Such a Gentleman!

He snickered. "That's an impressive monologue."

I shrugged. "You're a swimmer; you have to enjoy the summer. Me, I just get sick of being sweaty." The sand shimmered a bit under our feet. "It's nice once the sun goes down."

Aaron nodded toward the water. "I wish I could just go into the water. Right now."

I looked over at him, surprised. "Right now?"

"Right now," he repeated firmly. "There's nothing like swimming in the moonlight." He paused. "I don't think I ever did that with you."

"Nope." It didn't sound like me, and I was sure I'd have remembered. "Must have been Makayla." Shit. Bite my tongue. I hadn't meant it to come out snarky, but fortunately he didn't seem to take it that way. Instead, he stopped short and turned to the waves.

"Fuck it," he decided. "I'm on vacation. I'm going to do it." He was already unbuttoning his shirt. I just gaped at him.

"What, now?" I gestured up the beach. "Aaron, we're like half a football field from the condo. You don't even have a suit!"

"So what?" I'd seen him like this before, years ago, but not often. He'd sometimes get the bit between his teeth and just do crazy shit, like rip his shirt off and go nightswimming. His teeth flashed in the moonlight as he grinned at me. "Come on in with me. I promise, there's nothing like it." His cargo shorts swished down his legs, leaving him standing in the moonlight in grey boxer-briefs. I looked back at the ocean. "The moon on the water, the rush of the waves... magic. You'll kick yourself if you don't do it."

I arched an eyebrow, even though he wouldn't be able to see it. "It'll be fun watching you put dry shorts over your soaked underwear," I pointed out. An airy chill of excitement was starting to march up my spine as I looked at his expression. I suddenly knew where this was going. "No. No fucking way."

He sounded amused. "Look Ash, it's not like you haven't seen me naked before." And then he was bending over, quickly, jerking the tight underwear down to the sand. "It's just swimming."

"It's skinny-dipping, Aaron. On a tropical island in the moonlight." I looked down despite myself; the moon left his splendid body all in blues and greys, but his penis swung as long as it ever had. "I think Makayla and Chad might not see it as 'just swimming.'"

He smirked at me. "They won't see it at all," he pointed out. "They're not here." He started boldly toward the water, heedless as his butt flexed in the pale light, and I stared after him with a furious kind of excitement. Shit! Fucking Aaron Lewis was showing me his ass! "Come on!" he called softly over his shoulder. "Live a little!"

No way should I join him, obviously. "Aaron, there are sharks..." I heard my voice trail off and then stood there, foolishly, right next to his pile of clothing. His feet slapped into the water, the waves rising gently, and he turned around with his bare body in shadow.

"It feels great," he insisted. "Get in here, coward."

"Coward?"

"Chicken," he confirmed, taunting me, and then he sat back into the water and began to backstroke coolly into the inky surf. "I dare you."

"Fuck you," I shot weakly back, but my resistance was crumbling as the sweatiness and booze started to get the better of me. Shit, but I was uncomfortable; my clothes, suddenly, felt like a clammy prison, and without thinking about it enough I reached down to gather my dress. "You better not look, you weasel," I called.

"No worries." He spun in the water and went under, cavorting otterlike in the warm sea.

"This is fucking crazy," I muttered to myself, but he looked so comfortable and my bra was chafing, and suddenly I decided to just go for it. I glanced quickly up and down the sand and saw nobody. The dress swished off me with a breathless feeling of freedom, and there I stood in a sturdy green bra and a matching thong, feeling somehow more exposed than I had in my bathing suit. The water now offered concealment as well as comfort, and I started to hurry.

For the first time, I got naked outdoors. I'm not any kind of exhibitionist, but there was a dark undeniable charge going up my back as I stripped. I felt vibrant and alive, and the water was tempting, and I actually laughed as my bare feet flitted across the packed sand by the little waves. The ocean felt warm and luxurious, like a heated swimming pool, and I gasped with pleasure as the water rose up my legs.

I heard the distant splashing as Aaron enjoyed himself off to my left, and I waded out that way. Soon I saw him, moving toward me. "Atta girl!" he called as he got closer, and I was suddenly very aware of my boobs. I thought of covering them, but I decided it would look stupid and prudish. Besides, it was a dark night. He swiped his hair out of his eyes as he rose dripping, the water down to his waist. I waited for him as he approached, my breath short and excited.

