Nothing in Common

"Oh shit! Sorry. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, my dignity has a bigger bruise than my rear end."

Then it was my turn. I set up, and took the ball in. It was like he wasn't even there. He fell for the easiest fake ever and I laid the ball in the net.

"Whoa." he said. "What was that? I though you said you'd go easy on me?"

"I did go easy on you. Here, your turn."

Once again he ended up sprawled on my driveway and I had the ball.

"I'd hate to go up against you for real. Yikes." he said as he dusted himself off.

This time I kept one hand behind my back. I still beat him easily. Same for defending against him. I could beat him easy with one hand. He noticed what I was doing, and shook his head.

"How much of a handicap are you going to need to play with me?"

"Uh, probably four shots of rum and tie my right hand to my left ankle?"

He laughed and tossed me the ball. We played for another ten minutes, me with my right hand in my pocket and I beat him on every point. I'll say this, any other guy I'd ever met would have been pissed and would have walked away, angry because he got beat by a girl, but not Devin. He just laughed and kept playing. Not because he had a chance, but just because he was with me, I think.

+++

Romeo and Juliet was awesome! We never did that play in English class, we read the Merchant of Venice instead. Of course I was maybe a bit biased because my boyfriend was playing the lead. I was also a bit jealous of his scenes with Rachel. She played Juliet, and she was an absolute fox. But the way Devin came looking for me after the show and the way he wrapped me up in that hug of his, oooooh, yeah, that was nice. I guess performing pumped up his adrenaline or something because he was a lot more 'on' than his usual laid-back self.

A bunch of the girls were mooning over him after the play, because he did such an awesome job of playing the forlorn romantic star-crossed lover. And the rumors that started running wild about him and Rachel were ridiculous. Really? Some of the stuff I heard was worse than stupid, it was downright moronic. And all of it just rolled off Devin like he was teflon. None of the crap stuck, he was the same guy as always, and the same to me too. Better, even, to judge by the kisses I got.

+++

Our relationship had progressed to where our parents were giving us the stink-eye when we were up in my room or his for too long with the door shut. Before, they knew it was too soon for anything serious to happen, but now, well... Now we were like a real couple, holding hands and kissing and cuddling. And going out on real dates when we could get our time off lined up. Our folks were worried that we were heading off down that road to 'next steps'. Despite my Mom being very relaxed about my life choices, even she was making comments.

Devin and I talked about it, and we were both onside with waiting, and not taking those significant steps yet. So, no sex. But we were going a little further now. Second base had been rounded, woo hoo! And Devin really did seem to like my boobs, despite their lack of heft. That was both surprising and gratifying. More than gratifying, it was practically orgasmic. And it unfortunately gave me the confidence to consider stealing third. Not doing it, no, just... considering it. For later. Maybe.

+++

Prom was another amazing night. You want a romantic date, go out with a drama nerd. No dress in the world was gonna give me cleavage or make me look like a supermodel, but you wouldn't have known that from Devin's reaction. It was like his eyes were glued to me and he only left my side when one of use had to hit the washroom. Neither of us danced with anyone else all night, even though a lot of girls asked him, he said 'no thank you' and danced with me instead.

We'd booked a room at the hotel for after Prom, which generated a shitstorm of nagging and worry from our parents. But were 18 and we knew what we were doing, and knew what we would not be doing. Yes, we would be sleeping together, and there would be some fooling around, but no sex. It wasn't so much the promises we made to our parents but the promises we made to each other that set those limits.

That night was a perfect end to a perfect evening. Devin was careful not to overstep boundaries and didn't push me for any more than cuddling and kissing. Knowing that you can trust a person to that extent was a new thing for me. For him too I think. All our friends knew we spent the night together and assumed we had sex. It didn't matter if we denied it or not, it would not change their minds. They knew. Or they thought they did. Whatever.

+++

Exam time rolled around, and we were busy studying all the time. All my practices and games were done with, but I still went to the pool and the gym a lot to stay in shape. I mentioned to Devin that maybe he could join me at the pool some time.

"I know you're not doing anything that early in the morning, so I was wondering if you wanted to join me at the pool? I usually do a bunch of laps, just to keep up my cardio. That is, if you even know how to swim?" I dug at him.

Devin looked a bit aggrieved. "Hey! I know how to swim, I got all the fitness and swimming badges in Scouts. I just don't compete or anything like that."

