Free Fire In His Eyes by MJ Nightingale

ictor announced to Kat that he was going to take me canoeing in Pinellas Park this morning.  We would join her and some of his other friends that lived in the complex all later for the pool party they were having around three. It was a surprise to me as he had not even mentioned these plans to me, but it would be nice to have a little alone time with him this morning, I thought.
    “Okay, well, I will clean up, since you cooked, and you both go on ahead,” Kat stated as she began to clear the dishes from the table.
    Victor took my hand, and we went back into the bedroom.  “We will shower when we come back, Monica, Is that okay?” He was now in the bathroom brushing his teeth.
    “Sure,” I muttered, as I quickly pulled my blue panties down, and then pulled on a pair of fresh white ones.  I had brought two pairs of shorts.  I selected the denim for canoeing instead of the white ones.  Hurrying, because the water was now off, I turned and pulled off his t-shirt, and slipped into my bra, and to go with the denim I chose a pale pink t-shirt with the American Idol insignia on it.  I was still a fan of the show despite all of the changes in judges and format.
    He came out of the bathr oom and saw what I wore.  “Cute.  You like reality TV?”
    I blushed, “Yeah, my one guilty pleasure.”
    “You will have plenty of guilty pleasures before I am done with you,” he smirked with that crooked grin.  And the fire in his ice blue eyes was back, which I was very happy to see.
    “Have you ever been canoeing?” he asked as he gathered items from his dresser to put in his pockets.  He also took a small framed photograph and put it frame face down, I noticed.  I had not seen it last night as it had been dark in the room last night and we had not put on the lights.  Earlier, I had been in too much of a hurry to get out and join Victor and Kat for breakfast that I hadn’t scoped out my surroundings either.  I did notice that there were not a lot of personal possessions in the room, though. He also had several boxes in the corner that he had yet to unpack.
    “Lots of times, actually.  I am a farm and wilderness girl.  Grew up in a village in Maine, spent my summers fishing, camping and hiking.  My dad loved the outdoors, and so do I,” I informed him as thoughts of the photo slipped from my mind.
    “Really, awesome!  A farm girl.  Mmmm,” he teased, looking at me through the reflection in the mirror, and then giving me a bit of his own history.  “I grew up just over the bridge in Clearwater.  My parents are Italian.  They were from New York originally, obviously.”  He pointed at himself.  “They retired here, when I was . . . hmm, fourteen, I think.  So I am a city boy, but I love the great outdoors and Florida.”  He fastened his watch on, and turned back to me.  “Ready to go?” I nodded.  He looked pleased.  I was too. We had our obvious differences, but we had a great deal in common as well.
    The ride to Pinellas Park was about thirty minutes from his apartment complex.  On the way there he was quiet at first, but eventually he started to quiz me on the music and the artists.  Of course, I reminded him that I was horrible with names, artists, and song titles.  He laughed and said what do you call your students, “Hey, You?”
    “Sometimes,” I said with a straight face, then I laughed also.
    We parked and made our way to the rental hut.  It was a rough structure made to look like a large tiki hut. He rented a canoe for the two of us and handed me a paddle and a lightweight life jacket as park policy required we wear them.  For about ten minutes, we paddled in silence enjoying the fresh air and the bountiful flora and fauna around us. 
    “Monica, I don’t want to ruin the mood, but I want to be as honest as I can with you, ok?  Those things I told you the other morning I meant.”
    My heart hammered into my chest.  This was the only man I had ever b een excited about, but he kept