The next day I wake up early and throw on a light blue bikini along with a cute pair of white jean cutoff shorts. I appraise myself in the mirror before I throw a pale purple tank top on over my bathing suit. I don't want to worry about tan lines if we're out for a while, which I'm hoping will be the case. I take a little extra time brushing my hair up in a ponytail instead of just using my hands to do it. I brush my teeth and then give myself one last look before I run to the kitchen to put some food together. When I open the refrigerator, I find an insulated collapsible bag with a note attached.

"Briann,

I packed you some food for breakfast and lunch, just in case you're gone for a while. There's enough for you to share and it should fit perfectly in your kayak. Have fun and don't worry about me, I'm meeting a friend before lunch and I have some errands to do. I'll see you for dinner.

Love you, Grandma

P.S. Don't forget your water and sunscreen!!"

I can't help but smile. I had so much fun talking to Grandma last night. As we were chatting, I told her about his dad's job and she realized she'd already met Christian's mom at the local market the other day. I'm sure that's part of the reason she's not so worried. I grab my things and head outside.

When I reach the dock I put my things in the front of my kayak and pull it over to the ramp. I walk down the dock and peer down the lake and see him already paddling towards me. I feel my heart pound against my chest and my body starts to tingle with nerves, traveling from my heart all the way to my fingers and toes. He looks towards our house and sees me, lifting his hand in greeting. I do the same, feeling my tingles turn into a heated blush. I'm glad he's not close enough to really see me. I stride back to the ramp concentrating on not tripping over the old wooden planks and looking like a fool again.

I throw on my lifejacket as I wade into the water. I step into my kayak taking a deep breath and slowly blowing it out as I settle. I start to paddle away from the dock without looking and startle at the sound of his deep voice, "Good morning."

I look up at him with a shy smile, "Hi."

"I guess this means you're ready," he grins. "Would you like to lead the way?" I nod and we make our way along the shore, paddling together. We both remain pretty quiet, paddling and taking in the houses, the landscape and the animals either just waking up or heading to their homes to sleep for the day. Christian spots a bald eagle flying from its nest in a tree at least sixty feet tall! It's incredible to watch it spread it's wings and then fly down near the lake, searching for food, before snapping a fish right out of the water. Honestly, we have to stay pretty close to the edges of the lake to see any of that.

We make our way out into the middle of the lake, seeing the shades of green of the mostly pine trees surrounding us, with only a few lighter patches where more trees have been taken down for homes. It's always incredibly quiet and peaceful in the mornings, except for maybe the soft calls of the loons and the jumping of some fish here and there.

After a while, Christian points to one of the little islands in the middle of the lake. The whole thing was probably 25 feet across. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry, how about eating some breakfast over there?" he suggests. I again nod my head in agreement.

We paddle over to the island and he jumped out pulling both his kayak and mine with me in it up to the shore. He turns to me and smiles, holding out his hand to help me out. I grin and take his hand, my heart rate speeding up instantly. "Thank you."

We both remove our life jackets and toss them in our boats before grabbing our bags. He glances at my bag and starts laughing. "Wow, you like to eat a lot huh?" he jokes.

I blush again, and explain, "My Grandma packed the food for me. She said she packed some for lunch too in case we were out for a while and enough to share." I didn't think it was possible, but I turn an even deeper shade of red as his smile broadens, while still holding my free hand.

"That was very thoughtful of her. I'll have to thank her when I bring you home. Oh, hold on," he mumbles. He sets his small bag down and drops my hand. My fingers tingle, instantly feeling the loss. He grabs a large towel from his kayak and lays it down on the grass and sand, spreading it out for us.

"Great idea. I didn't even think of that." I sit down and he sinks down next to me with his knees up, banging them gently into mine. I freeze and just stare into his beautiful eyes that seem to sparkle just like the sun on the lake. He has the most amazing eyes I've ever seen. I'm completely mesmerized. Feeling as if my heart begins pounding outside my chest, I see the corners of his lips start to curve upwards and I rip my gaze away from him and out to the water.

He clears his throat before asking, "So what do we have to eat? I'm already thinking my granola bar and water will be too boring."

I open the bag Grandma packed for us and look inside, pulling out food as I go. I set down a bowl of fruit salad, a couple bagels and croissants, peanut butter, her homemade strawberry jam, waters, pretzels and some sandwiches in the bottom, I'd assume for later. She really wasn't planning on me coming back for a while I think, giggling to myself as I gently shake my head in disbelief.

"What are you smiling at?" he questions.

"Just my Grandma," I admit, eyeing the bag.

"This is quite the feast," he concurs, maintaining his focus on me.

