What Happens on the Cruise

52. Feelin' It

The group piled out of the van, looking around at the beautiful woods. "Gonna go get a map," Tim said, heading for the visitors center.

Austin handed Satchmo's lead to Chris and hurried off to join Tim. "Hold up. I wanna ask about fishing."

Tim stopped to wait for Austin, putting his hand on Austin's shoulder for a moment before dropping it to walk side by side. "I saw you brought a couple poles. You wanting company?"

"D'you like fishing?"

Tim shrugged. "Not my favorite hobby, but I'd do it to hang out with you. Of course, if there's someone who really likes fishing, I can just hang out and not fish."

"I think I may be the only fisherman in the group."

"Then it's likely just the two of us."

Austin smiled at him. "I'm okay with that. But just to warn you, I'm actually wanting to fish, not use it as an excuse to snuggle."

"Still wanting to flyboard?"

"Yeah. We should have time to do both."

***

Austin nodded as the instructor finished his explanation.

"Any questions?"

"Pretty sure I've got it."

"Okay." The instructor checked his helmet and board one last time. "Let's go."

Tim stood on shore smiling as Austin's board rose from the water. A high pitched "yee haw" rang out, followed by gusts of laughter.

***

"Woo! That was so much fun. We've definitely got to come back and do that again."

Austin's eyes were dancing and he was grinning ear to ear. Tim couldn't resist and stole a quick kiss.

Austin glanced around, but no one seemed to have noticed. "You're tempting fate, hon," he said in a low voice.

"Don't care. You just look so happy."

"You know what would make me happier?"

"What's that?"

"Catching a mess of fish for dinner tonight."

***

"Whatcha see, Satch?" Austin asked as the dog started barking toward the water, causing the Jon boat to rock slightly.

Tim suddenly grabbed Satchmo's collar. "Nope. You're staying right here. Sit!"

"What is it?" Austin asked, casting the line out again and slowly reeling it in while shifting it from side to side.

"Water moccasin."

"Oh. Yeah, we definitely don't need him fetching that stick. Whoa! Something just bit. Feels like a big one."

***

"How was fishing?" Rob asked, holding Cerise while Adam, Ericha, and the others swam.

"Tim caught two decent ones and I got three, one of which is a monster." Austin answered. "You wanna go swim for a while? I can watch Cerise."

"Nah, I'm not a big fan of water, especially lake water."

"We saw a big ol' water moccasin out where we were fishing."

"And now I'm even less of a fan."

Austin looked out to where Tim and Satchmo had joined the others. "I hate leaving you up here by yourself."