Mood Fish, a Romance fanfic - FictionPress.com

Hi, all!

First thing's first: The summary with this story was the most terrible summary I've ever written...Because the story itself has yet to really form. I mean, I know what's happening, but I can't put it all down into a summary...Anyway...

Mood Fish is a story that has been swimming around in my head for more than two years, has gone through a rewrite-and-a-half, countless scene rearrangements, deleted lines, added lines, and three name changes. It has a basic outline but no major detailing work has been done yet (unlike Free Fallin', which was thoroughly planned down to the wording before I even thought about starting to write it). This story, like almost anything else I write and much like Free Fallin', is infused with music and my life. I have poured myself into this story. And Curtis' character is based on a real person I once knew, too.

Mood Fish is such a work-in-progress that I still have a very important, very huge character for Part 2 that I still don't have a definite name for! The story is a 3-part sort of trilogy of Love, Loss, and Life, but each part is its own book-sized novel, I guess you could say.

I'm basically posting this because I owe you guys something for holding off on Free Fallin' for so long. I feel terrible for that, honest, but I had no computer for a week (my laptop battery went kaput) and then vacation (in Minneapolis the day after the bridge collapsed) and now everything I write for the story feels like crap. But I'll come around, I promise. For now, enjoy Mood Fish, and please don't forget to drop a review!

-Hannah A.

DISCLAIMER: Lynrd Skynrd's "Simple Man" is not mine...Shinedown made an amazingly amazing awesome remake so they might own some right to it...Simon & Garfunkel still (as far as I know) own "Wednesday Morning, 3AM"...that's all in this chapter.

Mood Fish
Part One: Love

Chapter One - The Best Birthday Gift

His favorite song was Simple Man, by Lynrd Skynrd. We used to sit around the campfire and sing it together, him strumming his guitar and me sitting on top of the picnic table beside him, waiting for my place to start singing. He loved to dance with me, and for reasons I still cannot explain, he liked to hold me at just the right distance, where I couldn't put my arms around him, but I could stare into his eyes, wordless and entranced for hours. He loved life. It was as if he were always on some sort of high every day: everything fascinated him, from bugs to boiling water. Once, we went to Niagara Falls; he stood at the edge of the rocks watching the water for two hours without moving. He wanted to learn all he could in his short amount of time, as if he knew he wouldn't have as long as most to live his life. I always thought, Maybe he did know, but then I dismissed it, because no one really knows.

He was miraculous, in every sense of the word. And a picture out of the magazines, too. He stood 6'2", with a thin but muscled build that he could thank years of football and soccer for. Black hair, dark eyes that always seemed to shine with wonder and question, like a toddler's. His features were soft, but defined, and though he was enigmatic in the face, those eyes gave him away. He had a smirk about him that he carried most of the time, and sometimes he would tilt his head a bit to one side and smirk at me, a smile that always did me in.

He was my first love. My second kiss, if one counted my 4th grade marriage and wet smooch on the lips by Dusty Maynard as my first. From the day I met him, I was his, and I am sure he knew it. We enjoyed life together, we explored our world as far as our budgets and gas prices would allow...And somehow, in the commotion of trying to find oneself in the craziness of high school, growing up, pressure from colleges, and the reality of life, we found each other. We lived our lives together, side-by-side, us against the world. And if he'd asked me to marry him, I would have jumped at it. But he never did. Because we were young, you see. But we were smart. We knew what we wanted from life, and from each other.

Though I was never sure—and mind you, I never asked, although to this day I wish I had—what exactly it was that he wanted from me. He seemed to enjoy my company more than most. Not that I was a social outcast, not at all. He just...He is hard to explain. You will understand someday, I hope. I wrote this to try to help you understand. To help myself understand...

I suppose I should introduce myself, after all what is a story without a protagonist, and I'm almost sure in every story I've ever read and every movie I've ever seen, the protagonist had a name. My birth name is Lillian Ellen Miller, but when I was four I was determined to change it to Mrs. E.L. Fudge, what for my love of the cookies. Though I never achieved that particular dream, I did get around to others, most of which you will read about later on. But, if you must be as impatient as my little sister, feel free to skip ahead some pages. Just be sure to come back and read the important stuff sometime later. You did, after all rent, check-out, borrow, or buy this book, unless you're like me and you sit in bookstores and read all day, and if you're not finished, you just tuck the book away where no one would look for it, so it will definitely be there for you tomorrow...

I'm getting carried away.

I should describe myself, to wipe away the images of the skinny blonde girl chewing on celery that you may have pegged me as. I'll tell you right now, you're wrong, if that was what you saw. I am not blonde, though I did once acquire a blonde wig for Halloween...Actually, I have dark brown hair that is almost waist-length, and I'll let you know now that I am too selfish to chop it off and donate it to small, cancerous children. I know that sounds terrible, but it is true...I love my hair, as do most of my friends and random people in school and in grocery stores. And I'm not skinny, as skinny to me means anorexic. I'm thin, and in shape, with long legs that contribute to my being 5'6"—almost—toned by years of running and bicycling, and a flat stomach thanks to my mother's workout equipment in the basement that sat unused for years until I decided to break it all in. I am pretty tan, even through the better part of winter. I suppose I'm the typical American, white, Christian girl, although I will admit that I'm not the greatest Christian. I hardly ever go to church, and am currently exploring my own beliefs in religion. I have a friend who is a devout Catholic, and I support her, but this story isn't about religion.

