Sydni stood out on the gazebo and let the gentle breeze play with her errant brown hairs. Only a couple wet strands stuck the back of her neck, smelling lightly of algae and lake water. The escape would only be temporary from the party about to start at their campsite. Josh or Mirielle would wander over shortly to track her down her. She had claimed to go off on a walk for firewood and a bottle opener, but the body of water had called to her.

Footsteps crunched on the gravel path leading up to her position. She sighed, expecting to have at least five more minutes before they dragged her back for some liquid therapy. One size fits all solution for those kids. She craved a different element, the time to think things through and liquid that didn’t burn on the way down.

Sydni turned around with the conviction to ask for ten more minutes before she was just another face in front of their bonfire. The person standing before her resembled neither Josh nor Mirielle, a welcome surprise. His brown eyes and thin lips played with the frayed edges of her memory. She had certainly seen his boyish smile before, although boyish didn’t fit the man’s current state.

“Syd the kid, all grown up,” the man teased.

Sydni scrunched up her face and shook her head. She missed the simplicity of the nickname. At the time, life was easy between hockey and school; drama never had the chance to wedge itself into her schedule while they were friends. Only one person would still call her Syd the kid.

“Travis,” Sydni said. Last time they hung out, Mirielle’s younger brother hadn’t had such a captivating quality. The name Travis always fit him as a kid, but it also seemed to match his current state as she eyed his well defined biceps and windswept hair. He aged quite well from the scrawny young teen she remembered. “I could say the same about you.”

“I know that lake is calling your name.”

“It already did,” she said with a laugh and wrung a bit more water out of her sloppy bun.

Travis raised an eyebrow and looked back to the lake. “Don’t tell me you got boring with your old age. Once should never be enough.”

Sydni scoffed. “I’ll have you know I’m only 22.”

“Then, let’s go for a swim before you turn into an even older woman. Knowing my sister, it won’t be long before they’re talking you back to whatever festivities they have going.” He didn’t rock on his heels and plead like he had done as a boy, but she recognized the familiar glint in his eye. She looked back at the lake’s slight ripples. Almost everyone had abandoned their earlier positions on the beach to retreat to their cars or campsites as supper approached. The cool water was too inviting to deny.

“I guess you could twist my arm.” When she turned around, Travis had already undone all the buttons on his plaid shirt and it flew open with the breeze. Hot damn... abs. Shirtless men filled the gym she frequently attended but Travis had an effortless appeal. He didn’t have raging pecks or bulging muscles like the steroid junkies who routinely gave her a twice over. The toned yet not trying to hard look suited him. She fought the urge to run her hand down his sculpted body and found it hard to draw her eyes away until he cleared his throat.

Travis looked down at her with a small smile. “Syd, when did you turn into such a girl?”

“What? I...” Her eyes tried to focus on anything but him until her brain caught up. A mother and her child splashing on the shore would have to do. “I’m just impressed. I mean I’ve been trying to get some abs going for awhile, but I can’t get past the whole flat stomach stage.”

“Really? Can I see?” Travis advanced towards her with the grin and reached out for the bottom of her shirt. She swatted his hands away, but not before a searing heat shot down her body. That was new.

She threw on a frown to mask her confusion. “It’s a good thing you have that going for you, because you’re clearly awful with women.”

Travis chuckled and ran a hair through his feathery hair. “Maybe, I’m just awful with you. Time doesn’t change that much about a person.”

“Don’t beat yourself up about it; most people don’t peak at thirteen.”

His smile vanished and he walked over to the edge of the gazebo beside Sydni. She hadn’t expected such an immediate reaction. His hands gripped the wooden rails so tight he would likely get slivers. “I didn’t have to be such an asshole.”

Sydni sighed and for a moment she was back in that ice rink, fifteen years old with angry tears streaming down her face. Three deep breaths brought her back to the present. “It was honest. I just didn’t see it coming, not from you.”

“I felt pretty damn awful about it.” He looked over at her gently wrinkled brow and protruding bottom lip. “I’m really sorry. I was jealous more than anything.”

