Page 58 of Like A Daydream
“If I fall off, it’s completely your fault,” she says.
“I won’t let you fall,” Andy says, turning the jet ski on. He takes off slowly, following Jet out of the boat launch and into the summer sun.
The lake is busy today, with boats and jet skis creating a near-consistent wake, and she hasn’t been on a jet ski in years. It’s still familiar, still feels a bit like flying and a bit like unhinged excitement.
“Ready?” Jet calls to Andy across the space between them. Andy doesn’t give him a chance to answer.
“Hold on,” he says, over his shoulder. She tightens her arms around him and he presses the throttle into full speed, leaving Ainsley and Jet behind them.
Andrew
Andrew cannot believe that his jaw didn’t dislocate when he had seen Danielle in her modest bikini. High waisted, maroon, providing enough coverage to be appropriate but not enough to keep his imagination from running wild. She had hugged her arms around her middle when she had felt his eyes on her, flushing under his gaze.
And she’s been hiding a body worth going to war for under jeans and over-sized shirts for the whole summer. Andrew is, quite frankly, offended that she would have kept it a secret.
The woman is an absolute smoke show, and she doesn’t even realize it.
He wants her to be his and he needs to tell her as much. As soon as humanly possible, while not on a jet ski.
It’s sunny and the weather is just right, and she’s behind him on the jet ski as he speeds through waves, laughing and letting lose in a way he’s not sure he’ll ever get over.
She’s free. He’s free. They’re themselves and having fun as they hit the waves from other boats on the water.
He’s going to have to buy his own jet skis when he gets back to Raleigh, not that the Neuse River has anything on Lake Placid. Honestly, he’s not sure North Carolina has anything on Adirondack Park, and that’s saying something.
He’s also not sure if it’s the scenery, or how he feels here that makes him think that.
The water is cool on his skin, but not freezing, and the sun is beating down from overhead as he and JT take turns chasing each other around the lake, pulling up next to each other every few minutes to check in with the other two.
This feels like a double date but he can’t call it that until he’s sure he knows what Danielle wants.
They spendhourson the water.
They ride until they have just enough gas to get back to the boat launch, the sun is getting ready to set, and golden hour on the water surrounded by mountains and friends is his new favorite place to be.
It cools the weather down considerably, and Danielle is shivering behind him from the combination of wet skin and the chill in the air.
JT jumps onto the dock, leaving Ainsley to make sure the jet ski doesn’t float away, and he runs to his truck to get the trailer.
It’s considerably easier for him to back the trailer in this time, and Andy helps get the jet skis on, strapping them down once he gets them out of the water.
Danielle grabs her clothes out of JT’s truck, and throws Andy his shirt before shutting the door again.
“We were thinking about ordering pizza for dinner and having a fire at the cabins,” JT says, “since we have the fire pit by the office. If you guys want to stay, you can.”
“I’ll stay,” Danielle says, nodding. She glances over at Andy. “I have to go to the bathroom and change first.”
“I’ll walk with you,” he says, trying not to sound too eager. She raises a brow. “What? I have to go to the bathroom.”
“I think you just want to stare at me in a bikini,” she teases.
“Got that right,” Andrew says, and he loves the way she flushes at his words. The way that the maroon fabric and gold metal accents look against her skin, he would have been a fool to pretend otherwise.
He holds his hand out for her to take and lets out a breath when she does.
He doesn’t miss the pointed glance that Ainsley and JT exchange, but he ignores it in favor of walking his girl to the bath house a few hundred yards away. His shirt is in his free hand, and he’s glad he grabbed a long-sleeve this morning instead of a t-shirt.
Danielle separates from him, heading into the bath house, and he pulls his shirt over his head waiting for her as his heart beats erratically in his chest.