I eyed him. "I noticed you don't shave anymore," I murmured, hearing my voice shudder a tad. "You know. Down there. Like when you were on the swim team."

"I'm not racing anymore." He hesitated. "You?" he went on, his voice deliberately light. "I told you I wouldn't look."

My mouth went dry. Fuck, he was asking if I shaved myself. I felt myself blushing furiously, but he wouldn't be able to see that. "Sometimes." I heard myself, the flirty vibe in my voice, and I wondered what the hell I was up to. Everything in my mind told me to get the fuck out of the water.

But of course, I stayed.

His teeth flashed again. I felt my nipples extending. The water lapped at my belly button. "Currently?" he teased. I changed the subject at once.

"So where's this glorious moonlight you were rattling on about?" The water was warm and still, almost oily, like I was standing in a big expanse of saliva. "I noticed you're not looking at the fucking sky, that's for sure," I added archly, wondering again whether I ought to put my hands over my tits.

He giggled, but looked dutifully upward. "So, the trick is," he began, crouching down until his chin hit the surface, "you've got to float on your back."

I snorted. "What is this, swim lessons at the YMCA? I can't float on my back." I looked down at him, his head a dark splotch on the water, eyes and teeth almost glowing in the dark.

"Seriously?" He shook his head. "Damn, Gallo. I thought you could swim, at least."

"Swim, yes. Not float, Aaron."

"Well," he mused, "you could just lie down. I could support you from below." I felt myself hold my breath, amazed at the suggestion. "Like, with my arms," he added, quite unnecessarily, and I let the silence spread for a reason. He looked up at me.

"Aaron," I explained patiently, "we're naked." I didn't know whether to be excited or offended. "You broke up with me," I went on gently, "which means you don't get to grope me anymore. I've got another guy for that now. A nice one, too."

He paused, then I heard the mischief leave his voice. "You can trust me, Ash," he said seriously. "Come on. You're here; might as well get some moonlight out of it." He reached his arms slowly out just at the surface of the water. "No groping; I promise."

My eyes narrowed. "Thanks Aaron," I insisted, "but I think I'd rather try floating."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself." With no effort, he filled his lungs and lifted his legs and, with that majestic lack of effort he'd always shown in the water, he was on his back, his body rising and falling and glimmering in the light of the island moon.

I tried not to look at his dick again. I really did. I failed. He wasn't hard, thank God. I swallowed and glanced out to sea, resting my palms on the surface of the water. "So. What do I do?"

He sounded utterly calm. Totally relaxed. Christ, the man was just so zen. "Take a breath and... just... lie down. I don't know. I just do it." I saw his head shift subtly as he glanced up at me. "It'll work, Ash."

'Yeah right." I followed his advice, feeling the seawater soak deep into my thick curly hair as I laid it in the surf, tentatively raising one foot, and then the other, my eyes wide as I felt water alongside my face. My ears heard a glupping sound as they went under, and before I knew it I was sitting on the seafloor, the ocean closing over my head. Panic. I shot out of the water like a nuclear missile. "Shit, Aaron!" I stood there with water pouring out of my hair, off my nose and nipples, already feeling chilly. "This might be the worst idea you've ever had."

"What?" He remained totally blissed out, staring up at the sky as his body floated. He made quick, deft movements with his hands and feet to stay in place, and finally smirked up at me as I shivered. "Come on. Don't be so pissy. I offered to hold you up, Ash."

"Whatever," I scoffed, crossing my arms across my chest. I was in the mood to sulk. This wasn't right. "I'm getting out, Aaron. This was a mistake."

"Oh, come on!" He dropped his feet down and stood up, the water rising just up to the points of his hipbones. He spread his hands wide. "Give it a chance, Ashley. It's the freaking moon. It's a gorgeous night, you're basically in the world's biggest hot tub, and you're supposed to be relaxed." He shrugged. "Come on. Trust me." He crouched down, his chest in the water and his arms out. Toward me. "I won't let you sink."

I glared at him, wondering why I wasn't just flouncing out of the water. Was I worried about what he'd think of me? That I was that most dreaded of people in Chad's world, a buzzkill? That he'd decide, almost four years later, that he'd been right to dump me? I looked up briefly, but all I saw were stars. They didn't answer me. "Fuck. Fine, Aaron." I pointed down at him. "But no groping. This has already gone too far already."

