We walk down the dark path, small pebbles and gravel crunching loudly beneath our feet. The night air is warm and sticky, and the only light comes from the moon and the stars high above our heads. As we pass some trees the lake comes into view, the stars reflecting off of its surface.

A quiet rustling sound nearby startles us for a second but doesn’t deter us from what we came here to do. It’s probably just some nocturnal animal anyway. As we near the water’s edge you lean up against a tree and remove your shoes and your socks. You start to unbutton your shorts, but I stop you.

“Allow me,” I say, and I rub the front of your shorts with the palm of my hand. You feel wonderful, hardening rapidly in my grasp. I can’t resist stroking you for a moment, and then I unbutton and unzip you. Soon your shorts are down and you are naked, save for a white T-shirt that you quickly take off.

Then it is my turn. Working together, we make me just as naked as you are. I run to the lake with abandon, hearing you close behind me. As my feet slap water, I feel your hand on my wrist and turn around without stopping. We kiss quickly in the dark, and then you let me loose. I run into the shallowest part of the lake, my toes digging into soft clay. The water is as cold as ice, and though I want to cry out in surprise, I don’t dare. As you charge in at full speed, you are less restrained.

“Holy shit!” you exclaim, and then you stifle yourself. We both laugh quietly, and then we are silent again. The water reaches my knees. I like swimming in pitch blackness. There is no need to cover my nakedness. No one can see me, not even you. There is a subtle thrill that I can’t quite explain. It’s not exhibitionism, exactly. I’m not sure what it is, but it’s exciting.

You are deeper, in up to your waist. I wade out to you, feeling the frigid water envelop my body, rising past my hips. Then all at once I lower myself into the water. It rises up past my shoulders, engulfing my head, soaking my hair. Then I stand up again. Standing beside you, I hold you close to me. I can feel your heart beating quickly, as quickly as my own.

As we stand there I almost forget that we are standing waist-deep in a lake. I forget how cold the water is, or else I have simply gotten used to it. I forget about work, about family, about life. I can see nothing in the darkness. All that exists at this moment is you and I.

Jill