Love on the Lake

Chapter 3 : Reuniting with an old friend

*Juliet*

The warm summer weather cools off at night here, so I decided to walk to Craters. I toss on one of my sundresses and flip-flops then grab my jean jacket on my way out the door. The sun is low in the sky when I walk up to the bar. I can see the bonfire out the back windows and it does look pretty popular.

I consider staying inside at the bar because it is much less crowded and I'm not sure I want to deal with all the people who knew my grandparents. My grandparents were well-loved in this town and I know that I would feel smothered by all the sympathy and those offering their condolences. While I appreciate all of the love, it is just a lot to deal with.

I sit at the bar, nursing my first beer, regretting the choice a little. I flag down the bartender, someone I don't recognize thankfully, and order some chicken wings. The bar has a small kitchen and minimal menu but my grandfather always raved about their chicken wings and got my mom hooked on them too. My grandmother often brought home the wings as a surprise whenever my parents and I were in town visiting.

The wings come out a few minutes later and they are as delicious as I remembered. I take my time eating them and then decide that I came here for a reason so I need to go out and party. I order another beer and then head to their deck outside.

I walk down the deck steps and plant my feet on the sand. The bonfire crackles a few paces in front of me and I can see an outdoor bar was built near it as well, making it easier to get drinks instead of having to go back inside.

I see a few familiar faces and am greeted with welcome arms. I smile politely when people offer their love and sympathy. I force myself to mingle for a little while longer before I grab another beer at the outdoor setup and walk across the sand toward the water.

Leaving my shoes on the beach, I walk out to where the water rolls over my feet. A wave pushes the water higher over my feet and I look up to see a boat coming in to attach itself to Crater's dock. I watch the owner tie the boat off expertly before hopping onto the dock and making sure it is secure. When he walks up the dock toward the bonfire and Craters, I recognize him and he recognizes me.

“Juliet?" he calls out. He jumps off of the dock into the sand and then jogs over to me. “Hey, Jules! I thought that was you!"

Before I can respond, he throws his big arms around me and pulls me into a bear hug. I hesitate but soon wrap my arms around him, letting him envelop me in his grasp. I breathe him in and the familiar smell comes back to me. He still smells like he's wearing the same cologne from high school. I laugh when we pull away, smiling at him.

“Eric! How are you?" I take a step back and take him in.

His crew-cut look from high school has grown out and now he is sporting shaggy brown hair. The wind-blown look works well on him. I look him up and down; his hair is not the only thing that grew out. Or filled out. He's grown a couple of inches since I last saw him, and he has filled out since high school.

When we went away to college, he was around my height and still scrawny. Now, he towers over me and he looks strong and athletic. College must have been great for him because the man before me is not the same as my childhood best friend.

“I'm great! Wow, you look amazing! I feel like it's been so long since I've seen you or even talked to you. How have you been? Did you graduate this year? What's going on in your life?" Eric bombards me with questions and I have to laugh to keep from feeling overwhelmed but his bubbly personality immediately puts me in a good mood.

“Actually, hold that thought. Let me go get a drink then we can catch up. Do you want another one?" Eric gestures to the beer in my hand and makes a face because he knows I've never enjoyed beer.

“Yeah, I could use another drink, but do you think you could pick something else out for me?" I ask and Eric laughs, nodding his head before taking off.

I watch him jog away from me and chuckle. His energy is immaculate and reminds me so much of our childhood. I was always the introverted, shy girl but Eric was a ball of boundless energy. He ran circles around me but always made sure I felt included.

“Wow, it is so good to see you." Eric pulls me into another hug as he comes back with drinks for both of us. He is carrying two blue cocktails with umbrellas set neatly in the drink.

I give him a look after staring at the drink, but he just shrugs and hands me one glass, tapping his glass on mine before he takes a big sip of his drink. I take a sip of mine and nod in approval.

“See? It's good. Gotta trust me," Eric teases and I roll my eyes but take another sip.

“To answer your earlier barrage of questions," I say, teasing him, “I've been all right, very busy. I did graduate actually, earlier this month. As to what is going on in my life… Well, a lot. I was interning at this great law firm near my school. They offered me a part-time position once I graduated and the job offer included supporting me in going to the nearby law school."

“Of course, with everything else that's happened, I had to put my life on hold to come back here. My bosses were great about it and delayed my start date but I still have a hard start date for law school so I am stressed about that. And I think that was all of the questions." I finish talking and realize I just rambled on for far too long.

I blush and look down at my toes in the sand. My oversharing is probably caused by all the drinks I've had tonight.

“Wow," Eric says, and then he takes another sip of his drink, pondering everything I've said.

He drops down into the sand and pats the spot next to him. I sigh and plop myself down, far enough from the water but close enough that I can stick my legs out and tap my feet in the water. “Well, first of all, congratulations on your graduation and the job offer and getting into law school!" Eric cheers for me and clinks his glass against mine to celebrate. We both take another drink and I lay back on the warm sand.

“Thanks," I say softly and I'm not sure if he heard me. He looks down at me and lies down on his side to look at me.

“How are you holding up?" Eric asks and the walls I built up around my emotions for all these interactions finally crack. I look over at him and feel the tears brimming under my eyes.

“I don't know how I am going to do this… any of this," I admit to him and he nods in understanding.

“I'm here if you want to talk, or if you don't want to talk and instead want to get your mind off everything. I'm very good at being entertaining." Eric wiggles his eyebrows at me and I giggle but roll my eyes at him.

“Oh, I remember," I say with a bubble of laughter. “Can I finish your drink?" I ask, gesturing to his glass.

