Page 68 of Perfectly Us
“I didn’t mean you, babe!” He laughs as she charges in after him. “Mercy!Por favor!”
Alex loops his arm around mine and leads me away from the lake. “We should put up our tent. Have you ever done it before?”
“No.” I eye the long red bag on the grass and watch as he pulls out metal rods and stakes.
“Watch and be amazed. I’m an expert.”
“Don’t listen to his lies,” Ruben calls from the lake. His arms are around Melody as they float in the water. “Last time he put up the tent, the damn thing collapsed on us in the middle of the night.”
“I thought a bear got us,” Alex says. “I screamed and flung around, trying to fight it off. But I accidentally punched Ru instead.”
I stare at him, trying my hardest to keep a straight face. “You… you thought a bear was after you and tried to fight it off with your bare hands instead of running away?”
“The things I do for love.” Alex wiggles his eyebrows. “Ain’t that right, Ru?”
“Tell that to the black eye you gave me.”
I laugh.
Once we get started, it’s not too difficult setting up the tent. Kind of fun, actually. After the tent’s up, I check each corner to make sure the stake is secure in the ground.
“Let’s go swimming,” Alex says. “It’s hot as balls out here.”
“I gotta change first. No peeking.”
“I would never.” He winks.
I duck into the tent to change into my swimming trunks, and when I step back out, Alex is wearing those same neon green bottoms that cut off mid-thigh. His shirt’s off, and I find myself staring at the dimples in his lower back as he stands with his hands on his hips, facing the lake. His tanned skin glistens under the sun.
My heart picks up pace, and I swallow hard. I’m shaking a little too. Trembling, really. I’ve thought Alex was beautiful in the past, but now? It feels so different.
I’m looking at his smooth skin and fantasizing about kissing every inch of it.
Alex turns and smiles at me over his shoulder. “Come on, slowpoke.”
I take a few deep breaths as I approach him. My heart feels like it’s about to burst from my chest. He grabs my hand and runs toward the water with me in tow. His palm is so warm against mine.
And as we rush into the lake, the water splashing our legs, his smile is even warmer.
***
The sun drained me, but I’ve never felt more relaxed in all my life.
We spent the day swimming, and then Ruben used the charcoal grill to make us burgers and hot dogs. Alex and I went walking after that, finding a trail through the woods. We returned to camp just as it started getting dark.
“Look at that one!” Alex exclaims, pointing to the sky as the people across the lake shoot off fireworks. It sounds like a canon going off with each one.
We’re sitting on a blanket in the grass, and he’s in front of me between my legs as I hold him from behind, my cheek pressed to his. He smells like lake water and earth, along with a scent that’s all him. One I can’t get enough of.
Another explosion lights the sky in silver with bursts of red and blue. People cheer in the distance, the sound faint, carrying across the water.
Melody and Ruben hold up their beers and shout as more fireworks go off. Alex places a hand on my knee and smiles up at the sky. The explosions reflect in his eyes. I hold him closer as my chest tightens. My throat does too.
I’m happy.
Happier than I thought I ever could be.
After a while, Ruben and Melody go into their tent and zip it closed. Giggles sound seconds later, as does the rustling of clothes. The fireworks block everything out after that as another round goes off.