"Ah, okay. So you wanna come with me tomorrow to swim?"

"Sure. What time?"

"Pick me up at six."

His eyes went wide and he said "Six? Like AM?"

I grinned at him. "Yeah, I don't have get up so early anymore, I get to sleep in till then."

He rolled his eyes at that but agreed to pick me up.

+++

We got to the pool and separated to head for our respective change rooms. I was a little nervous because once again I was probably gonna embarrass Devin with my physical prowess. This time in public, instead of in my driveway or my back yard or wrestling on my bed. I knew he was an easy-going kind of guy, not all hung up on having a macho image, but still, this kind of thing can sting.

To take a little bit of that sting out of the situation I'd bought a new suit. A two-piece. My usual standard was a one-piece racer-back. It had pretty good coverage and stayed on even when you were diving or being really active in the water. This new one was a bikini. A tiny one. It was like a bunch of string and some little triangles of fabric. I was afraid I'd lose the silly thing the first time I tried to do more than a leisurely backstroke. So it would probably slow me down as well as give Devin a thrill.

I walked nervously out of the change room and looked for Devin. There he was, in a pair of loose fitting trunks. Thank god he wasn't like the guys on the swim team with their little speedos. Those were just so wrong. Actually, the meager bit of swimwear I had on was just as wrong. What had I been thinking?

Then Devin turned and saw me. I think I blushed several shades of red on various body parts as he gazed at me. Holy shit, that look on his face was awesome. Oh yeah, this boy really really liked me. "Like what you see?" I asked.

"Wow. Devin, you are absolutely beautiful."

"Why thank you. I do try to dress to impress."

"Uh, so, can we get into the pool now? I'm afraid I'll have an embarrassing reaction if I have to stand here looking at you looking like this."

I laughed at him and slipped into the pool. Looking back at him, he had a stunned look on his face. Yup, this bikini was well worth the price. He got into the pool and we swam over to the lanes to do some laps. The new suit felt weird, like it was gonna fall off any second, and that really kept my pace down. Despite that, Devin seemed to have to work hard to keep up with me. We did our laps and stretched in the shallow end for a few minutes to let our muscles loosen up a bit before heading back to the change rooms.

When we met back outside Devin asked me if I wanted to go on a canoe trip with him the weekend after exams were over. An overnighter, he called it. I knew we both had the time off from work, so yeah it was possible.

"Camping? You mean, like spending the night together? In a tent?"

"Yeah. I really think you'll enjoy it."

"This isn't just some ploy to get me into a sleeping bag with you, is it?"

"Oh, it's definitely that, but it's also a lot of fun. You said you never went camping before, right?"

He remembered that? Of course he did, he probably still has that list he started writing back in February. Mr List Guy. "Uh huh. I'm a camping virgin."

"Hmmm. How many virginities do you wanna lose next weekend?"

"Well, what kind of first times are you offering?"

"I got a canoe. Ever gone canoeing?"

"Nope. That's one."

"I have a tent. I know that's a first for you. I also have a fishing rod. Ever gone fishing?"

"Nope, never. Hmmm. Now you're asking me to handle your rod, huh?"

"Probably the biggest rod you've ever put your hands on."

Oh god, it was getting REALLY difficult to keep a straight face now.

"What else you got?"

"Shore lunch?"

"Eating something fishy-tasting? Is that where this is going?"

I could see he was having trouble keeping it together now too.

"Ever been swimming in a lake? Or are you just a pool girl?"

"Hmm. No lakes, just the pool and the ocean."

"Ahhh, now we're getting somewhere. A lake virgin. Have you ever gone skinny-dipping?"

"There it is. Now you're trying to get me naked."

"Oh for sure. But have you done it?"

"Uh, nope. Another first time. How many is that now?"

"Seven I think."

"That's probably enough for this trip. Don't want to overdo it."

Devin looked thoughtful for a second, then said "I guess not, but one can dream."

"That's what I tell all the boys, 'dream on'".

And Devin finally dissolved into a fit of laughter that left him breathless. I joined him, and the two of us attracted some attention as we were splitting our guts outside the rec centre. We finally collected our wits and he drove me home, where we had breakfast and started planning next weekend's trip before we had to head off to school for today's exam review sessions.

