“It’s beautiful. You’re sure nobody comes down here?” she asked, thinking that if she lived on this island, she’d visit this place as often as she could. It offered such a beautiful contrast—beach and forest—and was tucked away so perfectly by the curves in the landscape, she just couldn’t imagine a prettier place on Wild Boar.
He lowered the picnic basket she’d prepared. “I’m sure. I’ve heard the locals only use the north beach. Besides, it’s too cold for swimming still. You won’t catch anybody diving into one of the Great Lakes in the middle of May.”
“I can’t believe it’s the middle of May already,” she said. “I’d lost track of the days—they’re going by so quickly. It really took me by surprise yesterday when one of the kids mentioned Memorial Day coming up. I’m more than halfway through my teaching gig. Less than a month to go.”
Time definitely flew when you were having great sex. And she and Mike had been doing a lot of that over the past couple of weeks.
They weren’t just having sex, though. Quite often, he’d show up with a bag of groceries and would cook her dinner. Or they’d go for walks in the woods near her cottage. He brought over some tools and fixed the front porch, saying he was afraid she’d step out onto it and crash through the floor.
They even took the ferry across to the mainland one Sunday, pretending not to be together since some other island residents were on board. But once on the other side of the lake, they’d done all the normal things a dating couple did, from going to a movie to having dinner in a pricey restaurant. Seeing Mike in a tailored navy suit had been the highlight of her day, even if they did have to leave early to get the last ferry back so he could be at work by eleven.
She’d spent a lot of time thinking about that day after it ended. She’d found it surprisingly difficult to go back to their sneaking-around type of affair after their day of freedom. But since Mike seemed fine with the status quo, she hadn’t said anything about it.
And it seemed especially important after he’d told her about nosy old Mrs. Franklin, who still hadn’t given up trying to find out who’d dropped the book in the town parking lot. Realizing that the woman was on the warpath—and that Mike was in her way—Lindsey knew she couldn’t put him at any more risk of losing his job. He was on probation; the last thing he needed was for anybody to find out he was dating the “purveyor of pornography.”
God, it was so ridiculous. While she was not happy that a teenage boy had found it, no harm had been done. She was familiar with the Morgan kid—he was eighteen years old, and a senior. He was also the jock of the school, the big man on campus. The girls in her advanced class spoke frankly about how many girls he’d “hooked up” with. If he was still an innocent virgin, then so was Lindsey.
“Hungry?” he asked, interrupting the thoughts she really didn’t want to be thinking anyway.
“Starving.”
He helped her spread the blanket then they sat together on it. She opened the picnic basket and handed him the bottle of wine and an opener. Removing the crackers and cheese, she said, “Well, it’s cheddar and not imported Camembert, but it’ll have to do.”
“I suppose the grocery store was all out of caviar, too,” he said with a grin.
“Afraid so.”
“Rats.”
“They didn’t have those, either,” she quipped.
“Ha, ha.”
He popped the wine bottle open, pouring them each a glass while she pulled out a container of juicy grapes. She popped one into her mouth, its tartness surprising and refreshing, especially when she chased it with a bit of the white wine.
They sipped silently, both eyeing the gentle waves lapping at the shoreline. If it were even ten degrees warmer, she’d be tempted to dive in, as the water looked so crystalline and beautiful. But the lake had to be frigid; the temperatures still got very cold at night.
“Considering skinny-dipping?” he asked her.
“Not on your life.”
“Good. That water’s gotta be sixty-five degrees at the most. I doubt my ego could take the shrinkage.”
She sipped, eyeing him flirtatiously over the glass. “I really don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“No?”
“Stop fishing for compliments.”
“Yes, teacher.”
Popping another grape into her mouth, she bit into it. Mike caught her by surprise when he leaned over and covered her lips with his. He immediately slid his tongue against hers, stealing the grape right out of her mouth.
“Hey, that was mine.”