'I thought of you this morning when the sun came up, Tessa,' Kim said, hearing her friend pad up behind her as she splashed her feet in the stream.
'And was this a good thought, Kim?' Tessa replied, reaching down to touch Kim's shoulder and then crouching down besides her under the cool green canopy. She let her legs fold slowly beneath her until she was sitting, her legs folded under her, hands resting in her lap.
Kim smiled at her friend's question, letting the pink tip of her tongue wet lips that formed a slow smile. Then she raised her shoulders in a tiny shrug and responded noncommittally: 'I suppose it was.'
'You are so sweet when you look like this,' Tessa laughed, leaning over to touch the corner of her friend's lower lip, capturing it in her mouth and biting it very softly. Kim held Tessa's kiss for a few passing heartbeats and then released her to allow the smile's return to fullness.
'So, did your day start well, Tessa?'
'The sun is shining and Peter is coming down from the cottage in a minute - so things are quite good.'
'I am happy for you,' Kim murmured, pressing her friend's arm warmly. 'Does he miss you already?'
'I can make men's heart's tremble despite my small stature.'
'You have a tongue on you: that is true Tessa.'
'I use it where it needs to be used.'
'We all use our tongues where they need to be used.'
'I might take you up on that later.'
'A nice swim would be the very thing for me now though,' Kim smiled and splashed some more.
'Me too,' Tessa agreed. 'I used to swim quite a lot before my operation this year. 'I am just getting back into it and a dive under you would do me good.'
'You can dive under me, whenever you like, but I want to go into the chill water too and feel the breeze in my damp hair.'
'I imagine you both look particularly lovely damp with the breeze in your hair,' a male voice interrupted their idle musings. 'Oh hi, Peter,' Kim giggled. 'It certainly feels lovely. It is so good to be free and buoyant in the water, as though I am flying rather than floating.'
'Do others share this realm of your senses?' He queried, crouching down to join the girls. 'Does Tessa for instance?'
'It doesn't matter,' said Tessa, uncurling her legs from under her and dipping her feet gingerly in the stream.
'I am always more aware of how I feel than how others see me, Peter,' Kim added.
'Reproach me then, but I will still appreciate you both for all you are, ladies.'
'Why thank you, Peter,' they chorused, then looked at one another and broke into a fit of giggles.
'I appreciate you both for the way you let me come down to share a morning thought with you.'
'Your thoughts often interest me, Peter,' said Tessa, leaning back and pressing her head against his leg.
'Your thoughts Peter that I usually hear through Tessa, lead me off on a train of my own,' Kim commented.
'I listen to what you say too, Kim,' Peter replied cheerfully and pulled off his socks and shoes, before pushing between the two girls and paddling his hairy legs between their shaven limbs. 'There is a pretty weaving in even the simple pattern of your words.'
'And yet you never act on them,' Kim teased.
'If I don't act on them it's not for lack of want.'
'So why don't you?' Kim queried and nuzzled up against him.
Peter turned his face towards her and put his hand under her chin, tilting her face up towards his and stared into her eyes. She let him manipulate her, enjoying the touch of his hand, blinking a little and making her pout up at him in an attractive moue.
'I don't do anything because I have Tessa and I don't really understand what you are asking of me.'
Kim's pout became sulky as he turned towards her friend and wrapped his arm meaningfully around her shoulders.
'You don't have to act, Peter,' breathed Tessa. 'You just have to be.'
'The gentleness of your being is a pleasure,' he smooched.
'Well, while I enjoy the friendship between you two cooing doves,' said Kim, suddenly feeling left out. 'I also like the fact that Tessa and I can sit here together, so don't try to disrupt our shared moments.'
'Your shared moments are wonderful,' Peter grinned and pressed an arm around the petite redhead and his olive skinned girlfriend at the same time, letting his hands slide down both their spines simultaneously. 'The very idea of them calms me.'
'Calm is good,' smiled Tessa, leaning back to feel the warmth of his hand against her lower back.
'Your calm takes me to a place where there are no demands,' Peter smiled and leaned in to kiss her.
'Yes, I love the calm too,' Kim grinned. 'It is very seductive.'
'Shall we go out into the sun and be seduced together?' Peter suggested.
'The sun is not seductive,' Kim said idly, 'but it adds extra warmth to the freshness of your remark and it dries the damp grass.'
'If it dries enough, then we can picnic together after the swim,' Tessa replied, adding persuasively: 'a picnic would be a wonderfully lazy way to spend time.'
'Yes, it would,' Kim agreed turning and leaning around in front Peter to smile at her friend.
'Careful, you'll fall in,' Peter broke in, pushing Kim down so that she was twisted over his lap. She squirmed and pushed back trying to get up, but he wouldn't let her up.
'I love the feel of the water, so it doesn't matter,' Kim shrugged and tried once more to lever herself up, squealing as he suddenly pushed her towards the water.
'Don't yell, Kim. It spoils the calm,' Peter said with mock severity and brought his hand down on her backside.
'Hey! You can't spank my friend,' Tessa protested.
'Doesn't she deserve it?'
'No: sometimes you take your 'master of the house' act a little too far. It does not apply to my friends.'