Praying for Rain

"Remind me again why I invited a jerk like you to the lake with me," Kelly quipped.

"Because I am suave and handsome," I joked as I turned toward her again, "and because I think you're wonderful," I said completely seriously.

Kelly blushed and looked away. After a few minutes of silence, I saw her move out of the corner of my eye. She was starting to unbutton the shirt she was wearing, and I reached across and grabbed her hand to stop her.

"No," I said without looking at her. "Not until you are ready, not until you are sure."

The rest of the trip passed quickly with bouts of small talk and arguments over what music to play on the stereo. The cabin on the lake Kelly led us to was indeed secluded. It was pitch black and there wasn't a light to be seen from any other nearby cabin except far away across the water. Kelly hopped out of the car, unlocked the cabin and set about opening windows and turning on lights. I carried the bags into the family room and set them down. When I returned with my suit bag, Kelly looked at it curiously.

"What is that," she inquired. "There's no formal wear allowed here."

"That is not any of your business. And if I catch you snooping, you will be punished... severely," I said ominously.

"Oooo, now I'm really curious, but fine, I'll let you have your secrets," she said with a smile. "Bring the bags this way."

"Nice place," I said as I hauled the bags back off the floor and followed her.

"I know what you're thinking, but my family isn't rich. This has been in the family for several generations apparently. I'm often amazed no one ever sold it. I could probably go to Harvard on what this place would go for."

"Or Juilliard," I chimed in.

"Wishful thinking, but thank you. Here is the master bedroom," she said gesturing to the largest room at the back of the cabin. I tossed her bag through the door and turned to the other two doorways. "As the host I should probably insist on giving you the master," Kelly said. "But I've never gotten to use it, so I'm going to be a selfish teenager."

"No worries," I said as I tossed my bag in the room to my right. I leaned in over her shoulder as she continued to look at the master bedroom and whispered in her ear. "You may only get one or two nights alone in there anyway." I followed my comment with a gentle kiss on her neck and felt her shiver in response.

"Well then," she sighed, "perhaps you should..."

"No," I said firmly and pulled back from Kelly's shoulder. "You've had a long day at work, it's late, and young ladies need their beauty sleep. I'll see you in the morning."

Like most remote, rural areas, it was quiet beyond the sounds of night insects and the soft watery susurrus of the lake. I slept soundly, but my very regular internal clock had me up at 5 am. I went for a run around the lake which was the best I could do for exercise. Then I changed quietly and slipped out and took the car to the nearest grocery store and bought some supplies. When I returned I stealthily began preparing some bacon and eggs. Eventually the smells drifted toward the back of the house and drew Kelly out of her bed.

"Mmmm, that smells wonderful," she said sleepily. She was only wearing a cut off t-shirt and panties and her hair was still rumpled from sleep. I felt a stirring in my boxers and quickly turned back to the stove.

"Nothing overly grand," I said. "How do you like your eggs?"

"Scrambled if you bought ketchup, otherwise over medium."

I side stepped to the refrigerator and extracted the ketchup and put it on the counter. "Great minds think alike."

Kelly smiled and said, "you may be starting to convince me that I am your type." She sat at one of the barstools on the other side of the counter and waited.

"There's coffee," I said gesturing to the pot at the end of the counter.

"Ugh, no, never developed a taste for that."

I pulled the orange juice from the refrigerator and grabbed a glass from a cupboard for her.

"You know, I don't think the guest is supposed to be serving the host, it's not exactly good manners."

"I was impatient, and my internal clock gets me up at nearly the same time every day. I don't mind, really. I don't get to practice often since back home I have a personal chef handle most of my meals."

"So I'm eating at my own risk, am I," she laughed.

"Well, I haven't killed anyone yet, but you never know," I replied as I pulled a couple of plates out and scooped out servings of eggs and bacon to each. We ate in silence and I could see hints of nervousness creeping back into Kelly's movements. It was nearly 9 am by the time we finished and I was feeling restless myself. "So, what's the plan for today," I said neutrally as we both pushed empty plates aside.

"Swimming, sun, laziness," she replied with a questioning tone.

