“No, we’ll throw back whatever we catch now. No sense in catching more than we need.” She tossed the fish in the cooler and washed her hands in the lake water. We went on to catch five more but they were all smaller than Lilly’s first fish.
After hours of joking and competing for the largest fish, it was obvious that Lilly was the winner. Hands down the girl was truly a natural. She didn’t whine, she didn’t complain — she just got in there and had fun. That was my kind of girl. I wondered if Lily had more skills than she told me. Hmm… Did I get played? If I did I didn’t care because I was impressed. I reached into the other cooler and pulled out a beer. Popping the top, I handed it to her. “To the victor, go the spoils. This Bud is for you Lilly Brightwood.” She raised her beer to me and took a big swig. She let her hair down from her ponytail and shook it. God I wanted to put my hands in it, and maybe some other parts of my body.
Chapter Nine
Lilly
Eating the fish that I caught with my own hands was a surreal experience. I had no idea that I was a proficient fisherman. I thought at first it was a fluke of some sort. But after I caught three more I began to realize that I had hidden talents, hidden even from myself. I was happy that I got to discover that with Bullet. It was a thrill to actually beat him in something.
We did not say much sitting around the fire eating our fish from the skillet. The fragrant garlic, pepper and lemon salt gave the moist fish the perfect flavor. I think we were quiet because we were happy. But underneath there somewhere, the tension was rising. We were quiet because we were thinking about spending the night in that two-man tent. I don’t know where the day went but it flew by. The sun had gone down over the lake and now the Whippoorwills were singing to us. At least, that is what Bullet called them. “Did you know that my father’s cabin was just 5 miles from here? We spent a lot of summers up at Heron Lake. That seems like a long time ago. He was all over that lake fishing from one side to the other.” He didn’t sound sad; it was more of an observation than anything.
“And now you are continuing in his footsteps, only you have a different lake. You can fish from one side to the other and spend your summers up here,” I told him in between nibbles. The fish was hot and delicious. It was so hot it was almost too hot to eat but so delicious you couldn’t stop eating it. I told him so and we laughed about that. I wondered why someone who loves living out in the wilderness so much would want to take a job as a surgeon, which would obviously take him far from home. I toyed with the idea of asking him. Since our conversation yesterday, he seemed more willing to talk about those tough subjects. But before I could ask him he made his own observation on that subject.
“I really miss living up here. Every time I hop on a plane I wish it was headed to Blue Lake but my work takes me elsewhere.”
“Surely not forever. You seem so, so different up here. It’s like the guy in the city is not real somehow but this guy right now is real. Can you see a future doing anything else other than cosmetic surgery? Not that there’s anything wrong with that.”
He thought about the question and said, “I don’t see how. Everything I have, everything I do takes me away from here. I guess some day it will all work out.” He had a winsome smile but I detected a tinge of regret in his voice.
“Another beer?” I dug in the cooler for two more bottles.
“What the heck? I didn’t have to worry about driving out here. I can afford to have a few brewskis.”
I giggled at the idea of drinking brewskis. I think the word is just funny. Whoa! My head is a little light. Hey! Speaking of lights... “Do you have any lanterns? You know, for the tent?”
“Yes we do, but you don’t want to use them right now.”
“Well why not? I want there to be some light around here and it’s getting pretty dark.”
“As a professional fisherman, you should know that lights attract bugs. When you can, use your lanterns sparingly. It is best to go by firelight when possible otherwise, you will attract every bug in a fifty yard radius right to your tents.”
“Oh,” I said in an exaggerated way. Man, was I toasted or what? “I did not know that, sir. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with me. Now I have to pee. May I have a lantern so I can go pee?” Uh-oh, I feel the giggles coming on. I’ve definitely had my limit.
“The restroom is right there but if you are feeling more like a nature girl, pick a tree—any tree. Whichever you choose, take a flashlight and a roll of toilet paper with you. Before you squat, look on the ground. Do not wipe your bottom with a leaf of any kind. There are plenty of poisonous plants around here that can leave a serious itchy rash behind.”
Giggle. He said, “Behind.” I took another big swig of my beer. It tasted so delicious after all that fish. “Well that would put the kibosh on what I have planned.”
Bullet sat on the side of the picnic table and stared at me with a devilish grin. “What did you have planned, Lilly? Tell me!” He grabbed my hand and tried to pull me to him. I giggled again.
“Nope, you have to wait. Remember, I have got to pee now. So I am off. Be back in a second but if you hear a bear, come running.” I giggled into the woods, bypassing the outhouse completely. “Screw you, bear! I’m peeing in the woods!” I yelled. Well, if there were any bears around here, they were running for their lives now. I was a master fisherman and a killer bear catcher! They better look out! I giggled and fell over.
“Lilly, you okay?”
“Yes, I’ll be there in a second.” I got up and managed to get my pants back up. Okay, enough was enough. I had to calm down now. I knew what would help—skinny dipping! That seemed like an intelligent and great idea. I slid my pants, shirt and panties off. I hadn’t bothered with a bra today. Bullet thought my breasts were perfect. That was nice. I walked back to the camp butt naked, and tossed my clothing on the picnic table. Bullet grinned at seeing his drunken girlfriend, (Wait, was I his girlfriend?) walking into the camp site wearing nothing but her birthday suit.
“I have a great idea! We have fish all over her fingers and we smell like garlic. Let’s go skinny dipping! Come on, Bullet.”
“Don’t you think it might be a little cold, Lilly?” He didn’t actually disagree with me; he took off his clothing and tossed them on the table with mine. It was obvious that he wanted me. Couldn’t hide that too well, could he?”
“Not if we jump in, right? We didn’t see any wild animals around here today so it should be safe.” I was an expert now that I had a few beers and caught a fish.
He laughed at me. “Like I told you, you are the boss. Whatever you say but you have to jump in first.”
“Unlike you, cowardly camper, I am not afraid!” I took off running full speed, my perfect bottom (as he called it) bouncing, my golden hair fluttering down my back. In just a few seconds, I was at the end of the dock and without pausing, was in the cold water, landing with a large splash. Once I came back up, I screamed in shock. “Oh my God! Oh my God! That is so cold!” And now I was sober, and I could see that Bullet wasn’t jumping in there, no how, now way. Smart guy!
With my teeth chattering, I said, “C-come on in Bullet. It’s not cold I promise you.”
He stood on the pier watching me. “Don’t think for a minute that I doubt your honesty but no way am I going in there. That water is freezing once the sun goes down. It’s too late in summer to get ideas about skinny dipping. Why don’t you come on out and I will dry your hair by the fire. This way, here’s the ladder.”