Warmer by the Lake Ch. 02

Each girl had their strengths: Julia concentrated on learning and applying herself to every task. Sarah joked around but was good at working out measurements and angles.

Prisha surprised me the most: while she approached every new task with her usual hesitancy, when she got going Prisha was relentless. She never seemed to tire and was eager to rush over and help whenever someone needed it. She also excelled at planning and coordinating our efforts. Sarah tried to take charge, but most often Prisha had a better idea of what to do next, which she delivered in a way that was at once a polite suggestion and a directive to the others.

I showed the girls how to use the chainsaw. They each took turns donning the safety gear and sawing off logs. When it was Sarah's turn, Julia and Prisha rushed to get their phones and take pictures.

"No one will believe this," grinned Prisha.

Julia said, "Yeah, that anyone would be stupid enough to let Sarah near a chainsaw."

Sarah stuck out her tongue at Julia and got to work. Much to everyone's relief, she focused on what she was doing and didn't fool around. She had a cute habit of sticking out her tongue as she concentrated on her task.

By late afternoon, we had the site planned and marked, holes dug, and even had concrete poured and setting in some tubes. It was excellent progress, and I thanked all three for their work.

Sarah, Julia and I sat on the ground resting and gulping water, but Prisha busied herself cleaning up debris and putting things away.

"What else do you need done, Daniel?" she asked.

"Pri, relax. Sit. That's enough for one day."

"But I'm not tired," she said, bobbling up and down on her heels.

"Sit down, wonder woman," said Sarah, mopping sweat from her neck. "You're making us look bad."

Prisha sat close beside me and smiled, much to Julia's annoyance.

She said, "I've never done things like this before, Daniel. I love it! It's so real. So immediate. We're actually building a house!"

I chuckled. "We have a long way to go yet, but we've done really well, Pri. Sure you're not wiped out?"

Prisha beamed. "I might look fragile, but I do come from sturdy stock. My grandparents were farmers. It takes considerably more than this to make me tired."

"Oh, stop trying to impress him," said Julia.

Sarah said, "Hey guys, if my calculations are correct, it's beer o'clock."

"We didn't bring beer," said Prisha.

"Then it's vodka o'clock. And aren't you hungry? Let's eat and get this party started. I didn't come all this way just to be a Lumber Jill."

"A... oh, never mind. I get it," said Prisha.

Sarah walked down to the cooler. We watched her pull out a bottle and take a long swig. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and grinned.

We joined her. Prisha insisted I show her how to split wood, so I fetched the ax and together we split logs while Julia glowered. Pri then helped me set the fire while Sarah and Julia got food from the cooler.

It was the most lavish meal I'd ever had camping. We ate and drank like Romans before the fall. Julia made a point of sitting beside me, and when Prisha sat on my other side, Julia possessively linked her arm through mine.

The light was fading and all of us sat for a moment watching the sun set, enjoying the warmth of the fire.

Sarah said, "You know, Daniel, you have a nice camp here, but it's boring."

Chuckling, I said, "What do you expect, water slides? A roller coaster?"

"Now you're talking!" she said. "Hey... do you have any rope?"

I said, "There's lots in the supply shelter."

"Good," said Julia. "We can tie Sarah to a tree and gag her to get some peace."

"Really funny, Julia," said Sarah. "No... come on, everyone."

Together we got the rope and Sarah led us down to the shore. One tree at left edge of the beach angled about 20 degrees towards the water. It was one of the taller trees and made an easy landmark for finding the camp from the lake. High above, a limb jutted over the water. I had a good idea what Sarah planned.

"If we can get a rope over that branch, we'd be able to swing into the water, Tarzan-style."

"Come on," said Julia. "We're not children, Sarah. We don't need a swing."

"You're always little miss grumpy," said Sarah. "Fine. You don't have to use it." She found a rock and tied it to the end of the rope, and then Sarah, Prisha and I took turns trying to throw it over the branch. Julia watched with disdain.

We laughed and traded insults as we each tried and failed to throw the rope high enough.

On her fourth try, Prisha tried spinning the rope like a sling. We watched it arc up and sail over the branch. Prisha flung her arms up in victory and did a little dance.

I secured the other end of the rope and tied knots in free end for handholds.

"Looks good," said Prisha. "Now, we'd best test it to make certain it's safe. I think if we..."

"GERONIMO!" Sarah grabbed the rope and swung herself in a long arc out over the water and plunked clothes and all into the lake.