"Not much in the way of celebration, but I can hardly protest some serious relaxation."

"Good, then I'll go fix this mess," Kelly said gesturing to her hair, "and put on my swim suit." She had a strange smile on her face as she stood and headed off toward the master bedroom.

It only took me a minute to change into my trunks and I went back to the living room to wait on her. She was quicker than I expected, and I was pleased to note she completely left aside any makeup and had only fixed her hair. I had expected a pony tail, but she left it down and free, which I also appreciated. But the real surprise was the bathing suit. It was what younger folks would call a micro bikini and it barely covered her. It was a powder blue color, almost white. I'm sure my mouth probably dropped open when she re-appeared, but I recovered quickly.

"When was the last time you wore that, when you were twelve," I teased.

Kelly turned toward me and smirked. "I'll have you know this is brand new, bought yesterday since I recently came into some extra money," she said as she threw me a wink.

"Well, that's reassuring then."

"What, that I'm not wearing a pre-teen bathing suit?"

I stood and walked over to her, close enough to touch her, but I left my hands at my sides. "No, that you bought it for me." Her nervousness was gone and when she looked at me she had only the slightest blush. "You learn quick," I added.

"The term is 'sagacious' and you have no idea," she whispered as she turned and headed toward the front door. My eyes followed her and my breath hissed in when I saw that the back of her suit was a thong. She paused at the door to grab a couple of towels from a nearby chest, bending over in an exaggerated fashion in the process. I watched every movement and felt the hunger begin to rise in me in earnest. "Be a dear and fetch the sun screen from the bathroom. It seems I forgot to apply any earlier and I may require some assistance reaching all my various nooks and crannies," Kelly said smoothly as she left the cabin. I took several seconds to calm myself on the couch and then went in search of said lotion, finding it on the corner of the sink in her bathroom as if it was waiting for me.

When I stepped outside I found two towels spread out on the small sandy beach near the lake with Kelly sprawled out face down on one. I covered the short distance and sat on the other towel doing my best not to stare openly at her.

"Stop dawdling," she chided, "I have no desire to spend my weekend cowering indoors with a sunburn."

"Yes ma'am," I snapped crisply.

She turned toward me with a look of mock indignation on her face. "Call me that again and I *will* hurt you. Or are you trying to avoid remembering I'm just an innocent teenager," she said shrewdly.

"Sorry... Kelly then," I said as I knelt down beside her. "And it's difficult to take your claims of innocence seriously while you are barely dressed."

She only smiled at my answer and moved one hand to lift her hair up and off her back. "You better do a good job and not miss any spots."

"Every inch," I whispered as I opened the lotion and squeezed the tube into my hand. My first contact with her skin felt electric and I think we both jumped a little from it. I covered her arms and shoulders first, massaging her shoulders and neck a bit which elicited a soft sigh from her. I progressed to her back and ran my thumbs down either side of her spine. In response she arched her back which set her ass on glorious display. I suspect she did it intentionally, again making me question any supposed claim to innocence. When I moved to her sides, she squirmed and giggled.

"Careful, ticklish there," which, of course, served only to make my fingers dance teasingly along her ribs. She squealed briefly and then scolded me. I retrieved the lotion to get more and then started on her feet. When I ran my thumbs firmly along the soles of her feet, Kelly moaned in response. Though I wanted to linger there, I started to move slowly up her calves and then to her thighs, which spurred her to spread her legs slightly. I was careful to cover everything but avoided touching anything that would, as yet, push a boundary or become inappropriate. With her legs finished, I paused as I retrieved the lotion again. When my hands didn't quickly return to her body, I saw one eye open as she looked at me.

"I said no missed spots. No turning back now," she said, "for either of us."

I added a small portion of lotion to my hands and let them drift toward her ass as her eye closed. At first I spread the lotion mechanically, barely touching her. But eventually I applied more pressure and let my hands caress both of her ass cheeks. As I finished the motion, we both moaned. Kelly found this amusing and giggled uncontrollably for a few seconds while I continued to let my hands roam.

"Lecher," she said to me accusingly.

"Tease," I answered and we both smiled. I flipped the cap of the lotion back closed which Kelly heard and I felt her shift beside me.

