get an A in Physics?”
“Of course I did,” I respond through chattering teeth. “You have a plan to get us out of this, I hope?”
“Yeah,” Caleb replies. Then he smiles, which I’m not expecting. We’re treading water in what feels like an ice bath. Why does he look so amused?
“What?” I ask.
“I’m glad you came, Matthews.” The warm feeling his words elicit chases away a bit of the water’s chill.
“I just capsized the canoe.”
“Yeah, you did,” Caleb agrees. Then he kisses me. Familiar heat spreads through me, like a frozen flame.
Kissing in the water is difficult. It’s a challenge, staying afloat and remaining close enough to Caleb to kiss him. We manage to do it, though, until my arms are numb
“We should probably deal with the canoe,” I tell him.
“Yeah, probably,” Caleb agrees. After one final kiss, he swims over to the canoe. He flips it over in one smooth motion, then tows it toward me. The wayward paddle gets tossed inside, followed by our clothes.
Caleb literally has to haul me up and over the side of the canoe. Somehow, I adjusted to the temperature of the water, and the air is cold and unpleasant now that I’m wearing wet clothing. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to retain some body heat.
Caleb makes climbing into the canoe look easy. He gets dressed, and we finally start moving again. The mist is beginning to clear. I can see at least a dozen feet ahead now.
“So your grandfather is managing everything himself this weekend?” Caleb asks.
“Some of his old track buddies are coming over to help, but for the most part, yeah.” I look around at the scenery slowly emerging through the vapor lingering mystically in the air. “I’m worried about him.”
“If you’re worried about a weekend, how are you going to handle leaving him in the fall?”
I exhale. Part of me is surprised this possibility hasn’t occurred to Caleb already. Maybe it has, and this is a test. “I’m not leaving in the fall, Caleb. I’m staying in Landry.”
His face is completely blank. Nothing. “Why?”
“You know why.”
“Did you apply anywhere?”
“No,” I admit. “College is crazy expensive. That’s money we don’t have. And even if I got a scholarship someplace, I can’t leave the farm. Leave Gramps.”
