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I sighed with contentment. Not only was I warm, but my erection was also safely out of sight.
Which was probably why I didn’t turn away as Chloe unwrapped the towel from her shoulders and got into the hot tub with me. I was disappointed when most of her was no longer visible.
Except for the one tattoo I’d given her, her body was free of ink, and I felt an itch I hadn’t felt in a long time. I wanted to pick up a needle and put my artwork all over her body.
She didn’t seem to notice my desire because she moved to the outer edge and took in the scenery.
“Wow. It’s so beautiful here.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her delight. And she was right; it was beautiful.
“Right here is the best of rural and city living. The closest town is about fifteen miles away, an easy drive for groceries and other necessities. Yet we’re out here, all alone with no one to bug us.”
“I think I’m more fascinated by the fact that we are sitting in a hot tub on a gorgeous deck attached to an amazing house, but when I look down, I see grass and flowers and trees. And there is literally a creek in the backyard of this place. It’s so cool. It’s like camping in the woods, but we don’t have to sleep outside and go to the bathroom in a pit we had to dig ourselves.”
I threw my head back and laughed. “For the record, I have never done that. Growing up, we always went to campgrounds with public restrooms and showers.”
“So, you’re not as tough as you say you are.”
I shrugged. “I guess not.”
“Did you see the pictures online of people swimming in the creek?” she asked.
I recalled a picture of a woman standing in the stream with her arms thrown in the air. “Yes.”
“Do you think it’s safe?”
I looked over the edge. The yard was a steep incline to the creek below. “The water is moving pretty slowly, and it is a creek, not a river. I don’t think we’d be swept out to the ocean or anything. But you’d probably have to be careful not to slip and hit your head on one of the jutting rocks.” I looked over at her. “But I don’t know if it will be warm enough to go in there. The temp is supposed to pick up tomorrow, but I’m betting that water is freezing.”
“You’re probably right.”
I smiled as a memory came to me. “My family and I went to a family reunion out in the Black Hills in South Dakota. Whatever campground we were staying at was up high in elevation. It was super cold up there, but it didn’t stop any of us kids from going in the hot tub every day.”
“Kind of like now.”
“Kind of like now,” I agreed. “But we would get hot, so we’d run and jump in the swimming pool to cool off for a few minutes.” I smiled at her. “You and I could always go down and jump in the creek if we get too hot up here.”
She raised her eyebrows. “No way. I’d rather just go inside.”
I laughed. “I don’t blame you. Even the mild things I did as a kid sometimes seem too much for me as an adult.”
She laughed too. “Tell me about it. As a kid, we used to ride our bikes down the street with our eyes closed. We’d start out counting one second and work our way up to ten. It’s really not that long of a time, but there is no way I’d do that now.”
“Wow. You rebel, you.”
“Tell me about it. Someday, I might tell you the things I did in college,” she joked.
“I can’t wait.” My eyes traveled down to her chest. “You never got your tattoo finished.”
Her smile fell, and she shrugged. “Yeah, well, you and I both know what happened after I got it. For a long time, I didn’t like looking at it in the mirror. I think that’s the worst thing about Darren cheating—he ruined my tattoo. And then you and I both moved away. It didn’t seem right to have someone else finish it.”
I couldn’t help but be pleased at her devotion to me and my work, but she didn’t owe me anything. “Darren and Tracy ruining it would have been all the more reason for you to go and get it finished or even change it a little.”
“I suppose you’re right. But I don’t look at it and get sad anymore. I like it now, and I’m glad I got it.”
“You could still finish it like you originally planned.”
“Yeah, but you’re not a tattoo artist anymore,” she said without a hint of humor.
