“You could sound more excited.”
I shimmy out of my shorts and chuck them his way. They fall in a heap at his feet as he peeks at them.
“Is it weird we’re going to see each other naked?” he asks, voice quieter than I’ve ever heard it before.
I give it a thought as I unhook my bra and slide it from my arms. “How about I jump in first and then close my eyes and then you jump in?”
“Fine.”
Taking off my underwear, I don’t think twice before I jump into the lake. I try not to suck in water as the cold feels like thousands of tiny needles pricking my skin.
Erupting out of the water, I get a flash of Dax jumping in on the other side.
He shoots up out of the water, teeth already chattering.
“Holy shit! Why did you let me do this?”
“You could have said no.” I splash water his way. “Besides, you’re all sweaty after your workout. It should feel nice.”
“There’s refreshing, Sunshine, then there’s jumping into sub-Arctic water.”
“It’s not that cold.”
Dax swims closer, water clinging to his hair. “Your lips turning blue say otherwise.”
“They are not.”
As I tread water, the sun beats down overhead, warming my face. The trees rustle in the wind. Pushing onto my back, I swim farther into the lake.
There is something entirely freeing about being stark naked in the middle of a lake. Having been to Dax’s cabin before, I know others live around here. It’s not justhislake. Any one of them could happen upon us out here.
But I don’t care.
That’s half the excitement of it.
“Okay, I want to move out here so I can do this all the time. I don’t know why you’ve never done it.”
“Who says I haven’t?”
I peek one eye at Dax, swimming closer to me. The water is murky at best, but it doesn’t do much to hide our bodies. Flipping onto my stomach, I aim for some modesty. I don’t need Dax seeing everything.
“I feel like you would have told me already when I made the list.”
Dax laughs. “I was too distracted by the fact you want to go to a sex club.”
“Have you done this?” I ask, ignoring his comment.
“No. I guess I’m boring like you.”
“Should we make a ‘Dax needs to not be boring’ list too?”
This time, it’s Dax splashing me. “I don’t need a list to know I’m boring. I’m happy with my life as it is.”
“You play for the Knights. That’s about as un-boring as it gets.”
“Which is why I like my life as it is,” he says. “No more excitement is needed.”
I point a finger his way, swimming closer. “Except for the excitement you’re going to help me with, right?”