"Trust me," he repeated, his deep voice soothing me as it always had. Never once had he treated me with anything other than kindness and respect; I knew that he'd never want me to be uncomfortable. "I got you."

"You better." I tried to ignore the gentle, soft splashing sounds of his body in the water, moving closer to me as I raised my leg. "Just... behind the knee, there."

"I know," he said indulgently, his hand sliding through the water like a torpedo underneath my leg. I shuddered despite myself. Christ, his nose was barely four inches from my ribcage!

I glared back down at him, hoping he could see how serious I felt. "I mean it, Aaron. No funny stuff."

"Cross my heart and hope to die, Ash." He was staring straight into my eyes, which gave me some confidence; he had plenty more to look at. His arm was solid beneath my knee. "Come on."

Slowly I sat down, feeling his other hand light on my spine, my own arm curving instinctively to hold his neck. His head twitched. "Sorry," I murmured, embarrassed. "I'm just nervous."

His teeth flashed reassuringly. "Once you're in the water, feeling the waves, watching the sky?" He shook his head. "It'll all be worth it, Ash."

"Whatever." I was trying to stay safely sullen, but his smile was too broad, his voice too calm, the night -- just as he'd said it would be -- too beautiful. Slowly I stretched out, risking a glance to see where his eyes went as I trusted my body to him. Once more my ears went muffled, my hair drifting like seaweed. I felt my breasts slide sideways like two hills; fucking things were just too big sometimes. I knew I was blushing furiously.

Beside me Aaron shifted himself, adjusting; he rose in the water to keep his arms in a position where he could hold me up indefinitely, his chest hard against my shoulder. Another upward glance reassured me; his eyes were on the sky. "Just look up, Ashley."

And so, reluctantly, I obeyed.

Fuck me. He was exactly right. The soothing slap of the waves, the stars sprinkling the sky, so many more of them than I saw at home, the moon ruling over all of them, white and magnificent, half full... I sighed and, at last, I let myself go.

I've got no idea how much time passed, but at some point I realized, with sudden and absolute certainty, that I could easily fall asleep right here, lying naked in the sea like some kind of mermaid, with or without Aaron. That's how peaceful this was, how right he'd been. I came to, shaking my head and staring through he shadows to see his beaming face.

"You look so peaceful," he said softly, "I didn't want to disturb you."

"Christ." I tried to ignore how good it felt to nestle against him. "I feel like I just passed out. Did I just pass out?"

He smiled. "No, Ash. It's like I said: there's nothing like swimming in the moonlight."

I returned the smile, the awkwardness gone. "Put me down?"

"Yes ma'am." Once more I steadied herself with an arm lightly around his neck, not even aware of my wet tit mashed against his chest until I pulled it away and saw him staring down at my long, dark nipple. I took a breath and tried to move the rest of my body as far away from his as I could, making space with a mini-tsunami as I fell abruptly back into the water.

It made me nervous that I hadn't noticed me touching him that way. I wasn't used to being nervous around guys. I lay back in the water, my feet on the sand below, watching to see what he'd do.

Not get an erection, apparently. The surface of the water was well below his belly button, and I had a vivid memory of what he looked like when he got hard. If he had a hard-on right now, his dickhead would be standing at least two inches clear of the water, throbbing and twitching like it always had. I shook my head to clear the image. He frowned at last.

"What?"

I kicked my feet, splashing him. "Get a good view? I told you not to look, Aaron." My own actions had confused me, and I was trying to recover. He could tell I wasn't upset, and he was honest enough not to pretend.

"You know how beautiful I've always thought you are," he shrugged, turning the whole thing into a compliment. "I'm glad you're here, and I'm glad we're still friends."

I watched him narrowly, still half-hoping to see his cockhead rise above the water. "Well, don't make a habit of it," I growled. "This is only the first night, and we're already stripping for each other. I don't want to regret anything here, Aaron." I splashed him one more time, playfully. "Can you imagine, if Lindsey saw us out here? Or her mother, God forbid?" I chuckled. "The gossip would never die."

He shrugged sleekly, confidently. "Gossip about what? We're two old friends, killing time." He looked elaborately over his shoulder at the line of condos. "How do you want to do this, Ash? If you want, I don't mind walking over there and then coming back with a towel for you."

