by Sadie Grey
I barely knew anything about her. I didn’t know where she came from or the path her life had travelled, but I felt an undeniable affection for her. Maybe it was because life had been cruel to her or maybe it was her smile. Or maybe I was just a dirty old man who wanted one last fling before he got married.
Whatever it was, I needed to put her out of my mind so I could focus on my own problems. I was a day closer to marriage and a day closer to death. I didn’t need a beautiful stranger to complicate my life just then.
What I needed was a swim. The cool water and the physical exertion would help me burn away the restless sexual energy that was pent up inside me. I stripped down, put on my swim trunks, and walked down to the lake.
That’s when I saw her.
She swam in the water not too far from shore. She moved with an easy, athletic grace. I caught flashes of her curvy body as she glided through the water. She seemed to glisten in the bright morning sunlight. I felt the unwanted feelings of arousal stirring again.
The smart thing to do was to turn right around and go back inside the cabin. I decided to do just that, but for some reason my legs carried me down to the water’s edge. The cool water felt good lapping at my feet, and the warm morning sun felt good on my bare chest. I felt energized and awake, like the morning was alive with possibilities.
Rachel caught sight of me and waved.
Her bright, excited smile at seeing me lit a warm feeling inside me. It was a nice change to have someone so genuinely happy to see me. It made me feel wanted. It made me feel loved. It had been so long since I’d felt that way, I’d almost forgotten what it was like.
She swam over to me until the water got too shallow. Then she walked along the bottom with just her head poking out of the dark water of the lake.
“Are you getting in?” she called to me.
“I’m thinking about it.”
“You think too much,” she said. “Don’t think about it. Just do it. The water feels amazing.”
The water did feel great on my feet. I took a few steps toward her, submerging myself to my thighs. Then she rose up out of the water and grabbed my arm.
She was naked.
I only had a split second to see her, but it was enough. I caught a glimpse of her hard pink nipples and the dark patch of hair between her legs before she yanked me down into the water beside her.
I struggled to distance myself from her, but I was off balance and couldn’t get a grip on the lake floor. Rachel latched herself onto my arm as she tried to drag me out into deeper water, and all I could think about was how amazing her bare breasts felt pressing against my arm.
Again, I was reminded of the dream I’d had the night before, and a part of me wondered if I was still dreaming.
I was grateful that only my head was visible above the dark water because I was rock hard again beneath my swim trunks. I struggled against her, but she only clung to me harder, pressing more of my body against her smooth, slick skin.
“Rachel, stop. Where is your bathing suit?”
She flashed a grin at me. “I didn’t bring a suit.”
“That’s not decent, Rachel. What if someone sees you?”
“No one ever comes out here. The only person who will see me is you, and I don’t mind if you look at me.”
“Well, I mind,” I said. “It’s just not right.”
She shrugged. “Then don’t look.”
She stood up on the lake floor and the top half of her body emerged from the water as if challenging me not to stare at her. I failed miserably.
Water dripped from her pale breasts so that they almost glowed in the sunlight. My eyes were glued to them and her pert nipples as they glistened invitingly. She planted her hands on her hips and grinned at me.
“Caught you looking,” she said and winked.
“Rachel,” I said.
“They’re just boobs, Edward. Here.”
She grabbed my hand and placed it on her slick breast. “See? No big deal.”
But it was a big deal. I snatched my hand back like I had touched a hot stove, but the memory remained of her soft, yielding flesh and the hard point of her nipple scraping against my palm.
Desire throbbed in me, urging me to put my hand back on her breast. It urged me to take her in my arms and feel her wet naked flesh against my own. It begged me to plunge myself inside her and show her what all of this flirting could make a man do.
Somehow, I resisted.
“Rachel, you need to stop,” I said.
“Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?”
I decided to be honest. “Rachel I’m getting married in two weeks.”
Her smile dimmed and she seemed to deflate. “Oh, I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”
She averted her gaze from mine and bit her lip.
“You don’t have to apologize,” I said. “It’s just, you and I can’t do this, no matter how attractive you are.”
She looked back at me and quirked an eyebrow up at me. “You think I’m attractive?”
I felt my face turn red. “No, well, yes, but that’s not what I meant.”
She laughed, causing her breasts to bounce. “You are adorable when you’re nervous.”
