Remington was happy.

Addy had inexplicably let him into her life over the past few days.

She wasn’t ready to choose him, and he was in a state of near constant arousal, but he was happy.

He had spent the past few evenings learning to swim and how to teach others.

Today was his first day of giving lessons.

He and Addy had taken a group of ten-year-olds together and they were training them for the water performance on the day of the Floatillion.

It was great fun. The children were prone to splashing and yelling and laughing. Remington was learning that he liked their boisterous energy, which was so unlike the silent dignity of young ones on Aerie.

At last the day was over, and soon he would have the happiness of giving Addy a surprise.

Today was her birthday.

He had never partaken in the peculiar Earth custom before, but he knew that it was important.

“But what is it?” she asked as they climbed down the hillside from her cabin and headed toward the lake.

The others followed. Once again, the men from Aerie and the women from the senior women’s staff cabin were on a mission together.

“If I tell you, it won’t be a surprise,” he teased.

“I’m not really into surprises,” Addy remarked. But she was smiling and following faithfully behind him.

“You’ll like this one,” Honey said.

The mountains had nearly covered the light of the sun - perfect timing for what he had planned.

They walked down to the pebble beach at the edge of the lake and he led her to the big flat rocks near the water.

“Have a seat,” he told her.

Everyone settled themselves on the rocks. The night air was fresh and sweet around them. Owls called here and there. The only other sound was the lapping of the lake on the stones.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

He hurried off, listening to the murmur of his friends talking softly.

There was something comforting about the sound of their quiet conversation.

He pulled out the cooler he had hidden there half an hour ago. The cake, baked by a friend in the kitchen and decorated by the swim children, all in secret, was nestled inside.

Remington lifted it out and put it onto the wooden tray Malik had found for him. He lit the candles and then waded into the water.

Addy had once mentioned a children’s book where a child’s birthday was celebrated with a cake floating down the river. Remington loved the uncharacteristic dreamy look on her face when she described it.

The creek here was too low for floating a cake Malik had told him, but he could float it toward her in the lake.

When he rounded the curve he placed the tray with the cake into the cool water. It floated like a dream.

Nikki, who was covering Addy’s eyes with her hands, let go of Addy and began to sing the birthday song. Then the others joined in.

Addy squealed and then laughed.

Then her eyes grew wet.

Remington stopped singing, afraid that he had done something wrong.

But she got up from the rock where she sat, and padded toward him.

When she waded into the water, his heart leapt.

“Thank you,” she said softly. There were still tears in her eyes.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m just happy,” she said. “This was always a dream of mine. I used to imagine it when I was little.”

“I’m glad we could make it come true.”

The others finished singing and waded into the water to join them.

“Blow out the candles,” Indiana cried delightedly.

The men had seen plenty of birthday parties in the movies, so they knew the basics.

“Wait,” Remington said. “She has to make a wish. Do you have a wish, Addy?”

Addy tilted her head and looked into the distance for a moment.

“Yes.”

She leaned in, and with a mighty breath extinguished every candle.

The little group erupted in a happy cheer.

Addy laughed and lifted her fists over her head repeatedly, as if she had just won a boxing match.

“Oh, look at the decorations,” Nikki said.

“The children from the swimming team decorated it,” Remington told them.

He looked down at the cake in the moonlight. It was supposed to be a pool with people in it but it mostly looked like a blue cake with peach and brown spots.

“It’s beautiful,” Addy said. “I can’t believe you did this for me.”

“It was all Remington’s work,” Kitt told her.

“It was nothing,” Remington said softly.

“Well, it’s gorgeous, and I definitely want to eat it,” Addy said. “Did anyone bring silverware?”

Honey and Nikki laughed. Those two were endlessly amused at Addy’s eating habits.

Remington loved her appetite. His understanding of physiology and metabolism told him that she probably required a few thousand extra calories each day just to keep her body temperature up in the cool water.

But Addy wasn’t just hungry for food. She yearned for fun and for work and for everything the world had to offer. Her way of digging into every experience that presented itself was one of her best qualities, as far as Remington was concerned. He only hoped he might one day find himself on her menu.

Nikki began handing out plates as Indiana passed out forks and soon they were all lounging on the rocks, eating the sweet, sticky dessert.

“Look at all those stars,” Nikki said, stretching herself back on her rock, a slice of half-eaten cake forgotten on its plate beside her. “Can you see them like this on Aerie?”

“Some of them are so close you’d swear you could touch them,” Indiana told her.

Addy sighed and looked up too, without abandoning her dessert.

