One minute, I was telling Jesse I regretted not tackling him into the water, and the next, I was flying through the air.
Jesse left nothing to chance.
He cradled me to his chest and jumped into the water so strategically that (besides the shock of being hurled through the air unexpectedly and landing in water) it was actually an okay experience.
The water was chest deep, and after a few brief seconds of semi-ungraceful flailing about, I found my footing and regained my composure. I laughed and wiped the skin under my eyes, looking at my fingertips just to make sure there was no smeared makeup. All I had worn was mascara, anyway.
"You look beautiful," Jesse said, seeing me fuss over my appearance by touching my face.
I grinned at him. "You did that just now," I said, stating the obvious.
"Yep." He pulled me closer, and as I took a watery step toward him, a stick got wedged in between my sandal and my foot.
"Ew, I hate standing on pond floors," I said, shaking my foot rapidly. "There's a stick in my sandal. I'm always afraid it's a fish if something touches me, and it freaks me out. I don't mind swimming pools or even the beach, but I don't like the lake. You know, because of the sticks and leaves and stuff."
"You didn't think about the many, many lake-sticks and leaves in your fantasy, huh?" he asked, reaching out for me.
I laughed. "I didn't consider the sticks," I said.
He turned and headed for the ladder, pulling me behind him.
"We don't have to get out," I said, seeing what he was doing.
"I know we don't," he said with a smile. "But let's do it anyway. Come sit by me and dry off. Jumping in was the best part."
I gave him my hand and he pulled me toward him. He climbed the ladder and sat on the edge of the dock with the sun to his back, and I climbed up and sat right next to him.
"I'm lucky I didn't lose these things," Jesse said, taking off his leather flip-flops and setting them on the dock a few feet away.
I took off my shoes as well, even though they were plastic and didn't really need to dry.
Jesse rolled the cuffs of his jeans before sticking his feet into the water, and I did the same. I ran my fingers through my hair and adjusted my clothes. Jesse leaned back, propping himself up with his hands, and I followed suit, turning to smile at him once we both got settled. We had only been sitting there in that relaxed state for a few seconds when he sat up again.
I watched in amazement as Jesse shifted in all the right ways to shed his soaking wet T-shirt.
He twisted, and shrugged, and moved, and within seconds the T-shirt was off his body. Jesse carefully stretched the shirt onto the deck behind us and then got back into the same, leaning back, relaxed position.
He smiled at me, and I stared at him with a deadpan expression that must have reflected how stunned I was. He wasn't bulky, but he had defined muscles for sure, and I stared at them as he leaned back casually.
"You did that on purpose," I said.
I instinctually sat up a little straighter while trying not to be obvious. I unabashedly gawked at Jesse's torso for an awkwardly long amount of time before finally looking at his face.
"Jesse, this business with the abs is really, uh, distracting to me."
He gave me an amused smile. "I just ate before I came over here, too," he said, grinning and patting his own stomach.
The fact that he was touching it made me look at it again.
"You planned this. You pulled us into the water just so you could take this shirt off and show me what you have going on under here.
"Nu-uh," he said. "You wanted to be pulled into the water. Besides, I don't need to get all wet just to take my shirt off. I can do that in front of you anytime now that you're my girlfriend."
"It makes my stomach feel funny when you say that."
"Funny how? Like you need some Pepto, funny?"
I shook my head and put a hand on my chest. "It's my chest, too, not just my stomach. Say it again," I said concentrating.
"Say what? That you need some Pepto?" he asked, being dense on purpose.
I shook my head.
"Do you mean that I can take my shirt off any time I want in front of you, because you're my girlfriend?"
I nodded with my eyes closed. "That's the part. Say that one more time."
"The whole thing? Or just the word girlfriend?"
He asked that while leaning over and whispering directly into my ear, and my body seized up with sheer pleasure.
"The word, I think," I muttered, burying my face into my hand. "I think it's the word."
"You better enjoy it while it lasts," he said, "because I don't think it'll apply for very long."
My eyes popped open, and he smiled. "We'll move past the dating thing pretty quickly don't you think?" he asked reasonably.
My heart wanted to explode with sheer pleasure.
It was like the best Disney Princess, fairytale dream come true.
Something I honestly believed that I would never have was now a part of my reality.
I sat up, bringing my hands to my chest. "I feel warm inside, Jesse, like happiness is a tangible feeling, and I'm experiencing it right now." I looked him over with an almost disbelieving expression. "I honestly can't believe this is happening."
"Are you agreeing to marry me right now?" he asked.
I made a series of expressions that caused him to laugh. "Are you asking me?" I asked.
He took a second to seriously consider that question. "Yes, but I guess it's kind of unofficial," he said.
"Then unofficially I say yes, I guess."
Jesse stretched on the dock, shielding his eyes with the side of his hand as he squinted up at me, smiling. I was sitting next to him, so I turned and leaned over him a little bit, smiling at the sight of him staring up at me.