Sydni’s frown grew as she watched his hands slip from the bar. He leaned forward on his forearms, shoulder almost resting against her. The evening air began to cool and combined with her wet hair, it made his body heat a sought after commodity. “Why?”

“You were my hero growing up, Syd. I went to all of Mirielle’s games just so I could watch what you did on the ice.  You moved with this sick combo of power and grace and no one could stop you and get in your way.”

Sydni’s eyes went wide. She had given up hockey a couple years after, and her chest tightened thinking of how great she used to feel racing to the wide eyed goalie in net.

“Then this guy comes along and tells you these stupid lines about how great a player you are when he’s watched half of the last period. I expected you to brush him off; I mean, I told you those things all the time and you never really cared. But you just drank in this jerk’s lines and let him lead you on.”

That jerk was none other than the one currently sitting with Mirielle and Josh around the campfire. Life had a funny sense of humour, bringing back her past all to this strange event. Back in the day, Evan had convinced her that she had what it took for the boys’ high school team and she bought every word. But they hung out more and more and the promise of talking to the coach grew less likely until she finally confronted him at one of his games. He admitted to lying to her about the being on time and figured it was okay since it was the only way he’d score that many ‘dates’ with her anyway. He finished up with a retort about how flattered she should be that he had chosen her of all the other girls on the team.

“I was fifteen. If you painted me as a hero, clearly I’d never live up to your standards.” She sighed.  She hadn’t lived up to her own either.

“You always surpassed them, Syd. You kept playing after Evan, and I respected that.”

Sydni took moment to look at his gentle face. His features looked softer in the fading sunlight and his hair took on an almost golden quality. The appeal was more than physical and she was surprised she had never noticed it before. Then again, it had been nearly eight years since they last spoke.

“I never meant to hurt you like I did. You never deserved what happened and I shouldn’t have said you had it coming or called you weak.”

Sydni nodded and swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted the past to stay in the past, far away from the present where she got to stand with Travis, grown up and far better with words than he ever was. He was by far more interesting than anyone she had been seeing lately.

“Let’s forget about the past.”

“I haven’t forgotten about that swim,” he said and cocked his head to the side. He jumped over the side of the rail and waited on the grass for Sydni to join.

Sydni shook her head as a few more tendrils of her hair came loose. “It’s getting cold out.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you warm,” Travis said with a wink. The laughter that followed rippled his chest and abs in a way that Sydni couldn’t shake. She could feel herself pressed up against his warm chest and his strong arms wrapped around her. “-right? This is the part where you tell me that was an awful pick line up.”

“Uhm-“ Sydni’s mouth refused to form any coherent thoughts.

His curious eyes settled on her face that burned red at the moment, not only from light sunburn on her freckled skin. He took two steps closer and her heart beat so loud it might as well have been machine gun. Once he was only inches away, her breath caught in her throat.

“Don’t tell me, after all those years, that’s the line that gets me the girl.”

She swallowed and wiped her sweaty palms on her shorts. “It’s all in the set up.”

Travis’s smile gleamed from ear to ear with genuine elation. “Taken down by your own advice. I believe it was you who told me the most important part of scoring a goal was the set-up.”

Sydni bit her lip. “I’m your goal?”

“Don’t sell yourself short; you’re my Stanley Cup.”

He leaned over the railing and pressed his lips to hers. More heat coursed through her body and she reached up to run her hands through his hair. He gently nibbled on her bottom lip and every sound and feeling outside their two bodies disappeared. Only the pesky railing was in the way. She needed to be closer as her body burned with the desire to feel their bodies connect. With every effort to keep their kiss undisturbed, she slid her hand down his chest until she reached the rail. He let out low moan that only made her want to act faster. She shifted her weight to the left while she moved up onto the rail. Travis pulled away and looked curiously down at her.

“What are you doing?”

“I was going to try and jump this.”

Travis began to laugh as she sorted out her spot and settled on a seated position on the rail, knees far enough apart that he could place himself between and wrap his arms around her waist. She shivered at the contact despite the fire burning between them. Much closer, much better.

“You are a strange one and I love it.” He placed a hand on her upper thigh just at the hem on her shorts. “I hope kissing you like this isn’t too forward.”