Eric hands it over to me, and I finish the rest of his glass and set it next to my empty one in the sand. “Oh hey, I've been so distracted by my own issue that I haven't asked what you've been up to?"

“First, your issues are valid," Eric states and I chuckle. “I just graduated a couple of months ago too. I went to school around here, as you know, and my sophomore year was when we education majors were sent out to local schools to get some real-life experience with teaching. It was great."

“I was working at our old elementary school and spent two years there. They offered me a full-time position as their history teacher when I graduated. So, this summer is all about setting up my classroom and I will officially be a history teacher there this coming fall."

Eric talks about his job with such energy that it makes me happy. It makes me forget about everything I've been dealing with lately. And it makes me want to keep spending time with him.

“Eric, that is awesome. I'm sure you are an amazing teacher, and the kids must love you." I reach over and squeeze his arm. We smile at each other for a few seconds before one of the girls around the bonfire squeals so loudly that I jump, kicking sand up around us. Eric laughs at me and I smack his shoulder.

“Shut up," I say but end up laughing with him. “Hey, do you want to come over tonight? I need to get away from all the sympathetic eyes."

“Oh good so you have noticed that? I was worried you were completely unaware of your surroundings." Eric lets out a sigh of relief which makes me roll my eyes.

“Oh, I am aware." I stand up and brush my hands against my pants to knock off the sand. “So, you coming?"

“You got alcohol?" Eric asks and I nod so he hops up and offers me his arm. “M'lady?"

I chuckle and accept his arm.

We return our glasses before leaving Craters and heading back to the lake house. I let us in and Eric makes his way to the cabinet where my grandparents kept their nicer liquor. I laugh but leave him to pick one while I grab some glasses in the kitchen.

“Meet me out by the pool!" I call out to him. I place the glasses on the table between two deck chairs and then sit to wait for Eric.

“Okay, got something that looks strong so…" Eric gives me a look before filling one of the glasses to the brim.

I laugh and roll my eyes at his antics. I've been rolling my eyes a lot tonight but I forgot how annoyingly hilarious he is. Eric sets the bottle down and pours some of the full glass into the other before handing it to me. I take a sip to test it and choke a little.

“Good, right?" Eric chuckles.

“So good," I croak and then cough before taking another sip. Eric leans down to set his glass on the table next to my chair right as I lean over to set mine down as well. We pump heads, not hard but enough to jostle me a little. “Ouch, sorry," I say, chuckling a little.

“Sorry," Eric says, still leaning over, his face close to mine. I look up at him, the moon shines on his face and I can tell he is looking at me too. His expression softens a bit and I think he might be about to lean in to kiss me but instead, he stands up and clears his throat. “Sorry," he says quietly, and this time I'm not sure what he is apologizing for.

“Come sit," I say and pat the space beside me. The alcohol is making me feel all warm and fuzzy and I want to spend some time with my former bestie.

Eric raises his eyebrow at the tight fit but he squeezes in next to me. I shift a little pretending to make room for him until I'm practically sitting on his lap. I place my hand on his chest to steady myself and I can feel his heartbeat picking up. We haven't been this close in years, but we still fit together perfectly. He feels different under me than he did in high school. He feels solid.

“I'm really glad I ran into you, Jules," Eric says in a calmer voice. “I've missed you, a lot. I always meant to reach out and when your grandparents passed… I was your best friend for so long, I guess I just didn't know how to reach out." Eric tries to explain.

He looks down at me like he wants to apologize even more but I can't take any more sympathy tonight, especially not from my best friend. I have too many emotions going through my head.

Part of me is mad at him for not being there for me when this happened. Another part of me is telling that part to shut up and just live in the moment. I decide at that moment to listen to the voice saying shut up.

I stop Eric before he can say anything else, surprising both of us, by planting my lips on his.

He hesitates only a second before he kisses me back. His hand immediately grips my ass and pulls me to straddle his lap. I open my mouth when I feel his tongue lick my bottom lip. We make out for a few minutes and I feel him getting hard under me. His hands start to wander as I grind myself down on his lap. I slide my hand between us and fumble with the button of his jeans.

“Jules. Juliet," Eric says when he pulls back, breathing heavily. He grabs my wrist to stop me from getting his pants unbuttoned.

“Mm?" I mumble, sitting back a little to look at him. His eyes are bright with a fire that makes me want to beg him to take me right here, but there is also something else in his eyes.

“Jules, you're drunk," Eric states. I let out a low growl which makes him chuckle and nod his head. “Exactly. You just proved my point. Honestly, I doubt you will remember any of this tomorrow, so we need to stop here."

“Oh jeez," I groan and rub my hands over my face, the realization sinking in that he is completely right. I push myself off him feeling embarrassed. I embarrassed myself even more by falling off the chair and landing hard on my ass. “s**t," I grumble. Eric jumps up and helps me off the floor.

“You okay?" Eric asks, holding onto me.

“Yeah, the only thing bruised is my ego," I admit. Eric wraps his arm around me and leads me back into the house. “I'm so sorry. This is so embarrassing," I mumble as my eyelids get heavy. I lean into Eric as he opens the door to my bedroom.

“Shh, you're fine, Jules," Eric looks down at me and I can see in his eyes that he wants to kiss me again but I know he won't. “Come on, let's get you into bed."

Eric tosses back the covers and holds my hand as I climb into bed. He covers me up once I've gotten comfortable. I pat the place next to me and Eric dramatically climbs over me to settle in the space. I laugh sleepily and turn to face him.

“Stay with me, okay?" I ask. Eric nods and opens his arms for me. I snuggle into his chest and fall asleep to the steady beat of his heart.