Each stroke I made seemed to make her beautiful smile grow wider. My heart pounded from my exertions but also from the thrill of what we were doing together without our spouses. The sun was shining down on us and although my muscles were strained from use I felt as though I would never want to stop doing this. She asked if I needed to slow down and I just grinned and kept going. She smiled happily, eager for me to keep going.
And that's when the jet ski nearly capsized us.
We exchanged dirty glances with the owner of said jet ski and worked together to get the water out of our canoe. It was a holiday weekend and my wife and I had gone camping at a local state park with two friends of ours, Mike and his wife Mary, who was currently helping me empty the canoe. We had all been close friends now for about three years and enjoyed vacationing together. As we were all in our late twenties our interests and views were fairly the same so we all got along great.
"I can't stand people like that. So inconsiderate." Mary muttered.
I had to chuckle at her. Mary was the sweetest girl I knew but when something really bothered her she had trouble hiding it.
Earlier that morning I had suggested that we all rent boats from the park office and go out on the lake. My wife, Amanda, declined but said she'd come along and read on the lakeside beach. Mary was excited at the idea and Mike wanted to get some trail riding in on the bike he brought but encouraged Mary to go along without him. Amanda didn't mind s going together in the least and within the hour Mary and I were a good way out on the lake and feeling much more confident after we moved away from the guys having too much fun on their jet skis.
As we moved out toward the shade of a tree line for a break from the sun, I enjoyed a quick glance at Mary's bust, healthy size D's, held tightly by her conservative black swimsuit. I'd always had a thing for her, although my friendship with her and Mike was too important for me to entertain many thoughts about her. Not that I wasn't devoted to my wife - entirely the opposite, it was just that Mary was just one of those girls I was naturally attracted to.
She sighed, gazing out over the water and idly running a hand through her long, blond hair. She flashed me a happy smile and looked back over at the beach.
"Looks like Amanda's really enjoying her book."
I grinned. "Yeah, she stopped at the library and got an armload of books for this trip. She couldn't decide what mood she'd be in and wanted to have a book for everything."
Mary smiled and happily gazed around at the trees, then at a nearby fishing boat where an old man was just pulling a fair-sized bass out of the water. I just sat there and admired her, enjoying the way the sunlight was sparkling on the water behind her. I shook my head to clear away a thought I shouldn't be having, just as she looked back at me.
Her eyebrow raised in amusement. "Something wrong?"
I chuckled and tried to ignore it. "No. Nothing."
"What? You looked upset for a moment."
"It was nothing. Don't worry about it." I said, trying to get her to drop it.
But the one thing about Mary was that she had a very deeply personal character and always wanted to know more about someone. It was one of the things I liked about her. I was just wishing it was a quality she could forget for a moment as she persisted and asked, "No really, what's the matter?"
Making an unwise call I thought I could assuage her by just answering part of the truth. "No, sorry, it really wasn't anything. I was just thinking it wasn't the best idea for me to come out here with you."
She didn't get what I was saying and looked confused. "Why? Did I do something?"
"No!" I laughed. "No, nothing like that. I just mean without Amanda."
"Oh." She said but still looked confused. Then a little hurt.
I sighed. "Okay, it's just...this is embarrassing but I'm a little attracted to you. I was just clearing my head of some stuff I shouldn't think."
She blushed but smiled a little. "Oh. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like that."
I shrugged and smiled.
"Do you want to go back? Maybe Amanda would want to go if you asked again." She suggested.
"No, it's okay. She doesn't really like boats. It's fine, as long as you're still comfortable and I haven't make myself seem like a creep."
She laughed. "No! You haven't at all. Thank you for telling me. I appreciate that you felt comfortable enough to tell me."
We laughed it off and continued to enjoy our time out on the water. It was a gorgeous day and so perfect for people who enjoy the outdoors. When the sun was getting too hot we agreed to go in to shore and brought the canoe back to the dock. Amanda was still enjoying her book and was glad to see us back. I laid down beside her to nap while Mary decided to return to the campsite and rest out of the sun.
The trip became a little uncomfortable after dinner that night. The conversation had turned to our future plans for the next few years which inevitably turned to when we were going to have children. It was a conversation we had had with them many times before, enough to know that Mike wasn't comfortable with starting a family yet.
Amanda and I were hoping to start a family soon, and although we didn't mention it, she was off of birth control as of a month ago and we had just had sex that morning in our tent. Mary had wanted to start a family soon and expressed that they were both getting closer, which was a big surprise to us knowing Mike. Mike, however stayed very quiet during the conversation and didn't talk much more that evening. After the food and camp was cleaned up, the sun had set and we had sat around the fire for a while, Mike excused himself and went to bed. It was clear that something was wrong but no one wanted to bring it up.
Amanda, Mary and I sat around the fire for a while longer just talking and reminiscing other trips we had taken until Amanda started yawning and decided to go to bed as well. She kissed me goodnight and fondly touched my shoulder before heading in.
Our spouses had always been early birds and Mary and I were used to being night owls and had stayed up talking on many other trips together so this was nothing new. I threw another small log in the fire and watched as it smoldered and as flames began to lick up and down the length of the dry wood. Mary was unusually quiet and looked upset but I didn't want to pry until she seemed ready to talk.
As time went on, however, and the night continued to fall around us she said nothing. The log I had thrown on was halfway consumed by now and I debated adding another as I was starting to grow tired now as well.
Mary stirred and then looked up at me. I gave her a little smile which she then returned. A moment later she got up and sat in the chair next to me.
"I'm sorry Mike was upset tonight" she whispered.