I started to protest but she raised a hand to cut me off. “Relax, Ed. A man and a woman can spend time together and not have sex. How about a race?” She pointed to a floating wooden raft about a hundred feet away. “Last one to the raft cooks lunch.”
“Oh, you’re on,” I said.
The words were barely out my mouth when she plunged into the water and swam for the raft. I chased her. The competitive spirit rose up within me. A man didn’t make it as far as I had in life without being fiercely attracted to competition.
The strain on my muscles felt good. My heart was pumping fast and a feeling of joy rushed through me. It didn’t take long for me to pull up just behind her. I knew I could beat her easily.
Then I made the mistake of looking at her in the water just ahead of me. The sunlight filtering through the water cast her naked body in a pale green glow. It was distracting to say the least.
Her lithe young body was hypnotic. I lost all coordination and my limbs felt heavy and clumsy. Inappropriate thoughts filled my mind. I did my best to push them away, but by then, she was far ahead of me.
My hand finally grabbed hold of the raft and I pulled my head out of the water gasping for breath. Rachel was already sitting on the wooden planks, leaning back on her elbows and letting her feet dangle in the water.
Her eyes were closed and her dark hair was slicked back on her head. Droplets of water dripped down her body, and I drank in the sight of her, mesmerized. She was enchanting, and not just because she was naked and beautiful.
Rachel was so free and unashamed. She was like the complete opposite of me. I had freaked out the day before at the possibility of her seeing me naked and justifiably so. I couldn’t imagine being as relaxed as she was with my own body on display. I envied her.
“I like my steak medium rare,” she said without looking at me.
Her words broke me from my reverie. “You got lucky,” I said.
She smiled. “I haven’t gotten lucky in a long time. I guess I was about due.”
A thought occurred to me.
“Who are you running from?” I asked.
She sighed. “An ex-boyfriend. And that’s really all I want to say on the topic.”
“Fair enough.”
She laid down on her side with her arm pillowing her head. She couldn’t have looked more alluring if she tried. I wanted to climb up next to her and take her in my arms. I wanted to hold her and tell her everything was going to be okay.
Then her big, dark eyes met mine, and somehow they were ever more distracting than her naked body.
“What about you?” she asked.
“What about me?”
“What are you running from?”
“Who says I’m running from anything?”
She shrugged. “This is whe
re I come to get away. I figured you were out here for the same reason.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of a vacation?”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I answered your personal question.”
“Fine, I came out here to think. My life’s about to change forever. I guess I just needed to wrap my head around it.”
“Right. The wedding. Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thanks.”
She turned to lay flat on her back and stare up at the fat summer clouds floating lazily by.
“What’s it like to be in love?” she asked.
The question caught me off guard. “What? I don’t know.”
“What do you mean you don’t know? You’re getting married in two weeks.”
“Right, yes. Of course.”
She sat up. “Holy shit. You don’t love her.”
“What are you talking about? Of course, I love her. But there’s different kinds of love. It’s complicated.”
She shook her head. “I don’t think it is. Either you’re in love or you aren’t. Are you in love with her?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
“Well, don’t you think that’s a problem?”
“What the hell do you know about relationships? You’re just a criminal and your last boyfriend punched you in the face. I’m starting to see why.”
The look of betrayal in her eyes cut me to the bone. “Fuck, Rachel, I didn’t mean that.”
“Go fuck yourself, Ed.”
She dove into the water and swam back towards the cabin. I followed her, needing to make things right and not knowing why I cared so much.
***
I made it inside the cabin just in time to hear the bathroom door slam shut behind her.
I leaned my head against the cool door, feeling like a complete asshole.
“Rachel, I’m sorry.”
“Leave me alone,” she shouted back at me.
“Please, I didn’t mean what I said. I don’t even know where that came from. I’m so sorry.”
“I should have known. Every time I think a guy is nice, he turns out to be an asshole”
“I am a nice guy,” I said. “Or at least, I thought I was. That was the meanest thing I’ve ever said to someone. I can’t apologize enough.”
I leaned my back against the door and slid down to the floor. “I think I just got scared. I’ve been having all these doubts about getting married, and your questions just brought up all these twisted feelings inside me. I lashed out at you. It wasn’t fair. You didn’t deserve that.”
The door opened behind me and I fell backwards into the bathroom with a yelp. Rachel stood over me with her hands on her hips. To my relief, she was fully dressed again in her shorts and tank top.
