But this place? It's got three bedrooms and a master loft, skylights that stream the stars. I never imagined owning something so beautiful, but even with the high price tag -- nothing about it is showy. It’s muted colors, natural tones, soft. And after a lifetime of fighting my own demons, it’s nice to rest.
I change into some board shorts, streak some sunscreen across my nose and run a hand through my dark hair. With a blue button down shirt on, I head outside, grabbing the paddle board and an oar on my way down to my dock that I apparently share with my neighbor.
I look over at that house which is equally beautiful -- though at least twice as large.
In fact, the style and the architecture is so incredibly complementary to my house that when I first saw the listing I thought they were being sold together. But the agent told me that the remodel project had been done by the owners of the neighboring property.
I guess they are some construction company who does renovations. The agent says they are some outfit over in Home, Washington about 90 minutes away, past the Burly mountains.
Regardless, the neighbor’s house is empty now.
So I've got the dock to myself and I take advantage of it.
I step out of my flip flops and drop the paddle board into the still lake water.
There are a few boats out now, I see, but I'm gonna just mind my own business.
On the paddle board I begin to maneuver over the water, enjoying myself taking in the big lake and working up a sweat, relaxed in ways I often am not -- the water is the closest I feel to family.
People wonder why I’m always in a boat or on a board -- after the hell I went through in losing my entire family -- but I figure being on the water is a way I can stay connected to them. It’s why I have a houseboat on Lake Washington, over in Seattle. Why I make kayaks, or surf down in Westport -- water is where I lost everyone I love. So staying close to it makes me feel less alone.
I’m out there for over an hour, maybe longer. And by the time I’m headed back toward the house I’m starved.
When I get back to my dock though, I'm surprised to see a woman standing there with her arms crossed, scowling at me.
And not just any woman.
The woman of my fucking dreams.
With my oar in the water, I move closer toward the dock. The last thing I want to do is scare her away.
As I inch closer, I notice her watching me. I call out, “Can I help you?”
“Uh, yeah,” she says. “I was wondering why you're on my dock, and what your stuff — your shoes and your phone -- what’s it doing here?”
“I live here,” I say, “in that house.” I nod to my new lakefront property. “I just moved in a few days ago.”
“You moved in a few days ago?” she repeats. If she'd smile she's like fucking gorgeous. She's got this curly brown hair and delicate features; a perfect body that is so sexy she’d look fucking indecent if she stripped out of that sun dress and put on a bikini.
Hell, she could get on this paddle board with me and I’d take us out to the center of that like we could sit there all damn day.
But she's not interested in that. Not right now. Her hands are on her hips. She's glaring.
“Well,” she scoffs. “I don't understand what you're doing on my dock.”
“It's our dock,” I say, “it was in the listing. The lady who sold me the house told me we share it. “How did it work with the last people who own this property?”
“No one's lived here for like 15 years. It was the Nelson's place but they let it go. They just had it renovated to put up for sale, they all moved to Vermont a decade ago.”
“Okay,” I say, “Well, I don't know what I'm supposed to do with that information.”
“Well, I don't either,” she says, frowning. “Honestly, the Nelson’s were never here so if it was a shared dock, I never would have known.” She sighs, giving into the reality that I’m right. “Who are you anyways?”
I'm Anchor,” I tell her.
She presses her lips together, pushing them forward. They're cute. Pink. Fucking kissable and I realize I'm really fucking horny. I’ve been waiting my whole life to be turned on like this.
And the only thing I can think when I look at her is how much I want to wrap my arms around her and justrelax.