Once again I offer my greatest and most sincere appreciation to basilisk for her editing prowess, wisdom and guidance.
CHAPTER SIX
Karen has found her way to the back deck wearing only one of my long sleeved white shirts with a good number of buttons unbuttoned. Its sexy, enticing and covering almost to her knees. "Hey, what's going on out here?"
Looking up and smiling at her arrival, "Hi there. You're awake."
"Yes baby, you tired me out with that last little treat."
"My pleasure," recalling our recent session on my new swing and grinning like a Cheshire cat.
It's about seven o'clock. A great spring evening. 70 degrees, a little breeze. The sun's still up, but is beginning to sink in the west. Bob the dog is with me on the deck. Bob's a 3 year old black lab mix. He's a bit on the skinny side and smaller than a purebred lab. Bob's a great dog and has taken to Karen. He and I go for daily walks (well, I walk and he runs). He just roams around, never getting too far away, but frequently checking back just to make certain I'm ok.
"Jake. Let's go see where that little road goes."
"We can do that, but you'd better put on some shoes, maybe some pants and grab a jacket first. It tends to be a bit cooler up there than down here."
"I've got some old sneakers in my bag. Will you get them? Otherwise, I'll be ok just like this. I'm hot blooded and besides if I get too cold, you can warm me." Karen teases.
I'm wearing shorts and an old long sleeved shirt. "Ok kid, but I'm grabbing a sweatshirt for me."
I disappear into the house and emerge wearing a sweatshirt over my shirt and holding a Chicago Cubbies baseball cap. Handing Karen her sneakers, "Here Karen. Its windy up there and this hat will keep your hair out of your face. Let's go." And we're off, hand in hand, enjoying the adventure. Bob's scouting ahead making sure everything is safe.
"What's up there?"
"You'll see soon enough."
"I want to know now."
"Ok, curious one. Do you see that wood pile up ahead?"
"Yes I do."
"Well, just a few feet beyond that wood pile is another deck. You run up there, climb onto the deck and tell me what you see."
And she's gone. Bob's running with her. Karen the curious. I pick up my pace behind her simply because I want to see her reaction when she gets to the top of the dune. I'm no more than 50 feet behind her when she steps onto the deck. She stops, frozen in time. Speechless.
I know the reaction. It's the same reaction I had the first time I saw this view.
"Jake, Jake, Jake. It's Lake Michigan. Its beautiful."
She's right. Lying before us and some 50 feet below is about 100 feet of clear, clean sandy beach stretching as far as one can see to the left and as far as one can see to the right. Beyond the beach is Lake Michigan. The majesty of this view is completed by the dying sun's painting the sky above purple, crimson and orange.
"Can we walk on the beach?"
"Of course. There are stairs beyond the deck. Here, follow me."
We descend, take off our shoes, leave them on the steps and begin walking along the beach. Bob loves this part. He's running ahead scaring sea gulls and nipping at the waves as they crest against the shore. Karen and I just mosey along the beach, holding hands, arms swinging, noting the sand's cool touch against our toes, the fresh wind's teasing the tail of Karen's big shirt and the horizon's constantly changing colors as the sun falls. It's a carefree time.
After walking a while we both realize we're not alone. Up ahead a solitary figure approaches and off to the side a much smaller figure. Bob sees them and runs ahead to investigate. The smaller figure also begins running. Bob's in Heaven. He's found another dog.
The dogs by now are chasing each other and ignoring their people. Karen and I approach the stranger who speaks first, "Hi. It looks like our dogs each found a playmate."
Tanned legs, no shoes, white shorts - not tight, black sweatshirt declaring her love of the performer Meatloaf and failing to hide two substantial breasts, nice face, great smile, red hair tied in a pony tail and stuck through the hole in the back of a Cubs baseball cap, not skinny, not obese, about Karen's height, mid-40s I would guess.
"They sure have and hi to you. I'm Jake. She's Karen and he, wherever he's gone, is Bob. Great evening isn't it."
"Nice to meet you both. I'm Peg and she, who seems to be quite taken with Bob, is Sammi. It is a great evening. The beach and the lake and the sunset here are just incredible."
"Great to meet you Peg. I'm actually here for my first time, um, visiting Jake for the weekend. Like you, I've already fallen in love with this place." Karen's smiling and stepping closer to Peg.
"Actually, today's my first time here also. I'm from the other side of the lake over by Chicago. We've got some nice beaches there, but nothing like this. Karen, I see you're a Cubs fan too? I love them, as you can tell by Sammi's name."
"Absolutely I am. Weren't you excited last year when they almost made it?"
"Excited? I was hoarse for a month. I saw every game, either at the stadium or in one of the local pubs. It was amazing."
I watch Karen flash me a coy smile and before I can say anything she and Peg are walking down the beach arm in arm yakking about their beloved Cubbies. Truth be told, I happen to know Karen is a died in the wool Tigers fan and would not be caught dead cheering for the Cubs. I can only speculate on her motives and that speculation is beginning to feel quite warm indeed.
I'm lagging a bit behind the two new friends and marveling at how similar their bodies are shaped. They're the same height, same slightly wide shoulders and slightly tapered waists and same nicely shaped legs. But for Karen's blonde hair to Peg's red hair, they could be twins. Peg's wearing one of those slim gold chains on her ankle that I've always thought to be incredibly sexy. Soon we approach the stairs leading back up the dune to my place. The sun has set, leaving us with only the moon and stars. With darkness, the dogs are hanging closer.
"I invited Peg up for a glass of wine. You don't mind, do you Jake?"
Looking at the two of them, I think: I have an absolute rock in my pants from watching you two and you ask if I mind? Smiling I tell the women, "I think that would be great. I've got a couple bottles of Toasted Head in the fridge. We can light a fire and sit out on the deck."
"Um, one of my favorite Chardonnays Jake. You have good taste."
"Thanks Peg," as I speculate to myself about the taste of Peg.
We climb the stairs and then walk down the hill, the dogs running through the woods as we go. Arriving at my place, "Karen, why don't you show Peg around. I'll get a fire started out here."
"Great, I can do that. Let's go Peg. We can tidy up a bit while we're waiting for Jake to start the fire."
A few minutes later a fire blazes in a fire pit next to the back deck and I wander indoors to pour some wine. I don't see the women, but notice the door to the bedroom is closed. I find the wine, extract the cork, pour three glasses and slip a frozen condom over the bottle to keep it cold. Just then two women emerge from the bedroom wearing identical smiles, identical big white dress shirts with the top three buttons unbuttoned and interestingly enough, identical gold chains looped twice about their left ankles. "Great place you've got here Jake, but what's beyond that door with the sign that says, "NO GURLS ALOWED?"
"Be careful Peg. That's Jake's clubhouse and he doesn't like anyone's going in there without his permission."