Terri cut the engine to low, then slowly went near the south side of a piece of land surrounded by water that was known as the Island.
Nate jumped into the shallow water to pull the boat onto shore. There was a stake where he could tie it.
“Damn!” Terri said as she looked at the water. She had on tight jeans and the absurdity of high heels.
Nate walked through the water and held out his arms. He didn’t need to tell her to jump.
Terri decided to forego the girlie protest of “I’m too heavy” and “I could take off my shoes and wade in” etc. In a very practiced gesture, she stepped up to the side and fell backward.
Nate caught her without so much as a grunt and carried her to the sand. “You’ve done that before, haven’t you?”
She did not say “a hundred times” as those words would require explanation. “Maybe. Della is going to torture both of us.”
Nate noted that she didn’t answer his question.
“You can put me down now.”
“Not until we get somewhere we can sit and eat.”
“Ah yes, food. Your number one concern. Did you get me out just to save time?”
He didn’t reply.
She loved the feeling of his big body against hers, and she wanted to lean her head against his chest. If she did, she’d be able to feel the warmth of him, hear his heartbeat. For a moment she’d be able to imagine that this was real and that he belonged to her.
Abruptly, he dropped her legs to stand her on the ground. “I’ll get the food.”
Half an hour later, they’d eaten the food they’d brought. Nate congratulated her on having so wisely chosen two delicious salads and a whole bowl full of brownies. They laughed over how they had blindly snatched and run.
But through it all, she kept feeling that he had something serious he wanted to say to her. Please, she thought, don’t let it be questions about the gossip she was sure he’d heard by now.
When they finished their meal, Nate stretched out on the grass in some dappled sunlight, while Terri sat a few feet away. “I got bawled out by Stacy,” he said.
“Oh? Any reason?” It wasn’t easy to keep the hope out of her voice.
“For imposing on you.”
“Because you make so much noise in the morning? And because you hog the remote and you seem to think that televisions are made only for watching sports? Or is it that you put so much chili pepper on that chicken yesterday that I could barely eat it? And you—” She broke off because he was smiling broadly.
“She doesn’t know about those horrible things.”
Terri drew in her breath. “Are you saying that you haven’t told her that you’re living with me?”
“I’m just renting. We’re not living together.” He turned his face to the sun, enjoying the warmth. “Stacy was quite...uh, vexed with me for inviting people to your house. She wanted to know if I’d asked your permission and I said I had.” He turned toward Terri. “I did, didn’t I?”
“You asked if a ‘few friends’ might come over. And you ignored my warning about the whole lake showing up.” She was teasing him.
“If you want them to leave, I’ll kick them out.” He started to get up.
“No!”
Smiling, Nate lay back down. “I told Stace I didn’t think you were upset, but I promised to make sure.”
“And that’s why we’re here?” Terri realized that she’d had a bit of hope that it was for another reason. She knew he was staring at her, but she didn’t dare look at him. He was much too good at reading what was inside people’s minds for her to meet his eyes. “So what else did Stacy say?”
“She reminded me that I have brunch at her parents’ house tomorrow at eleven.”
That idea made her laugh and she turned to look at him. “That sounds exciting. I bet they’ll be overjoyed when you show up in a rugby T-shirt and grab your food with your hands.”