Page 59 of Captivated
Still he said nothing, and Nate’s stomach roiled.
What have I said?
At last Zeeb took in a deep breath. “Y’know, before you arrived, I’d been thinkin’ about stuff like that. And I’d come to a conclusion.”
Another pause.
Nate bit back a smile. “You can’t leave it there. I’m dying of curiosity.”
Zeeb drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, a defensive gesture Nate recognized instantly. He stared at the lake.
“I think I need to shake my life up a bit. Maybe do things outside of my comfort zone.” He glanced at Nate. “Just likeyou’redoin’.”
Nate had started this conversation, but now he wanted to end it.
He gazed at the vista. Mirror Lake stretched out before him, glassy and still, the late afternoon sun catching its surface and turning it into molten silver.
Nate stood and went to the edge of the water, his hands on his hips, dust on his jeans, sweat cooling on his skin. The silence here was thick, almost reverent, broken only by the occasional bird call and the low rustle of wind through pine.
Behind him, Zeeb was humming a tune. Nate didn’t recognize it but it was a peaceful refrain. That peace Zeeb seemed to carry with him like a second skin. Nate envied it.
No, that wasn’t right. Heachedfor it.
The lake was calling, and he didn’t know why. Maybe it was the quiet, the heat, or maybe the simple fact he was tired of staying in his own skin as if it was a trap.
Swim.
He turned the word over in his mind.That’s stupid. Reckless. Dangerous.
But God, it sounded like freedom.
“You okay?” Zeeb called out from behind him.
Nate didn’t turn his head but stared out at the still water. “I think I’m gonna swim. After all, you brought towels. Might as well use them.” The impulse tugged at him.
It wasn’t like him. He didn’t do things on impulse. He didn’t take risks. He didn’t let himself be seen.
And especially not by someone like Zeeb.
But the thought had wormed its way in now, and it stayed. The idea of diving into something cold and pure and real. A moment of reckless clarity.
A baptism, almost.
Zeeb cackled. “It’ll be cold as hell.”
“Good. I need it.”
His heart pounding, Nate removed his boots, then his shirt. He hesitated at his jeans, his thumb hooked at the button, then shoved them to his ankles.
That left his boxers.
He glanced sideways. Zeeb wasn’t watching, packing away the remains of their lunch.
Giving me space again.Yeah, that was Zeeb.
Nate swallowed and dropped his boxers. The breeze kissed every exposed inch of him. He was aware of the way the light touched his skin, how the air brushed over it.
Something else reacted to the air, and he was glad Zeeb wasn’t looking.
