Page 69 of Tangled Up In You

“I don’t know what that means, but if it means fully naked, then yes.” Unfastening her bra, she slipped it and her underwear off before tucking them both inside her shorts.

At the edge, she dipped a toe in. It was surprisingly warm and clear, and any lingering hesitancy slipped away. With a tiny yelp, she waded in a few steps before steeling herself and taking the plunge.

“Oh my God,” she groaned as cool water slipped over every inch of her skin. She ducked under and kicked until she was farther out. When she surfaced again, Edward was still facing away. “I’m covered now.”

He turned slowly, as if unsure of what he might see. She was submerged from her neck down, but she grinned at him and waved. “You coming in?”

The water lapped at the edge of the meager beach, a breeze rustled the trees overhead, wood creaked under the weight of lush branches. All of them awaiting his decision.

He drew circles in the air with his index finger, playfully indicating that it was her turn to look away now. Her laugh echoed in the stillness, bouncing back to them, but she did, moving to face the opposite shore. Ren continued to tread water, and as the breeze settled and quiet fell, she was vaguely aware of his shoes landing with a thunk against a fallen log, a zipper drawn down, the rustle of fabric, and the soft scratch of feet moving along the sandy shore. She thought she heard him stop at the edge, testing the temperature. She was about to tell him to stop being such a baby when there was a large splash and the call of birds as they scattered from the trees overhead.

She briefly imagined him swimming to her below the surface, wrapping his arms around her hips and then her torso before pressing his naked body to hers.

“Okay,” he said from somewhere behind her. “I’m in.”

She turned to see him about ten feet away. His hair was slicked back and darker when it was wet, brown eyes greener and framed by spiky lashes. Water ran down his face and neck and pooled in the hollows of his collarbones. He was blushing to the tips of his ears.

“Doesn’t it feel amazing?”

“Amazing is one word. Freezing is another.”

“You call this freezing?”

“There are definitely parts of my body that find this lake water offensively cold.” She stared at him, confused, and he laughed, swimming in circles around her. “You know, there are easier ways to get me naked, Sunshine.”

“It’s a little foggy, but I think I was trying to last night.”

Edward laughed at this. “So you were.”

She splashed him, and he splashed her back until they were in a full-on water fight where he was at an advantage, being able to rise and show his whole torso out of the water. Her hair covered most of her bare chest, but as he advanced, wave after wave of water towering over her pathetic attempts, she decided she didn’t care anymore and went all out, shoving water forward as powerfully as she could until she didn’t care what else he might see. Laughing, he covered his eyes. “You’re not playing fair.”

“Do you give up?”

“Yes,” he cried, laughing, “because if you keep going like that I won’t want to blink, and all that water hurts my eyes.”

They seemed to realize in unison that his hand was wrapped loosely around her wrist, keeping her from splashing him, and they were so close that her forearm rested against his chest. With the gentlest swell, the current could bump her into him, sending all of her bare skin right up against his.

“We can stand here,” he said, and planted his feet, his chest rising several inches out of the water, which, when she stood, lapped gently at her chin. Trying to quell the vibrating hum beneath her skin, she spent a few seconds appreciating his broad shoulders as he breathed rapidly, catching his breath.

When she dragged her focus up his neck and higher, she found him watching her with an intensity he immediately wiped away. In a blink, his expression returned to his trademark breezy playfulness. “How does this compare to your swimmin’ hole back home?”

“About ten times larger, but far fewer trout.”

He shuddered.

“We stock the pond,” she explained. “There are so many, I can catch them barehanded.”

“That is…” He shook his head. “I don’t know what that is.”

“I believe the words you’re looking for are impressive, athletic, superhuman.”

“Yes, yes,” he said, laughing. “All of those.”

“From about June to late August, I swim every day.”

“By yourself?”

“Usually.”