Page 83 of Skipping Stones

“In the back. I’ll be out in a moment.” Derek’s deep voice travelled beyond the door to his file room, sounding formal and lawyerly. Linney decided not to wait and headed back. She bashed into the door frame on her way into the file room, something that rarely happened anymore.

Hearing the noise, Derek rushed out from behind the tall file cabinets. He winced, watching her hold her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine. Just my ego was bruised.”

“Let me see.” Derek placed his hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently. She shivered under his touch. “Are you cold?” He rubbed her upper arms and Linney’s breath caught.

“Derek,” she whispered.

He smelled good. Linney took a step closer and then slid her arms around his neck. She stood on her tiptoes and lifted her chin. She could feel his heart as the small distance between them evaporated, and she kissed him hungrily. Fireworks went off in her head. Linney slid her hands down his back and realized his were tangled in her hair. Derek was kissing her back like he couldn’t stop, and she didn’t want him to. Derek. Derek! Derek? Linney’s brain took over again, and she stopped mid-kiss. She stiffened in his arms and he opened his eyes, reacting to her body language. Something was wrong. He stepped back.

“Linney?”

“Derek, we can’t … I shouldn’t have … I … I—” Linney was panicking and her face flushed as she fled.

Linney ran across the road and down to the pavilion at the park. She sat on the steps, taking deep breaths. She put her hands on her hot cheeks and willed the colour to leave her face What had she done? Twice now, they’d kissed, and it had been good. So good. How had she never thought of Derek like that before? They’d always had a lot in common and he had always been her champion. But now the sound of his voice gave her butterflies. It was almost criminal how handsome he looked dressed in his suit to go to court. Her hands itched to comb through his curls, and the feel of his breath on her neck, when they were close enough to kiss, was exciting.

His kisses. That could never, never happen again. They couldn’t ruin this lifelong friendship. And yet, when he touched her—well she couldn’t let that happen either. She pulled herself together and headed back to Page Turners. She could make a sandwich in the kitchen for lunch.

Linney threw herself into summer planning to ensure the bookstore was a success. She didn’t stay away from Derek, but she made sure they were rarely alone together and that there were no hugs and no friendly kisses on the cheek. She was stiff around him, and he was as well. They spent evenings alone in their separate homes. She ached to tell Anna and Kirsten but she didn’t want to put them in the middle. She didn’t even want to talk to MJ about it. There was nothing to talk about, really. Two kisses. Two kisses that had to be ignored.

* * *

It was an unseasonably warm June, and with Ivy and Leo both at birthday parties, Derek had a rare Saturday afternoon to himself. He headed to the shore where Linney was skipping stones. It hadn’t taken long for her brain to compensate for her monocular vision and she could rival him once more . “How do you feel about a quick spin in the kayaks?” Linney hadn’t tried to get into one since her accident. “I’ll give you a hand in and out if you like.”

Linney hesitated. But her love of the lake won. “Let’s do it.”

They headed down to the dock and Derek put both boats in the water. As he watched, Linney sat on the dock with her life jacket on and slowly transferred her weight into her kayak. She looked triumphant to have done it without his help and he silently revelled in her happiness. Derek buckled his own life jacket and dropped into his kayak. They headed out over the water, leisurely paddling along the shore away from town.

Derek was the first to notice the rain. A single fat raindrop landed with a splat on the front of his kayak. It was followed by another. It had clouded over while they were out, but they’d been engrossed in conversation and neither of them had noticed how dark the sky off to their starboard had become.

“I think we’d better head back,” he said, backpaddling to turn his kayak around. Linney followed suit and with swift strong paddles, they were soon skimming along the surface of the lake, but not fast enough to outrun the rain. Within minutes they were soaked.

“At least it’s a warm rain,” called Linney. Her hair was plastered to her head and her glasses were getting hard to see through. She squinted and focused on following the red kayak in front of her.

Derek looked back to make sure she was close. Linney’s delicate cotton blouse was moulded to her body, and had been rendered see-through from the rain. As she pulled closer, he could see the lacy bra she wore underneath and the sight of it stirred feelings. “It’s not the first time you’ve been wet in a boat with me,” he yelled back, covering his rising desire. He didn’t know she wore underwear like that.

Linney laughed, remembering the time they’d tipped over a canoe, and he saw the beginnings of laugh lines at the corner of her eyes. They were both older now.

Even through her spotted glasses, Linney could see how fit Derek was as she pulled closer to his kayak. His black T-shirt was stuck to his toned torso and water droplets dripped from the ends of his slightly greying curly hair. He shook his head, spraying water everywhere. He was a fine specimen of a man. Linney gulped. Why was she thinking of Derek like this? It was getting harder to push these feelings away.

The rain was still pelting down from the sky when they pulled their kayaks up to the dock. Derek jumped out and then reached down to give Linney a hand up. Getting out of the kayak would be harder than getting in. Taking care with her hip, Linney took his hand and managed to get back onto the dock, but lost her balance when she stood up as the dock swayed slightly under their combined weight. She stumbled into him and he put his hands on her waist to steady her. She grabbed his arms for balance and they stood pressed against each other for what felt like several minutes. Their eyes locked, asking unvoiced questions. After an eternity, Derek brought his head down to meet Linney’s, and with mutual understanding, their lips met.

This was not like the kisses they’d shared before. This was a kiss filled with years of understanding each other, but now with a shared passion. It was a long, steamy, sensual kiss, between two equal partners with needs and wants. Linney heard a low guttural sound from Derek’s throat as she wrapped her arms tightly around his broad back. His hands cupped her face, and he kissed her again, with even more intensity this time. The hairs of Linney’s neck stood at attention and her legs turned to jelly. Derek thought he heard her moan softly but he couldn’t believe it was real. Breathing heavily, they pulled apart to make sure they understood what was happening. Convinced that they were on the same page, Derek drew her in again and his lips crushed hers, making every nerve in her body tingle.

“Linney,” he breathed raggedly, and the first crack of thunder broke the spell, making them jump.

“Run, Derek!” Linney held out her hand, and they ran together through the downpour to the relative safety of her porch. Linney reached out to open the door, but Derek spun her around. Another kiss sent her mind whirling like a child’s top. Or maybe that was the sound of the wind, which was now thrashing through the trees.

Still with his arms around her, Derek pushed open the door, and they kissed their way into the house, as the sky flashed with lightning. Linney stood in front of him, dripping wet as he slammed the door behind them. He kissed her neck and her collar bone, making her shiver with delight. He cradled her face once more and kissed her again until they were both breathless. Their hands were busy exploring each other’s bodies. Derek didn’t know how much more of this he could take. “

Linney, are you sure?” he whispered hoarsely. He didn’t want to do something rash, but at the same time, he was nearly vibrating with desire.

She took a step back, and he felt a moment of disappointment. But then she started unbuttoning her wet blouse as lightning lit up the room. Stepping out of her shorts Linney stood in front of him in her wet bra and matching lace panties, and she answered him in a husky voice. “I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life.”

Derek didn’t need to be told twice. As thunder shook the house, he pulled his T-shirt over his head, took a step towards Linney, and brought his mouth down passionately on hers. He picked her up and took her to the bedroom. Suddenly they were discovering each other in ways Linney had never dreamed of.

Afterwards, they lay in each other’s arms as the storm continued to rage around them. His fingers traced the scar on her hip, illuminated by another crack of lightning. “Does it still hurt?” he asked, tenderly.