Sierra Nevada (XXX)

4

Water

My run took less time than I had anticipated. I returned to the campsite to find Avriel right where I left him. I ran my fingers gently across his back to let him know I was there and smiled when he looked up at me. I had to of looked a right mess. I was sweating something fierce, my cheeks and neck would have been flushed and the edges of my hair wet. I had opened my jacket along the run and forgotten to zip it back up. He would have a healthy view of my touch of cleavage. My breathing had returned to normal, thank God. I wouldn't want him to see me flushed, sweating, and out of breath.

He looked me over slowly and smiled the same way.

"Welcome back. I'd hug you, but you're all sweaty."

"What's wrong with a little sweat?" I was mildly offended until he blushed.

"Uhh nothing in the right setting, but that's a lot of sweat. Sweety." To make his point clear he wiped a bit off my brow with the back of his finger. The drop fell to the ground between us. I rolled my eyes, flipped my hair as I turned, grabbed my things from the side of the tent, shaking them to make sure that no visitors had crawled into them and headed towards the lake. I heard him chuckle and start playing his guitar again as I walked away.

I went about my after run routine as if there was no threat of him watching me from my rock as I stripped and walked out into the lake taking my running clothes with me to rinse them out. There was no harm in him seeing my bare backside. The problem would arise when I had to get out of the water. I washed out my clothes, rung the excess water out, and laid them in the grass to start drying then returned to the lake to bathe. I took my hair down and wrapped the tie around my wrist. The water was cool on my skin the sun hot. It felt good moving through my hair. I decided to relax completely and test my buoyancy again. Generally, if I didn't work at it, I could not float, not since my accident. I rolled over on my back and arched it slightly. I forced my abs to tighten towards my back and made my body like a board and as expected I started to sink. So I moved my feet and my arms in small circular patterns and arched my back unintentionally, forcing my breasts out of the water. The water lapping over them was slightly uncomfortable but the warmth of the sun felt wonderful. I "floated" for a while, letting my mind drift with my body.

What the hell were the chances that I would head out to the Sierra Nevada to go on a solo camping trip and Avriel freaking Kaplan would wander into my campsite with his pack and his guitar and insist that he stay and watch over me? I had either the worst luck or the best of luck. Admittedly he was good company, he minded his own business and didn't seem to be too afraid of conversation. I wondered at all that he had gone through to bring him to that place with that hollow look in his beautiful eyes. He was a gentleman through and through but a flirt when he settled down. I had never heard him laugh. His laughter floored me. You wouldn't think that such a sweet and soft sound could come out of someone that held so much boom in them. I thought of the rumors, surrounding him, his suspected relationship, and what might have forced him to make the choices that had led him to where he was.

Where was he? He wasn't playing his guitar or I had drifted quite a ways from shore. When I flipped around I discovered two things. I had drifted to nearly the center of the lake and Avi was standing on the shoreline waving his shirt and calling my name in a total state of panic. He was too far away from me to see clearly but I believe he was stripping out of his jeans.

The lower half of his body kind of glowed just before he dove into the water. When he surfaced he was swimming towards me with his eyes locked on his target. It was almost unholy.

I started moving, weakly in his direction. I was pretty shocked to find my muscles so fatigued that they didn't wish to respond. My arms felt heavy and slow. I did a modified butterfly, that was more of a doggy paddle, never allowing my arms to leave the water and kicked my feet. Slowly, I began to move a little steadier in his direction.

He was a surprisingly strong swimmer. He reached me in moments and stopped to tread water just in front of me.

"You're awfully far out!" He scolded. "You didn't answer when I called your name. And. And. AND. I couldn't see what side you were floating on." There it was. I scared the holy living daylights out of him and he was genuinely concerned. Concerned enough to strip and jump in the water after me or my body, if that was what it came down to.

"I'm so sorry." I found myself apologizing to him like I was a child. I felt like one too until that gaze softened and he asked me if I was alright. I told him I was, but a little more tired than I should be. When he asked if I wanted help getting closer to shore I wondered how he was going to facilitate that. I nodded.

"Relax." He said. "Turn onto your back. You can kick gently to help out if you want but I should be able to take us both in. I may have to switch sides about halfway there." He moved closer to me and wrapped his arm under my arm and across my bare chest. I forgot I was naked until his arm gently brushed my nipple. If he noticed he gave no indication. He rolled to his side and pulled me against him.

"I've got you. Are you okay?"

I nodded again. Too stunned to talk. He started moving. His lean body came up under mine and his powerful legs kicked us toward shore. I felt the current of water between us pull my hair down with it as his hand moved, slightly out of sync with his kick, to pull us forward in the water. As promised, halfway there he switched sides. I blushed the whole way as the positioning left my chest mostly out of the water. I didn't panic until we got closer to the shore and I realized we would both have to get out of the water. He must have realized this too because he stopped in shallows and put his feet down.

"Let's not go scaring me like that again. Okay?" his eyes held an edge of anger, embarrassment, and fear.

"I didn't mean to put myself in so much danger. Please. I'm sorry." I touched his bare shoulder and chest as I unintentionally drew closer to him to beg his forgiveness. I don't know why I did either of those things. He took my hand in his and smiled into my eyes.

"Just be more careful, Shell." We were naked, we were inches apart and in the middle of nowhere. He kissed my forehead which brought our bodies that much closer together. I felt something brush my leg and decided to pass it off as a fish.

"You should get out first. Do you have another towel thingy?"

"In my tent."

"Can I use it, please. Would you get it for me?"

"Sure," I said before I turned away from him to go to shore. I heard the water splash behind me as he kindly turned his back so I could comfortably get out of the water.

"Avriel?"

"Yes."

I was more than halfway out of the water before I remembered that I needed to thank him. I covered myself with my arms as he turned back to me. His eyes held mine. "Thank you."

"My pleasure." His eyes didn't stray from mine.