I feel my blush heat my face immediately and I have to look away. I grab a knife and start spreading jam on a croissant and nibbling on some fruit. "So, what do you like to do besides kayak?" I prompt, changing the subject.

He reaches for a bagel and peanut butter before answering me, "Well, I love sports, but I never really play besides when I hang out with my friends. I guess I always moved so much; it made it difficult to play. I don't like going from team to team and constantly starting over. I really love anything outdoors. I love to go hiking, biking, skiing in the summer or winter," he lists, grinning. I guess I just love being outside. How about you?" he inquires and looks at me expectantly.

"I don't really know," I admit, shyly. "I love being outside too. I guess I like to hike," I answer, shrugging my shoulders, anxious for his reaction.

He raises his eyebrow in question, "You guess?"

"Well, I was never allowed to be a part of any club, team or sport. My parents were always too busy to drive me anywhere and didn't like to burden other people with having to take me, so I pretty much go from home to school besides hanging out with my best friend." I elaborate, feeling even more awkward. "I've always loved coming here though, where I can do so much, but everything that I've learned about this kind of stuff is from my Grandma," I trail off when I see him staring at me with wide eyes and I can't help but wonder what he's thinking.

He nods his head as if he's making a decision, "So that's what we'll do then."

"What?" I prod.

He grins, "We're going to spend the summer having fun, doing things and trying things together."

I look up at him and give him a small smile in return. "Together?" I question. He just nods in confirmation before he stands up and dusts his hands off before reaching down for my hand. I place my hand in his and he pulls me up.

"Yup. And we're going to start by jumping into the lake to cool off," he announces.

"I don't know if I want to go in right now, it's still a little chilly," I shrug.

He chuckles softly with a glint in those beautiful eyes and proclaims, "Well, I think we need to seize the moment." He drops my hand and pulls his shirt over his head and tosses it onto the blanket. I think I completely stop breathing at the sight of his amazingly sculpted body, even more knowing he's only eighteen. He grabs me around the waist and pulls me against his bare chest causing me to gasp. I tense at being so close to him.

I barely start to shriek as I finally realize what he's doing. He runs into the water laughing as he falls sideways into the lake still holding me tightly. He releases me as we go under and I quickly pull myself to the surface since I didn't get a good breath, but at least I remembered to hold it before I went under.

When I look behind me, I find him grinning so big, I can't help but smile back at him. I splash him in the face and swim away laughing. I feel him grab my foot and pull me towards him. He turns me around and I feel my breath catch again. "Are you starting trouble?" he teases, grinning. I just smile back because I can't even seem to form words around him. He lifts his hand to my cheek and caresses it lightly with his thumb. "I sure hope so," he whispers, staring intently into my eyes.

I glance down at his lips and then back to his eyes barely breathing. My heart pounds so hard, it feels as if it will beat out of my chest, while butterflies have a field day in my stomach. Cradling my face in his hands, he slowly closes the distance between us. I feel his soft, smooth lips gently brush mine in the lightest and sweetest kiss. Goosebumps spread throughout my whole body. He notices instantly and pulls back, stepping out of the water as he weaves his fingers through mine and tugs me out of the water along behind him. He grabs a towel and offers, "Here, you're cold," as he wraps it around my body. He rubs my arms up and down for a minute, trying to warm me up.

I'm finally able to mumble, "Thank you" never letting my eyes waver from his. I shake my head a little like I'm trying to get the water out of my ears, but really I'm just trying to think of something to say instead of dreaming of kissing him again. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" I finally ask, curious about his family.

"Yeah," he nods in confirmation. "I have two older brothers and a baby sister. Theresa is actually going to be a senior in high school this year too. Both of my brothers are away at college and pretty much stay there all year, just coming home to visit, wherever home is at the time. My brother Matt is in Texas at Baylor and my oldest brother Jason goes to West Point in New York. He of course is following in my father's footsteps," he grimaces slightly. "How about you?" he questions, quickly averting the attention back to me. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"No, lucky me, I'm an only child," I answer with a tight smile.

"Don't look so happy about it." He pauses, gathering his thoughts before continuing, "Having brothers and sisters is not all it's cracked up to be. They're great, but we fight a lot and there's always something or someone to live up to." He takes a deep breath and sighs, "Anyway, what about your parents?"

I look down at my lap and shrug before I respond. "They're okay. They're never really around. They're always away on business or something. That's why I come here every summer. I had a nanny for a few years when I was pretty little, but she spent most of her time watching soap operas and when my parents found out..." I trail off, shrugging my shoulders. "I guess I feel like my Grandma is more of my parent than anything, she's amazing." I turn my head slightly to peak at him, noticing a sad look, I'm sure of sympathy for me, so I quickly change the subject. "Anyway, I love it here and I couldn't be happier spending my summers with her," I smile looking at him.