I shook my head, irritated. "What are you, a fucking white knight? No, dude. It's the 21^st century. I don't need you to wait on me hand and foot." To prove the point I stalked out of the water, my drenched hair no doubt spilling a waterfall through my asscrack, and shook myself as dry as I could, flapping my arms in the night. "Get your eyeful now, kiddo. This is the last you'll get."

He laughed from the water, then sat back down to get his hair wet once more as I started to pull my manky underwear back on over my wet legs. I soon decided it wasn't worth the effort. I didn't bother with the bra either; what was the point now? I'd be walking up the beach with a wet dress plastered to my braless tits, but I'd be damned if I put that stinky thing back on now. I'd just have to take the risk of not seeing anyone during the short trip from the beach door to my room. The dress flew back over my head, sticking here and there, and I smoothed it as best I could.

By the time I got myself sorted out, Aaron was coming out of the water like Poseidon, dripping, the moonlight glinting off the planes and valleys of his body. He walked quite casually past me, totally comfortable with his dick swinging, and then bent over to get his clothes. His ass in the moonlight was an irresistible sight, and I gave in. "Well," I drawled, feeling myself grin, "apparently it is a full moon tonight."

We laughed together, easily and smoothly, and then he was pulling his shorts up. He too dispensed with underwear. He looked me over briefly. "You, uh, I mean I don't want to be inappropriate here, but you're nippin'."

Of course I was. "Chilly night," I replied blandly. We smiled at each other, more than a little playfully, and the walk back to the condo was a lot less awkward than it probably should have been, all things considered.

* * *

I was drowsy when I shuffled in to find some coffee the next morning. The condo was fairly deserted, most of my wedding buddies out and about. Korean Peter and his boys were out doing semi-organized guy stuff, golf or sportfishing or skeet shooting or pussy-gazing or whatever; most of the ladies were presumably lolling on the beach, and I was left to kill time before the rehearsal. I leaned back on one of the couches, stared into my coffee, and thought about whether I should call Chad.

I had a nagging suspicion that I'd done something wrong in the water with Aaron last night. I knew in my gut that Chad probably wouldn't care even if I described it to him, but I felt like I'd been naughty anyway. Try as I might, I couldn't remember anything really sexual about the night before: even my boob crashing into his chest had been more like a clumsy accident, and I sensed that Aaron and I had both been fine with the whole thing.

At length, I shook my head. Whatever. I had the rehearsal coming up, meaning there were outfits to plan. I didn't want to go overboard, since for the wedding ceremony I hadn't been paired up with Aaron. I wondered vaguely why Lindsay hadn't just gone ahead and put me together with him, as she well knew he was my ex-boyfriend. For the same reason, though, I could hardly go and ask her to change the arrangements. So I'd smile and wave on the arm of Blonde Peter while Aaron dealt with that ascetic nun Karen, and we'd have to make do with sidelong glances.

Which is pretty much exactly what happened, the lot of us going through the motions of the rehearsal with a sense of casual fun. The site was awesome, a rock outcropping directly over the sea, complete with a blowhole; when a really big wave came in, we all got misted with a fine spray. Such fun.

Especially since the weather was so horribly humid the rest of the time. I felt like Swamp Thing. I knew I was ruining another set of underwear; fucking summer.

Aaron showed no awkwardness around me at all, giving me a tight hug when he showed up with the boys. "We'll go hang at the beach later," he promised, and I just arched an eyebrow and waved stupidly at him, blinking in the strong sunlight.

But once we all got back to the condo, trundling along in a convoy of gleaming white golf carts, a hot breeze was at least stirring the sluggish air, and after all, who cares if you're sweating your ass off in a bikini? So I was feeling somewhat more kindly disposed as I propped myself on a towel in the meager shade at the back of the beach, staring idly out at the straw-hatted old Midwesterners drifting across the sand in a sort of Brownian motion. Already I was halfway through my second book, so I didn't really mind it when Aaron came loping over for a chat.

Things stayed light, almost suspiciously so; there was no mention of our past, or the breakup, or even of last night. Instead I learned a great deal about Makayla, who seemed to be a lovely girl. Aaron grinned when I told him about Chad.

"I'm happy you're happy," he said warmly. "He must be a great guy."

"Well..." and then, quite unintentionally, I was telling him a sanitized version of how we'd met, when I'd sort of stolen him away from his girlfriend. He nodded and smiled, but I could tell he wasn't really all that interested. Instead, he just spent most of his time gazing, quite openly really, at my purple eyes.

He'd always liked them.