Chapter Two: Embarassment Found
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One o’clock came to Keegan Lake, and unfortunately so did the forecasted intense heat as well. The big yellow ball in the sky literally now was baking every squared inch of this lake, to the point that people were probably feeling like they were in a microwave oven set on high without a time limit..
Just like the radio DJ had said this morning while we had been travelling on the highway in, the temperature had climbed to one hundred and one. The worst part of the heat was, there was absolutely no breeze to be found anywhere around the body of water. The lake usually had this wonderful little breeze going most of the time, never blustery but a little air movement... today it was as still as if you were inside a windowless room. That made a hot day, feel even hotter.
There I was sitting in the front room of the main cabin, trying to put myself in the path of any one of the many fans my parents had going in the large expanse of the cabin. I wanted to have myself really cool me down with the usage of the fan I finally picked... but even that ended up to be a very futile act. The fans seemed to just move the heated air around instead of cooling anything or anyone off, and never relieved it any. I still was sweating more than I could have remembered doing.
My mother and father were in the house with me and were busy entertaining two older couples who had wandered over from down the beach. My mother and father were ecstatic to have their first visitors of the summer here. They scurried around to gather up glasses to make a batch of their now very famous summer drink which they were known for around the lake. It was a simple concoction of lemonade mixed with some very expensive imported Vodka and a shot of creme de mint Liqueur for a extra little zing..
The fact that my parents were known very well for their little drink did not bother me one little bit, it was the single topic that my parents and these other people had been droning on for about an hour which was picking my butt at the time. They were excitedly talking about the many country artist that were expected to be at the festival this time around, and how wonderful each act was going to be when it was going to start. They were having a grand old time talking about the Redneck roundup that they all were looking forward to seeing.
After sitting there for over a hour by now and having to listen to all of this droning on and on about this country music crap, I was on the verge of making the decision to gouge my eyes with a fork. It was the only way I could see that I could have gotten them to stop talking about this twangy topic, because I would have needed to be rushed off for medical attention If I would have done it I was beginning to be prepared to actually do that if it meant that they would stop talking about this cowpuncher serenade they were so stoked to see.
I shook my head after contemplating this plan of action and gave a long sigh then giggled at myself for such a thing to even be thinking... stupid idea, I thought and then added that it was also going to be painful too. Between the heat that was just hanging in the air like it was, and all of this blasted Redneck yammer they were doing... that was the reason that I was planning out such very strange. Country music really does create brain damage. I hated Country music so bad, admittedly as much as my parents probably hated that I loved Heavy Metal so much. That was why my brain was in jeopardy with each twang, or talk about twang I heard.
Getting back to my other problem, It was still so very hot today. Perhaps I needed to work on that little problem in the first place. It was so damn hot that now I was thinking that my very own sweat was now was beginning to also sweat as well. I giggled at my little craziness I had come up with. I mused over my humoristic wit... and that seemed to relieve the fact that I was in countrified hell.
I needed an diversion, or an excuse to get the hell out of here to escape the torture of heat and country music. A lethal combination. I thought these two things should never ever be let to coexist
It was right then when I got one hell of an idea. I thought about it for a moment or two and then was instantly feeling so frustrated with myself. Why in the hell have I not thought about before.
" A swim... I need to go out and have a very nice and long swim in the lake..." I decided with myself.
So very clearly, this swimming answer would be the best remedy for both the massive heat that made me sweat like hell, and to get away from the continuously irritating Country crap report I had been listening to for now well over an hour.
" A stroke of pure genius" I told myself proudly as I sat up in the chair I had occupied for so long. This was exactly what I had been pondering on for some time.
I excused myself, telling my parents that I would be out swimming and trying to find my friends as well. They were intent on continuing their country talk, so they just told me to be back for supper and all of that other parental garbage as well. I agreed and got the hell outta there, escape was needed.
I went out the beach front area and headed straight toward where the main beach was located just under a quarter of a kilometre down from our cabin. It was where the place called Boardwalk Beach was.
