Welcome to the Darkness

Chapter 9

We'd spent the entire day together, when we'd gotten halfway down the highway we'd resolved to duck into our dorms, nab our swim trunks and ditch class for the day to go to the lake. The sun had risen and purple and pink and blue splashed across the sky, we left the Jeep running, opting for a speed run under the bruised morning sky then we were back in the Jeep and on the road again.

We'd realized about halfway to the lake that we hadn't even changed into our trunks yet and pulled over to the side of the highway, opening up the door to let one of us change at a time, the other would hold up a towel in place of the second door.

"You know, we are together now, you can sneak a peek if you want." Brandon snickered, my back was turned, giving him his privacy. Maybe he was laughing at how red my ears get when I get flustered, it's a shade I hadn't worn since I was little.

I shook away the red, and bit my lip. That wasn't seriously okay, was it? Was he joking...? I held onto the towel tighter, wringing it in my hands. "Maybe, but someones gotta be sure there aren't any creepers trying to sneak a peek at my man." The excuse was lame, it was meant to be, but somehow it sounded even lamer coming out than it did in my head.

He chuckled again, tapping my shoulder. "Your turn." He took the towel from me and I turned around and was immediately met by his bare chest. I felt my face turn red, burning all the way from the bridge of my nose, up my cheeks to my ears, my face felt like it was melting off. I looked right up at him and his face said it all, the biggest cheekiest grin.

"You did that on purpose." I mumbled. He nodded in response, giving me a gentle peck between my eyebrows. I made a fake pout, swerving around him to grab my trunks from the back seat, taking off my dirty shirt and tossing it into the back of the Jeep. I'd noticed that he wasn't shy about watching me change. He held up the towel but he'd taken a stance where it was easier to look back at me.

I cleared my throat. "I don't know if I'm completely ready for you to see me naked just yet..." His eyes widened a bit and his cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, he stuttered out an apology and that he will respect my boundaries then turned to stare at the towel. When he'd turned around, I gave a little half smile to his awkwardness and finished changing, we climbed back into the Jeep and sped off down the road towards our fun day at the lake.

The water on the lake was a deep blue today, dark and calm, near the shore it was crystal clear and any muck from the bottom had washed up onto the bank. Beyond the fenced off entrance to the beach, little fish darted here and there through the shimmering sunlight and fallen leaves scattered the sand, the sign on the fence gate read "Closed for the season."

I looked back at Brandon and frowned. "It's closed already? I know it's getting to be fall but..." I turned back to just stare at the sign, had it been there all season? Do they even take it off the fence? The sign was heavily weathered, the words fading quick and the edges rusted and the clear zip ties holding it to the chain link were yellowed. 

There was the sound of the waves beating the sand and my stupid boyfriend climbing over the fence, his toes getting caught at the top and this tall guy out of the corner of my vision had tumbled over the top and dropped onto his shoulder on the other side. I fumbled with the fence gate, the latch was still unlocked, that idiot. I walked over to him and knelt down in the cool sand beside him. "You okay, dude?"

He rolled onto his back and stared up at me, sand stuck to his chest and shoulder. "Ugh, how did your lanky ass her in here so easily?" He huffed.

I raised an eyebrow, shifted from his view of the fence gate and pointed my thumb back at it over my shoulder. "It was unlocked, you egg." I tried to stay as calm as possible, but he groaned as he got up and mumbled something about how I should have said that sooner, a giggle crept past my lips in spite of my efforts.