Leilani was lying in her tent when she heard leaves crunching outside. She saw a long, masculine silhouette and the glow of a headlamp hit her orange tent.
“You awake?”
She was a little startled. It was late and she hadn’t heard anything besides the chorus of crickets and frogs for hours.
“Jay?”
He was waiting outside her tent, courteous enough to leave the flap zipped. She had been reading inside her sleeping bag topless, and now sitting up she felt her nipples harden in the cold.
“I saw you were up and I can’t sleep, do you want to go for a swim?” Jay said.
“Ummm, are you sure? Okay,” Leilani responded surprised. They were good friends but he had never made such a request before.
Leilani searched around her tent quickly for a top, knowing he could probably see the outline of her breasts through the thin fabric of the tent.
She was excited but flustered. “Just give me a moment, I’ll meet you at the edge of the lake.”
“Okay, but don’t take too long or I’ll have to go in without you!” Jay chimed while strolling off, his heavy boots trodding down the path to the water.
Leilani found her swimsuit, an old one piece she had been using for years. A hand me down from her older sister that she felt couldn’t do her justice in the moonlight. There were loose areas and frays at the seams. Not that it mattered, they had been friends for so long that she could show up in a trash bag and he could care less.
Nonetheless, she cursed herself for not having something sexier to look at, but went ahead and put the swimsuit on. She slid on her boots and headed towards the lake, which was glistening under the stars.
When she approached she saw Jay turn around and smile. His face was normally tranquil and inquisitive, she thought due to him being a philosophy major who was constantly searching for spiritual answers. Now, his thin lips stretched across his face into a smile that made Leilani’s eyes flutter down to her feet.
“That was faster than I thought. You ready to jump in?” Jay said.
“Now that I’m here I’m not so sure. Don’t you think the water will be freezing?”
“Maybe. But we might as well try now that we’re here.”
Leilani remained timid and crossed her arms anxiously. She was going to back out before Jay grabbed her hand. She was always the worried type but he knew how to break her out of her mental blocks.
“Let’s jump in at the same time, it’ll make it easier.”
She couldn’t refuse, if only because the heat of his hand warmed hers and sent a surge of euphoria throughout her body. She no longer felt cold, only felt the contact of his hand against hers.
They walked towards the edge of the rock, and peeled off their socks and shoes. Jay grabbed her hand again and they stood up together.
“Three…two” Jay counted. Leilani held her breath.
“One!”
Jay jumped first and not letting go of his hand, Leilani was pulled in.
They crashed in the water and the cold pierced their bodies.
Leilani grabbed onto Jay’s arms in shock.
“Fuck! Holy shit! Why! Why did we do this?”
Jay’s amber eyes sweetened at her discomfort and his eyes crinkled in amusement.
Realizing how close they were to each other’s faces, Leilani backed away while treading in the water.
“Hey, I liked it when you were closer. It’s cold after all, why don’t we warm up together?”
Leilani thanked the night for hiding her blushing cheeks. “Okay, maybe where we can stand though?”
They swimmed to a rock and perched, not forgetting to laugh about how stupid they were for taking their late night swim.
“You look beautiful tonight. That swimsuit really suits you well.”
Leilani’s eyes widened and she looked at Jay confused. He had never complimented her like that before. She looked back down and tucked her wet hair behind her ear.
“Thanks. It’s really nothing. Just a rag from my sister really.”
“Well maybe what’s catching my eye is what’s underneath,” Jay responded.
Source: reddit.com/r/eroticliterature/comments/pk229y/moonlight_swim_in_the_backcountry_part_1_romantic