At least that’s what I told myself was the cause of them.

"Ready?"

I pulled back the rod and tossed it forward just as he had said, lifting my finger at the exact moment. I couldn’t help but let out a triumphant cry as the line sailed out over the water landing the perfect distance out.

It was just like old times.

"Excellent!" he said.

"Beginner's luck,” I said.

Actually just wiping off the dust but I still felt like a beginner again.

"Whatever works," he said, positioning next to me with his own equipment and casting out his line. "You have better form than I do."

We spent the next two hours on the pier. Aiden showed me how to place the fishing pole onto the stands attached to the pier. This gave me a chance to look down the length of the pier and see the other people fishing, a family with two young kids, laughing and squealing every time they threw the line, an older couple with cotton hats and matching sunglasses relaxing in their canvas chairs while the fishing pole rested against the rail.

Now this was enjoyable.

"Stay here and watch the lines," he said. "I'll go and get us some drinks."

"It seems like cheating," I said when he returned, handing me a cold soda. "We are just standing here watching the line. We aren't actually doing much of anything."

"So you think,” he said. "Wait until something bites."

Just as he said so, the line on my fishing pole began to twitch.

"Here we go, see?" He showed me how to hold onto the pole. "This is a big one,” he said.

After it started to bend towards the water, I handed the pole to Aiden.

"You do it!" I said with a laugh.

The idea of the floppy fish on the other end of the line gave me the willies, but I didn’t want him to know that necessarily. He took the line and pulled, sometimes letting the line go slack before reeling it back in. His lower lip tucked under his teeth as he concentrated on battling whatever lay under the water, struggling on the other end of the line. I stood on the edge of the pier with my hands resting on the rail peering out over the water to see if I could catch a glimpse. I couldn’t tell how long he had been pulling on the line when something finally broke the surface, a flash of silver and a splash.

"What is it!" he said, every muscle taut as he kept the tension on the line.

"I don't know." I laughed. "It's a fish, I think."

"That's very helpful,” he said.

"I don't know if you have noticed, Aiden, but I’m more of a bookish type."

"You don't say. You were the same way at Okoboji.” He laughed. In that moment the fish jumped, breaking the surface of the water. "There it is,” Aiden said.

Seeing it gave him a renewed strength and within a few more minutes he pulled the creature up onto the pier. I turned my eyes away as Aiden pulled out his pocket knife, cleaned and stripped the large shining bass, then placing it in the cooler. I grimaced and placed my hands over my face.

"Ugh!" I exclaimed.

I had known already what would happen if one of us had caught a fish, but the sight of it still made me a bit squeamish. He turned to me and smiled.

"Good job," he said. "That was a big one. We are going to eat well this evening."

"You did the hard part,” I said. "Tell you the truth, I’m kind of starving."

"Me too,” he said. "You ready to head back?"

"Yeah," I said.

We returned the equipment to the rental cabin, but opted to keep the cooler until we got back to the car. We would transfer the fish over to ours and drive back to return it then.

We headed back down the beach the same way we had come, though with far less horse play this time, since he had his hands full lugging the cooler. Once more I felt that the ease of our friendship had taken over once more. Regardless of what hindrances the rest of life might offer us, when the two of us got together everything else seemed to melt away.

I smiled as I listened to him telling an anecdote about his youngest brother heading off to college. He always spoke fondly of his family. Despite his odd ball status among his brothers, they did all look out for each other no matter what.

I enjoyed listening to him.

The western horizon blazed with orange as the sun approached the sea. We had become bathed in the golden light of sunset by the time we made it back to the car. We returned the cooler and headed back to his apartment.

"Do you know how to cook a fish?" I asked.

"Do I...?" he sputtered. "Do I know how to cook a fish? I’m going to cook you a fish so good that you won't want to eat any more after this meal."

"Is that so?" I laughed.

"That is so,” he said.

We arrived at his apartment a little while later. I felt exhausted but happy as we walked into his apartment. I wondered if I was the only one who felt a bit awkward stepping over the very same piece of carpet where we had once passed out after our lengthy session of carnal embrace. Though I tried not to let my face show, as I felt a blush creep into my cheeks. He set the cooler on the counter, and grabbed a couple of beers from the refrigerator, handing one over to me.

"You deserve this,” he said.

"Thanks," I said. "You speak as if I had slain a mighty beast today or something."

"You did!" he insisted. "And now we are going to eat it."

I took a seat on the bar stool along the island in the middle of his kitchen and watched him work. He pulled the fish from the cooler and skillfully sliced it into several fillet sized steaks. I watched, increasingly impressed as he drizzled olive oil into the cast iron skillet and started it heating on the stove.

The beer tasted good, combined with the events of the day I felt renewed and invigorated, reminding myself once more that I needed to do this kind of thing more often. I recognized that I had a tendency to get caught up in my job and that I needed to let myself relax more often. When I did, I often felt guilty about it, feeling as if I should be doing something productive.

The pan sizzled as he placed a couple of the fillets into the heated oil. He then produced a couple of potatoes which he cubed and seasoned, placing them under the broiler in the oven. The smell of the cooking food made my mouth water.

"I didn't know that you knew how to cook,” I said.

"Well, you’re lucky,” he said.

"Why is that?" I asked.

"Because I promised you that I could cook this fish. What I didn’t tell you is that I can only cook fish. It's lucky that you caught this guy today because otherwise we'd be having ramen noodles and frozen burritos."

"The way I feel right now, I would eat ramen noodles and frozen burritos.” I laughed.

We continued to laugh and talk as the food cooked. He handed me a fresh beer when he dished up our plates. The flaky fish had been seasoned to perfection and the oven roasted potatoes provided the perfect compliment.

"This is delicious,” I said, dabbing my mouth with my napkin. "I’m truly impressed."

"Thank you," he said.

The sun, waves, and activities of the day were catching up with me, but the food perked me up quite a bit. I started to feel the whole body happiness of having been in nature. He must have felt the same way because we both ate in comfortable silence for several minutes, before I looked up at him and he started laughing.

"What?" I said, unable to stop myself from laughing as well.

"Nothing,” he said. "I'm just.... you must have been hungry."