“I didn’t deserve that,” she said. “I’ve put up with a lot of shit from a lot of guys, and I don’t need to take more shit from you.”
I struggled to my feet. “You don’t. Please, let me make it up to you.”
“How?” she asked.
I looked around me, searching for some idea of how to make things right. “I don’t know. Whatever you want.”
She tapped a finger against her full lips as she thought. “Alright,” she said finally. “Let me punch you in the face.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “What? Are you serious?”
“Yes, dead serious.”
I backpedaled away from her with my hands raised in front of me. “I was thinking I could buy you something.”
“I don’t want your money. I want to hit you in the face.”
“Can I ask why?”
“Well,” she said. “I still owe you from last night. And I’ve never punched a guy who was mean to me in the face before. I feel like it would make us even.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing else? I could buy you like a car or a house or something.”
She laughed. “Yeah, right. Stop trying to worm your way out of this.”
“I’ve never been punched in the face before.”
“Maybe it’ll be good for you.”
I took a deep breath. “Alright, fine. Just make it quick.”
She grinned. “Seriously? I can hit you?”
“Yeah, if it will make you feel better, go for it.”
“And you won’t hit me back?” she asked.
“Cross my heart.”
“Awesome.”
I positioned myself in front of the bed on the off chance that she knocked me down.
She squared up in front of me, clenching her fist open and closed. My heart was beating fast in my chest. I didn’t know why I was so nervous. There was no way that she could hit very hard.
She pulled back, a look of intense concentration on her face. Then she swung and white hot pain exploded in my jaw. I staggered on my feet, and I thought I might actually fall down. To my relief, I managed to stay standing with my masculinity mostly intact.
“Fuck,” Rachel yelled. She was rubbing her fist and clutching it between her breasts. “Is your jaw made of steel? What the hell?”
I should have felt a bit of satisfaction that she was in as much pain as I was, but I just felt bad.
“Are you alright?” I asked.
“No, it hurts like a son of a bitch. Why the hell do people punch each other?”
“Let me see it,” I said.
I took her hand in mine and inspected it. Her knuckles were red, but nothing appeared to be broken. I liked the way her hand felt in mine. Her skin was soft and smooth, and there was an intimacy to it that I enjoyed.
“I think you’ll live. Here.”
I lifted her hand to my lips and kissed it. I had no idea where the gesture came from, but it just felt like the right thing to do.
“Oh,” she said, almost in a sigh. She looked at me with wide eyes. “How’s your chin?”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“Well, fair is fair,” she said.
She stood up on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on my cheek. The feel of her lips against my skin was electric. It took my breath away.
I gazed down into her eyes, painfully aware of how close her lips were to mine. All I had to do was tilt my head a fraction of an inch and I could kiss her the way I desperately needed to.
So I did.
She kissed me back. Her lips were firm and eager. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled her body close to mine.
We had been that close before, and we had already seen each other naked, but none of that had been as sensual as that kiss.
I knew that I shouldn’t be doing it. This was a betrayal to Ruth and to what we had agreed to, but in that moment, I didn’t care. All of those problems seemed unreal and far away, like they belonged to someone else.
I groaned at how good she felt. For something so wrong, she felt so right up against me, as if we were meant for this.
I reached up and caressed her breast, rolling her nipple between my fingers. This elicited a low, excited moan from her. She nestled herself against my stiffening erection. The slight pressure of her body against my sensitive prick drove me wild.
I trailed kisses down her cheek and her neck until I got to her breasts. I lifted her shirt and gazed at her naked chest. She was gorgeous. I took her nipple in my hungry mouth and swirled my tongue around it in a spiral.
“Holy crap, that feels good,” she moaned.
Her fingers curled into my wet hair and held my head tightly against her breast. I knew I should stop, but the dam inside me had broken and there was no stopping my passion now that I was caught up in its current.
I slipped my hand down between her legs and stroked her through her shorts. Her flesh was soft and yielding, and I could feel the heat radiating from between her legs.
She pushed me back onto the bed and climbed in beside me. I kissed her again, amazed at the passion sparking like fireworks between us.
I unbuttoned her shorts and slid my hand into the waistband of her panties. My thick finger trail
ed along her slit with a gentle, lingering stroke, and she moaned into my mouth. Her hips pushed eagerly against my hand, and I pushed my finger between her silky folds.
She was wet and hot. Her body writhed in rhythm with my stroking hand, urging me on.
