“And… ?” I question.
“And I told him my intentions were to marry you.” If I were drinking something, it would be splayed all over the back of Kyle’s headrest. My eyes almost fall out of my head. Alicia turns around to take in my expression and busts up laughing. I give her my evil eyes, narrowing them into slits, which on me doesn’t really look mean at all. A laugh erupts from everyone. I cross my arms and look out the window, ignoring all three of them.
North Carolina is known for its beauty of beaches and perfect weather but what we natives know, is that North Carolina has various hidden spots, the ones that are so extraordinarily beautiful that you think you’ve died and gone to heaven. And this hidden lake is just that… heaven.
As we pull up to Kyle’s parents’ lake house, I am amazed at its size. It’s enormous with its numerous white stairs coiling up to the front door. It’s built up on high white pillars which I assume is because this so-called lake is more like a small inlet off the ocean. The house sits up high, overlooking the small, makeshift beach down below, which leads out onto a small pier, all on top of the salty water. This place is the best of both worlds, beachy and woodsy, with tall trees surrounding us. The air even smells salty like the ocean but also with a touch of forest.
“This is beautiful, Kyle,” I whisper as I step further out of the car. I look up and see the sun casting its pretty glow through the openings of the green limbs.
“Wow, I have been missing out all my life… ” Alicia grabs my hand and we run over to the edge of the grass and look down at the little beach. Off to the side lays a rustic-looking wooden ladder, so we pull it up and shove it down below us, climbing down so fast that the guys have to search for us.
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me how freaking hot Kyle is; you totally held back.” I glance over at Alicia and give her a little shrug. Kyle is hot, but he’s nothing compared to my Rowen. My Rowen? Oh my God.
“Sorry, I forgot. You only have eyes for Rowen.” She emphasizes his name and I half roll my eyes. But she’s right, I do only have eyes for him and that’s the dangerous part. “I can see why, though.”
“Whatever,” I joke.
“Enough boy-talk. Let’s go get drinks and start this day.” I follow her up the ladder and silently yell at my conscience catching up to me, telling me to run before Rowen can destroy me all together.
The entire day has been exhausting, but I’m so liberated that I don’t even realize how tired I am. My limbs ache and I’m a bit tipsy, but I can’t seem to care. We’ve been out on Kyle’s boat for most of the afternoon, jet skiing and tubing, and we even got to see a few dolphins. There’s jellyfish and dolphins that inhabit this small bayou, especially in the summer. Kyle kept warning us to stay clear of the jellyfish and he complained how he’s been stung more times than he could count, but they didn’t bother me. I told him I’m never leaving.
Once it started to hit dusk, the sky burning with pinks and oranges, Alicia and I had the notion to feed the guys then others started to show up, Hannah Marie and Anna being two of them, lugging a giant cooler full of something called “Jungle Juice.” Rowen muttered under his breath that they call it “Death Juice” at UNC because it’ll knock you on your ass faster than you can even say “ouch.” It looked tasty and smelled of oranges and some type of fruit punch; in fact, there was even some fruit floating around in its reddish tint.
The rest of the people who showed up I wasn’t really familiar with. A couple of them were from UNC, and a few from neighboring schools. The few girls that did come seemed nice at first, but they’d make small talk with Rowen and my blood would boil. I made sure each of them watched as I claimed him. I would grab his hand and kiss him on the cheek, sending off an aura of “DO NOT TOUCH” around us. Rowen did the same; he would snake his arms around my waist, placing playful kissed along my collarbone. It was frankly hilarious at how we were claiming each other and I was really unaware until Alicia mentioned it.
“You two are going to start peeing on each other soon,” she cracks and I whip my head at her so fast I almost drop my drink on the ground.
“What?” I exclaim.
“You and Rowen are making it perfectly clear that you are each other’s and no one else’s.” Rowen chuckles behind me and Alicia smashes her lips together to keep herself from laughing. Kyle pipes in with his laughter, too. My face heats as I think for a moment. I decide that she’s right, but I also decide that I don’t care. So, I do what any sane girl would do. I reach my arms around Rowen’s neck and kiss him passionately. I’m aware that we have an audience; I just don’t care.
Rowen nips my lip and I almost moan. Instead, I sit up quickly, placing my jungle juice on the chair, and grab his hand. He trails behind me and we can both hear people hooting and hollering but we just keep on trekking. Once I let go of his hand to climb down the ladder, I bask in the scratchy wooden rods along my hands. Rowen follows me down, ju
st as I land in the soft, warm sand, and asks what I’m doing. I only grin at him, stumbling a little as I climb up the small makeshift wooden pier and walk to the very edge. With Rowen right behind me, I turn around and reach up on my tiptoes and kiss him gently on the lips, just enough to he can have a taste of the juice on my mouth and then I back away, toying with the hem of my shirt.
“What are you doing?” he inquires, watching my fingers trail down to the bottom of my shirt.
“We’re goin’ swimmin’.” I lift my shirt up over my head and drop it to my feet. I’m left standing there in my jean shorts and lacy, pale-pink bra. The only light around us is from the moon and it casts a perfect glow on our bodies, our reflections shining brightly on the ripples of the salt water.
Rowen looks back up to where the party is, bites his lip unintentionally, and then his gaze saunters back over to me.
“Oh, stop it. Who cares if they see us.” I wink and I watch his Adam’s apple bobble up and down.
“I don’t want anyone else to see you like this.” He takes the few steps left between us to get to my body and wraps his warm hand around my torso. He tilts my head up to his, and I’m staring into his long-lashed eyes when he swiftly leans down to kiss me, hard. His tongue swirls with mine and my hand moves to grip his unruly hair. He stops the kiss abruptly and whispers, “I want to be the only man on this earth to watch you strip your clothes down to your bra and panties.” I chuckle and push his chest lightly so I can continue on my journey. Even in the moonlight, I can see his eyes darken when my fingers reach the button on my shorts. I slowly unbutton them, hearing the zipper click among the sound of small waves crashing, and then they drop, just like that.
“So, you’re saying no to skinny-dipping?” I intone, standing there, almost completely naked.
“I’m not saying no, but if you strip down naked right here in front of me I cannot promise that I will keep my hands to myself.” I think for a moment, debating. We agreed to take things slow, but the sex kitten inside of me is slowly losing her ability to reason.
“You can touch me… ” I say coyly. “But, no sex. Not tonight.”
He takes a deep breath and nods as his gazes follows my bare legs, “Whatever you want, babe.”
I saunter over to him and lift his shirt up over his head just as he unbuttons his pants. I teasingly run my hand over his most intimate part and he grunts in response, digging his hands roughly onto my hips.
He quickly nips my ear and I can feel my lower parts heat with fire. I back us to the edge of the pier and just as my eyes meet his, a smile breaks out on my face. He looks perplexed, raising one eyebrow, and I quickly step back and shove him into the water, alone.
I hear a splash and look down as he emerges from the water. I’m cracking up, holding my middle and he has on his award-winning Rowen smile, bright teeth shining against the backdrop of the bayou.