Now would be an ideal time to bring in the second protagonist to this story. You read of him in the first few paragraphs, and now I will supply you with a name to go along with the face. Curtis Smith. He was my best friend since age four, when we met. The actual encounter—which consisted of us both reaching for the same E.L. Fudge cookie box at the same time at the local grocery store, fighting, tearing the box open, and eating the entire thing off the linoleum floor before our mothers found us—was then said to be fate, but later years would reveal that our mothers were friends, having met at an Open House at the daycare center we would both be enrolling at. Chances were we would have met anyway.

We remained undying friends—and only friends—for years, with little tension between us as far as dating went. Dating was not something discussed, and those who suspected we were "going out" were mistaken. The "dates" we went on were nothing more than a movie or a milkshake. It went without saying that I would have dated him, had he asked, but that I'll save for later.

Everyone liked Curtis Smith, and everyone knew him. To add to the description I gave earlier, Curt was competitive, athletic, and smart, and his mother let him do practically anything. He lived on a small farm just outside of town, owning five horses and a couple of goats and chickens. That did not make him a farmer boy, but he did have a rugged side about him that brought in the girls. Though he cleaned up nicely, and, according to his mother, was "quite a handsome and versatile boy, just like his father."

We don't speak of Curtis' father often, but because you don't know, I'll explain: His father was a great man, very involved and whatnot, a loving husband and devoted father. His boss was involved with money laundering, and when Curtis' father found out, he tried to help his boss get out of it. In a turn of events that sent two men to prison and fifty to a funeral, Curtis' father was shot by the man that his boss was laundering the money to. It happened when we were fourteen.

Curtis always looked out for me, more so after his father died than ever. I never had any brothers—three sisters, but I'll get to them later—and I never knew my father, so Curt was the one to take the initiative to be my "fill-in brother and father." Sometimes it annoyed me, other times I didn't mind. Mostly I felt protected, safe. It was a good feeling, knowing he was around.

We spent a lot of time together. If we weren't in town, we were on the lake. The lake itself was small and shallow, located about ten miles out of town. Curtis had a personal watercraft, a Sea-Doo. It seated three, but usually it was just the two of us on it. The lake didn't get that much traffic from small, fast boats like Sea-Doos, mostly pontoon boats and slow cruisers. But it was a lot of fun. His parents owned a Lake Lot, #370, and his mother kept it after his father died. It consisted of a downhill slope, with a trailer at the top of the hill and some trees dotting it. A few feet from the trailer was a grill and fire pit, and three feet down from it was a leveled porch, which stuck out the side of the hill. On it was a picnic table, and just after the porch down the hill came a hammock, supported by two trees. At the bottom of the hill was a long dock, with his father's old pontoon boat tied up to the left, and the family's ski boat on the right. The Sea-Doo usually sat tied to the left of the pontoon, safe from rocks and the side of the dock.

We spent many weekends out on that Lot, wasting time and gas. It was a wonderful place, for both of us. We could be ourselves, free of the pressures of the world. It was a getaway, a perfect escape. An escape we found in each other's company.

The day after my sixteenth birthday—Curtis was a few months my senior—Curtis showed up at my house. I was outside playing soccer with my little sister, Paige. She was five at the time, with rusty red hair and bright green eyes. We were so into our game that we barely noticed Curtis pull up in his truck. "Hey, time out!" he called.

I looked up, my hair flipping over my shoulder. With a grin, I waved and walked over to the driveway where he was parked.

"What're you doin' this weekend?" he asked me, smiling from his truck. It was a smile that I was all too familiar with. It meant he had a plan.

"I'm not sure, why? Have you made plans for me?"

"Yeah. I'll pick you up at three. Weekend. Lake. You and me."

"And your mom?"

Another evil smile. He didn't answer for a moment, while we watched Paige kick the soccer ball, trip, and fall face first into the grass. She hopped up and kicked it again, practicing her dribbling. "Actually, no," Curtis said.

"No?" My heart jumped and my stomach felt funny.

"No. The Sea-Doo is already out there, and so's the ski boat. And the pontoon to sleep on."

I laughed out loud. Three boats for both of us. "I'll be waiting for you to pick me up, then."

"I'll be early. Three, remember."

"Got it. Bye!" I called as he drove off.

"Ooh...I'm telling Gams and Mom dat Cut's mommy won't be dare!" Paige yelled, and as I turned around I saw that she had approached and heard my conversation.

I smiled at Paige. A threatening smile. "Tell Grams that his mom isn't gonna be there, and I'll kill your Barbie. I swear, when you walk in your room tonight night she'll have a bad hair cut and she'll have gone through the paper shredder."

"No!" Paige's scream was such a shrill cry that our grandmother came running outside. She had lived with us for the past year, partly because out attorney-mother was working a lot, and because she felt we needed some "extra guidance." It was fine; we loved having her around.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Grams. Paige just lost a game of soccer..." I lied. I headed for the house after tossing the ball to Paige. She didn't catch it, and ran to grab it. "By the way, Curt's pickin' me up at three. I'll be back Sunday night."

Grams nodded and smiled. She knew Curtis and I were best friends. I know she suspected we were a little more than that, but she thought that as long as his mom was there when we retreated to the lake lot, nothing could happen between us. I was hoping maybe something would happen this weekend, like maybe he'd realize he liked me or something...but I never got my hopes up too high.

At two-thirty, I was sitting on the front porch swing with a black volleyball bag beside me. I had all my hair over my left shoulder and I was brushing it slowly. In the bag I'd thrown a couple different swimsuits, a pair of shorts, a pair of jeans, and a long baggy shirt. I had sandals on and didn't bring any other shoes. I decided to wear my hair down but I brought hair ties just in case. I also had a red bandana sitting on the bag beside me and a pair of sunglasses beside that.

