It was early evening when David woke up with a start and looked around him. Waking up the first time in a strange place, he took a moment to realize where he was, in the cabin belonging to Holly's parents. He was naked but tucked in beneath a sheet in the large bedroom and Holly was nowhere to be seen. But as he picked up his head, he could smell food and hear the sounds of someone moving around in the kitchen. Slipping from the bed he pulled a pair of shorts from his bag and stepped into them. Holly was in the kitchen. He could see that she had set a dinner table outside on the porch and appeared to be ready to serve dinner. She was dressed in a tank top and a cute little pair of shorts.
"Hello, sleepy head," she said softly when she looked up to see him stumble out from the bedroom. "I was just getting ready to wake you up for dinner."
"Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" he asked, running his hand through his tousled hair. "I didn't want to sleep the day away."
"You were sleeping so soundly," she said, as he came up to her and put his arms around her. "Besides you looked so sweet and innocent, I didn't want to disturb you."
"Well, it wasn't entirely innocent," he said, before giving her a light kiss on her lips. "Cause I was dreaming about you."
"Aww, that sounds sweet," she replied, returning his kiss. "I hope you brought your appetite."
"Look at all this!" he said checking out the food warming on the stove "You told me that you couldn't cook! I'm impressed. So what do we have here? Smells great!"
"N.Y. strip steaks, cooked just the way you like them, medium rare, baby carrots in a glaze, and a mashed potato soufflé," she said proudly. "And for dessert, chocolate cheesecake, cuz it's my specialty!"
"I am so lucky to know you," he said with a smile and kissed her again. They carried the meal out onto the porch and Holly lit the candles before sitting down to eat. David uncorked the wine that he had brought along and poured them each a glass. The evening was warm and balmy, the lake looked gorgeous as it sparkled through the trees, and the scent of the pine and maple trees was wonderful. The two lovers ate and drank, talked and looked into each other's eyes deeply. Though the conversation was simple and sort of day-to-day, the looks were deep and emotional.
"This is really nice, Holly. Everything is so delicious," he said calmly, glancing for a moment out at the lake before looking back at her. "I'm glad you invited me up here."
"I had been thinking of this for a while, and couldn't wait for you to be here with me."
He looked deeply into her dark green emerald eyes, which were reflecting the flames of the flickering candles. She paused between bites and looked back at him. A serene smile formed on her face that seemed to blossom into the most endearing look he had seen her give off. He lowered his head a bit and smiled broadly, still keeping his eyes on hers.
"What's the matter?" she said dabbing her napkin at the corner of her mouth. "Is something wrong?"
"Not a thing," he replied, reaching over to take her hand in his. "Have I told you that I love you?"
"Only about a hundred times today," she said. "You know I love you too."
"Yes," he answered.
After dinner and each one had finished off a slice of cheesecake, they took another bottle of wine and their glasses down to the beach and sat in the old Adirondack chairs her father had built. David toasted her beauty, the sunset, and their togetherness. For her part, Holly laughed and smiled and told him how much she enjoyed his company, even if he was a little goofy sometimes. They took a walk along the shoreline for a while, splashing through the fresh water that washed up onto the sandy beach.
David paused and pulled her close to him. His hand reached up to cradle her chin and tilt her face for a kiss. It was a long, wet kiss, with lots of lips brushing and tongue touching; it felt as if only their mouths were touching, that all of the feelings flowing between them were passing through their lips. They fell silent on the return stroll. By the time the moon and stars had come out, they were sitting on the dock, their feet dangling in the water.
"Do you ever try to count stars," he asked.
"Maybe when I was little," she laughed amusedly. "Why?"
"I don't know," he said, then began to chuckle. "You know me. Mr. Romantic. Always thinking of weird things, like the number of stars is the number of reasons I love you. Or that your smile is brighter than all of them put together. You know, goofy things that drive you crazy."
"David," she said resting her hand on his shoulder. "I don't think that's goofy at all. I think that it's wonderfully romantic."
She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. He looked at her, smiled and shook his head slightly. She left her hand on his shoulder but looked out toward the lake. The air was still and the lake was smooth and clear, with only the scarcest ripple from a feeding fish to break the surface. For these two, there was no other place like this tonight, no other person to be with.
"It's getting late, isn't it?" Holly said.
"Probably," he remarked. "You sleepy, Baby?"
"A little," she replied. "But it's so pretty out here tonight, I almost hate to go inside and miss it all."
"I know. I was thinking though that maybe Daddy could tuck you in tonight," David suggested.
"Oh, really," Holly said, her eyes widening. "That would be very nice. Why don't you give me a few minutes?"
"Okay, Baby."
She kissed him before getting up and running up to the cabin. David watched as her shadow disappeared into the trees. A moment later some lights flickered on in the cabin. He smiled at the thought of being with her again. They had played many roles before in their lovemaking, but he knew that this one was special for her. Just as he could never do something for real with a daughter and she had no thing for her father, it was a pure, powerful fantasy. He looked up and tried to find his lucky star, but then realized that maybe all of them were lucky tonight.
Feeling a tremendous excitement building up inside, David got up from the dock and strolled leisurely up the path to the cabin. The fresh scent of perfume greeted him when he reached the doorway. The lights were dim except for the lamp in the bedroom. When he stepped to the doorway, he saw her sitting at the dresser, brushing her hair. She was dressed in a silky little robe. It was light blue, her favorite color, and had some lovely embroidered trim in dark blue and black. He watched for a moment or two as she drew the brush through her red hair, now turned strawberry blonde from the sun. He smiled and stepped over beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder and looking down at her reflection in the mirror.