Of course my Dad was asking way too many questions, digging around the edges of our plans to make sure we weren't going to be involved in anything 'unseemly'. Mom intercepted his attempts to put throw a wet blanket on our weekend and we eventually had our Camping List. Yeah, Devin made another list for all the gear and food and stuff we needed. I think he had this stuff memorized by now, so I didn't worry about forgetting anything. I just worried about sharing a tent with him.

I had plans for the future, and they didn't involve the risk of pregnancy. That was one reason not to let things go too far. Another thing my plans didn't have room for was long-distance romance and the heartbreak that usually stems from that. I really liked Devin, and liked hanging out with him, and making out with him, but there were limits on what we were going to do together. I'd made that clear to him, and he agreed. Now this camping thing was happening, and I was worried.

+++

Devin showed up at 4 AM Saturday morning with a canoe strapped to the roof of his car. Maybe he whined about early starts for swimming but when it came to camping he was every bit as gung-ho as I was about sports. We tossed my bag into the trunk, which had surprisingly little stuff in it. And when I say bag I mean exactly one backpack, and nothing else. That was all I was allowed to take. Off we went up north, heading for what he called the put-in. We got there around six, and soon had the canoe in the water and loaded.

There were two backpacks, a tent, a cooler which was barrel shaped for some reason, don't ask me why, a guitar case, and a box he called a wanigan stuffed into the canoe. Then there was the two of us with our life jackets and paddles. Our water bottles and a few other things were in a bag tied underneath my seat.

Off we went. The canoe was tippy as hell, and I shrieked a couple of times when it threatened to tip over. I stopped doing that because my voice echoed across the friggin lake so everyone within a couple of kilometers was probably laughing at me. Paddling was easy enough to figure out though, and we went down the lake as the sun rose and turned everything gold and dazzling. It was absolutely beautiful. Everything was so quiet and so green, it was amazing. It was cold too, at first, but warmed up quickly.

We got to the end of the lake and had to empty the canoe and portage everything over a hill about 400m to the next lake. Devin said this was the hardest one, and the rest would be easier.

"How many is 'the rest' going to be?" I asked him, hoping that loading and unloading all this stuff over and over wasn't going to be the whole trip.

"Just two more. Let's go."

And yeah the next two portages were easier, taking more time to just dump and reload gear than to actually carry it. It was like there were long ridges of rock that stuck up, separating the lakes. We eventually got to an island in the middle of a lake and pulled up to shore.

"Here we are!" he said.

We unloaded the canoe and Devin started setting up the tent. I offered to help, and he gave me directions to hold this or pull that, and we soon had the tent up. It was tiny. We unrolled our ground pads and sleeping bags and put the backpacks at the back end of the tent. I was both happy and unhappy that he seemed to be keeping us apart, at least in terms of sleeping arrangements in the tent.

Then Devin showed me how the little camp stove worked. It was so small I couldn't believe it would cook anything, but it roared like a jet engine. We had our lunch and I asked where the bathroom was. He led me to something he called a 'thunderbox'. It was a box. Literally. With a toilet seat on it. No walls, no roof, no privacy at all. There were a few shrubs and trees around, but you had a nice view of the lake from that seat. And anyone else would have a nice view of you, too.

I admonished him not to look and to go back to the tent while I did my business. As. Quickly. As. Humanly. Possible. But I must say, it was a really different experience. Not sure I was ever gonna like it.

Devin was fishing when I got back from the thunderbox. I watched him for a bit, and then he hooked a fish. It fought and jumped and it was crazy and exciting to watch. He scooped it up and held it out for me to touch. He said it was a smallmouth bass. I wasn't a sissy girl, I was a big strong athlete, so I reached out and touched it. Cold and wet, but not slimy. Well, not too slimy.

When he threw the fish back into the lake. "Aren't we planning on having fish for dinner? Don't we need that one?"

"We'll get more. Now it's your turn."

He handed me the rod and explained how to cast, then stood well back before I made my first try. It took me half a dozen attempts before I actually got the line to go out where the fish were. And it was almost half an hour before I got a bite. I was trying really hard not to get frustrated, and Devin was trying really hard not to laugh. But I eventually caught a sunfish. It was small, but it was a fish! He took a picture of me with my first fish.

"That one goes into the first-times folder along with the canoe, the tent, and the thunderbox."