When I saw the black truck down the street heading for my driveway, I threw my hair behind my shoulder. I slipped the bandana over my head, pulled my hair out from under it, then pulled it back up over my head, leaving a little hair in front of my face free. I put the sunglasses on and turned to open the door. "Bye, Mom!" I called.

My mom came running to the door to say goodbye to me just as Curt got out of his truck. Mom hugged me and kissed my cheek. "Love you."

"I love you, too, Mom."

Curtis parked his truck and walked up. "Hey, Patty." I always thought it was so funny how they were on a first-name basis. Curtis has never called my mom Mrs. Miller, even the first day he met her. I don't know if someone would think that would be rude or disrespectful, but I liked it. It showed guts, to see a sixteen-year-old talking to a lawyer like that when he's taking her daughter away for the weekend.

"Afternoon, Curtis. You bring my daughter back safe and sound, got it?"

Curtis nodded. "Safe and sound. This yours?" he asked, pointing to my bag.

I nodded. He grabbed it and carried it to the truck. I said goodbye to my mom again and ran off to the truck. Curtis already had the door open and was waiting for me. I thanked him and got in. He closed the door and went around to the other side. When he got in and we'd gotten to the stop sign at the end of the street, he said, "I did tell you my mom's not gonna be there, right?"

I nodded. "Yes, and I did not tell my mom."

He nodded his head. "Good. I've already been out there today. There's coolers of drinks and food, everything we need. We've got wood in the fire pit already. The RV is out there, too, if you wanna sleep in there—"

I laughed. "Yeah, right. It's too nice out."

Curtis smiled. "—and we've got neighbors on the right side. A few teens and no parents. I've already met them and talked to them and warned them about you."

"Gee, thanks."

"Anytime."

We were quiet for a moment.

"So what did you get me for my birthday?" I asked.

"Lily, Sweetie, I'm taking you away for the weekend with three boats, two coolers of alcohol, cheeseburgers, chicken, and no parents. What more do you want from me, jewelry?"

I smiled. I was smiling because of what he'd done for me, but mostly because he'd called me Sweetie.

When we got there, I found out he'd also gone through the troubles of buying a cake for me, too. He pulled into the rock circle-like parking lot and got out. I jumped out of the truck and checked out my surroundings. We were surrounded by forests on three sides, the back, where we'd come off the road from, left, and right. In front of us was a hill leading down to the lake, dotted with huge trees that gave the whole huge hill shade. There was an empty lot to the left of ours and an occupied one to the right.

My eyes wandered and my feet followed, leading me to the picnic table just above the middle of the hill. I sat down and took in a deep breath, full of fresh air and pine. Curtis was already on the dock and stripped down to swim trunks. "Come on, wanna go for a dip? Water's perfect."

"How would you know, you're not even in it!" I called back to him from the picnic table.

"Come on!" He dove in the water.

I laughed and pulled off my t-shirt off, revealing a swimsuit top. I pulled off my shorts to reveal the bottoms of the suit and made my way down to the dock. I stood at the edge and leaned over it. Curt was looking up at me from the water. It was shallow enough to touch bottom where he was, but only by a few inches.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing." He flashed me this smile as he looked up at me. I watched his eyes scan my body.

I wasn't really the most beautiful person there was, but I certainly wasn't the ugliest. I had always been thin and toned, and when it came down to it I didn't mind showing off my body. I had pretty brown eyes and a small, kind of turned-up nose. I had long legs and a flat stomach. I wasn't flat-chested but I wasn't totally developed. When I stood next to Curt, I thought we looked really good together. His short black hair and brown eyes and built body next to my long straight brown hair and curves looked pretty good together. A lot of people said that, too, though maybe not in those exact words.

"What?" I asked again.

Curt shook his head slightly. "You look good."

I blushed. "I haven't changed any."

He shrugged. He went underwater and shot up, grabbed my hands, and pulled me in. I went down with a scream and came up laughing. I splashed him with water and swam away. I climbed up onto the ski boat and kicked at him.

Three teenagers about our age came onto the dock, two girls and a guy. The girls were skinny and blonde, but I could tell one of them was dyed. The guy was cute, with short brown hair and red trunks. "Hey," one of the girls said. They must have been from the lot beside us.

"Hey." Curtis climbed up onto the ski boat and pushed me on purpose. I shoved him back. He whipped around and grabbed my wrists, a smile coming across his face.

I started shaking my head and laughing. "No, no, no. Come on, Curt—"

He pushed me back into the water. When I surfaced, all I came up with was, "Son of a bitch!" but I was laughing, and he was introducing me to our guests.

"So that's the Lily you were talking about?" the guy asked.

"Yeah. Lily, this is Cody, Ashley, and Amanda. They're in the lot beside us."

So I was right. I lifted myself onto the dock and stood up. I wrung out my hair. "Nice to meet you," I said, nodding twice.

"Yeah, you too," Cody said, and I noticed his eyes looking me over, lingering some places longer than others. "So this is your girl?" Cody questioned Curt.

I started to shake my head when Curt stood and pulled me closer to him by my waist. He gave this smile and said, "Yeah."

I blushed.

