I hung up and slipped the phone into my pocket. I grabbed a jacket and headed down the stairs toward the back of the house.
When I got outside onto the patio, Jay glanced up from where he was working on the grill. He paused what he was doing and took out his AirPods so he could talk to me.
“Morning,” he said, flashing a perfect-toothed smile and leaning in to kiss my forehead.
I wonder if my reaction to him would ever stop being so intense. It was butterflies every time he touched me, and I got a little breathless, too.
“Hey,” I replied. “Can we talk?”
“Sure,” he said easily. “Wanna go out on the lake?”
I blinked. “Right now?”
“Best place to talk,” he said. “No interruptions out on the water.” His smile was a challenge. He did say at one point he was going to try and convince me to do outdoorsy things. Maybe this was just the beginning.
I gave him a skeptical look. “Okay.”
He smiled and held out his hand. I took it.
I followed him down the dock to a set of kayaks already tied to the dock, rocking gently in the lake waves. I hovered uselessly nearby, trying not to think too hard about the fact that I was voluntarily about to paddle out onto a lake.
Once he got the kayaks situated, he handed me a life jacket, and I slipped it on, trying to keep my face steady as I buckled the clips. That smug half-smirk still tugged at his lips.
“You’ll be fine.”
“That’s what people always say right before someone tips over.”
He laughed. “I won’t let you fall in. I promise.”
“You better not,” I grumbled, causing another chuckle to escape him.
He held his hand out to me and helped me into the first kayak. I let out a little squeak when it wobbled slightly, but Jay steadied it quickly with one hand.
“You’re okay,” he said. “See?”
“I hate you,” I muttered, pushing off from the dock and using my paddle to get a little further away.
He grinned and quickly jumped into his kayak before following after me.
The lake was somehow even prettier when I was up close to it like this. The water was barely rippling as we paddled out, and the sound of it hitting the kayaks was actually really soothing.
We both slowed our paddling when we reached the middle of the private lake. He stayed close, drifting right alongside me.
“So,” he said. “What did you want to tell me?”
I rested my paddle across my lap and looked out at the view around us. For some reason, it felt too heavy to look him in the eyes when I said it.
“I submitted the complaint.”
“Really?” he asked.
“A few days ago.”
He remained quiet. As if waiting for me to continue.
“I thought I’d feel more afraid,” I said quietly. “But mainly I just feel glad that I got it over with.”
“I’m glad you did it, Hope.”