"Ah, ah, you aren't done yet. You still have to do the front."

"Um... ok... if you're sure."

She answered by turning over and putting her hands under her head as a make shift pillow. "No missed spots," she whispered again.

I started in the middle with her stomach this time and spread downwards across her thighs and then the bottoms of legs and the tops of her feet. Again, I kept my motions between her legs as circumspect as possible, but a couple of times my hand brushed an area lightly causing her to tremble. With a new batch of lotion, I started on her shoulders, chest, and down across the inner and outer sides of her breasts that were left exposed by the very narrow strip of cloth that was only big enough to cover her nipples. She met my eyes as I did this part, and for the first time I saw signs of hunger in her. I was desperate to match that look, but I knew if I did, things would progress rapidly, and I suspected she needed more time to be truly comfortable with me.

Still, she gave voice to the hunger she was feeling, saying, "you better go underneath and cover everything. You know, in case the suit shifts while I'm swimming or something." My eyes never left hers as my hands smoothly passed beneath the small cups of her suit top and rubbed her entire breasts once and then a second time hardening her nipples in the process. "Thank you," she whispered when my hands finally left her skin.

"You're welcome Kelly," I said as I quickly applied some lotion to my legs, arms, chest, and shoulders. She stopped me when I had covered everything but my back and then quickly covered that for me as well. I final laid down and propped my head up on my hands and turned toward her so I could occasionally let my gaze wander over her. After the third time I did that in the first hour she smirked at me.

"Getting an eyeful over there?"

"Just checking to make sure you haven't run off. I would be exceedingly disappointed if my vision of beauty faded away while I wasn't looking."

"Sugar coat it all you want, you're still a lecher," she fired back with a laugh.

"And until I have my way with you, you're still a tease," I answered coolly.

Kelly deliberately wiggled her ass in response and winked at me again. We both went back to dozing in the rising sun and the next few hours passed in silence. We both turned onto our backs after an hour and I went back to my not so subtle observations. Just before lunch I heard her stir and turned to find her sitting up.

"A quick swim before lunch," Kelly asked.

"You go ahead; I'll go prepare some food and meet you at the picnic table," I said as I gestured to the table in the shadow of the nearby trees. I gathered up the towels and took them over to the table, covering two spots on the benches with them. Once inside the cabin, I prepared a plate of fruit and some sandwiches, put it all on a platter and grabbed a couple of bottles of water. I gathered all of it up and headed back out to the table. Before I could put anything down on the table I heard a splash of water behind me and turned to watch Kelly emerge from the lake. When wet, the suit had become pretty much transparent and there was very little left to the imagination. The water dripped and streaked across her skin, catching the light and making her sparkle as she moved. I stared. Openly.

"Are you going to put any of that down so we can eat, or just continue gawking at me?"

I hesitated purposefully without responding.

"What," she asked.

"You gave me two choices. I'm pondering them."

Kelly sighed in exasperation. "I'm hungry, put the food down and you can stare at me while we eat."

I followed orders and put down the platter and drinks and sat down opposite her. I pulled out two paper plates and divvied up sandwiches and fruit in equal portions. I passed her a plate and a bottle of water and sat down across from her.

"Fruit instead of chips, wheat bread, real turkey instead of pre-packaged stuff. I think I'm beginning to understand why you're such a big, strong man."

"When you have a personal chef spoiling you with healthy fresh cooked meals regularly, your personal eating habits adjust accordingly." I gestured toward the condiment bottles and said, "there's mayo and mustard if you want to unhealthy it up a bit." She grabbed the mayo and added a small amount to her sandwich and passed it to me, but I set it aside. We ate quickly and quietly, and sadly, as her suit dried, it became more opaque.

When we finished she started to talk. It was mostly about her, the ex-boyfriend, her family and a dozen other topics. I played along dutifully, asking probing questions where appropriate and showing genuine interest when she brought up dancing and business classes. She was easy to talk to; friendly, engaging, and intelligent, and the longer we talked the more of myself I interjected into the conversation. But we never discussed me and I never led the conversation in that direction. She didn't seem to mind, and despite the conversation being all about her, she never seemed self-absorbed or shallow. By the time the sun dipped and the shadows stretched across the sand, I found myself more attracted to her than ever and more than just physically.