Later on that day, when we were out on the Sea-Doo, we had to go in to the Marina to get gas. The teenage boy pumping the gas said about two words to us, so I pretty much ignored him. I asked Curtis why he'd claimed me as his girlfriend earlier that day. I had my chin resting on his shoulder while we waited for the gas to fill up. He usually was the one in the back seat when we took the Sea-Doo out, but this time he insisted on driving. I sat back when he turned his head to look at me.

"You think I was gonna let that bastard make a pass at you? Didn't you see him? He had 'pervert' written all over his face."

I smiled. "Thanks."

"Anytime. Besides, I don't want your ass slapped red by anyone but me."

"Ooh, thanks again, but if you lay one finger on me I'll neuter you in your sleep."

"Ouch." He turned back around.

"Yeah," I laughed. "So, watch it, Boy," I warned with a grin, leaning back on the seat of the boat. The teenager pumping the gas silently looked at me and I raised an eyebrow at him through my sunglasses.

We ate just before sundown and Curtis got out his guitar. I didn't bring mine and I was glad that he remembered his. We both had three guitars—I had an electric, acoustic, and an electric-acoustic and he had an electric guitar, acoustic guitar, and a Spanish guitar. He got me my first guitar a few months after we met, but I had passed it on to Paige since then. Then we put our money together and bought two electric guitars, and a year later we had enough to buy a "mutt", as I call them, and a Spanish guitar.

We were both part of the Jazz Band at school, a band that required its students to play either piano or guitar. I played both, and as far as I knew, so did Curtis, though I had hardly heard him play the piano before.

For a couple hours, we sat around playing songs and singing. Curt always told me I had a beautiful singing voice, as did a lot of other people. So we sat on the picnic table and ate our chicken and sang country songs and any other songs we could play. We played Queen songs and Led Zeppelin songs and Toby Keith songs.

He was playing and I was singing "Simple Man" by Lynrd Skynrd, his favorite song, when those teens came back. Amanda was holding a bag of marshmallows and Ashley and Cody were both holding a bottle of Sky Smirnoff. Amanda said I had a great voice. I thanked her and took the guitar from Curtis. I started strumming a few chords thoughtlessly and listened to Cody and Curt talk about their Sea-Doos. Amanda was checking out Cody's butt and Ashley was almost out of alcohol.

They said Cody's parents weren't with them and he was thinking about calling "a few friends" to come over and "hang out". Curt nodded and said, "So long as they stay on your lot. We've got enough drinks and food for two people—and that's all."

I was sitting on the top of the picnic table watching Curtis down the dock on the pontoon. He was throwing blankets on the seats and the tanning deck and setting up the birthday cake on the table.

I turned around and looked up to the top of the hill when I heard loud music and saw headlights. The headlights turned off and seven teenagers jumped out of the truck. They were carrying beer and food, as far as I could see. It was dark out but lights were up around our picnic table and down by the dock and on our neighbors' dock. They also had a fire pit and lights strung up on the trees, but instead of a deck, they had chairs everywhere.

I stood up and jumped off the deck and made my way down the hill to the dock. "What're you doing?"

"C'mere."

I walked halfway down the dock and stood by the little door to the pontoon. "Permission to board, Captain?"

"Just get on the freakin' boat."

I laughed and boarded the pontoon. "What is this?"

"It's a little birthday dinner from me."

I giggled.

"Well, since I wasn't invited to the 'Girls Only' party you had last weekend, I figured we could throw a little bash of our own," he suggested, saying "Girl's Only" in a high-pitched voice that made me laugh.

I just smiled and sat down on one of the cushion seats. Curtis sat beside me and handed me a drink. We made a toast to life and clinked out bottles together. I was about to take a bite of the cake when I heard music coming from the lake lot beside ours. It was slow dance music, which surprised me. I'd expected rock or rap blasting away from their radios and cars. I set my fork down when I noticed Curtis standing in front of me.

"What?" I flipped my hair over my shoulder and finally realized what he wanted.

He took my hands to pull me up and we fell into a slow dance on the boat, turning in slow, small circles. The pontoon shifted on the water as we moved but it didn't bother us. He put his hands on my waist and I wrapped my arms around his neck. We'd both been riding the Sea-Doo all day and swimming in the lake, so when we got back we'd showered and cleaned up. Now when I rested my forehead on his shoulder and breathed in he smelled so good...

He pressed the side of his face against mine gently. My knees shuddered.

"Why are you acting so nervous around me?" he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.

I managed to shrug. "This just isn't like you."

"It's just me," he whispered. He pulled away to look at me. "Can't I treat my closest friend to something nice for her birthday?"

I smiled. "Yeah, but most people would...go out to dinner or pay for a movie, not...share a dance on a pontoon listening to the neighbors' music."

He smiled back. "We're not most people. You're certainly not most girls."

I raised one eyebrow at him, a trick that had always been with me. "What is that supposed to mean?" I asked quietly. He didn't answer, just leaned in and kissed my cheek. "What was that for?"

He just smiled and said, "C'mere, my Never-Been-Kissed."

Before I could hit him for using the old nickname he'd given me, he pulled me to him and pressed his lips against mine. I was stunned and too taken aback to pull away, so I stayed in his arms and let him hold me. When he pulled away, I opened my eyes.

"What was that for?" I asked again.

He shrugged but smiled. "Just thought maybe you were getting tired of that nickname. Now I can't call you that anymore, can I?"

Okay, I know it sounds pitiful, but yes, I was sixteen and un-kissed. Well, that wasn't neccesarily true. I'd kissed a couple of other guys, but those few guys I'd been out with were just...Well, they weren't Curtis. So the technical nickname was Never-Been-Properly-Kissed-or-Even-Really-Kissed-Much-at-all-and-Certainly-Never-Made-Out, but it just didn't roll off the tongue as easily.

