He laughed. “I am wearing jeans,” he said wryly.
“Take them off. Your shirt is probably long enough to hide the important parts.” Her laugh rang out over the clearing. “I dare you!”
What the heck? Why not?
“Turn your back. While I strip down.”
“What?”
“I’m modest,” he joked.
She turned her back to him. He quickly shucked his shoes, socks and jeans. His western dress shirt dropped low, but not as low as he might have liked. He was actually modest; he hadn’t been teasing. He didn’t typically undress in front of women he wasn’t in an intimate relationship with. He folded his jeans and placed them on top of his boots. When he looked up, she was staring at him, a silly grin on her face.
“Hey! I told you to turn around.”
“And, I did. I just didn’t stay turned around. You need to be specific.”
“You’ll pay for that.” He hurried across the grass and the two feet of small rocks surrounding the swimming hole. He raced into the water and lunged toward her.
She jumped to the side, disrupting his plan to grab her. He crashed into the water and went down. Fully submerged. He came up sputtering.
“Oh, you did not. I’ll get you for this. You’ll pay. You’ll be as wet as I am when I catch you.” He rose to his feet and stormed toward her, a wide grin on his face.
Squealing in glee, she hurried through the water. She ran him through a merry chase, but his legs were longer and once she hit deeper water, she floundered a bit, allowing him to catch up.
“Gotcha.” He made one last jump to grab her. He latched on, and because he overestimated the distance, they both went down. Into the water. Over their heads. His knees connected to the bottom and he shot upward, surfacing with a splash.
Honey didn’t surface.
Where was she? Panic wracked through him, stealing his breath and the mirth he’d enjoyed only seconds ago. “Honey, where are you?” He pivoted in a slow circle looking for her. He dove under, eyes open searching the water for her. He couldn’t see her anywhere. Gasping, he surfaced again.
“Looking for me?” she called.
He spun in the water toward the bank where they’d left their clothing. She stood there; arms crossed over her chest. Laughing.
Laughing at him.
Relief pounded through him. She was safe.
Thank God!
He’d lost too many people. His mother. His grandmother. Seven comrades in arms. Too damn many. He wasn’t about to lose her too. With sudden resolve borne from that moment of terror, he realized he couldn’t lose Honey too. In a short time, she’d become important to him. Damned if he hadn’t fallen in love with this beautiful waitress.
Even dripping wet, she was lovely. Her hair hung in limp curls, her shirt and skirt clung to her body like a second skin. Dang!
“You’ll pay for scaring the daylights out of me,” he growled and snatched her into his arms. He pulled her close and after giving her a full three seconds to object, crushed his lips down onto hers. Her lips were cool but heated quickly under his. Her arms wrapped around him, their chill filling his body with heat.
He kissed her, pouring every emotion into the simple contact. His tongue stroked her lips and they parted in welcome. They kissed until he was breathless and light headed. Slowly, he pulled away. Smiling softly, he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Wow.”
“Yeah, wow,” she said, her words shaky.
“I’d like to kiss you all day long, but you’re shivering.”
“You shouldn’t have dunked me,” she countered. “I was just cool until then. The water was a nice change from the heat of the air. But I think I better go home. I need dry clothing.”
Home? Regret slammed him. “Home? Are those clothes dryer safe? I can lend you something while we dry those out. Stay for dinner. Please. I won’t assault you again.”
She scooped up her shoes and smirked at him. “Pity.” She raced up the grassy path toward the house.