“It’s not forward enough,” she muttered.

Travis’ shaking chest confirmed that those words we’re vocalized and not in her head. “Sydni, we’re on a public beach,” he said with mock offence.

“Shit, pretend I didn’t say that. I honestly- I’m not usually like this at all.”

“Good, I want to be the only man who brings out this side of you.”

He covered her embarrassment in sweet kisses down her neck, to her sensitive earlobe and back to her eager lips. Every shudder and prickle confirmed his words; no other had made her want to lay her inhibitions to rest. She wanted to lose herself in his touch, his arms, his soft lips.

A cat call cut through the calm evening followed by, “Well, well, it certainly is hot over here,” drawled a masculine voice Sydni recognized all too well.

Sydni buried her head in Travis’ chest as her cheeks burned even redder. She would never hear the end of this moment from her two friends.

“Sydni, who is this guy?” Marielle asked with mild interest. She swayed her hips and smiled big as she approached.

“Hey sis,” Travis said with a grimace. Facing the other way could have saved him this embarrassment, but she also could have came over and beat him with her purse without warning. Maybe this was for the best.

“Oh sick,” Marielle said turning away. “Please, get off my friend. I... I ...”

“What she meant to say was ‘Hi, this is my incredibly handsome and charming friend, Josh.’” Josh butted in and stuck his hand out toward Travis. Travis stepped away to shake his hand and Sydni immediately missed the way their bodies so easily fit together. “You aren’t hiding any other gorgeous brothers are you, Marielle?”

Marielle shook her head and looked between the pair of romancers. “How long have you two been...  is this new? I didn’t even know you two talked,” Marielle mumbled more to herself than anyone else. Her tanned face finally settled on pursed lips and she turned to Sydni, “Why don’t you tell me anything?”

What was there to tell? Thirty minutes ago, Travis only existed in her memories and now she wanted him all to herself in an inexplicable attraction.

“I just got here. Syd and I started catching up and you guys showed up,” Travis answered for Sydni as he stepped back toward her.

“Please, you must have at least a cousin you could set me up with,” Josh said. His head turned from Marielle and Travis a few times without any encouragement.

“Not the time Josh,” Marielle said, silencing him with her palm. “What about Evan? He’s trying to make things right.”

Travis’ jaw tightened. “Evan is here?” Sydni reached out for his hand and gave a gentle squeeze. His concern touched her heart and brought a smile to her lips.

“That was a long time ago. Travis doesn’t have to try; things are already right between us. I never asked you to invite Evan.”

“They look a little more than right,” Josh said with a wink. Marielle shot him a glare with enough malice to tranquilize a small horse.

“Stop it,” Sydni said and hit Josh playfully, her cheeks red as a fireman’s hat. She had to stop herself from picturing Travis in the get up. That man had a detrimental effect on her ability to focus properly.

“Well, you both look... happy. So I guess I’m happy for you,” Marielle said without much enthusiasm. She stuffed her hands in her cut-offs and slouched.

“C’mon, let’s walk on back to camp, Marielle and give these two a bit of time to cool down,” Josh gave Sydni a wink before he linked his arm with his friend’s.

Once they turned, Sydni took the opportunity to bury her face in his chest to hide from the world. Here she could find safety, comfort and desire. She wondered if they would even bother to come looking for them if they decided to spend the evening on the beach.

“Your wheels are turning.”

“Do we have to go back? You must have sleeping bags in your car?” She looked up at him with bright eyes.

“It’ll be fine; we should go see your friends. I’ll be your Evan buffer. If he makes you uncomfortable you can just turn around and kiss me. Actually, if anyone makes you the slightest bit awkward, sad, nervous, even happy or excited, you name it I’ll gladly keep volunteering my services because I’m just a stand up guy like that.”

“And so selfless,” Syndi added with a smile.

“It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it. I’m yours as long as you need.”

Sydni leaned up to give him another kiss before they were interrupted again. They both pulled away grinning like fools. “We’ll see how today goes, and who knows, I may just have to keep you around.”

Travis laughed and took her hand as they walked the path down the campground.

 Word Count: 2689