My phone chimed next to me, indicating another email.
Four okay?
And there it was, the time of my eventual demise staring me in the face.
Perfect.
I replied simply. I was strung tight, every ounce of blood in my body had settled in my balls and was now controlling my dick, and thereby my entire existence. I hopped out of bed and headed for a cold shower to try and distract myself from Auburn, my dick, and four pm that evening.
***
Exactly seven point five hours later and I was pulling into the gravel parking lot next to the old train bridge outside of town. It was no longer in use and had become a popular spot for drinking among the younger crowd, and fishing and drinking among the older.
I slid into a parking spot next to the only other vehicle there—Auburn’s small Toyota. I smoothed my hands on the worn leather steering wheel and gave myself a mental pep talk before getting out. Don’t go too fast. Think before you jump. She's your student for fuck’s sake. You're married. Things will get messy.
I straightened my spine as I stepped from the car. She was nowhere to be seen. I made my way down the small path to the river and headed for the curve that I knew would open up to the shore. The gravel faded to worn grass and then a rocky bank before I saw her. She sat on the edge of a stone, ten perfectly painted ruby toes dipping in and out of the rushing water as she strung a fishing pole.
I shook my head with surprise. “You brought me here to fish?” I plopped beside her on the slab of granite.
“I don’t know if we’ll catch any, but we’re gonna fish.” She finished tying a lure on the end of her line, an endearing look of thoughtful determination on her face. “I wanted to give you something back. The lighthouse was so beautiful, I could never top it, but I wanted to say thank you for taking me. I write you this ridiculous email babbling about writer’s block and then you do that to help me, so thank you.”
“You're welcome.” I smiled. “It was my pleasure. I'm glad it helped. Now pass me that pole.” I gestured to the other she had beside her.
She passed me the fishing pole, a suggestive grin on her face. We cast and made small talk for twenty minutes without a bite, before Auburn began reeling in her line. “Fishing's a bust, let's check out that rope swing.” Her eyes gleamed with mischief.
My eyes bugged out when I saw it, across the bank, a ratted old rope hanging from a tree. “That looks like a death wish.”
“It’s not. The kids have been swinging off it for years.”
“Exactly. A rope can only take so much swinging before it succumbs.”
“Scaredy cat. Mr. McDowell replaces it every year anyway. I’ll go first, teach you a thing or two for once.” She winked and dashed off down the shore. She darted across the old train bridge and my heart thudded with every step. She landed feet first on the opposite bank and waved, her smile so bright it was blinding. She made my heart race. What was going on with me? This felt like falling. I’d known Mel for so long, nearly my entire life, and we’d somehow just ended up together, but this…this felt like plummeting either somewhere entirely sublime or another side of hell. Perhaps it was both.
My mind snapped from my thoughts when Auburn pulled the zip of her jeans down and shimmied out of the denim. She tore the shirt over her head and stood across the bank from me in a pair of bright green bikini underwear that hit her so high on the hip I couldn't not think about getting a closer look, and a snug white ribbed tank top that bunched and shifted in all of the right places.
The image of Auburn beneath me in bed, expressive eyes looking up at me, dark hair splayed across the white pillow, a cocky grin on her beautiful face, was a siren call to my heart. I'd never wanted anything so much. Auburn left me with an incessant, burning need for her.
I licked my lips as she waved one more time then hooked her foot in the loop at the bottom of the gnarled rope. She rocked on her back leg once, twice, then pushed off and swung out over the dark water. She rode the swing back and forth a few times, waved and blew me a kiss before she released and dropped into midair. A mass of white, a flash of neon green, and a wild tangle of dark hair landed with a splash in the water and disappeared.
Shit. What was I thinking? “Auburn!” I hollered as my eyes darted around the surface of the water. Searching, seeking, not finding. Gone. “Auburn!” I yelled before a dark head broke through the surface. She pushed the brown tangle of hair from her eyes and grinned, before spitting out river water.
“Jesus.” I ran a hand through my short hair and heaved a breath.
“Your turn!” she called in a teasing lilt.
“You're in so much trouble,” I shook my head with a smile.