"I—guess..." I shook my head and he kissed me again. This time, he opened his mouth ever-so-slightly on top of mine. I didn't know what to do or how to react (this was the point where Never-Been-Kissed took over), so I let him lead the way. I almost jumped away when the kiss got deeper and he ran his tongue along my bottom lip, but he held me close and I melted in his arms instead.

He pulled away slowly and wrapped his arms around me again, resuming the slow dance. It was then I realized my knees were shaking like crazy, but I knew he wouldn't let me fall. He offered me a tiny, almost imperceptible smile, kissed me once, quickly, and pressed his forehead against mine as we danced.

Suddenly the sounds of cheering from up on the hill make me jump. I tried to break away, but he held me close against him as we watched the teens up on the hill clapping and laughing. My confused face met Curtis' grin, and it was then that I should have realized how he had asked them to play that song. The rest of the night they were blasting loud rock and country music.

We stayed awake until around four in the morning. When I wasn't looking, Curtis would sneak in front of me and kiss me. I tried to tell myself it was just a birthday thing, but something told me I was wrong. We spent a lot of time talking on the pontoon, but I didn't dare ask what it all meant.

I was drifting off to sleep on the wrap-around backseat of the pontoon with my jacket wrapped up as a pillow and a thin blanket around me to keep the bugs away. If I remember correctly, Curtis was on the tanning deck above me at the time, but he'd been moving around to all the seats a lot. Yes, I remember. He was on the tanning deck, because he was messing with my hair, trying to keep me awake.

I rolled over from my side onto my back and he withdrew his hand. I smiled up at him. "Thank you."

He smiled slightly. "For...?"

"For this. Tonight."

He smiled. "Anytime."

"How 'bout next weekend, then?"

He was still smiling. "Next weekend sounds good."

"Good. It's a date."

"Yeah," I heard him say quietly as I rolled back over. A few silent seconds passed before he started messing with my hair again. A few more seconds and he was humming "Simple Man," but as sleep started to take me, I could hear him singing "Wednesday Morning, 3AM" softly.

I can hear the soft breathing of the girl that I love
As she lies here beside me asleep with the night
And her hair in a fine mist floats on my pillow
Reflecting the glow of the winter moonlight

She is soft, she is warm
But my heart remains heavy
And I watch as her breasts gently rise, gently fall
For I know at the first light of dawn I'll be leaving
And tonight will be all I have left to recall

Oh what have I done?
Why have I done it?
I've committed a crime
I've broken the law
For twenty-five dollars and pieces of silver
I held up and robbed a hard liquor store

Oh, my life seems unreal
My crime an illusion
A scene badly written
In which I must play
And yet as I gaze at my young love beside me
The morning is just a few hours away

I awoke to the smells of hamburgers on the grill. I sat up and inspected my surroundings. The water was lapping the sides of the pontoon gently, and I could hear it. It was probably the most soothing sound I'd ever heard, next to Curtis' voice. I listened to the water for a moment and watched a heron glide across the water. My eyes scanned the lot beside ours, about a hundred feet from ours. I could see a few tents up and the cars were still there. Their fire was smoking, but out. I remembered listening to their music until about three in the morning.

My eyes fell on Curtis. He was walking down the dock toward me. I moved over to make room for him and he sat beside me. I was sitting with my back to the cushioned side of the boat and my arms were locked around my knees. He looked over at me.

I had been wanting to ask him all night...I was just too scared to say it...Okay, just...say it...Just blurt it out. So I did. "What does this mean?"

He seemed confused at first, but then he shrugged.

"Okay, what does that mean?"

He shrugged again.

I shoved him playfully with my foot. "I'm serious. I'm also confused." I blushed as I said the next words. "Does this mean we're going out or what?" I asked, trying not to sound too shy. Must—keep—voice—casual.

He looked at me and pulled me onto my knees by my hands. I straddled his legs with my knees and waited for him to say something. He ran his hands down my arms from my shoulders to my hands. Finally he looked into my eyes and said, "It can mean that if you want it to."

I felt like I just climbed an invisible rope up to heaven. I probably would have floated away if he wasn't holding onto me. I swallowed down a nervous lump in my throat and nodded. "That would be cool."

He smiled and kissed me.

It was Sunday morning, so we decided to make the best of our last day on the lake and try to burn at least three tanks of gas on the Sea-Doo. We estimated that would take about twelve hours. It was eight in the morning and we planned to be home by ten tonight.

We grabbed our lifejackets and sunglasses after we ate and went down the dock to the boat, tied up on the other side of the pontoon. We climbed across the pontoon, and I examined the damage. There were soda cans everywhere, and a few empty bottles of alcohol, which we sunk right away. I was waiting at the little side door of the pontoon for Curt to get on the boat when he stepped back and offered the right of way to me. I knew what that meant.

"Ah, thank you, señor." I smiled as he held up the key. I hooked it to my lifejacket. Without another word, I got on the Sea-Doo. He got behind me and held onto the strap on the seat with one hand and the back of my lifejacket with the other.

"Okay, you know what to do?"

"Oh, please," I scoffed. I leaned forward and opened the front cuddy, though it was more of a large trunk in the front. I tossed the rope we used to tie the boat to the pontoon into the cuddy and closed it. Curtis was holding on to the rail of the pontoon so we didn't drift. He pushed off of the pontoon and we drifted to the right. I plugged the key in and the boat beeped twice, loudly. I pressed the START/STOP button and the engine started. I went into reverse and backed away from the shore. Then I went into drive.

