Page 60 of Falling Again
“Sneaky, huh?” Not picking up on his wife’s plan, Anthony missed the distance she put between them.
“Yep, very sneaky. They’re fast, too.” She could hardly hide the laughter from her voice, she was on pins and needles.
Finally, Anthony picked up what she was saying, but it was too late. “First one out to that red buoy wins!” She shouted as she jumped into the lake and started swimming, splashing a gallon of water on her first kick. Behind her, she heard a splash as Anthony joined her.
It felt amazing, splashing around the lake, feeling the burn in her muscles as she pulled through the water. Natalie added to her mental to-do list; instead of just thinking about working out to lose a few pounds—and to make up for the surplus of chocolate coursing through her system—she’d think of it as fun. Thiswasfun, swimming, laughing, and playing. She needed to do more of it.
Lost in her musings, Natalie didn’t see Anthony swim past her until it was too late. Victoriously, he whooped and waved his hands in the air like a lunatic, treading water loud enough to drown out the sound of a nearby jet ski. “Looks like the panda was faster for once.”
In three strokes he was in front of her, wrapping his arms around her before kissing her cheek, slowing trailing kisses to her neck. Even in the hot sun, Natalie shivered. “We never decided what the winner gets,” she sighed, her head lulling back in the water.
Anthony’s tongue lapped up to her earlobe where he whispered, “I’ve got an idea.”
“I’m sure you do,” she breathed.
“Twister,” he said. It took a second for his suggestion to sink in, pulling Natalie out of her lust-soaked haze.
“What?”
Looking smug, Anthony confirmed what she already thought she heard. “I want to go back to the house and play Twister.”
“Is that a euphemism?”
Anthony shook with laughter, pulling her against his torso. “I swear, it’s not. When I was looking through the game cabinet the other day, I found the old box. What do you say?”
The man floating in the middle of Lake Erie wasn’t Anthony Snyder—or at least not the Anthony Snyder of the past year. This man was light, carefree, and as giddy as a schoolboy. He looked five years younger, with a sparkle in his eye she hadn’t seen in far too long.
“I say we better get back and stretch, because I don’t plan to lose again.” She quickly pecked his cheek before kicking free and swimming back to shore.
Natalie felt the world around her shift; nothing major, but enough to give her a sense of calm she hadn’t realized she was missing. They’d made some real progress this week. Granted, the house wasn’t packed, and they still had to officially convince Steven keeping the house was a good idea, but they’d made forward momentum where it counted.
This was what their marriage used to be like—fun, supportive, and loving. She vowed right there in the water that this sense of contentment would follow them back to Buckeye Falls. Natalie owed it to herself, to Anthony, and to their children. It would happen, she knew it would. When her and Anthony put their minds to something, they got results.
But first, she needed to get back to the lake house so she could kick her husband’s ass in Twister.
*
Anthony must have beensuffering an undiagnosed head wound, because he couldn’t believe they were playing Twister, at his suggestion no less. But sitting out on the dock, laughing and playing around with Natalie, felt too good to stop. He needed just one more memory of this perfect week to take home; a memory just for him to tuck away.
Natalie came out of the bedroom with damp hair wearing her favorite bathrobe. Her skin was still dewy from the shower, her blonde hair pinned back off her lovely face. She looked relaxed—and more importantly—happy. “You ready to do this?” she asked, her eyebrow arched as she toyed with the belt of her robe.
“You freaking know it,” he scoffed, kicking off his shoes. Opening the box, he pulled out the spinner dial and placed it on the coffee table. With a flourish, he shook open the mat and laid it in the middle of the room. His palms were sweaty with anticipation. It had been a while since he and Natalie were playful like this, and he was as excited as a kid on Christmas morning.
“What are the rules again?” Natalie asked innocently, striding over to his side of the room. She stood next to him, resting her head on his shoulder while he read the instructions.
It was impossible for him to concentrate on reading the directions with her heavenly lemon scent filling his space. Clearing his throat, Anthony recited the directions. “Seems cut and dry,” he surmised as he folded up the paper and tossed it onto the sofa.
“Aren’t there variations to the game?”
Missing her train of thought, Anthony frowned. “I think it’s fairly simple. First one to fall on their ass loses.”
“Best of three then?” Natalie asked, stepping up to the mat. She gnawed on her bottom lip, almost looking a little nervous.
Anthony stretched like he was about to run the 100-meter dash, leaning over until his hips popped. “Okay, maybe I’m not as flexible as I thought I was.” He huffed out a laugh and flipped the dial. “Right foot red,” he announced without looking up. Bending into an angle he hoped wouldn’t tear his ACL, Anthony waited for Natalie to make her move. He felt her shift and get into position. “Alright, left hand green.”
“I think I need to be more comfortable for this,” Natalie said, her hands resting on her hips. Her right foot was in place, but she made no move to place her left hand. She was clearly up to something, as she liked to play dirty when she knew she could.
“Quit stalling, my arms are already shaking.” Using his chin, Anthony gestured to his prone position. He looked like a crab who forgot how to walk.
