by Kat Bammer
“Kisses and eternal worshiping from the new owner of the Inn. That’s what she said, if I remember right.”
Warmth radiated through Lisa’s body and a big grin split her lips. She remembered a conversation she’d had with Julie a few days ago. She might even have said something about being eternally grateful.
“Gratefulness, I remember, worship not so much. And kisses. Well, those I’m very stingy with.”
Lisa snorted at Paul’s waggling eyebrows.
She looked at the people around the fire and enjoyed the atmosphere of fun and laughter. Today was a good day. Nearly good enough to forget all the not-so-happy things in her life. Her thoughts moved to her dad. He would have loved a day like today, mingling with the other dads, building a campfire, manning the barbecue. Lisa could envision it perfectly. He would be in his signature jeans and a plaid shirt. Sadness swept through her like a cold wave and Paul must have noticed.
“What’s wrong?”
Lisa shook her head, “it’s just—Dad would have loved today.”
“I’m sorry for what happened with your dad.” Of course, he would know all the details. That’s how things worked in Moon Lake.
Lisa shrugged her shoulders and stared into the fire before she dropped her gaze down on the bottle of beer in her hands.
“So, how’s been life so far? What did you do the last few years? Are you finally ready to marry me?” The last question stirred a laugh in her. Paul was still the same goofy teenager. Except he had always asked for sex, not marriage.
While she chuckled, someone came up behind her. She didn’t have to turn around because her body already knew.
“Still the same old moves—some guys peak in high school.” The timbre of Peter’s voice made goose bumps rise on her arms.
She hadn’t invited him today, but of course he would know. Nothing stayed secret in Moon Lake.
Paul laughed, and they greeted each other with a bear hug. There was hollering and shouting from the locals around the fire and Peter and Paul’s teammates had obviously met before. Behind Peter his friend stepped into the circle of light.
Blake, his name was Blake, she recalled.
Blake and Peter took a seat on the opposite side of the fire and Lisa felt both disappointment and relief. They hadn’t talked since their kiss and she didn’t know what she would say to him.
“So, your life, marriage. What’s your standpoint?” Paul brought her back into the present and Lisa laughed.
“I’m good. Went on to become a diving instructor and lived all over the world. Mostly where it’s sunny and warm. How about you? You play hockey for a living? Is it all you dreamed of when we were kids?”
Paul’s smile turned serious. “It is and at the same time isn’t. I love the team, I love the game. The thrill it gives me, but it’s hard on the body and I am old now. The end of my career is looming. That doesn’t always feel very good.”
Lisa hesitated but then just went for it. Paul was a good sport, with a good sense of humor. “Yes, you really look old. I wasn’t going to say anything, but in this light—” She couldn’t finish the sentence because Paul swooped her up into his lap and tickled her mercilessly.
“Stop, stop, I’m sorry, you don’t look old.” Lisa was laughing so hard she had problems getting the words out. “I take it back; you look like you are in your prime, all sexy and…” Her eyes met with Peter’s over the flames, and all of a sudden Lisa lost her train of thought.
Peter’s intense stare froze her, and she inherently knew he wasn’t happy with their banter.
“Every excuse to touch a girl,” Peter said, his steely voice tinted with humor. But his eyes, laser-focused on her, didn’t convey the same message. It was a mix between possessiveness and longing, and she felt hot.
“I can have any girl I like—even yours.” Paul was just riling Peter, but Lisa felt uncomfortable. “Well, how nice of you to ask, but I think I’ll pass.” Lisa hopped from Paul’s lap and ruffled his hair before she dropped back down, leaving a gap between Paul and her. Claire was in deep conversation with Peter’s friend Blake and they had created their own circle of energy. Wow, wasn’t she feeling romantic today? She sipped from her beer and it didn’t take long before Peter took a seat beside her.
“Hey, beautiful, how’s your day?” he asked, his voice raspy and low. Intimate.
Lisa shrugged and the side of her arm grazed along his arm. “I’m okay. Wish he could be here, you know.”
Peter’s expression turned thoughtful, and he took a moment to reply. “Yeah, Carl always loved a good barbecue.”
There was silence for a while and Lisa stared into the flames.
“I know it’s not the same, but I know how hard it is.”
She looked up at him; she could see the anguish in his eyes.
“Sophie?”
Peter shrugged and looked into the fire. “Do I owe you an apology?”
The change of topic took her aback. “What for?”
“Kissing you? Feeling the way I feel about you? Leaving you? Might as well pick one.”
She turned to him and looked him in the eyes. “Why would you need to apologize for a kiss?”
“I don’t know. I just…. The way I behaved back then. I feel I have no right to ask anything of you.”
“Like if you might kiss me?”
Peter shrugged his shoulders and took a sip from his bottle of beer.
His Adams apple bobbing up and down mesmerized her.
“It’s okay. I liked the kiss. And about, what happened? It was a hard time for you.”
“You are making excuses for me—you shouldn’t do that. I messed up. Let me at least owe it.”
“You messed up. But somehow I understand. After Sophie’s death—I could see how much you were hurting.”
“It was my fault.”