"Let it warm up," Curtis said, and I nodded, getting used to the steering slowly by turning the boat in wide circles on the water while the it was idling, which was only about two miles per hour. After a few minutes, I straightened the boat and pushed down gently on the throttle. I kept a straight line on the water until we were hydroplaning, which was about 15 or 20mph. After a moment, Curt patted my shoulder and said, "Now gun it."

"What?" I yelled over the wind, turning briefly to glance at him.

"Gun it!"

I was going about 30, and I pressed on that throttle and held it down. We were at a straightaway, just one long line of water, no one on either side of us. The sunglasses protected my eyes from the wind but I still ducked my head a little. I looked at the speedometer. We were going 65mph on the smooth water before I slowed down. Curt patted my arm this time. "Let me try something!" he yelled over the wind. Before I even heard what he had said, he reached around and put his hands over mine on the steering bars. He pushed my right thumb down and the boat lurched forward into higher speeds again. Suddenly he wrenched it to the right, and we were both pulled quickly to the left. We went flying off the side with the spray of the boat, landing at least ten feet from it. We came up yelling and laughing, splashing water at each other.

We stayed out until the tank was empty, taking turns driving and trying to throw each other off as Curtis had. When we pulled in to the marina to get more gas, we switched seats, and Curtis drove. We were both soaked with water when we pulled up to the dock for a break. We ate lunch—chicken—and were in the water on the boat again, Curtis driving, when Cody from the next lot over approached us on his Yamaha Jet Ski.

"Wanna race?" Cody asked.

"Sure. Hold on," Curt said. He shut the boat off and offered me the key.

"Me?"

"Yeah." Quietly, he said, "Their boat only goes about fifty-five. This thing goes sixty-five, you know that. Blow 'em away."

We maneuvered a little for me to sit in front and I stuck the key in and turned the engine on. Cody was driving the other boat, and he was looking at Curt like he was an idiot to let a girl drive. I turned around and Curt was hanging on to the strap of the boat, but leaning back lazily. I smiled and looked back up at Cody.

"Ready?"

He nodded.

We started off at an easy pace, riding right next to each other. Without warning, Cody gunned the engine of his jet ski. "Ah, what the hell!" I yelled, and pressed down on the throttle. We caught up with him in no time flat and took the lead. I slowed down when I came to the marina, and turned in slow circles as Cody caught up.

"Okay, fair. You win."

"Race back?" I challenged.

"Head start?" Cody asked.

"Hell no!"

"Go!" Curtis yelled, hitting the back of my lifejacket.

Cody took off and so did I. He wasn't even a challenge.

At eight o'clock, we started packing up. We cleaned the pontoon and ski boat, since we'd tracked mud from the land onto the seats and floors, then I picked up the hillside and threw away all the cups and garbage. I packed away the guitar and c.d. player on the deck and put our bags on the picnic table, but left the Tiki lights on, since it was getting dark out. When we were done we sat at the picnic table, drinking Coca Colas.

I was sprawled out on top of the picnic table. My hair was drying from our last swim in the water. It was still light out, but the sun was setting quickly. "It's amazing how dirty this place was with just us. Can you imagine how it would have been if we invited some friends?"

"It was already kinda dirty when we got here."

"I know, but if your mom and some of her friends were here and some of our friends?...Oh, God."

I heard Curtis laugh quietly. "You mean like them?" he asked, nodding toward the lot beside us.

I sat up to see Cody, Ashley, and Amanda still cleaning up. I took a sip of soda and lay back down. I was tired from staying up almost all night and soon found myself drifting off to sleep on the picnic table.

My slumber was disturbed by something cold on my stomach. I jumped forward. "What the fuck—"

Curtis was laughing at me.

"What did you do?" I asked him. My stomach was freezing. And wet.

He held up the Coke can. My eyes widened and I looked down at my stomach again. I was still in my two-piece and my stomach had been totally exposed to whatever he had planned and I should have seen it coming. He'd poured soda on me to wake me up. I tossed my can of soda at him but held onto the can so that the drink spilled on him. He just laughed.

Before we left, I threw on a long t-shirt and short-shorts. The t-shirt covered the shorts so when I packed our stuff into the truck and got in, Curtis asked me if I was wearing anything underneath the t-shirt. I just laughed and gave him a suggestive smile and jumped in the truck. He was in the driver's seat since I was too tired to drive, and he reached over slowly and, very carefully, pulled the end of my shirt up. When he saw the shorts, he let go and gave me this look that said, Oh, yeah, I knew that was there.

It was an hour and a half drive back home, and I ended up falling asleep again. When I woke up, "Simple Man" was playing on the radio.

"Are we there yet?" I asked Curtis.

"Almost."

We got to my driveway around ten o'clock and Curtis grabbed my bag and woke me up. "Home sweet home," he said to me.

"Home sweet home..." I repeated. "Let's go back!" I muttered, trying to sound enthusiastic through my sleepiness.

He laughed and pulled me out of the truck. Groggily, I walked to the front door, leaning on Curtis the whole time. I could feel his arm around my waist, and when I got to the door he opened it for me. I wandered into the house and yelled, "Mom, I'm home!" as I climbed the stairs, knowing Curtis was following me the entire time with my bag. We walked down the hallway to my room. He opened the door and I went in, telling him to close it. He followed me in and shut the door behind him as I flopped down on my bed, landing on my stomach.

