***
An hour and a half later, I was trekking down the highway with a small pack of stuff on the passenger's side seat. It wasn't another forty five minutes that we got out of the cafe. I had to shuffle everyone out the door, making sure they knew I had somewhere I needed to be. Charles had grumbled about not finishing his—what was it?—twentieth cup of coffee in the morning and leaving it half full.
When we finally got back to the house, I had scurried to my room and packed a small duffle bag. Clean jeans. Clean shorts for swimming. I may need a towel, so I stuffed that in, too. And sunscreen. I didn't like to burn. Once I was done, I swung the bag over my back.
“Spending the night, too?” Jamie chuckled.
I didn't think I took that much. “I'll be back tonight,” I said and headed out the door.
It was a good thing I'd been to Wilber before, so getting there took a total of ten minutes. But I'd never been east of town. And right away, I drove into a green, forest-like area. Slowing down, I looked around for the little driveway, or even a mailbox. But there was nothing but trees and shrub along the right side of the road.
Just as I thought I'd missed the drive, Ben came into view just feet ahead, waving me down. I cranked open the window of my old Honda and hung my head out. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He met me at the driver's side window. “You found the place.”
“Not really.” I flicked my eyes to the road. “I would have driven on by if it weren't for you.”
Ben chuckled, straightened his spine, and slapped the car door. “Well, follow me in. We'll get you parked.”
He led the way to the driveway, concealed between heavy willow trees and several blooming white bushes. I turned in, the dirt road lead towards a three story older home, and parked beside his father's blue truck.
The hot air balloon was still inside the bed of the truck. Wrapped up in the rope they had used last night. There were other trucks too; some with different colored balloons. And one truck with the stickers reading “Wilber Amusements” along with the address and phone number.
“So, you have a pair of shorts, right?” Ben asked at the driver's side window.
“Yeah.” I grabbed the bag I'd gathered at home.
Ben stepped away so I could get out. “Whoa. Preparedness. I like that.”
“I just brought a towel and some sunscreen.” And a few extra necessities.
“No. That's good.” He led me towards the house. “I'm always forgetting things, myself. Have to make little reminders all the time.” We stepped up on the large porch, larger than Jamie's grandfather's, and Ben swung open the door. Inside, his father sat on a chair in the living room, watching a football game. “You met my dad.”
His father turned a moment to wave and said, “Hi”, then turned back to his game.
“We're going out back. If you need me, holler. M'kay, pops?” Ben said, and then led me through the rest of the living room and into the kitchen.
“So where are we swimming at?” I asked, looking around my surroundings.
The living room was full of furniture. All older, maybe even broken. The flicker of the television was the only thing lighting up the dark. And the kitchen was small. With pots and pans hanging from the wall above the stove, a small table crammed in a corner, and an older refrigerator next to the green painted back door.
Ben bent down, retrieving a plastic grocery bag from under the sink. “You want something to drink? Pepsi? Sprite?” He opened the fridge and started digging. “We have some beer.”
“No beer. Um... Pepsi is okay,” I answered.
He grabbed a few cans, shoved them in the bag, and turned towards the cabinet. “Chips okay? We'll probably get hungry while we're out there.” Opening the cupboard, he snatched a bag of marshmallows and a big bag of crinkle-cut potato chips.
“Sure. But... where are we swimming?”
Without an answer, Ben tied the bag loosely, and then led me out the back door. Bushy patches of weeds and flowers grew scattered across the back yard among larger trees. Several old farm vehicles sat unused close to the back of the house: a large rusted, green tractor, a smaller red, less rusty tractor, and a newer-looking hedge cutter were among the most noticeable around the brush.
Ben threw the bag on the floor of the red tractor and hopped up on the driver's seat. The noise caused a black and white farm cat to scurry out from underneath the tractor. It ran across the weeds to an old metal barn a foot away.
“Come on.” He waved me in. I jumped up to sit in the smaller passenger's seat and he started up the tractor. “Pops owns this entire acreage,” he said loudly over the roar. As he drove away from the house, the trees opened up, revealing a half mile of untended field. “We used to grow corn out here.”
“Yeah?” Though I was used to seeing corn fields for miles out here in the Midwest, my folks had been a doctor and a secretary.
