I didn’t know what was happening, but all I wanted was to be next to her. Sex. No sex. I didn’t give a flying fuck. Bottom line was that I needed to make her feel comfortable. “Hey, I have two new snow mobiles in the garage I’ve been dying to try out. You in?”
Relief washed over her face. “I’d like that.” She took off running. “Race you!”
I hauled ass after her, and while I’d like to say I let the beautiful one win, the lady had wheels. I could tell by her form that she was a track girl at one time; I loved competitive Fern. No. I did not love competitive Fern. I appreciate all competitive traits in all people. Yes, I liked her spirit as much as any other person I’d met. Just to clarify.
We zipped through the snow around the lake, and she was a risk taker. Not like the women I normally was involved with. Well shit, if I’m honest, the women I’d seen over the past few years have never really seen the light of day. Not because they weren’t most likely delightful humans but because I’d been anything but.
I’ve rarely taken anyone out on an official date and never to my cabin. The cabin I bought after Amy died when I was seeking anything to possibly bring me peace. Slowly but surely, it had. But now Fern was here, and I knew I’d never be in the place again without seeing her and hearing her laughter everywhere. WTF is wrong with me? I’d known her in a hot minute, and the thought of not being as close as humanly possible to her launched a panic into my core.
Around the lake, she pulled to a stop and got off as I pulled up beside her.
She pointed. “Look at how beautiful your cabin is from here.” She grabbed my hand and led me to the edge of the icy lake. “This is a special place.”
I nodded, watching the smile as she continued to look on. “I knew it the first time I saw it.”
She stepped onto the ice that I’d paid the neighbor kid over the hill to broom off. Then he brought in water with a hose so it would be slick and ready if any of the wedding party wanted to skate.
Fern scooted onto the lake. “Don’t you think houses have a feel to them? Like their own vibe?”
The allure and fascination of Fern was an invisible string that pulled me behind her. “I guess I haven’t thought of it that way. Hey, in that wooden crate just off the ice are some skates I keep out here. I think there’s some that might work for you.”
She clapped her hands, and before I knew it, we both were skated up. She kicked her back leg out as she put her hands to out. “Your cabin has an amazing energy to it. Like it gushes fun and laughter.”
I threw my back leg out and copied her move as I approached her. “You kind of gush fun and laughter too.”
Her giggle cut through the crisp air. “I do?”
“Yes, and your skating skills are killer.”
“Why thank you, Mr. Gabe. My parents made Dave and I take figure skating lessons when we were kids for a few years, thinking it would help our hockey skills.”
I screeched to a halt as visions of huge Novots doing a spinny thing with little bows tied in a perfectly symmetrical pattern in his dark beard flew through my mind. “Did my ears hear that Dave was a figure skater? No effing way.”
“Way!” Her laugh echoed through the trees nearby. “Don’t tell anyone, but we were in some teen couple skating competitions. We won a few times, of course, because Dave and I don’t lose well. But eventually he threw me too hard, resulting in my body bouncing off the judge’s table. Yeah, that one we did not win, and I broke my arm.”
“Tell me someone has that on video? Please.” Now the laughter shooting across the lake was mine. “Ginormous Dave?”
She skated to me and put her hands over my eyes. “Picture this. Thirteen-year-old Dave, a little soft in the middle, wearing a skintight red male skating outfit with dazzling rhinestones running down the sides of his legs.”
“Hot.”
She dropped her hands and skated around me. “We eventually begged our parents to let us hang up our unitards.”
“I don’t know why, but this makes me so happy. Show me your moves, Miss Fern Ethel.”
“I don’t have any moves.” She turned in a small circle.
“Bullshit. If you were a figure skating champion, I know you got moves. Let me be your partner.”
Her giggles tickled me. “You couldn’t do it.”
“Is that a challenge, Fern?”
She groaned. “Fine. Have you seen Dirty Dancing?”
“Uh, who hasn’t?”
“That was the showstopper move Dave and I did in our cringy brother-sister routine. He was even a giant even back then,” she whispered. “The lift.”
