Page 99 of Nerdplay
“How about you? Anyone ever chase you down in an airport to declare his love?”
“That’s neither romantic nor realistic. They’d never get past security.”
“No romantic highlights then?”
Not until now, I want to say, but I simply shake my head instead.
“Do you ever sleep outside under the stars?” he asks. “I don’t mean in a kayak. With the way you wriggle around in your sleep, that would be too dangerous.”
I bask in his playful teasing. Patrick used to tease me, too, but there was often an undercurrent of meanness to it. A putdown buried amongst the ribbing rubble. Charlie is different. Despite his so-called competitive nature, he has a calming energy. It occurs to me that he may not know himself as well as he thinks.
“I’ve slept outside a few times, but I usually wake up covered in mosquito bites.”
“And how many times have you been skinny-dipping?”
“That would be zero.”
“Wait one second. Are you telling me that in all the years you’ve lived here, you’ve never once been skinny-dipping in this lake?”
“Why is that so hard to believe?”
“Because the lake is right here and you’re alone much of the time.”
“When I’m alone here, the water is too frigid to swim in, let alone naked. Most of the summer I’m surrounded by children. Skinny-dipping would get me arrested.”
“We have to remedy this right now.”
I shift to look at him. “Charlie Thorpe, there is no way I’m climbing out of this comfortable kayak to strip naked and hurl myself into a body of cold water.”
He sticks his hand in the water. “Bath water. Feel it.”
“Why does it have to be skinny-dipping? Can’t we go for a moonlight swim?”
“Because it isn’t the same. There’s something primal about swimming in the nude. You can’t die without having done it at least once in your life.”
“My parents and grandparents would beg to differ.”
“How do you know they didn’t skinny-dip?”
“Because it wasn’t their style.”
“Oh, did they wear baggy Princess Leia T-shirts that hid their bodies, too?”
I grow still. “I don’t hide myself.”
“Of course you do. Your fake glasses.”
“Fashion frames.”
“Your fashion frames. Your head-to-toe pop-culture clothing.”
“It’s called self-expression.”
“It’s called hiding. I get it. You don’t want to be seen.” He nudges me. “But I see you, Courtney Abernathy, and you’re amazing. Everything about you is amazing.”
His bolstering words dance along my bare skin.
“Come on. I’ve been doing all sorts of things outside my comfort zone. Now it’s your turn. If it helps, I’ll turn away until your lady parts are submerged in water.”