"I'm putting your bag on your desk, K?"

I nodded a little, my face in the pillow. I could hear him setting my bag down on my desk. Then he moved over to my bed and turned me over. I was lying on my back now, my head on my pillow, and he was kneeling beside the bed, his left hand stroking my hair while his right hand was holding mine.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded. He kissed me once and stood up and walked to the door. "Hey, Curt," I said, stopping him. He turned around. I smiled. "Thanks."

He smiled, too. "Happy birthday."

At school Monday, it seemed everyone knew about Curtis and me. He must have told people, I thought, but the thought only brought a smile to my face. A lot of girls scowled at me outside in the courtyard before school started, where I was waiting for Curtis to show up. We always met up at the marble-like tables in the courtyard. Other high school juniors gave me the thumbs-up, while some just gave small smiles. Others, some who happened to be in my classes during the day, looked as if they were about to murder me.

When Curtis finally showed up I only managed a smile. Nevertheless, he seemed pleased with my waiting for him, but we waited for each other everyday. Usually I was the first one there, because I lived so close to the school. When he reached the table I was sitting on he kissed me quickly and sat beside me. I heard a squeal.

Lauren, my second-youngest sister.

She was fourteen, but her birthday was just around the corner, and she was a freshman at our high school. I only saw her in the mornings and after school, when we walked home together. I didn't have a car yet, I was still waiting. Sometimes Curtis gave us rides home but we usually walked, unless we had heavy backpacks. It was only about a mile to our house.

"And just what was that?" Lauren was asking now. She snapped her gum and flipped her dark blonde hair, grinning.

Curtis and I looked at each other and smiled, and looked back at Lauren, confused now. "What was what?"

"That! That kiss! What was that?" She was nearly yelling, hands gesturing wildly in her excitement.

I let a strangled laugh out. "That...was...a kiss."

Lauren hit my arm with a folder she was carrying. "Well, I know that!" She was smiling. "So you guys finally hooked up," she said, nodding and speaking mostly to herself.

I blushed. Curtis put an arm around me and I blushed even deeper.

The whole school, well at least the juniors, was buzzing about us. Everyone seemed to know, mostly because Curtis was so popular. I was, too, but he was a lot more social than me, which says a lot. Most people were happy, although a lot of girls were angry with me. We had two classes apart during the day (Second and Fifth Periods) but we shared the other four classes and lunch. We were together as much as possible, like we always were, only it was different now. We were closer. It felt so right to be with him, it was like a dream I'd been having since childhood was coming true. When I thought he couldn't get any more perfect, he did.

When Sixth Period was over and the final bell rang to let us out of school, everyone gathered their books and ran out of class. I stood up slowly and got my books together. Curtis was waiting for me at the door when I got there. I tried to hand him my books. "Carry them?" I pleaded.

He laughed. "Nice try. You're strong."

We walked to our lockers, which were only a few feet apart, and put our books away. I got out my backpack and put my homework in it. I closed my locker and turned around. Curtis was standing there, and he scared me. I jumped and closed my eyes. "You freaked me out," I said, briefly holding my hand over my heart. He smiled. I noticed he didn't have a backpack. "What, no homework?"

He shrugged. "Chemistry, but that's Fifth Hour, so I'll get it done in the morning."

I smiled, too. "Okay. I gotta go find my sister now. I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"Hold on, I'll give you guys a ride home."

I was silent for a second, then nodded. "Okay." We went downstairs to find Lauren at her locker, and we found her making out with a junior that Curtis and I knew. He was on the football team, a real jerk, too. I grabbed Lauren by her backpack and pulled her away. "Come on, we're going home."

"Hey! I wasn't ready to go!" She turned to wave to the football player. "Bye!"

I pulled her down the hall. "You don't want him. He's an asshole."

"So? Hey Curt."

"Hey."

"You giving us a ride home?" she asked.

"Do you deserve one?"

She shrugged. "Maybe. Lily doesn't."

"And why don't I?" We were outside now, making our way through the parking lot.

"Because you interrupted us."

I laughed out loud. "Maybe you should sit in the bed of the truck and get some air. Cool your jets, Kid."

She stuck her tongue out at me. "Don't you have some place to go? Like...I don't know...The Department of Transportation?"

I gasped. "Oh God, you're right, I have to have Mom call them..." I had to go in to get my driver's license next weekend.

"Lily the Driver. Sounds dangerous," Lauren teased.

"Shut up, or I won't drive you around."

Her mouth immediately closed. I smiled.

Curtis let Lauren and I ride in the bed of the truck, and we waved at everyone on the way home and got most people to wave back. Then when we got to the house, he stopped out front and didn't pull into the driveway. Lauren leaned in from the back window and thanked Curtis. Then she grabbed her backpack and jumped out. I reached for my bag and then leaned into the window. "Thanks." He didn't say anything. I frowned. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said.

I leaned back, and sat up to jump out. Before I could get up, though, Curtis stepped on the gas and drove down the road. I fell back a bit, but caught my balance. "Hey!" I could see him smile in the rearview-mirror. I leaned into the window. "What's up?"

"You don't need to go home yet."

I smiled. "Let me in, it's lonely back here," I pleaded. He reached back without looking and opened the back window the rest of the way. I managed with some difficulty to squeeze through and climb into the front seat at the next stop sign. I left my backpack in the bed of the truck. "So, what's new?" I said breathlessly, flopping into the front seat. He looked at me and held back a laugh. I blew some hair out of my eyes.

"You could have gotten out and used the door."

