Page 24 of The Pass
“I gotta go. I’m starving and Sydney’s about to eat all the toasted ravioli. I’ll call you next week to hash out plans for the Fourth, and I’ll see you in a few weeks with my sweet summer tan.”
“Jerk,” she says playfully. “Bye T.”
I pocket my phone and hustle outside. The sun has almost completely disappeared, and the only sound is the water lapping and the boats speeding by. I love everything about being on the lake. The heat of the sun out on the boat, zipping around on jet skis, party cove, but sitting outside after dark chilling with a drink in hand, might be my favorite.
Taking a seat next to Sydney, I raise my beer. “Cheers to the best summer ever.”
8
Sydney
When I wakeup it takes a few seconds to remember where I am. Smiling, I throw back the comforter and pad across the hall to the master bedroom where Tanner is spread out face down on the king-size bed.
“Wake up.” I bounce onto the bed. “It’s after nine.”
He groans. “We’re on lake time. Nothing good happens before noon.”
Still, he turns over, hair mussed and face lined from the pillow. His gaze drops to my chest and over my body and he smirks. “You’re already in your suit?”
“I slept in it.” I get up on my knees and bounce. “Get up. Get up.”
He grabs me around the waist and pulls me down beside him. “Five more minutes.”
His hold tightens and I’m caught between his arms and his chest and his very hard dick. It’s an important rule of Tanner’s and my friendship not to point out things like this. While we have no problem showing a little skin from time to time—changing clothes in front of one another and the like—noting his morning wood is one of those things I just let go. Still, I’m all too aware of it.
Squirming, I wriggle out of his hold and get to my feet beside the bed. “I’m going to get ready. If you’re not up by the time I’m done, I’m going without you.” It’s an empty threat, but one that I know will get him moving.
I brush my hair into a ponytail, spray on sunscreen, slip on my shoes, and grab my sunglasses. The shower’s running in the master bathroom which means Tanner is up. I grab water and head outside to the deck.
Despite what Tanner said about lake time, there are already boats on the water. In the daylight, I can see so much more than the lake though. There’s a trail behind the house where people are walking and jogging. The houses on either side have a similar setup with a deck overlooking the wide expanse of water. It looks like several houses share a dock. Either that or Tanner’s family has a lot of boats.
“Do you want me to bring the Malibu in the cooler?” Tanner walks out carrying the cooler and sets it on the wood deck. “I’ve got water, beer, and Coke in here.” Without waiting for my response, he tosses it in. “Eh, let’s bring it.”
“What about food?”
“Knew I forgot something.” He winks. “Kidding, I packed plenty of food.”
I can barely contain my excitement as we walk down to the dock. My knowledge of boats is basically nonexistent, but this one is nice. Aside from the seat behind the wheel, there’s a bench at the back big enough for three people and at the front there’s two more seats.
Tanner gets everything situated. I offer to help, but it’s clear pretty quickly that it’s going to take him longer to explain to me how to help than to just do it himself.
As we pull away from the dock, my body hums with excitement. The morning sun has already warmed the air, but as we pick up speed, goose bumps dot my arms.
Tanner smiles, looking more at peace than I’ve ever seen him, as he drives the boat. If he’s upset about Amelia, I can’t tell.
I have no idea where we’re going, but I don’t care. I sit back and let the serenity of the lake wash over me.
I’m not sure how much time passes while he takes me across the lake, or maybe around it, I’ve lost all sense of direction. The boat slows and he turns to face me with a big grin on his face. “Beer me.”
I grab two from the cooler and hand him one. He pulls out koozies from a storage area and then life vests.
“Grab one of those and let’s test the water. Probably freezing, but you have to get a little lake water on you your first time out.”
It is cold as we first get in, but we sit on the life jackets and relax with our beer.
“And you said lake time didn’t start until noon. I might be drunk by then.”
He chuckles. “You can’t drink all day if you don’t start in the morning.”
