Free The Lost Summer by Kathryn Williams

quickly-turned-seductive moonlit moment with Ransome? It occurred to me maybe I should just count my blessings and strip— like ripping off a Band-Aid.
    Ransome had dropped his pants to reveal a pair of blue-striped boxers, but he saw I hadn’t moved an inch, had barely breathed. “You don’t have to get in if you don’t want to,” he reassured me. “We won’t make fun of you—or we might, but it will pass.”
    â€œNo, I’m not scared,” I answered, even though that had been the question two minutes ago.
    He smiled.
    I realized everyone else around me was almost full monty. Slowly, I slipped off my flip-flops and pulled my shirt over my head, holding it in front of me for just a few more milliseconds of privacy.
    â€œGeronimo!” Buzz took a running leap off the dock and landed in a perfect cannonball. The water sprayed up around him.
    â€œBuzz!” Nate hissed. “You’re gonna get us caught, dumbass. Be quiet!”
    Buzz shook the water from his hair, like a golden retriever. Below the surface, his body was a pale, moving blur. I was relieved I couldn’t make out more.
    Suddenly, I startled as two more white streaks blurred past me. Winn and Sarah. They dropped into the water as straight as pencils to avoid a loud splash. When they emerged, they were gasping and laughing.
    â€œIs it cold?” I asked.
    â€œUm, yeah,” Winn confirmed, her teeth chattering.
    As Nate turned to climb casually down the dock ladder, my eyes must have widened to the size of dinner plates. Full frontal, like it was nothing at all. I realized I was staring and quickly looked away.
    No one but Ransome and me were on the dock now. The others in the water swam out toward the floating dock, all keeping a safe distance from each other. At one point, Buzz came toward Sarah as if he was going to dunk her, but I heard her splash and, laughing, threaten bodily harm if he got any closer.
    I was down to my underwear and bra, and saying a silent prayer that I hadn’t worn my granny panties that day. Ransome stood in his boxers watching the others from the dock. He looked at me, and my cheeks burned. I wanted to shield myself with my hands, cover my doughnut, obscure my love handles from the world. He didn’t seem to notice. Gratefully, he was looking me in the eyes.
    â€œYou first,” I said, hoping to sound like a confident sex kitten instead of a squeaky, aquaphobic prude.
    Ransome laughed. “Okay. But you’re following me. . . .”
    I nodded. Ransome stood at the edge of the dock, directly in front of me to spare me a crotch shot, and dropped his boxers around his ankles. I almost laughed out loud. His butt looked like two little white apples in the moonlight. I had a weird impulse—where I wasn’t sure I could control the urge to grab it.
    Quickly, he climbed down the ladder and was soon paddling in front of the dock. He looked up at me. “Your turn.”
    â€œFine. But you have to turn around.”
    â€œThat’s no fun.” I could see the crooked tooth in his grin.
    I crossed my arms over my chest, suppressing a smile, and raised an eyebrow.
    â€œOkay, okay.” He paddled around so that he was looking out across the lake.
    The others were preoccupied watching nude Nate try to climb onto the floating dock without scratching anything valuable. In a hurry, I stripped out of my underwear and bra, dropping them on the dock in a pile with my other clothes, and slid into the water noiselessly.
    It was so cold it almost knocked the wind out of me. I shivered as the hairs on my legs stood at attention. So much for shaving.
    â€œBoo,” I said, swimming up behind Ransome.
    He turned, treading water. “It’s not so bad, see?” he said in breaths clipped by the freezing water.
    â€œNo, it’s not,” I agreed. The water rushed around my legs and stomach and arms as I kicked. I was acutely aware of just how