Unfinished Symphony (Logan 3)

"Swimming?"

"Skinny-dipping," he challenged.

Even though we were far from the nearest neighbor and the beach was almost always deserted, the very idea of swimming nude in the daytime frightened me.

"What if someone comes?"

"No one will."

"They might."

"Well, I'm not afraid," he said with that devilish grin and started to take off his shirt. He sat on the sand and pulled off his shoes and socks, looked back at me and then slipped off his pants and underpants. For a moment he just sat there looking at the water. Then he turned back toward me, his eyes so deep, so inviting. "Well?"

My fingers went to my blouse. He rose and walked out to the water to wait. Seconds later, naked, I joined him and he took my hand.

"Ready?"

"No," I said. "It's going to be cold."

"Freezing, but delightful," he promised and we ran into the water, screaming at the tops of our voices, and laughing until the water actually covered us in what felt like icicles. I turned and ran out as fast as I had run in. Cary followed, laughing hysterically at my shrieks. We both collapsed on the warm sand and quickly wrapped our arms around each other.

I was shivering when his lips brushed mine. He rubbed my back vigorously and we kissed again. The sun was warm enough to dry us quickly, but it was the heat of our own passion that drove the chill from our bones. Making love under a daylight sky, out in the open for all the world to see, heightened every tingle, every sensation. The wind was in my hair; there was sand on my face, and my lips were salty from the sea and from his lips. Yet nothing mattered but our great hunger for each other. Before it was over, Neptune came to us and began licking both of us, making us laugh.

"I feel like we're in our own private Eden," Cary said. "Nothing can touch us here. We're blessed, Melody. I'm the luckiest guy in the world."

We pledged our love, wrote our promises in the sand, lay beside each other and gazed up at the blue sky, not thinking about our nakedness.

"I don't know how I will get through each day without you when you go to that snobby prep school," Cary said.

I sat up and braced myself on my elbow, gazing out at the water.

"I'm probably going to hate it," I said. "Maybe I won't go."

"What do you mean? I thought that was settled."

"Grandma Olivia thinks it is, but I'm not sure." "Really? Well, what will you do?"

I gazed into his face and he smiled.

"Would you just stay here with me?"

"I might," I said and his eyes brightened as if there were tiny candles behind them. Then, they darkened and he shook his head.

"You're the class valedictorian. Everyone will say you've wasted your life."

"I don't live to please everyone, just myself," I said, but he sat up and began to dress. "Cary?"

"Let's not make plans and promises we can't keep, Melody. I'd better get you back to Grandma Olivia's."

I dressed quickly and we left.

"I had a wonderful afternoon with you, Cary," I said after we pulled into Grandma Olivia's driveway. "I've been working on our weekend, too. She thinks I'm sleeping over at Theresa's."

"I know how much you hate to lie," he said.

"If it means being with you, it's not a lie. It's a necessity," I said and he smiled.

"See you tomorrow," he promised and drove away. I watched him go and then I turned and went into the big house, a house that had somehow grown more empty and darker every passing day. Almost as soon as I closed the door behind me, Loretta came hurrying down the hallway to greet me.