Boardwalk Beach was the focal point of everything for the vacationer that did not want to go the fifteen miles into Keeganville. It was the place where the main beach was, where little stores dotted the curving shore like, the odd little shops that were also around and the small restaurant were located in this part of Cabin country. It was Keegan Lakes answer to a Tourist trap... but at least here you did not have to sell your first born just for a hot dog.
I was walking along towards one of my favourite areas to take a dip, ignoring the heat overhead. As I went along the golden sand, my mind had started to sort of reminded me of something... it was actually my mind’s eye that was causing it all.
The direction I heading in was the exact one that very unusual girl I had seen earlier had gone in. I felt a strange sort of shiver go through me, just in remembering those so expressive of eyes that had seemed to lock on to me... and I remember the small smile that she flashed for only a second before she had simply walked off like that. I had no answer to why I was thinking like that... but the picture in my head was making that question that much more relevant.
I shook my head and sighed... this heat was really getting to me... or that was what I was telling myself. I just shoved whatever it was away in my head and hurried a little more, looking forward to taking that cool and very refreshing dip and stopping this craziness that was assaulting my mind.
I arrived at the main beach, and went on to the dock that was near the large over the water boathouse that housed Steelman’s boat rentals. That was a place where fishermen, people who just came with a trailer or people who just did not plan to have a boat to use, came. Because of the fact that he was the only one who did this on the entire lake, he made a whopping amount of cash because he was smart enough to have three boathouses scattered across the smaller vacation sites on Keegan.
My parents have known Mr Steelman and his wife Kathleen for many years, but the man was a little creepy if you asked me. He never did anything wrong or was a lech... the man was just one of those seriously weird people that gave everyone the creeps. Don’t get me wrong... I have came to actually like the man to a level, but I still could not hide the fact that he was just flat out strange to the max.
This dock was my favourite one to jump of, even better than out own dock back at the cabin. The water was a lot deeper at the end of the dock so as to be safer to dive in, and it was close to the convenience store that was at the top of the beach slope. I could also swim better under the wooden dock here , and it was a easier swim to the floating dock out in the lake. A perfect sort of place.
I could see there were lots of people on the sand already, even though this was the hottest part of the day. Some were laying in the shade of a large umbrella, others were busy with children who dug through the golden brown of the sand or even sitting at the outside area of the small café eating. I eyed all of them, but it did not matter... I needed a damned swim and I was gonna do it.
I pulled off my tee-shirt and adjusted my bikini top while I eyed the calm waters of the lake near me. I was so looking forward to jumping into the cool waters of Keegan so I could relive myself of this overwhelming heat that was baking our vacation area... that I actually felt my heart racing a little bit. The fact that I did not have to listen to the hillbilly report was a great thing also.
I tucked my shirt up against the one of the dock’s support posts that held it up over the water and turned, needing yearning for that crystal coolness that sparkled under the dock. I was now ready, and I could not remember the last time I felt so eager about anything.
With a smile that I could feel, I took off running to the end if the dock, and leaped as I just got to where the planks ended.
" Cowabunga!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs while I launched myself into the classic Diver’s pose... arms outstretched over the head and heading to the surface of the water like a knife.
I cut through the top of the water, and I felt the cool liquid envelope me. It was one of the best feelings that I have ever had... the heaviness of the heat was instantly taken away as I glided through the waters downwardly... my momentum taking me deep to the lake bottom while I just enjoyed the sensation until I had to stop from hitting the silt of bottom..
I felt my belly touching the lake bed as already had been arching myself to dolphin up to the surface.... my lungs were nearly ready to burst. I had dived in at such a flawless angle to slice through the water perfectly, it was almost too perfectly. I have actually gone down almost fifteen feet and nearly made myself a lawn dart in the sand..
I broke through the surface and took a deep breath of the hot air into my awaiting lungs, as I brushed my long blonde locks out of my face. The water felt so good on my heat exhausted body, that I was now starting to enjoy my vacation. It was, I thought, going to be a great summer time.