We were coming up towards another heavy gathering of trees. Ben twisted and turned along the bumpy dirt road as we passed by the field still covered in dried husks and dead plants. Getting closer to the tree line, I spotted the sun's flicker off a hidden pond of water.
“We also own this lake,” Ben said, slowing the tractor down to get around the brush.
“Wow,” I breathed, taking in the sight of the three acre large lake surrounded by trees. I could imagine the wildlife out here. Birds were already chirping, robins and a few barn swallows hovering over the lake. But, I'd wondered if there were deer. Or fish. Or even coyotes.
Ben parked the tractor on the sand near a fallen log that looked as if it had washed on shore. “I used to swim out here when I was a kid,” he said.
On the sandy beach, a cluster of small rocks were built in a circle with the remains of ash and charred wood from a fire. Out closer to the water, the sand turned to dark mud, leading into the lake.
I stepped out of the tractor and to the water's edge. A few feet away, a rope with a knot in the end hung from a tree branch. “Wish we had something like this when I was growing up.”
“It's nice, but I bet you guys went to the pool a lot, huh?”
I shook my head. “Daycare. All the time. Folks barely had time for that type of stuff.”
“Oh. That's a bummer. Well,” Ben unzipped his jeans. “If you need to go behind the tractor to change, you can.” He slipped off his jeans from his ankles, a pair of red, patterned swim trunks underneath. “I'll meet you in the water.”
I hesitated, watching him peel off his shirt and dart towards the water. The muscles in his taut back tensed as he hit the cool water. Lean shoulders curled up and he playfully swatted at the ripples next to him. Each step took him deeper into the water until his lower half had disappeared. Then, he dived underneath.
For a moment, I thought of jumping in right there, jeans or no jeans. Maybe I could sneak up on him? Hmm, maybe I won't freak him out too much if I grabbed him for another kiss?
Unhooking the bag from around my shoulder, I dodged behind the tractor. Quickly, I switched out of my jeans and into my swim shorts.
“Chase? You coming?” Ben hollered from the water.
“Be right there,” I yelled back.
Changed and ready, I ran out from behind the tractor and straight into the cool water. “Damn. It's cold.” I stopped just knee deep. I'd really thought the water would be warmer in the hot sun.
Ben smiled. His hand flicked at the water, splashing me. Then, he hit the water harder. “Gotta get used to it.”
I turned to shield myself from the spray. “Hey!”
Oh, he's gonna get it now.
I snapped the water back as hard as I could, sending streams at him. But he fought back. Soon, water was flying in all directions.
It didn't take long until I was used to the cool water, but the fight was too much fun. I ran back out to the shore, and then back into the lake, deeper this time. Ben kept splashing, laughing with wide eyes as I threw water back at him.
I stopped to catch my breath. The water s
urged against my chest, and then calmed as the fight ceased.
Ben stilled, his laughter turned into an exasperated chuckle. He stepped further into the water, closing in on me, until he was standing close. “Come here.”
Hesitating, I didn't know if he was going to splash again or hold me in his arms. But the devious look in his eyes had turned to need. So I stepped lightly, mud squishing between my toes as I went to him.
When I found him, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulled me in, and found my lips. His fingers twitched against my skin. My heart thundered. I kissed back, though frozen like a statue. His warm body pressed to mine left me breathless.
Lips opened and his tongue sought out mine just like the night before. I tasted him—needed him—and soon I reached around his sides, grasping his wet skin underneath my fingertips.
Everything around me had seemed to disappear but for Ben. It was just us. The water seemed to make me feel lighter. Or was that his lips on mine?
Nothing could make me move. That is, except when Ben pulled away slightly. He settled his forehead to mine; his hands cupped my face. “You don't have to be so shy, Chase.”
Shy? Who's shy?
“Oh. I'm-ah-uh—“ Damn it. I was too shy.
Ben snickered. “There's fish in here.”
“Huh?”
“There's fish... in this lake. The county had it stocked.” Ben stepped back. I'd missed his warmth already. “We should have brought some poles.”
“What does that have to do with my being shy?”
Ben smiled coolly. “Nothing. I just wanted you to talk.”
Oh. That's it.
I narrowed my eyes, my hand dangling in the water as I walked up closer to the shore. With a thap, I splashed a handful of water towards him.