the direction of the trampoline.
When I surface, Grant isn’t behind me. I catch sight of him slipping back in the water from the dock, his boxers abandoned next to his pants. Now I feel the heat rushing to my face.
He swims out to me with ease. I’ve secured myself to the rocking trampoline with a hand gripping the rope. The cool water soothing my aches, or perhaps I’m too distracted to register anything other than adrenaline rushing through my body.
“Maybe you are a bad influence,” he says with a teasing smile.
“I’ve never done this,” I counter playfully. “Besides, you started undressing first.”
He swims a little closer but not enough. The distance is making my heart pound with anticipation. I notice one of his hands is cupping something small inside of it. I narrow my eyes to get a better … My brows perk when I recognize the square foil package.
“I, uh …” He kicks back. “I’m not assuming. But I didn’t … know.”
I bite my lip, smiling. “You’re always so prepared. It’s so … you.”
He looks bashfully adorable.
“Come here,” I beckon when he remains too far away to touch. As soon as he’s within reach, I do just that, wrapping an arm around his neck, bringing him right up against me. Flush with my skin, sealing my chest to his. “Don’t let me drown.”
“Never,” he murmurs against my lips, closing his eyes and kissing me with the passion of a thousand suns.
I ignite, my skin ablaze. He crowds me against the side of the trampoline, caging me in. I wrap my legs around him, and he groans in my ear, tasting the rainwater dripping down the side of my neck.
“Can we … go up top?”
I nod, reluctantly releasing him long enough to climb the ladder. The rain feels like little bursts of ice against my heated skin. But soon, he’s leaning over me, shielding me from their assault. His fingers are gentle, creating their own line of goose bumps that he follows with the tender brush of his lips.
Grant lowers his head and kisses the fading bruises, skimming them so gently, it makes my entire body tense with need. “Does it hurt?” he asks, his breath warm against my damp skin.
“Uh, no,” I utter breathlessly, overcome by the sensation of his touch.
When he returns to my mouth, I don’t hold back from letting him feel every single yes that I will never regret saying. And when he whispers he loves me, I fill with a light that could shine through the darkest of rain clouds.
All I can think is, This is the truth.
“Are you warm enough?” Grant asks when he enters the living room with a plate stacked with pancakes and sausage links, drizzled with maple syrup.
I’m dressed in my comfortable clothes and wrapped in a super-fluffy blanket on the couch. It took a while for me to stop shivering. I don’t know if I could blame it on being cold exactly. I’d never experienced anything like what we shared in the rain. Something so intimate and honest. I didn’t know it was possible to feel so connected with someone.
Maybe that’s what love is—the willingness to be bare and vulnerable, accepted for your strengths and flaws. As much as I think of Grant as perfect, I know he has imperfections. But they’re also what make him perfect. The way he loves unconditionally, without judgment. How easy and accepting he is while being passionate about everything he commits to.
And I get it now. That love doesn’t make you lose yourself to another person. It allows you to stand on your own … together. Being strong when the other is weak. Listening when life is too much. And trusting that the other will hold you up when you’re too tired to go on alone.
It is a beautiful, symbiotic existence.
There has to be something in the lake water, I swear. I cover my mouth with the edge of the blanket to stifle a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Grant asks, setting the plate of food on the coffee table, eyeing me curiously. His cheeks are ruddy, and his golden hair is tousled.
He takes me in at the same time I admire him openly.
“You’re beautiful,” I blurt, riding my love high. And I mean so much more than his gorgeous face. But I’m not about to say that out loud.
Grant lights up; it’s like the sun has come out. “I was about to say the same thing to you.” He leans over and kisses me.
Grant settles