I swam around for about two minutes, then just lightly tread water a little just about thirty feet off of the end of the dock area to enjoy the feeling the coolness was getting. I just tread there, and I felt as if there was something wrong....I touched my hip, thinking my string on my bikini has become loose or something.
To my horror and embarrassment, There was no string at all, not even that had slipped down lower on my hip. I then touched the front of my pelvis area, hoping that what I was dreading did not happen to me. My finger then felt the small shaving bumps on bared skin from shaving my pubic hairs before we had left for the lake. It was official... I had lost my bikini bottoms.
I swam towards the dock the way that I remembered I had done, along with the little swimming around as well., looking through the crystal clear waters to see where my lower half of my swimsuit had went. I was not afraid, only a little frantic that here I was half naked at a public beach... and the only thin that kept my modesty was the water, at least until I had to get out. That was why I was so diligently searching for them.
Many minutes went, and it was becoming more and more urgent the way I was searching around. I scoured the bottom visually, even swimming down into the clear waters to see if it was in some of the patches of weeds and grasses that were on the bottom of the lake. I found no trace of my bottoms anywhere as I now just hung in the water and trying hard to find out what my next step might be..
All that I knew was it seemed as if my bikini bottoms had just come off and then ‘vanished’ on me all together. I could not see where they were, so my problem now was getting larger by the minute, to try and figure out how to get myself to the cabin and my clothes without resorting to streaking.
" God Damn..." I muttered to myself with a sigh, realizing the plight I was in at the moment. It looked like streaking might be my only option I had..
. I thought about trying to get my tee-shirt from the dock to wrap around my lower half so I could try and make that real embarrassing mad dash to the cabin. It was an viable idea for the briefest of moments... reality set in for the fact that there was two major flaws with my idea.
One problem was that my shirt was way up on the dock and too high for me to even come close to the edge of the wooden deck to reaching the shirt. The second problem I already had thought about... To get out the normal way and up onto the dock, would expose me still... I was not about to flash a whole beach full of people in the process of covering up. It defeats the purpose of discrete ideas. There was no other things that I could do for my modesty.
" What in the hell am I gonna do..." I asked myself as I bobbed in the water.
I was contemplating swimming down to in front of my cabin and dashing out of the water there when I heard a voice. Being that I was there half naked and more than a little on edge, It scared me a little. I turned my head with a snap to look at whoever it was that seemed to be talking to me.
I was more than shocked to see that it was the girl with the long hair and the Motorhead T-shirt that was there. She was peering out from the open end of the boat house at me. She still wore the t-shirt, but now had on a pair of very tight blue jean cutoffs and a bright orange and yellow vest that said ‘ Steelman’s Boat Rentals Inc.’ on the breast.
" I said are you all right there?" She said, looking at me with this strange sort of look.
I probably had not hear her the first time, that was the reason for that look.... but those wonderfully attractive eyes seemed to now have me mesmerized again. I was finally able to nod dumbly at the girl, as her eyes held me firm right where I was..
" Yeah..." I finally got out after a moment.
She seemed to shake her head at my response.
" Don’t look like your doing all right there..." She said, leaning out a little farther over the edge of the boat house..
" Understatement..." I said, giggling through every word I said.
" Why that?" She yelled back at me. " Did ya lose something in the water or somethin’... you were sort of looking like you were searchin’ for something."
" Uh.. Sort of.." I said, feeling my face was now going a deep shade of red at the moment.
" What is it..." She asked, adding with a hopeful little question. " Can I help you look."
I blushed and swam a little closer to the girl.
" It’s a sort of a wardrobe malfunction..." I said, feeling my face got even hotter, but I really had to say the truth.
"Malfunction did you say?" Said the pretty girl, her eyes widening as she looked at me in the water " Lost a part of your suit?"
" The southern hemisphere is barren.." I said laughing, but feeling myself getting a bit shy... which I am never.
She giggled like a musical angel, and I swallowed hard. Never have I hear a laugh that captured me in the way this laugh did, but hers did.. This all made me wonder what was wrong with me, as I recognized this deep attraction I had to the nameless girl.
