Beautiful Lives

Chapter 21

Chapter 21 – Kansas City (The New Basement Tapes)

After we'd finished packing up the studio, Nate offered to drive me home, so I got into the front seat of his car, and closed my eyes, leaning my head against the window, and letting the steady motion of the car lull me into a half-sleep.

"Lex?" I heard Nate's voice through the fog of my brain, and I opened one sleepy eye to glance over at him. "Come on, we're here,"

"That was fast," I said, pressing the palms of my hands against my eyes and realizing, too late, that I was smearing all of my mascara.

Nate didn't seem to care about my raccoon eyes, as he opened my door for me, and took my hand. Once we stepped out of the car, it took me almost a full minute to realize that we weren't at my house.

"Wait, where are we?" I asked, looking around. We'd parked on the edge of a hill, overlooking a little lake. At the bottom of the hill, the water lapped against a bed of sand, and a rope swing dangled from the branches of a large tree whose leaves were so low that a few of them dipped into the water.

"I used to come here with my dad all the time," Nate said, his eyes taking on a wistful look. "We built the rope swing when I was eleven,"

"Wow," I said, slipping my hand into his. "It's beautiful,"

"Come on," he tugged at my hand, heading towards the beach. "I've been wanting to bring you here for ages, but it's been too cold."

"Too cold for what?" I arched an eyebrow.

"What do you think?" he gestured towards the water, smiling excitedly. "Let's go for a swim,"

"Nate, the water's going to be freezing!" I yelled, as he pulled his shirt off over his head.

"Nah, it won't, it's not very deep here," he promised, grabbing my hands again, a childish look in his eyes. I still hesitated, not wanting to reveal that I knew I wouldn't be strong enough to swim.

"What is it?" he suddenly stopped tugging at my hands. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think I can," I said, shrugging helplessly.

"What, you thought I'd bring you somewhere you couldn't have any fun?" he asked, his playful smile returning. "You underestimate me,"

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Just come with me," he said, and this time when he tugged on my hands, I let him lead me down to the shore.

"This isn't a good idea," I said, hesitating as he started to wade into the water.

"Look," he walked out until he was up to his waist in water, and stopped, turning towards me with his arms outstretched. "This is as deep as it gets,"

"It is?" I asked, slowly inching towards him. Swimming would have depleted my energy in a second, but standing didn't seem so scary.

"Come see for yourself," he said. Taking slow steps, I waded out into the water until I reached him. It had been so long since I'd been in any water other than a shower, and the gentle waves lapping around my hips felt soothing.
"See?" he said, pulling me closer until our bodies were pressed together. His hands found my cheeks, and before I knew it we were kissing, lost in our own secret world that no one else knew how to find.

"Come on," he said, finally, taking my hand and starting to walk towards the shore. "I have one more thing to show you,"

Even though my legs were starting to feel like lead, wading through the water, I followed him. He walked along the shallow coast, hugging the shore as we curved around the point. After a minute or two, a tiny boat came into view.