Page 52 of Yours, Finally

Twenty minutes later, Max and Eva were on a dinghy going toward one end of the lake, and Jake and I going the other way.

I wore a jean jacket and took it off, leaving me in a white cami. My black, jersey skirt was long, and I raised it up my thighs.

"You don't mind, do you?" I asked Jake. "The temperature out here is lovely, and I like the feeling of the sun on my skin."

He worked the oars in several long rows, his eyes roaming over my exposed shoulders, following the line of my bare thighs and calves.

Jake lifted lazy eyes my way. "I definitely don't. As long as you don't mind me admiring the view."

"A big, clear lake, surrounded by forests and a gorgeous blue sky… and you'll be admiring my legs?"

His nod was completely serious, except for the tiny twist at the end of his lips. "You have to understand. For the past decade, I've never had more than a second to glance at you that way. The image of you in my head is a mosaic of stolen glimpses."

I bit my bottom lip. His mouth lost the hint of amusement, and his eyes turned earnest.

"I'm hoping that after last night," he said, "I won't have to hide things so much… and we're finally alone to talk about it."

"Yeah… we didn't talk much last night."

"Priorities, Vi." He shrugged and focused on rowing for the next few beats. "Except for that one unplanned kiss at the gala a couple years ago, I've been wanting to kiss you for too long."

"I'm not complaining. I thoroughly enjoyed making out with you last night."

He squinted my way. "Careful, or I'll jump you right here, and I don't know if this tiny boat can take the motion."

I laughed. "Don't sass me with a big attitude. You're Mister Restraint, and we're in public."

"And is that a problem? Being in public? We said last night we wouldn't tell anyone anything yet, but…"

We gazed at each other for a moment. It was hard to make sense of everything. The kiss and the few words we'd exchanged flipped things upside down. As much as I had wanted it, there was some adjustment needed to step into something so new. Especially after holding back for so long and denying what I felt for Jake.

I put a hand down into the water; the cold helped me recenter. Messing this up wasn't an option.

"I'm not sure how we're going to do this," I sighed. "I spent a lot of time thinking about it when I finally got into bed."

"I've been thinking about that, too." He pulled the oars into the boat, and rested the handles on his lap.

Max and Eva were far away, near the opposite shore to the house. Jake and I stayed in our place in the middle of the lake, only the breeze and water currents pushing us into a slow drift. Until we went back home, this was likely to be the only privacy we would have.

"I'm worried, yeah," he admitted after a while.

It didn't surprise me. Jake hadn't told me much about what his life with his birth family had been like, except for that time in the car not that long ago. Still, I knew it made him cautious. That those experiences would be with him forever, and might always tint the way he saw the world to some degree.

"Are you still anxious about how my parents may react?" I caught his slow nod and twisted my lips to the side. "Not enough not to try, I hope?"

"I wouldn't have kissed you last night if I didn't plan to be brave about it."

His eyes were serious on mine. The gravity anchoring his words settled into me with a warm feeling. He meant his words, and it meant the world.

I borrowed some of his courage. "What would you say if I confessed I'm nervous, too?"

He frowned and didn't answer for several seconds; he put the oars back in the water and rowed in silence, eyes on me.

His concentration prickled on my skin. I rearranged the skirt of my dress to release some of my nervous energy through a random task.

His eyes landed on my thighs again. "Why?" was all he said.

I let him check me out, and I stared at the shore across from the house. "I don't think my parents would react poorly to us being together. They're too awesome for that. But I do think it might be athing, you know? It might be a shock, if nothing else. And Max and Javier are going to tease us because for sure theywill, and Gabe? I don't know. I think he'll be in shock. Confused. I don't know."