Page 43 of Only One Bed: Anthology Vol. 1
Please don’t let this end with me losing an eye to a bungee cord.
“Yeah, sure. Stand toward the end of the canoe - get ready to grab it when I loosen the last cords.”
As explained, Kendall undid that last bungee cord, and Emme grabbed the end of the canoe. Slowly, they walked it over to the dock and lowered it in place. Emme found herself mesmerized by the sight of her partner for the day. She was pure strength and beauty as she grabbed that canoe. Muscle and tendons came to life starting in the tops of her hands, running up her thick toned arms and into shoulders that could have been carved by the Goddess herself.
Gently, Kendall began to lower the canoe to the ground signaling Emme to do the same. As Kendall squatted down, Emme focused on not choking. Had Kendall’s calves always been so beautiful? And her thighs, rippling with power…
Those thighs should not be allowed on a someone who is already that gorgeous. It’s just not healthy...for me.
There wasn’t another person alive that got Emme’s water boiling quite like this woman. She’d dated some sexy people, but Kendall was in a league all her own. Part of it was definitely plain old physical chemistry.
Emme’s earliest physical memories of Kendal were of her applying bug repellent to her neck and collarbones. Bug repellant changed in Emme’s mind forever when she realized the sheen and highlight it brought to Kendall’s perfectly crafted collarbones. How could anyone judge a mosquito for wanting to land there and drink of that gorgeous neck? Emme had spent quite a few quiet shadowy nights bringing her body release imagining licking that neck. But there was something else she felt around Kendall. It was as if their spirits reached for each other. Sometimes Emme thought she felt an actual tug. She envisioned a shimmering gold thread running between their hearts.
It brought her comfort imagining she’d be tied to Kendall in that way no matter what.
“Earth to Emme.”
“Hmm? Oh, yea sorry.”
“Are you okay? You seem to be somewhere else. Everything okay? Is this a bad weekend?
“No, no, this weekend is perfect. I am just really looking forward to the river.”
“Dreamy Emme, always dreaming! Girl, can you just try to be in the moment for once? Stay with me!”
Emme smiled remembering how Kendall would always call her out when she seemed to float away. If only Kendall knew that she was what was usually distracting the dreamer.
“I guess I was just thinking about the weekend ahead. Fantasizing about what’s to come.”
Fantasizing about you.
“Well, no need to fantasize because it’s about to be reality. Just gotta put in our gear and then ourselves.”
“Speaking of that, I don’t actually know how to get into a canoe. They’ve always seemed a bit wobbly to me.”
And I do not need help being wobbly!
Kendall turned making purposeful direct eye contact with Emme, “Don’t worry Em, I’ll take care of you.”
Emme’s heart jumped and simultaneously her stomach dropped. Those words, Kendall’s voice, and that look…what a trifecta! Heat was spreading up her chest to her face.
Pull it together Emme, it wasn’t a promise of everlasting love. She’s just saying you won’t drown on her watch
“Thanks. Um, what do I do first?”
“I’m going to stabilize the canoe while you get in. Try to stay balanced and low to the canoe.”
Kendall leaned over the dock and grasped the sides of the canoe, “Okay, now just step in, but remember, stay low.”
Emme was fixated on Kendall’s face. Had she ever really noticed the perfect curvature of Kendall’s cheekbones? Light danced across them bringing to mind the way music notes seem to dance across skin. They can be felt but not touched.
With those thoughts in mind, Emme took a step into the canoe, at her full height. She’d obviously missed the stay low part. The canoe started to sway and Emme’s barely there balance was nowhere to be seen. She could see herself going down and hoped maybe she’d float away without Kendall noticing. Kendall must have recognized the signs of an Emme going down because in a flash she had one strong hand around Emme’s wrist and was pulling her back toward the dock. Emme landed knees first with a thud that rattled her teeth.
Of course.
“I said stay low, not do a pirouette,” Kendall said while trying to hold in laughter that was threatening to spill out.
Emme looked into the mischievous eyes and laughter began to bubble up like when adding vinegar to baking soda in a science fair volcano. How could a look, a simple look, fill her with such pure joy, even whilst she had two, throbbing, soon to be black and blue, knees? Her spirit was magical, infectious, and healing in a way that Emme almost couldn’t bear. What would it feel like to bathe in that spirit? To lap it up like the most decadent cream?
