“I feel like I’m in Europe,” Ricky muttered, shaking his head at the two couples.
“Or Deliverance, but, like, a porno version,” Leo said.
Lydia was sitting so close that I could see the water beads clinging to her bare shoulders. She had scooped her hair up into a messy topknot, but a few flyaways hung around her face, and I had that familiar urge to reach over and touch them. I couldn’t believe she was right there, completely naked. The top of her chest was just showing above the water, and every time I noticed, it was like a spring uncoiled in my stomach.
“I have an idea,” she said under her breath.
“Yeah?” the three of us asked.
On her orders, Ricky, Leo, and I followed her out of the water one at a time, covering ourselves from each other’s prying eyes. The other four were too wrapped up in each other to bother with us. It wasn’t until we were pulling on our sneakers that Samuel popped his head up and asked, “Hey—what are y’all doing?”
“Nothing,” Ricky said innocently.
Cliff looked up, too, his expression just as suspicious. There was a long, hanging second where all of us were frozen, staring each other down from the bank to the water. Then Lydia moved.
“Run!” she yelled, plucking up Natalie’s clothes.
Ricky, Leo, and I sprinted after her, each of us holding the bundles of Cliff’s, Samuel’s, and Terrica’s clothes. We roared with laughter as we heard them come stomping out of the water behind us, swearing and shouting death threats. We hustled all the way back to the open field before we dropped their clothes by the tree line and collapsed on the quilts by the firepit, heaving with laughter and exertion.
“Fuck,” Leo gasped, clutching his side. “They’re so fucked.”
“They’re so naked,” Lydia laughed.
Ricky sat upright and tended the fire until it sparked with life again. We moved to crouch in front of it, hoping the warmth would pull the wetness from our clothes. A few minutes later, the other four appeared at the tree line, still shouting swear words at us. Cliff and Samuel scampered out from the trees to gather up the piles of clothes.
“Lookin’ good, daddies!” Leo called, waggling his eyebrows.
They rejoined us by the fire, panting and calling us dirty names, but it was clear our little escapade had been the high point of the night. Lydia lay sprawled on her back, still laughing even as Natalie threatened to smother her, and I was awash in the pure energy of her, in her spirit and mischief and spark.
Later, after we’d drunk another round of beers, Natalie suggested we head back to Lydia’s house to crash. We loped out of the park and wound our way around a dimly lit road, the smell of river water heavy on our skin. Lydia ushered us in through the basement of her house, where we fell about on couches, sleeping bags, and blankets.
“I’ll get us some dry clothes,” Lydia said as Cliff started to snore.
“Do you want help?” I offered.
We tiptoed up through the dark, quiet house, not speaking until we reached her room. She switched on the bedside lamp and whispered to me where I stood by the door.
“Did you have fun tonight?”
“I had a blast,” I said, grinning.
She smiled back at me, tired but happy, as she rifled through her dresser drawers. “Good,” she said, tossing some T-shirts to the floor. “I know you said big groups of people aren’t your thing, so I figured a smaller hangout would be.”
I stared at her; it almost sounded like she was saying this small hangout was set up specifically for me, and I wondered if I’d heard correctly.
“I mean—” she said quickly. Even in the dim light, I could see her cheeks flushing pink. “I just thought, you know, a night out in the woods might be a nice change of pace.”
I had this feeling then. It was a feeling like this was real, like Lydia did in fact like me as much as I liked her, and yet there was no sense of haste or anticipation about it; instead I felt calm and content, like a fireball could have shot down through the roof and I wouldn’t have cared in the slightest.
“Do you know what the best part of tonight was?” I asked.
She glanced hopefully at me. “What?”
I looked at her. I wanted to say something tender, something real, but the smallest talon of fear dug into my side.