She surfaced with a huge grin, wiping water from her eyes.

"Sarah!" yelled Prisha. "You've gotten your clothes wet."

"That's okay," called Sarah. "I wasn't planning on wearing them much, anyway."

Sarah waded in closer and pulled off her pirate tank top, revealing her pale round boobs. With an effort, she wiggled out of her shorts and underwear and flung the soggy clothes to the water's edge. She grabbed the rope and did a few more experimental swings, unconcerned by her nakedness.

"Hey boring people!" she yelled. "Your turn." She flung the rope back towards us.

Julia caught it. "Just great," she said. "Sarah drunk and naked. Again."

I looked at Sarah splashing and said, "Well, if you can't beat 'em..." I stripped off my sweat-stained clothes, took the rope and swung out to splash down next to Sarah.

I sent the rope back to shore as Sarah put her arms around my waist. She was cool from the water but became warm as she pressed against me.

"That's better, Quixote," she said. "See? Without me here you'd bore yourself to death."

"You think I'd be bored with Julia here?"

"Especially with her," said Sarah. "She's too serious. Hey..." Sarah pressed her boobs against me. "You're not going to leave me hanging this weekend, are you? I guarantee you I'm better in bed than Julia. And Pri... she's been babbling about you all week. She wants you to do her in front of the fire. Promise you'll give her some attention. She has this fantasy about making love in front of a fire."

"Sarah, look..."

We heard a screech. Prisha, arms and legs flailing, splashed down beside us.

She stood up in the waist-deep water, clearing water from her eyes with one hand and holding an arm across her naked breasts. Shy Prisha had stripped off her clothes to join us.

"Nice of you to drop in," I said. The girls groaned. "Hey, someone had to say it."

I tried not to gawk; Pri was stunning standing waist-deep in the lake, beads of water on her dusky skin glittering in the fading light.

She hunched over, clearly nervous.

I said, "Pri, you don't have to skinny dip. Go put on a bathing suit if it makes you more comfortable."

Prisha glanced at me and after a moment, stood straight and lowered her arm, revealing her lovely breasts with their inviting dark nipples. She pushed out her chest, inviting my gaze. Her skin tone made it difficult to tell if she was blushing, but it seemed so.

I smiled at her. "Sure you're okay with this?"

"We did it last weekend. And I'm not going to be shy. Not with you." She waded close and whispered, "I like when you look at me." She gave me a quick kiss.

Glancing towards the shore, I saw Julia with her hands on her hips.

"Your turn, Julia!" I called. She shook her head and walked to the fire.

We played as it got dark, swinging on the rope, splashing and chasing each other, grabbing each other. I felt like a boy again, forgetting everything to enjoy some naughty fun.

The stars were out when Sarah leaped onto my back.

"Giddy up horsey," she shouted. "I'm cold. Take me back to the fire."

I was cold too, and Prisha also had goosebumps, so I lumbered out of the water with Sarah latched onto my back, pointing the way. We found towels, dried off and got dressed. Sarah had to fetch dry clothes from the tent.

"You're all a bunch of children," said Julia.

I took her aside. "Is everything okay, Julia?"

"You're supposed to be with me, not prancing naked with those two."

Why was she so irritated? "It's just a little fun, Julia. Just like last weekend. I wish you had joined us. Come and sit down, will you?"

Julia sat beside me, her thigh pressed against mine. Prisha sat down close on my opposite side. When Julia saw this, she put her arm around me.

Sarah returned from the tent, dressed and rubbing her hair with a towel. She said, "Well, that wasn't a water slide, but it was pretty fun. I'm surprised you like things so quiet, Dan. You're a pretty exciting guy."

"Think so?"

"I know so, 'Daniel.' I looked you up. You're Dan Johnston."

I sighed. I knew it could come up, and I had a good idea how it would play out. I had been through it enough times.

Julia looked pensive. "Why is that name familiar?"

Sarah glanced at me slyly. "About four or five years ago he was all over the news when he got arrested."

Julia looked at me, concerned. "Why were you arrested?"

Sarah said, "He almost beat a guy to death."

I said, "You make me sound like a thug, Sarah. If you looked me up, you know the real story."

Sarah said, "A guy got drunk and smashed into Daniel's wife. Then..."

I said, "...she was in intensive care for days. They did everything they could, but the injuries were too severe. After she was gone, there was a hearing for the guy. He never admitted fault. Blamed her, even though he was so drunk he could barely stand when police found him at the scene."

"That's horrible," said Julia. "So..."