"I hate to put it this way, but if we do this right now, we're kind of stuck with each other." I leaned over him even more, staring at every curve of his face. "We're definitely stuck," I said.
Jesse used his other hand to block the sun from my eyes and I smiled at him for helping me see him more clearly. "Stuck for good," he added, grinning.
"Stuck like glue."
"I wish that part would start right now," he said. "I wish you'd glue yourself to me right now."
"I'm right here," I said, nudging my leg toward him to show that I was already close enough to touch him.
He shook his head and pulled me closer—so close that I was leaning on his chest. My whole upper body was resting on his, and I asked him about three times if I was too heavy, but he assured me I wasn't and kept repositioning me so that I was resting right on him and putting a lot of my weight on his chest. He balled up his shirt and stuffed it under his head, using it as a pillow.
"I'm glad we got wet," I said, feeling thankful for the whole beautiful, soaked scene with his wet hair resting on a wet T-shirt and me staring down at him.
"Sorry about the sticks and leaves," he said.
"Please don't be sorry for a single second of this morning. I love the sticks. I wish I would've kept one for my collection."
"Do you have a stick collection?"
"No, but it could've been my first."
"I can pull you in the water again if you want. We can get another one stuck in your sandal."
I shook my head casually. "No thanks. I loved that you did it, but once was good. I like my current situation, anyway."
I glanced down at the fact that I was resting against Jesse's body, and the next thing I knew, I was overcome by the uncontrollable urge to kiss him. First, I was looking at his chest and then I shifted to stare at his face. I knew by the way he looked at me that if I kissed him he would most assuredly kiss me back.
"Jesse, guess what," I whispered.
"What?"
"I love you. I love you, and I'm glad I'm stuck with you. I want us to be stuck with each other. It's a relief to be stuck with you."
He held me securely to his chest. "I know. It is, isn't it?" he said. "I agree. Let's be stuck together forever. Starting now."
"Like this?" I asked. I glanced at our chests.
He nodded even though we both knew it was impossible to hold that pose forever.
I smiled and leaned in to kiss him.
I stopped when my mouth was right next to his and stayed there, unmoving for a few seconds.
"Why are you not kissing me right now?" he asked.
Our mouths were so close that I could feel his breath on my lips. I readjusted so I could get even closer to him, but I didn't let my mouth touch his. I wanted him to be the one to reach forward and close the gap, but he didn't. He waited for me to do it.
Finally, and with breathless anticipation, I let my mouth fall onto his. It was different being in control—his lips seemed softer and more relaxed. I tasted his mouth and kissed him gently several times before pulling back to stare at him.
"Whatchu stoppin' for?" he asked.
I leaned forward and kissed him again when he said it, and he nodded, which made me kiss him again.
He kept his head resting on the T-shirt so that I had to go to him.
I kissed him over and over, gentle kisses on his mouth and then on his cheek and jaw.
"I love you," I said into his ear.
I pulled back to regard him after what must have been five minutes of carefully administered kisses, and Jesse stared at me.
"Rose I will never love anyone else. I truly believe that God just made you for me and gave you to me. I know we lived our own lives for a little while, but I think we came together just when we were ready."
I ran my fingers through his hair, knowing in my heart that I would be doing things like that with this man for the rest of my life.
"Do you want to be together forever?" I asked.
"Yep."
"Yep," I said. "Because we're stuck."
"Like glue," he said.
"Oh no!" I said, feeling genuinely upset.
"What?"
"I wanted to frame it, too!" I said with utter disappointment as I fished the soaking wet photograph out of my pocket. "I wanted to hang it up at our fiftieth wedding anniversary."
"Oh no, I'm so sorry," Jesse said, when he realized. "Here, set it right here and we'll let it dry."
He stretched out and positioned the wet photograph on it a dry spot on the dock, putting the very edge of his sandal on it so that it wouldn't fly away.
"Mom might have another one," he said. "But we could show them the water logged one at our fiftieth anniversary and tell them this whole story. That'll be good, too."
I looked at the photo and then at Jesse. "Wouldn't it be amazing if we had this same picture when we're old?"
"Yep, it would," he said sweetly.
I leaned over so I could stare down at it. "Look how cute we were."
"You were," he said. "I was probably thinking about putting a frog down your shirt."
"No, you weren't. I can tell you loved me—even back then. Look how sweet."
"You're right," he said, "I really did. I've always known I was at home with you."
"I'm so happy," I said, since it was the truth.
He smiled. "How happy?"
"Seventeen-thousand miles happy," I said, stating a random amount to demonstrate how ultimately content I was.
He shook his head at me, looking entertained. "Don't tell me in miles," he said.
"How should I tell you, then?"
"Lips."
"Lips?" I asked, trying to imagine how you would measure anything in lips.
Jesse smiled at my look of confusion. "Lips," he repeated. He pointed at his own mouth. "Just put yours right here."