Episode 9: Caught in the act!

"Okay."

"You mean it; no hesitation, no ''let me think about it', just 'okay'?"

"Well, if you insist," she teased, "I could always say 'it will be my pleasure' but yes, I mean it."

"Great! Wonderful! Terrific!" And Tom ran off toward the dining hall at top speed, while Linda, with a smile, followed at a more leisurely pace.

That afternoon, Tom's feet barely touched the ground. During the softball game that afternoon, when it was his turn at bat, he closed his eyes and swung wildly and was the first one surprised that the bat connected. It was the cries of his team-mates that woke him up and he realized what he had done; a two run triple. He might have managed a homerun for himself, as well, had he started running immediately, but, no matter. By the time the game was over, his team had managed a commanding three run lead. It was a great afternoon.

Supper and shower time came and went without Tom being consciously aware of their passing. As he lay in his bunk, wide awake, waiting as the incredibly long minutes slowly went by; he fingered the blanket he was going to take with him. Finally, it was time. Crawling out of bed, he threw the blanket over his shoulders as if he was cold and going to the washroom. Once outside, he stayed in the shadows, walking past the cabins, skirting the sports field until he arrived at the shore of the lake near where he asked Linda to meet him. Looking at his watch, he saw he was a few minutes early and settled down to wait.

"Hi, Tom."

Tom nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned around. Linda was standing behind him, already naked. "Jeez, Linda, you scared me out of my wits!"

"I'm sorry. Do you want to talk first or shall we get on with it?"

"Well, I'd rather talk but since you're already naked, I don't think it would be fair if I stayed dressed. Where did you leave your clothes?"

"Over there; there's a little clearing behind those bushes where no one will see us."

"Okay, let's go. Would you hold my blanket while I start getting undressed?" After handing off his blanket, he peeled off his tee-shirt and, reaching the spot where Linda had left her clothes, he dropped his shorts and took off his sandals. Finally, after taking a deep breath, grasped his underwear and pushed them down to his ankles. Reaching over to Linda, he steadied himself on her shoulder while he stepped out of them and tossed them on the pile.

"There," said Linda, "I knew you could do it."

"Could we sit over here for a while, side by side?"

Understanding that Tom needed to bolster his courage, she accepted and they sat, touching, with Tom's arm across the small of her back while Linda draped her arm across Tom's shoulders. Tom told her about the book he had read and how he had imagined them sharing a sleeping bag to stay warm. "It was such a nice, warm daydream, that it gave me the courage to go ask you to go skinny dipping with me."