I said, "I waited until the bastard got out on bail. I wanted to punch him in his smug face. Just once. And I did. But... I kept going."

"They had to pull Dan here off of the guy," said Sarah. "It was a hell of a beating. The guy was in hospital for a while."

Julia said, "Okay... I remember something about that. There was an outrage because the guy killed someone once before driving drunk, and he got off. Then some guy beat him up. That was you?"

I said, "The first person he hit lived, but wound up in a wheelchair. The guy only got a fine and suspended sentence that time."

"So you went to jail for assault?" asked Prisha.

"It was more than assault. But the judge was sympathetic. First offense. I got time served, probation, and community service. Then I lost my job, the guy sued me for damages... I lost our house. Pretty much everything."

"And you didn't think to tell me any of this?" said Julia.

I said, "It's not the first thing out of my mouth when I meet people, Julia. If it looked like things were working out between us, of course I would have told you. In fact, I'm surprised you didn't look me up on line."

"I poked around," said Julia. "But Sarah's a lot better at the Internet than me." She glared at Sarah. "And you didn't say anything until now?"

Sarah made a face. "Hey, I only just found out before we came out here. Besides, I didn't know you were sneaking off to have a secret fuck fest with our man."

Julia stood up and faced the fire. Prisha also stood and moved away from me.

Sarah said, "It's exciting, huh? Who would have guessed our quiet mountain man is actually one dangerous dude?"

Julia turned to face us, arms across her chest. "Exciting? It's awful. Disgusting. What happened is awful, and what he did."

"Hey," said Sarah, "the guy completely deserved it."

"No," I said. "He deserved justice, not what I did to him. I should have been stronger. Let the courts deal with him. But losing her and seeing that smug bastard in court... I was weak. I lost my mind."

"I have to go home," said Julia. She looked at her companions. "In fact, we all need to get out of here."

"Oh, fuck that," said Sarah. "You do what you want. I don't have any problem with what Dan did. I'm not leaving. What about you, Pri?"

Prisha had her lips pressed together. She was hunched over holding an elbow. She looked at Julia and Sarah. She did not look at me.

"I'm... I don't..." she stammered.

Julia said, "Pri, we need to leave. He's a criminal. A violent criminal."

Sarah said, "Don't be so dramatic, Julia. Anyone can snap. It's not like he goes around delivering beat downs for a living."

I watched Prisha. She cast her eyes to me quickly. The anguish in them was heartbreaking. She looked away and to my horror, ran out into the darkness.

"Shit," said Sarah. "Pri, come back here." She ran after her friend.

Julia shot me a look. "Is that why you come out here? To hide from your criminal past? Take us back. Right now. We can't be here with someone like you."

"Okay," I sighed. "If that's what you want. We can't go in the dark, though. We have to wait until daylight."

Julia said, "Fine. Then I'm going to bed. You stay away from me. Everyone else can do whatever the hell they want." She strode away to the tent.

I sat poking at the fire with a stick. Suddenly, being alone again didn't seem so bad.

Julia surprised me. I expected she would understand. She was the mature one. Or maybe my judgment was clouded. I suppose three lively beautiful girls dropping into my life could do that.

Clouded judgment. Yeah. I shouldn't have become involved with them. I should have stayed aloof last weekend and sent the girls back the next morning. No one would have found out about me. No one would have been hurt.

Hurting Prisha stung most of all. I hated letting her down. I hated seen such pain in her eyes.

But Prisha was also not what I thought. She wasn't as delicate as she first seemed. She was capable and strong, passionate and fun loving. While it was stupid to imagine having a relationship with someone so wonderful, I felt ashamed that I wasn't what she thought.

Sarah returned, alone, and sat beside me.

"How's Pri?" I asked.

"Upset. Didn't want to talk. I guess I should have kept my mouth shut, huh? I thought they'd be excited. I wasn't expecting a reaction like that."

"It's all right, Sarah. Everyone finds out eventually."

"Well, I think it's really cool," said Sarah. "I know guys who've done a lot worse for a lot less reason. For a tragic back story, it's not so bad." She smiled. "Anyway, don't worry about them. Julia's always miss prim and proper. I don't even know why you invited her back here. And Pri... she gets emotional, but she might come around."

I kept poking at the fire.

Sarah slid close and said, "And if not... well, did you know bad boys turn me on?" She waggled her eyebrows comically.

I shook my head and chuckled. "Gee, I never would have guessed that about you."

