"You’re right, Aiden,” I said. "We were good friends once, weren't we?"

"We still are,” he said raising his water bottle as if to toast.

"Of course we are,” I said with a smile.

The discussion ended, having washed away the hurt from the previous outing. I smiled and listened to him talk, telling me stories about his brothers as I ate my sandwich. I felt as if I didn’t have as much to share, since my visits home had consisted of hanging out with my mother for the most part. It was nice to hear about his family, though. I had spent a lot of time over at his house when we were kids. We reminisced over our summers at Lake Okoboji, settling on the final trip before we had gone off to college.

"Was that the last time we saw each other?" I asked. "Before now, I mean?"

He considered, drawing his forehead together in deep thought. "I think so,” he said. "It seems like no time at all."

"That's funny," I said. "It feels like forever to me."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I said. "But being here, at the beach, with you, makes me feel like we are picking up where we left off. It's like we've traveled back in time somehow and we are back at Lake Okoboji."

I leaned back on my elbows enjoying the warm sun on my face. We had both eaten, and I wanted to wait before approaching the water.

"You want to head on down and get out gear?" he suggested.

"Sure," I said.

He stood and extended his hand to pull me up. We quickly packed up the cooler and he took it back to the car. I waited for him down by the water. The tides had shifted and the waves crept slightly closer to the shore each time they pulled in. The feel of the shifting sand made me feel even more like old times. For all the weeks I had lived in California, today was the first time spending any significant time at the beach. I regretted not having done so sooner.

Aiden walked up behind me but stayed back from the approaching water. He had kicked off his shoes as well, wearing cargoes so he didn’t have to worry if his ankles got wet. I stepped back towards him and we fell into pace walking along the edge of the water.

"The fishing rental place is about a mile down the beach if that's not too far,” he said.

"No, that's great,” I said. "But you have to be careful. I've heard there are some serious risks to going into the water around here."

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

I stepped over to the edge of the waves close enough that the waves washed around my knees. When the water washed towards me, I reached down and scooped up some water in my cupped hands.

"Oh look!" I cried, peering down at the little pool in my hands. "You can see them! Right there!" I glanced towards him and he took a curious step towards me. "Come here quick! Before they dissolve!"

"What are you..." He edged over to me trying to see inside the hollow of my hand.

"Right there," I said, extending my arms out to him.

Just as he leaned in trying to see anything besides the clear water, I lifted my hands and splashed him with it directly in his face.

"Oh! You’re going to regret that!" He laughed and lunged towards me.

I shrieked and took off down the beach. Trying to dodge him clutching after me. I figured there was only one way to escape, and I pulled the sundress over my head. Dropping it on the sand past the tide line I promptly ran full on towards the incoming waves, laughing as they crashed over me taking my breath away. I dipped my hair under during the calm break between swells.

"Come on, then!" I called out to him a few feet away still back on the beach, staring at me with a bewildered expression. "Or are you afraid of a little bit of water!"

At last he nodded, pulling his linen shirt over his head and tossing it aside.

"You asked for it," he said as he rushed towards the waves much like I had.

He dove into the waves and caught me around my waist pulling me under just as a large breaker crashed over us. I laughed when I broke the surface, struggling to catch my breath. He emerged from the water moments later brushing his hair back.

I grinned, and bit my lip trying not to notice his bare torso glistening in the sun. He turned, focusing his eyes on me and splashing the water in my direction. I quickly scrambled back towards the shore, adjusting my bikini top as I stepped onto the sand. I turned expecting him to be back in the water. Instead I found him diving through the waves, using the surf to get to me faster. I squealed as he approached and ran along the edge of the water dodging and weaving to avoid capture. He tackled me a moment later and we both landed on the sand as the water receded around us.

"More than you can handle?" he said, leaning over me with a grin.

"You wish," I said. "I can handle anything you got."

"I'll bet,” he said playfully.

Then the moment shifted as he hovered over me, with both hands leaning on the sand on either side of me. If he had loosened his elbows he could have easily leaned down and kissed me. Our eyes remained locked as the moment passed between us, and I wondered if he had the same thought. I bit my lip and leaned my chin towards him, hoping he would take the hint.

Regardless of what I had said before, I knew that I hadn’t been able to get the thought of him out of my mind. For a moment he leaned forward, his head blocking my view of the sky, crowned by the aura of the sun behind him. But then he pushed up and stood, holding his hand out to help me up.

"Let's go catch some fish,” he said.

He really wasn’t going to make a move.

This was surprising.

I smiled and nodded, but the tension had been there if only for a second. Neither of us needed to mention it, but we had both felt it.

He grabbed our clothes while I stepped back into the water to rinse the sand off my backside and we headed down the beach towards the rental cabin. We found the rental place a few minutes later, and we signed out a couple of fishing poles.

"I haven't done this in a while,” I said as we walked back to the edge of the pier. “Since high school actually.”

This part of the beach had a few more people than the grove where we had had lunch, but still not too many as to be too crowded.

"Don't worry," he said. "Some of my friends from school come down on the weekends sometimes. I've been out here a time or two. I'll show you."

I saw some other people fishing alongside of the water, so I didn’t feel quite so self-conscious. I watched him, but he put down his rod and walked over to me.

"Okay," I said. "What do I do again?"

"First you have to cast your line,” he said. "Make sure the sinker is attached. This is what will get the hook to the right depths to catch fish. Do you have your bait?"

I felt like a noob.

"You do it," I said. He rolled his eyes and connected the lure onto the end of my line.

"Here you go."

He placed his hands over mine on the line causing his arms to wrap around me. I became painfully aware of the way his breathing grazed against the curve of my neck, not to mention the touch of his skin, as his fingers wrapped around my own guiding me into position.

God, it felt good to be close to him again.

Concentrate, I told myself.

"To throw the line, just pull back and let go of the reel as you cast it back towards the water."

He moved my arms in slow motion as he explained. As soon as he let go, the breeze off the water raised goose bumps on my damp skin.