"You did not take my picture there!"

"Of course I did."

I started yelling at him. "You will delete those pictures right now or so help me-"

"Devin, please." he said quietly. I realized I was being bitchy and the poor sunfish was still dangling in the air. I shut up and let him take the fish off. Then he showed me the pictures he took. And they were great, even the one of me on that stupid box. There was nothing embarrassing in them, it was just me, doing new things and actually having fun.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"That's okay, I understand. But it's gonna be difficult to get PG rated pictures of you skinny dipping. I think that will be a challenge."

"No naked pictures!"

"You get to delete anything you don't like, okay?"

"Fine."

He laughed and said "It sounds like you just agreed to go skinny dipping with me."

"Shit. I guess I did." Yeah, I was so concerned about photos I hadn't worried about that part.

He took the fishing rod and leaned it against a tree. "Time to go for a swim?" he asked as he peeled off his shirt. I'd seen him without a shirt at the pool, and he'd seen me in that teeny bikini. And in my bedroom making out topless. So this wasn't a huge step. And it was not sex, so fine, I guess I could do it.

He turned away and dropped his shorts and underwear. I must admit that I looked, because hey, he had a cute butt. I stripped off my top and the cool air hit my tits, bringing my nipples to attention. This felt wildly different than being naked indoors. He turned and looked at me, eyes wide, and he was hard. Oh, wow. He looked huge. Was I dating a porn star?

"Wow. Um, how big are you? Is that, uh, normal size?"

"Totally average, sorry to disappoint."

"No, I'm not disappointed. It's fine. It just looks, like, really big."

I held my breath and stripped the rest of the way. Wow, the cool gentle breeze felt wonderful on my skin. Skin that was being seen by a man for the first time. He took my hand and we waded out into the water. I complained loudly about how cold it was, but that just made him leap in and make a huge splash. I was used to chilly pools for practices, it keeps you from overheating, so I just dove in after him.

Holy shit that was cold! I came up and whooped, and the sound echoed across the lake. It felt SO different. Even the bikini I'd worn at the pool, which hardly counted as clothing, kept the water from flowing against a huge number of nerve endings. Nerve endings that connected directly to my libido. Wow. I whooped again, enjoying how the sound carried and how incredible the cold water felt on my nipples and my pussy.

"Good?" he asked.

I nodded and said "Yeah. Wow. Different."

Despite how wonderful it all felt, the water was still really cold, and we were done in less than ten minutes. He'd left a couple of towels hanging on a line by the tent, so we ran up the path and dried ourselves off. That left our clothes down by the shore, so we had to walk back down there to get dressed. I suspect that this was just his way of getting to see me naked a bit longer. Then again, I got to see him too. Did I mention he had a cute butt?

That erection he'd been sporting before jumping in the lake had subsided in the cold water, but it was back now. I watched him tuck himself into his shorts as I got dressed. I wanted to swim naked again before we left. That was pretty awesome.

We went for a paddle around the lake and then fished for supper. He got two of those bass, which I watched him clean. That was a gory and gruesome thing to see. I don't think I'd ever killed anything bigger than a fly, and doubted I could do that myself. True to Devin's word, fresh caught fish was delicious. Nothing like what I'd eaten before. He took more pictures of me eating those poor fish - and liking it.

After dinner we sat around the fire and he got out his guitar. He said this was his 'camp guitar' not his good one, but it sounded fine to me. He played a bunch of songs and I even knew a couple of them and we sang together. When it got dark the moon rose, nearly full, and Devin suggested going for a night swim.

It was more comfortable getting naked in the dark than in broad daylight, and as I waded out into the lake I heard the shutter sound from his cell phone camera. My first reaction was anger. I started to tell him off but he just waved me over and said "Look."

I looked. There was a silhouette of a girl wading into the water where the moon's silver light reflected off the lake in front of her. You couldn't see any details of her body, you couldn't even tell it was me. And it was beautiful. "I want this one printed and framed." he said. I agreed. It was art. We got into the water and swam around a bit. It was glorious. The feeling of the water against parts of me that never got exposed like this was incredible. I wanted to do this again some day. It was like magic. We even heard a loon calling. This time I didn't mind walking around the island naked to get to our towels and get dressed. You couldn't see much and it felt amazing. It was just a little chilly.