"I know. Where're we goin'?" I asked as I buckled the seat belt.

He shrugged. "I just figured you didn't really want to go home yet. And I wanted to get you without your sister."

I blushed. "Oh really."

"Yes really," he said matter-of-factly.

"Okay." I smiled. "Where then? Or are we just...driving."

"I don't mind just driving."

"...Good, me neither." I leaned forward and turned on the radio, found my favorite country station, and listened to see what was playing. "Nothing good..." I changed it to a different station. It was the beginning of a song I thought I recognized. It took me a minute to realize what it was.

Mama told me, when I was young
Said "Sit beside me, my only son
And listen closely to what I say
And if you do this, it'll help you some sunny day"
Ah, yeah...

I turned the volume up and slumped into the chair, then sat up. We stopped at a red light. I let my head roll over to the side of the seat to look at Curtis. He must have sensed my eyes on him and he turned to look at me. We smiled. "Fate, I'm telling you," he said, taking my hand casually in his.

I laughed. "Coincidence." I didn't believe in fate then, but at the moment I was rethinking my beliefs.

Oh, take your time
Don't live too fast
Troubles will come, and they will pass
You'll find a woman, yeah
And you'll find love
And don't forget, son, there is someone up above

We stopped at another light and looked at each other again, smiling a bit. He still had my hand as he sang along to the words of the song.

And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be somethin' you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can

I didn't realize where we were going, because I was paying attention to the song, but when we turned off onto the highway in the right direction, I grinned.

Forget your lust, and the rich man's gold
All that you need is in your soul
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied
And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be somethin' you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can
Oh yes, I will
Oh, don't you worry, you'll find yourself
Follow your heart, and nothing else
And you can do this, oh baby, if you try
All that I want for you, my son, is to be satisfied
And be a simple kind of man
Oh, be somethin' you love and understand
Baby be a simple kind of man
Oh, won't you do this for me, son, if you can
Baby be a simple, be a simple man
Oh, be somethin'...you love and understand...

When the song faded out and another started, I turned the volume down. For a moment, I concentrated on the sound of the truck on the highway, the feel of Curtis' fingers gently rubbing mine. "I like that song," I said quietly.

"I am that song," Curtis said.

I smiled softly at him, turning to stare at his profile as he drove. "I know."

A little over an hour later, he pulled up to the Lake Lot. I jumped out before the engine was even off. I ran down to the water on the edge of the dock. All three of the boats were still there, but the Sea-Doo would have to be pulled out soon to be washed and waxed. I wanted to jump in the water, but I had no swimsuit. I frowned.

"Get in," I heard Curtis behind me, and I turned around to see him making his way down the hill to me.

"What? No! I can't."

"Why not?" he asked. I gave him a look and pointed to my clothes. He shrugged. "Take them off. No one's here, it's four o'clock on a Monday. The only people here are retired." As he spoke, he was stripping down his shirt and pants, and I saw that he already had trunks on.

"I'm not skinny dipping."

"I never said to...though that is an idea."

I was about to comment when I understood what he said. "You...You want me to swim in a bra and underwear?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't mind."

"No. No, no, no, no, no." I was laughing as I pushed past him and started up the hill. "No!"

"Why not?" he yelled after me.

I didn't turn around, just kept up the hill to the picnic table. "No!"

"Where're you going?"

"To get my extra clothes from the RV!"

The RV that Curtis' mom kept there—he and his mother kept it up, like they did everything else Curt's father left behind—had a bedroom and a dresser and closet in it, and I'd been given a dresser drawer all my own to keep extra clothes in for when I was at the lot. Now that's love...I found my clothes and changed, just into shorts and a two-piece top. Then I left the RV and started back down the hill, where Curtis was waiting for me at the dock. He was smiling.

"What?"

"You're strange, you know. Are you going swimming now?"

"Are you?"

At that, he gave me a grin and turned around, running to the end of the dock and diving in. I ran to the end after him and looked over the edge, waiting for him to come up. He did, about twenty feet off the dock, and yelled at me to dive in, too. I laughed and did as he said, hitting the water and swimming as far out and as deep underwater as I could. I came up in water that was about fifteen feet deep and found myself right next to Curtis. We swam closer to shore, splashing and laughing at each other. He was a few inches taller than me, and he could touch the bottom sooner than I could. When he felt the sandy bottom of the shallow lake, he called me over, and just held me up, keeping me floating. I was treading water but as soon as his arms were around me I relaxed and fell back into his chest. I closed my eyes.

"I see your plan now," I said.

"What plan?"

"The one to get the middle sister alone."

I knew he was smiling, even though I couldn't see his face. "Maybe. But you aren't exactly the middle sister."

I considered this. My older sister, Samantha, was a sophomore in college upstate, living in a dorm. We had a bedroom shuffle when she moved out, which was right about the time our Grams moved in. Sam and I were best friends, and I missed her, even though she was back all last summer, and only left for school again two weeks ago. "I am the middle sister," I defended myself. "Lauren and I both."

"Hmm."

I turned around slowly to face him as we treaded water. I could touch the bottom of the lake now but I was still leaning on Curtis. I rested my head against him and sighed. "I like this," I said.

His arms were around me and on my back, in the water. He dropped his head to my shoulder. "I know. Me too."

"This should be weird."

He pulled away a little to look at me. "Why?"

I shrugged a little. "Because everyone has always seen us as just friends...I don't know, never mind."

"No, what?"

I shrugged again and managed to look up at him. I smiled. "I just like this."