He smiles back at me, "Well, I have to say that this summer sure looks like it's bound to be incredible."

The sound of a motorboat gets my attention and I look out at the water skier gliding behind the boat. "Maybe we should head back towards the shore with the motor boats coming out. The lake is going to start getting busy."

"Sure," he agrees and starts cleaning up our food. "If we stay near the shore with the kayaks we could go a little longer," he suggests.

"That sounds good," I happily concur. We pack up and head back towards the shore.

As we go along the edges of the lake, I begin feeling calm again. "So where's your house?" I prod, curiously.

"Actually, we're coming up on it now. It's the white farmhouse in the middle." He glances up at the house and begins rowing a little faster. "Come on," he urges. "Let's head back towards your Grandma's house." I nod, feeling like he's suddenly in a hurry.

We come up to my Grandma's house in the next cove. By the time we get there, it's almost lunch time. We pull the kayaks up onto the shore and I throw my life jacket in mine, before asking, "So are you up for the sandwiches my Grandma made for us? I'm sure I could find us some cookies or something to go with it for dessert."

He smiles. "You know, I was going to leave, but now that you mentioned cookies, I'm definitely not going anywhere."

I shake my head and laugh, "Come on, we can eat up on the deck," I suggest. "It has a great view of the lake."

He grabs the bag with the food and follows behind me, "If you're going to feed me, the least I can do is carry the food."

When we step onto the deck, Grandma walks out the sliding glass door. "Oh, hello. You must be the handsome boy that waves to me almost every morning!"

He laughs and I roll my eyes. He reaches out his hand to introduce himself, "Hi, I'm Christian. Thank you so much for breakfast and lunch now too."

She smiles, "You're welcome and it's nice meeting you, Christian. You can call me Grandma Betty. I may not be your Grandma, but if you're a friend of my Bree, Grandma Betty is just perfect." He nods his acceptance and she clears her throat and excuses herself, "I need to go find my glasses, I thought I left them out here, but I must be mistaken." I shake my head, thinking she knows exactly where she put her glasses. She likes to come out here to relax during the day, but I definitely don't say that out loud and give her away.

We sit down on the Adirondack chairs and place the pretzels and our waters on the table between us. He pulls the sandwiches out of my bag, "It looks like turkey sandwiches, I think."

He hands one to me and I place it in my lap and murmur, "Thank you."

We sit quietly while we eat. Then, I excuse myself to grab the cookies for dessert. I return with a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies, my favorite! "My Grandma makes the best cookies," I rave, holding out the plate for him.

After he eats his first one in seconds he says, "I better have at least five more to verify that." He grins, grabbing another one. "Damn these are good!" He finishes a second cookie and asks, "So what would you like to do tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" I prod.

"Yeah, you know, our summer of having fun together?" he happily emphasizes, sending the tingles in my stomach into overtime. "So, tomorrow?" he repeats.

"You don't have a summer job or anything?" I question.

"Not yet, we just moved and I'm starting college this fall, remember?" he asks, joking. He gets that sexy smirk on his face before taunting, "Or were you too busy staring at my 'handsome' self to be listening?"

I blush, but retort, "I was listening to you!"

He just laughs and then sighs. "Actually, I have to go into town tomorrow to get some things for my dad. Would you like to come with me? We can check out town and grab some lunch together?" he proposes.

"Sure, I'd like that." I smile and he stands up, glancing towards the house. I guess he's getting ready to leave, although I wish I could make him stay.

"I have to get back to help my dad with some things. Thanks for...everything," he grins with that sparkle in his eyes making my breath hitch.

"You're welcome. I guess I'll see you tomorrow," I pause. "Wait, Christian! What time and are you picking me up?"

Still smiling, "I'll pick you up at 9am, if that's okay?" I nod my head in agreement. "See you tomorrow Bree!"

I watch him walk away, down towards the lake and hear my Grandma come back outside to join me. "That boy really does have a fine backside," she murmurs.

"Grandma!" I admonish.

She just laughs and insists, "Well he does." I smile, knowing my Grandma is more than right and watch him until he waves again and starts paddling his kayak towards his house.

"So you have another date tomorrow?" She probes, arching her eyebrows in question.

"It's not a date. Dates are at night and have dinner or dancing or movies or...and another date? Today wasn't a date," I ramble flustered, as I shake my head.

"What would you call it?" she challenges, eyeing me skeptically.

I shrug and don't answer, while my mind drifts to those lips and how I want to kiss them again.

"Dates can be anything and at anytime," she insists. "The only thing that matters is that he treats you right." I know she's right, I'm just afraid to admit it.

A date that's fun, simple and sweet. I write about all kinds of dates in my books and some I haven't yet. What kind of date do you prefer?

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