" I got an idea to help you out..." She called to me
" W...What?" I asked, frustrated with myself as I was stuttering like crazy.
" Swim into our boathouse... and I will see if I can help out your predicament." She said.
Confused with what I was feeling, not to mention that I was also feeling very vulnerable because of my half clothed state, I nodded and started to swim over to the large boathouse over the water, my options were very limited in the first place.... the were actually sitting at the number zero.
The inside of the Steelman’s boathouse was as it always was. The place was huge, having enough mooring places for thirty boats of varying lengths and sizes along with a open area that was like a building for many more out of the water. There were larger craft in there as well, some were nearly yacht sized.
As I swam into the overhanging building, I noted that there were only about seven boats left tied up in the place, making it clear that business for water craft to be booming like mad. I looked for the pretty girl as I swam in,
Off to the left, near where a ladder made out of piping jutted into the water, I spotted the girl. She stood there with something clutched in one of her hands, motioning to me withe the other.
" Lets get you out of the water, and help you out here..." She said, her eyes were already so wonderfully locked onto min.
At the bottom of this ladder, I hesitated. I found myself feeling very bashful at the moment, a feeling that I very rarely had... yet with this girl waiting for me to exit the water, That what was happening to me. I looked up at those wonderful dark brown eyes that looked down at me, and I continued to be feeling overly modest, and now flustered as well..
" Come on up then..." She coaxed, her smile was soothing my bashful tendencies at the moment.
I took a long breath, and hurried myself up the ladder in response to the girl’s kind coaxing. Once out on the water and inside the boathouse, I stood with my hands covering myself, feeling my embarrassment building again.
" Don’t be shy... I am a girl too..." She said, but the way she said it made me shiver with a sort of pleasurableness.
She handed me a small towel, and nodded with this soothing sort of smile that was nice I took the towel and dried myself off a little, turning my body a little. I was feeling this flood of being very self-conscious, more so than I had been... yet it was that feeling that was fuelling a host of other emotions and feeling that I was experiencing underneath it all.
I thought for a second that I had caught the girl as she had been eyeing my shaved region for a moment, but I was not sure. Whether or not she was actually looking at my private spot in that sort of way, was subjective at the very best... just that little supposed look had made me feel this sort of very different type of excitement that was out of my scope of knowing. I just focussed on getting myself dry, trying not to feel all of these things at once.
She saw that I was done drying off, so she handed me something else she still held in the same hand. Covering my bottom half nakedness with the towel so I could receive what ever it was, I looked at her unknowing what she was doing.
" What’s this?" I asked
" It’s what I have that will get you home... without any more humiliation." She said, handing me something that was made out of jean material.
I saw that it was a jean skirt that she was handing me, and just by looking at the girl... this was going to fit. I looked at her and nodded, it was perfect.
" Beats racing home trying to cover yourself up with just that tee-shirt you left out there.." She smirked
" Yeah thanks... err" I replied, then stopped. I did not even know her name.
" Hey it’s cool... I’m Melody..." She introduced herself, so fluidly.
I looked at her for a moment, her name hitting me.
" Your name is actually Melody?" I asked, so shocked at her name.
" Yeah... Melody Steelman... you probably know my uncle who own this place..." She said, a little unsure of my reaction.
" I known your uncle for years... It is not that..." I said, feeling myself giggling a little.
" Then what is it?" She asked, obvious not understanding the reason I was giggling for at the moment.
I fought and got my mirth under control to the best that I could have, but because of how pretty I thought she looked just standing there... it was still hard to look at her without these weird emotions popping out of me.
" Your Melody, right?" I asked her, she nodded with this puzzled look on her prettiness.
" Yeah..." She said, drawing out the one syllable as if it was a question.
" My name, if you can believe it... is Harmony... "
She blinked and just stared at me after I had introduced myself, then started to giggle harder than anyone I had seen.
" That is just way too cool..." She said.