"I'm going to swim a bit before I head inside, care to join me," I asked.

"I think I've given you enough of a show for today," she laughed. "I'll go shower and wait for you inside."

The swim was cool and refreshing and helped calm and steady me before I headed inside. It was also a good replacement for more of my usual exercise. I dried off and headed inside to find Kelly camped out on the living room couch with a book. I was both saddened and relieved to find the bikini had been replaced with a simple pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I showered and returned back to the kitchen and started preparing what would eventually be dinner. I left the cabin briefly to start the charcoal grill outside and came back and propped myself up on the doorframe of the living room.

"So what will my guest be preparing me for dinner," she asked without looking up from her book.

"Burgers. More fruit. Potato salad, which is store bought sadly, but hopefully it will meet with your approval. It will be a little bit before the grill is ready though."

She made no response beyond a nod and continued her reading while I stood and watched. After several minutes I took the hamburger patties to the grill and started the cooking process. When I returned, I finished my dinner preparations in silence. I took a plate and a glass of sweet tea to Kelly when I was done and then returned with my own.

"You're spoiling me," she said with a smile.

"Not really. Not yet. Tomorrow maybe." Kelly looked at me in open curiosity, but I ignored her. "'A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept.'" Her curiosity only grew. "It's a quote from a book, The Shadow of the Wind."

Kelly looked down at her plate in thought and eventually replied as I sat next to her. "'I didn't realize I wore my secrets as armor until they were gone and now everyone sees me as I really am.' From one of those Divergent books." I rolled my eyes at her and she laughed. "I'm a teenage female, I'm allowed to quote young adult fiction."

"'When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.'"

"I didn't take you for the religious type," Kelly said in surprise. "Have no fear, I'm growing up as fast as I can and my reading habits are following."

"I'm sorry, that was a tad mean and I'm not, not exactly. But I don't mean to push you away from your youth, guess it's just the generation gap. Please go back to enjoying things while you can," I said with a smile.

We ate quietly and I cleaned up the remains when we finished. I went to my bedroom and retrieved three movies from my bag and took them back to the family room where I deposited them on Kelly's lap.

"What's this, evening entertainment?"

"Yes, pick one to watch and I'll get the popcorn ready," I said as I headed back to the kitchen. I poured some kernels in a pan and started some butter melting in another.

"Are you seriously making *real* popcorn... no microwave stuff? Let's see, Pretty Woman, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and Breakfast Club. I've only seen one of these, but I've heard of all of them."

"Well pick one of the two you haven't seen then."

"Ferris Bueller it is then, since I hear you old folks quoting it so much."

When the popcorn was finished I returned in time to see the movie just starting up. Kelly enjoyed it, despite its age, and there was much laughing and giggling throughout. When the movie finished, Kelly turned to me and gave me a lingering, but soft kiss and whispered "good night" before disappearing to bed. I retrieved the movie and was in my own bed shortly after.

I woke to someone prodding my shoulder. The first thing I noticed was the alarm clock on the table glaring '2:35' at me in bright red numbers. Then I looked up and saw Kelly standing over me without a stitch of clothing on.

"Apparently your prayers were answered," she said with a smile. It was then that I heard the rain on the roof. I didn't hear any thunder or see any flashes of lightning, but there appeared to be a moderate downpour going on outside.

"Come on, it may not last long, and I don't want to miss it," she said prodding me in the ribs. I got out of bed and took a step toward the door. Kelly put her hand on my chest to stop me. "Uh huh," she said shaking her head and pointing to my boxers.

"Ah, skinny dipping, right, ok then," I said and dropped my underwear in a quick motion.

"Holy fuck," Kelly whispered. "If I couldn't see for myself that that thing was attached, I'd ask you if it was real." Her voice had grown noticeably nervous.

"Maybe I should go back to bed," I said.

"Do you want to?"

I looked at her and let my gaze wander over her from top to bottom before I answered simply, "no. But if you're having second thoughts..."