He said it so softly, Lisa nearly missed it. Did he mean Sophie’s death, or them falling out?
“Sophie?”
He nodded once.
“No, it wasn’t.”
“I knew she was drunk at that party. I decided to leave early and should have demanded she go home with me, but I didn’t.”
“That might be so, but that doesn’t make what happened to her your fault.”
“I could have prevented it.”
“So, you felt guilty? Is that why you changed all your plans, why you left Moon Lake? That’s why you signed up?” Lisa didn’t say, ‘that’s why you treated me like shit,’ but by the way he looked at her, she might as well have.
“I got to do amazing things, help, rescue, and protect people who couldn’t fight for themselves.” Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “It gave my life meaning.”
“It wasn’t your fault—you know that now, don’t you?” She grabbed his hand and stared into his eyes.
“Rationally, yeah. But what you know and what you feel are two different things. It’s not that easy.”
“At least you talk about it. I’d say you’re heading in the right direction.” Lisa scooted closer to him and squeezed his hand.
Peter squeezed back, then moved their intertwined hands to his mouth and kissed hers. She pressed against his side and he put his arm around her shoulder.
“It’s amazing how I can still talk to you. How I still feel so safe with you.”
Her breath caught in her chest. “Why…” She hesitated; should she really go there? But he was so open and vulnerable that maybe she could be open and vulnerable too, just for a little while.
“Then why did you pretend like nothing happened?” This was the million-dollar question. One she had contemplated again and again over the years but never got the chance to know.
“Because I was a wuss.”
Lisa laughed. She hadn’t contemplated that answer in all the years.
“So, nothing I did or didn’t do?”
Peter was taken aback. “No, of course not. I had made up this thing in my head, that I wasn’t good enough to be around you. Also, I signed up bef
ore the funeral. And I knew you didn’t want to leave Moon Lake. I was obviously wrong; I even came back a year or so after I left. All ready to grovel and beg you to forgive me. But you had left. And I… I wasn’t worthy enough anyhow.”
“God, you are a wuss.”
They both grinned. A grin tinted with sadness, fully aware of the time they had lost.
Lisa sighed and snuggled against Peter. How many times when she’d thought about their past, had she felt torn and angry? He even came back for her. It made her sad. All the time they had missed and their own stupidness and stubbornness—had kept them apart for so long.
“Night swim!” somebody yelled. Several of the people around the fire shed their clothes and jumped into the water. They had done this many times when they were younger—skinny dipping, especially during the hot nights in summer. When you couldn’t sleep because of the heat.
“Are you game?” Peter’s eyes glinted with mischief. It wasn’t like one of those hot nights she remembered yet, but the fire, and Peter’s body heat, had made it warm and cozy.
“I think I’ll pass.” Lisa and Peter got up and watched the others in the water.
Peter laughed. “Ah, you don’t want your ass kicked on the way to the platform.”
“That, and I guess, it’s freezing cold.” She shivered while she watched the others splashing around.
“Come on, I dare you, Lizzy. And I promise to heat you up afterward.”
It was such an ambiguous statement that Lisa shivered. The heating up she, kind of, craved to experience.
“Last at the second platform has to do anything the winner decides.” Lisa slung her dress over her head and was on her way into the water, when she uttered the dare to Peter who was still standing on the shore, fully clothed.
She was a good swimmer, and the float was about 100 feet from the shore so this might give her a fighting chance. She passed the first floating platform—the destination of the others in the water. But not her destination.
She went as fast as she could and was surprised when Peter waited for her, treading water at the platform. “How the hell? Did you even swim? Why didn’t I see you pass me?” It came all out in bursts in between hard breaths, and she grabbed onto the platform.
And Peter. He looked like he’d just taken a relaxing shower. It was dark, but the moon reflected on his teeth. The little Lisa could make out of him was sexy as hell and when he grabbed her and pressed her to the front of his naked body, her thoughts went into overdrive. Should they really do this? God, this man was sexy, and huge. He sure wanted this, a lot. But what about their past? Maybe they should talk about this first.
Then he kissed her, and all rational thoughts went right out of her head.
He was a great kisser, just the kind she liked—not too sloppy, but with firm lips and tongue. He put his hand on the back of her neck and pressed her to him. She let go of the platform and wrapped herself around his slick body. He was a lot more demanding than she remembered. Back then he had been more tentative. Always making sure she liked what he did to her. He wasn’t like that anymore, but she sure liked how he did things, until they went under water. When they resurfaced, Lisa sputtered, and Peter hadn’t loosened his grip at all. “Maybe we should relocate,” he said, but he didn’t make a move and kissed her neck until shivers ran down her back and arms.
Lisa shifted her hips—she felt restless—and again came into solid contact with his erection through her underwear.
Her stomach clenched and her core became hot. She wanted him to take her, right then and there, until his treading water to keep them both afloat made her realize the inconvenience of their chosen location. Yep, maybe something more—solid.
“Yeah, let’s get back,” she replied.
It took her a long time to disengage from him—he was so warm, the feeling of their wet skin touching luxurious. When she lost the contact to him, the cold water immediately got to her. “Let’s go, I’m freezing.”