"I know, right?" Sarah grinned and then became serious. "Dan... Daniel... I know I'm not your type or anything. And you're not mine. We can still have fun though, right? Sometimes it's good just to have a little fun with someone you like. Blow off steam, find some comfort, without all the emotional stuff."

Sarah was right: we weren't each other's type. She'd find me boring, and I'd find her exhausting. I still liked her a lot. In small doses, Sarah was delightful. Plus with her naughty spirit, her lush little body and impish freckled face, she was sexy as hell.

"Yeah," I said. "Just having fun is good sometimes."

"I'm glad," she said, "Because you owe me. And I haven't fucked a convicted criminal in almost four months."

"Sarah, you really are something," I said, laughing.

"Oh, she is, Daniel. You have absolutely no idea."

It was Prisha, standing at the edge of the fire light. She walked over and sat on my other side.

Sarah leaned around me. "So, Pri... everything okay?"

Prisha nodded noncommittally.

I looked at her. "I'm sorry I've disappointed you, Pri. I wanted to spare you that. Anyway, I'll take everyone back first thing in the morning."

"But I don't want to leave, Daniel."

"Huh? You don't want to be around someone like me, Pri. I told you: I'm not a good person."

"Aren't you? I don't know about that. I've known some terrible people. For example, most of Sarah's boyfriends..."

"Hey!" said Sarah, making a face.

"...and one or two of mine. But do not see that in you. I wish you hadn't beaten that man. It was wrong, but I understand how you could do it."

I processed that. I said, "So why did you run away just then?"

Prisha took a breath. "Because my heart is breaking for you, Daniel. For your loss. For being so broken to do what you did. It's all dreadful. And I... I did not want you to see me crying."

She hugged herself against my arm. After a time, she lifted her head and looked around. "Where's Julia?"

"She went to the tent. She wants to leave first thing in the morning."

"Oh. I'll go talk to her. Perhaps I can fix things between you and her." She stood.

Sarah said, "Are you nuts? You want this guy more than anything, and you're gonna try to get him back together with Julia?"

Prisha shrugged. "He invited her here, not me."

I took her hand. "Pri, if Julia wants to go back, she should. It turns out she's not exactly the person I thought. I was impulsive inviting her here. I should have got to know her better." I stood and pulled Prisha to me. "Like I should have got to know you."

Prisha's eyes searched mine, questioning.

I said, "We'll take Julia back in the morning. Would you stay with me another day, Pri?"

Prisha's face lit up with a heart-melting smile. "Oh, I should very much like that, Daniel." She squeezed me tight.

I said, "I'm sorry for being distant, Pri. I didn't want to hurt you."

"You need to get to know me better. I'm not some fainting flower."

"I know that now," I said. "You could be wrong about me though."

She nodded. "Of course. Just as I might not be as you think, either. Won't it be fun to find out?"

Loud retching noises from Sarah interrupted our embrace. "You two sweethearts are gonna make me barf. Pri... if you don't kiss him right now, I'm gonna drag him into the woods and fuck his brains out."

Prisha gasped and was about to say something, but she turned back to me. Her expression was hesitant but hungry. She nearly knocked me off my feet when she grabbed me and pulled me into a loving kiss.

We embraced and kissed, our hands roaming over each other. I ran my fingers though her dark hair and down her back to grasp her bum. We didn't talk; Prisha's dark, shining eyes said everything.

We stood in front of the fire, kissing, holding each other, and looking into each other's eyes. Sarah appeared behind Prisha. With a naughty look, she started pulling off Prisha's top.

Prisha grabbed onto her top. "Good Lord, Sarah!"

"It's time to get this party started for real," said Sarah. She wrestled Prisha's top away, exposing her breasts. Sarah then gestured behind us.

However long Prisha and I were lost in each other's arms was enough time for Sarah to fetch a sleeping bag from the tent. She had unzipped it and spread it out in front of the campfire.

Sarah stretched up and kissed Prisha's shoulder from behind. She said, "You wanted to make love in front of the fire, remember?" Then she pulled off Prisha's shorts, leaving her naked.

Prisha's instinct was to cover herself, but when she saw me admiring her, again she dropped her hands to let me look.

"You're so lovely, Pri," I said. Prisha beamed.

Not to be outdone, Sarah undressed herself in a flash. She guided Prisha to lie on the sleeping bag and then lay beside her. The contrast was spectacular: Prisha dark, tall and thin, Sarah short, pale and ample. I knelt down and lay between them.