" That is what I was saying." I explained, now laughing so hard that I nearly fell backwards.
I steadied myself and put on the skirt around my waist. It felt really weird that I just had the skirt on and nothing else, but I marvelled at the fact that it did fit perfectly.
" This will be great.." I said, feeling better that I had something on.
" It was all I could think to give you... because I had not unpacked yet" She said with a shrug. " Just got up here last night."
I looked at her, and I was grateful.
" I will get it back to you quickly..." I said with gratitude, looking into those amazing eyes as her laughter made my soul sing.
" Just come by and drop it off tonight..."She said. " My uncle who I am working for this summer has me living on the pale green houseboat that is moored on the far side of the Boathouse."
" Boathouse?" I asked, a little curious at her living arrangements.
" Beats his first idea.." She said. " A tent in the back of the cabin."
" Oh, that is better.." I said laughing.
I knew the playful frustration over what her Uncle had set up for her. I had one of those odd relative too, and I always had thought that My uncle Jake and her uncle should meet. The weirdness they had might cancel one another out. We can only wish life could work that way.
I agreed be back later right when a knock came at one of the boathouse door. What ever little world we had been in together, was gone. It was a strange feeling, as I realized that we had been that way..
" Oh, a customer..".She said, her eyes seemed a little sad at that someone had came into the shop.
" Then I will let you get back to work here and be back after supper maybe...." I said.
" Come over to the houseboat around eight then..." She said, scurrying passed me to deal with the customer. " I can see if my Auntie has some of her pink lemonade ready by then..."
" Uh, sure.." I said, my heart now feeling as if it had started to flutter
I crossed the large area of the boathouse, as she began to help this overweight and very balding man with whatever he needed of her. I stepped out of the way, and hurried out of the farther door that would be toward the concession area that sat up high on the beach, while I heard Melody working away..
I closed the boathouse door, after pausing for the shortest of moments to take a long look back at the girl as she started the rental process on what seemed to be a very small fishing boat to the much too overweight gentleman she had wanting the craft. She was writing furiously, but I could see a small smirk she was hiding from the man
I could not help but to giggle rather wildly myself as I did leave the girl to her work. I giggled because I was having these visions of this rather large man swamping the little craft he wanted to rent, and having it sink to the bottom of Keegan. If that happened, he would end up finding my lost bikini.
Now that I was back out in the blazing rays of the sun, I made my way back up the beach to check in with my parents, and to get my spare bikini on.. I took not at how crowded the beach had become in the past few minutes. I was more that just glad that I was leaving with my modesty intact
As I walked along the beach back to the cabin, my mind was trying to make some sense out of all of this days events, and about this very compelling sort of pull I had felt. These two short interactions I had with the amazing girl called Melody, were as powerful as they were confusing... and I could not explain it.
It was clear that my mind could not stop having this girl’s so amazing face hanging there, or could it control this feeling I was having to get close to her. Her beauty was so amazing, the first impressions of her just added to that... I was totally mystified by what this was, and by how deeply it was starting to go in me. I was unsure of what this all was, and the why I was feeling it,
To make what my mind was doing short...I was unsure of everything and anything at the same time. I had the lesbian word floating around in my head and causing questions to arise from it. I knew the literal definition of the word as it was in the dictionary... English literature was a little pet thing with me, and one of the many things I excelled in. This one word with seven letters and it’s connotations may or may not pertain to me I thought... whether it did was not very clear.
Little did I know right then that some of these things in my head would become a whole lot clearer in my mind in a very short amount of time. Sadly, clarity would be one thing. Just in having that sort of clarity would end up making me realise that it does not make things any simpler... it bites you in the ass and adds in a whole lot of complications and twists in other ways.
As I returned to my family’s vacation home, I could only think of one thing to tell myself of being at the lake for only a few short hours..
" What a bloody way to start a three week vacation." I kept on saying to myself.
Vacations have a habit of sometimes surprising the living hell out of you. I heard this sometime later on from a family friend... I really wish someone would have told that to me in the first place.