They swam back to shore at a more leisurely speed, the moon and the stars above casting a soft light.
“Do you remember us trying to stand on the surfboard as kids?” he asked.
She could remember—they often tried all afternoon, five or six kids trying to stand up simultaneously. They had almost always failed, and all of them had fallen back into the water, laughing, and sputtering. At the end of those afternoons they had always been full of abrasions and bruises, but the fun had been worth the pain.
“God, life was easy back then.” Lisa chuckled.
When they reached the shore they got dressed again, which, being all wet, was neither an easy feat nor a very gracious one. Lisa slipped on her dress and took off her panties which earned her a scorching look from Peter. They took their place by the campfire and he pulled her onto his lap.
Somebody had thankfully piled more logs on the fire, so it was burning hotter than before and warmed Lisa right back up. Peter’s body against her, and his arms around her, helped too.
She was so immersed in him, she hadn’t really focused on their environment. There were quite a few couples making out, which honestly creeped her out a little.
Paul and his teammates were in an animated discussion, about what, Lisa couldn’t make out. But Julie was getting cozy with one of the players. Looking farther around the massive fireplace, she witnessed another couple getting cozy. It was dark now, but she was pretty sure it was Claire, and a small gasp escaped her lips.
“What?” Peter felt more than heard the gasp and the sudden tension in her body.
“I think that’s Claire, on top of—”
“Blake.”
“Oh my God, really, I thought, never mind. What are they doing?”
“I think that is pretty obvious. And we are in no position to comment on that.”
“But, she doesn’t know him, at all.”
“I know him. He’s okay.”
“No, you don’t understand. Maybe—”
Peter smiled down at her and kissed her on the nose. “Maybe they just got caught up in the romantic atmosphere. Maybe it was love at first sight.”
Lisa scoffed. “There’s no such thing as love at first sight.”
“Oh, I think there is.”
Lisa gasped when she looked into his deep eyes. Did he mean them? Then her mood plummeted. Or his ex-wife? Did he fall in love with her at first sight? The thought of his ex-wife reminded her of their time apart and she straightened her spine. They weren’t kids anymore and there were a lot of things they didn’t know about each other. This train of thought sobered her instantly. What the hell was she doing here?
“Are you still married?”
Peter tensed up; the question took him visibly off guard.
“Where did this come from?” His eyes were burning hot but also guarded.
“Your mom told me about your marriage. She said she tries to stay out of it. Well, and everybody else confirms it. So, are you—still married?”
Peter looked into the distance, and Lisa got a feeling he tried to distance himself from her too.
“No, I’m not anymore. Divorce was final before I kissed you the first time. I can’t believe you think me that low.”
“I’m sorry. I’ve met my share of married men, who thought they deserved a little fun on the side. So. I’m sorry for asking, but then again…” Had she hurt him with her implied accusations?
She turned him to face her and followed his narrowed brows with her finger. He looked…distanced—maybe it wasn’t the best move to bring up his ex-wife, while she was sitting on his lap, but it relieved her, now that she knew.
She kissed him slowly and after a short while of him being stiff and unresponsive, Peter took over the kiss in his demanding and delicious way.
God, this man could kiss. Heat welled up in her and she fidgeted in his lap. The urge to gain more satisfaction than was possible through their clothes, grew stronger and stronger.
“How about a change of location?” Peter might have just
read her mind.
“Great idea—let’s go.”
They said goodbye to their friends, and Claire and Blake looked like kids who were caught stealing candy. Which made Peter and Lisa laugh.
Peter led her to his car and held the door open for her.
She hesitated, but she had to ask. “Are you fit to drive?”
“I had one beer, but good of you to ask.”
Lisa giggled. Only a cop could say something like that with a straight face.
They didn’t drive long through the woods, before smack dab in the middle of a clearing, a small house, illuminated by the moon, came into view.
“This is it? Wow, looks different.”
“Yes, I bought it, when I came back. We used to hang out up here a lot when we were kids.
“I love the house.” Not so much the house itself but the spot it was located. She had this really romantic idea to live in a meadow in the woods. Straight out of a fairy tale. Now he had made it a reality.
“I know.” Peter gave her a small peck, before he exited the car, came around, and held the door open for her.
He opened the front door and they were greeted by Odin who jumped up and down like a rubber ball.
After Lisa gave him a good rub, she entered the house.
She fell in love with the interior immediately.
“I am still renovating and redecorating. It’s a work in progress.”
As far as she could see, he’d done a good job too. The old, wooden floors had been sanded and gleamed, and a few pieces of antique furniture were placed in the entrance. It was a perfect mixture between old charm and clean lines. Homey but not cluttered. She couldn’t wait to see the rest of the house. “Can I have a tour?”
A gleam entered his eyes. “Tours start in the morning,” he said and swooped her up into his arms. “Now, it’s time for other things.”
Lisa’s stomach clenched, then exploded into thousands of butterflies. He kissed her and carried her up the stairs and into his bedroom. Oh, God, they were going to have sex.
Uncertainty, coupled with excitement, filled her.
Yes, please yes, were her last conscious thoughts, when he let her glide down along the front of his body. Slow, so slow.
