Free Stroke Of Fear by Alla Kar

skin.
       “What kind of music do you like?” he asks, reaching for his radio. He flicks through a few channels until he lands on a country station.
       Country isn’t my first choice but I do like a lot of the songs. “Anything, really,” I say, shrugging. “I just like music. I used to blast the radio at the pool while I pract—” I snap my lips together. Fuck. I haven’t told anyone I use to swim in competitions. Why did I tell him that?
       Tanner gives me a few minutes of silence. “You used to swim in high school.” It’s more of a statement than a question.
       I glance out the window. “Yeah.”
       “Why don’t you anymore?”
       “I just don’t,” I lie.
       Tanner clears his throat. “Okay.” Then he turns the radio up and hums along to a Jason Aldean song until we reach the city.
    ***
       I point to the latest 4G phone sitting on the display shelf. “You have to get this one.”
       He crinkles his nose and picks it up to examine it. “I doubt I’ll be able to work it. You know I am from the south; we don’t even wear shoes.”
       I bark out a laugh. “I’ll teach you how to use it. You won’t regret it.”
       He grabs the phone and takes it up to the counter to check out. “You hungry? I think we missed supper.”
       My stomach growls in protes t. “I am. Want some Chick-Fil-A?”
       “Sure.”
     
    Tanner pays for our food and insist s we get it to go. I don’t ask any questions, I’m just glad to eat. I pig out while Tanner drives. When we pull into a vacant field, I sit up in my seat.
       “Is this where you kill me and we end up on the ID channel?”
       Tanner shifts the truck into park and grabs his chicken sandwich from the sack. “No, I want to get in your pants before I kill you.”
   Heat rushes toward my cheeks. He just put an image in my head that will never leave. I’ve been avoiding thinking about him on top of me. But, now all I can think about is his naked ass. “Ha. Ha.”
       He winks. “ This is just a place I like to go sometimes. You want to leave?”
       I step out into the field , shaking my head. “No,” I say over my shoulder. Tanner basically inhales his sandwich, and I feel his presence behind me only a few minutes later. “It’s so peaceful. I think it’s better than the woods.”
       Tanner’s breath is hot on my neck, causing all of my nerves to stand on end. “Want to see something amazin’?”
       “Yes.”
       Tanner interlaces his fingers with m ine. That sense of safety and comfort rushes over my body, leaving me shivering.
    “Are you cold?” he whispers.
       No, I’m fucking burning up. Everywhere. “No,” I say. He pulls us toward the trees to the left, maneuvering our way through the thick branches. He gives me a gentle squeeze.
       “We’re almost there, hold on.”
       Tanner holds each branch back for me, so they don’t slap me in the face. When the trees thin, I can see the sun glistening off the water. My throat starts to burn, my chest feels heavy.
       Tanner moves the last branch, and I see the lake in front of me. It has a dock, a fishing boat and is in the middle of nowhere.
       “My brother showed me this last month. He said it helped his homesickness when he first moved out here. It’s like a paradise no one has found yet.”
       “It’s really beautiful.”
       He gives my hand another squeeze. “Do you miss it?”
       My eyes avert toward the ground, but I feel Tanner’s calloused finger lift my chin up to meet his eyes. “Do you miss it?” he repeats, his lips forming the words so smoothly. I watch his face, the thin coat of hair covering his strong jaw. His dark, heavy eyebrows hang so perfectly right over his gray eyes. How can he be this gorgeous and normal? No scars? No emotional damage. I must look like a train wreck in comparison.
       “No,” I lie. “I can’t make myself miss it. I don’t even think about it. That was a part