Page 66 of Wildcat
“It’ll be cozy.”
Leo looks to me. “We can go on the boat or walk around and explore. What do you say?”
I do enjoy being out on the water, even if fishing isn’t my favorite thing, but spending time with Leo alone is far more enticing.
“I’d like to take some photos along the water and maybe some in the wooded area.” The weather isn’t the best for pictures, but I need to practice in all conditions.
Ash and Tyler stand with their empty plates. “We’ll be back in a few hours. Hopefully we can have fish for lunch.”
Once we’re alone, Leo leans closer. “Are you ready? Need to grab anything?”
“Just my camera.”
He dons a hat and sunglasses, and I get my camera before we head out. Leo guides us from Ash’s house down to the beach. The lake is quiet today. The wind comes in gusts that make me thankful we’re not on the choppy water. I do not need to spend the morning with my head hanging over the side puking.
“What’d you get up to while I was gone?” he asks as we walk along at a slow pace.
“I worked another promotion for Mike, hung out with Jade. I even sang some Backstreet for you at karaoke last weekend.”
He holds both hands over his heart. “Dream girl.”
I roll my eyes, but secretly love it when he calls me that.
We come up on a wooded area that has a path heading away from the lake. The trees help shield us from the wind, but my nose and fingers are cold.
I snap a few pictures looking back at the water, and then we move off the path, and I play around, shooting all the various fall colors displayed proudly on the leaves. Even with the clouds, the trees this time of year are beautiful and vibrant shades of yellow, orange, and red.
Leo is quiet beside me.
“Sorry. I’m not very good at shooting and talking.”
“I don’t mind.” He pulls his hoodie over his head and holds it out to me. He has only a T-shirt on underneath.
“I’m fine.”
“Your cheeks match the color of that tree,” he says, pointing toward a nearby tree with reddish-orange leaves.
I place a hand to my face, but my fingers are cold too.
“Now you’ll be cold.”
“Nah, I’m used to it. I spend a lot of time in the cold.” He continues to hold out the sweatshirt toward me.
“Thank you.” His scent and warmth envelop me as I put it on. He comes forward and lifts the hood up over my head. Nobody looks sexy in a hoodie. Nobody. But the way he looks at me, the butterflies in my stomach refuse to believe that.
We walk the path and then backtrack along the beach again. I’m not sure how much time has gone by, but I can see a lone boat out in the distance.
“Is that Ash?”
“Yeah, looks like it. There’ll be more people out this afternoon when it warms up a little.”
“You’ve been here a lot then?”
We sit together on the grass just beyond the beach.
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “I guess I have. Ash and I go way back. We both went to college in the northeast and played against each other, then came to the Wildcats.”
“And now you’re BFFs who buy homes in the same neighborhood and vacation together?”