Remington laughed and swiped a bit of frosting off the corner of her mouth.

“Hey,” she protested.

He made a show of licking the frosting off his finger.

She got a mischievous look on her face.

The next thing he knew she had painted a dollop of icing on his nose.

“Guys,” Honey said nervously.

“Wait,” Kitt said. “Wait, I know what this is…”

“Food fight,” Indiana yelled, leaping up on his rock and flinging his cake directly into Kitt’s face.

Kitt smacked his lips as Indiana and Remington howled with laughter.

“No more,” Honey said firmly.

“They were raised on eighties movies, right?” Addy said, shrugging. Remington could see she thought it was funny.

Nikki covered her mouth and giggled.

But Honey was having no parts of it. She hustled Kitt into the water, scolding him and telling him to wash his face.

“Indiana started it,” Kitt protested. But he washed up quickly enough.

When he was clean again, Honey rewarded him with a kiss.

Remington turned his eyes back up to the stars to give them privacy.

Addy crawled onto his rock.

“This is really fun,” she told him. “Thanks a lot.”

“My pleasure,” he told her.

“The kids were great today, weren’t they?”

“They were wonderful,” Remington said with a smile, remembering.

“Do you think this will really work?”

At first he didn’t realize what she was talking about, and hoped she meant their friendship - or whatever it might one day become. Then it occurred to him that she meant the Floatillion.

“Yes,” he said.

“That took you too long,” she laughed. “Tell me the truth. Do you really think we can raise eighty-two thousand dollars?”

“It was an excellent idea, and if anyone can do it, you can,” he said sincerely. “And I will help you, so your chances are even greater.”

She smiled a funny smile, and studied him as if she were trying to calculate the fuel needed to launch him here from Aerie.

“What did you wish for?” He wasn’t sure where the question had come from. He’d meant to ask what she was thinking.

“I’ll tell you later,” she said.

“We’re heading out,” Kitt told them, as he waded back to the shore, Honey in his arms.

“We’ll walk with you guys,” Nikki said immediately.

“The party can’t be over yet,” Indiana said.

Then Nikki elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“My ribs,” he said.

“Come on, champ,” Nikki said to him.

He took off after her, and the four disappeared over the ridge.

“Wow, just us then,” Remington said.

Addy rolled her eyes.

“Why did you roll your eyes?”

“Sorry, I keep forgetting you guys are new to this stuff,” she said. “They wanted to give us some time alone.”

“Oh,” Remington viewed recent events in that light and suddenly they made sense. “Did you want us to have time alone? It is your birthday, after all.”

She shrugged.

“Do not worry, Addy,” he said, hopping up. “I’ll go bring your friends back so you can enjoy your party.”

“Wait,” she said.

That single word brought him more hope than he’d had since the day they met.

He paused and gazed down at her.

Her blue eyes danced in the moonlight, like the reflection off the lake.

“Want to swim a little,” she offered, tilting her head toward the water.

“Yes,” he said, offering her his hand.

She took it.

Remington felt the tingle of electricity run through his whole arm. It was the same every time they touched, as if his body knew she was his chosen bride, even though the words had not been officially uttered.

She stood, and they walked down to the water together, hand in hand.

The wet pebbles on the beach were cool but the water of the lake still held the vestiges of the summer day in its depths.

When they were in up to their waists, Addy took his other hand.

“Want to go under?” she asked.

“Yes,” he replied.

They sank into the lake together.

Remington slowed his respiration to match his environment.

He did not open his eyes. It was too dark to see anyway.

Instead, he focused himself on the tactile sensation of Addy’s small hands in his, the pulse in her fingertips.

It was quiet down here, and nearly as peaceful as Aerie, in spite of it being entirely water.

Very soon he felt the tickle of bubbles rushing upward and knew that Addy had released the air in her lungs. This meant that very soon she would need to go back to the surface.

He tried to enjoy the last few moments of time truly alone with her in the cool embrace of the night lake.

Then she was squeezing his fingers and they stood, streams of water pouring off them.

The night world seemed bright compared with the darkness under the lake.

Addy let go of his hands, shook her head and pulled her fingers through her hair. The droplets flew through the air, shimmering like stars.

Her wet t-shirt was clung to her, every tiny movement echoed in the bounce and sway of her perfect breasts, outlined by the translucent cotton.

“Addy,” he heard himself whisper.

And then she was flowing into his arms, her hands sliding up his pecs to twist around his neck, lifting herself up on tiptoe, crushing her breasts to his chest as she brushed his lips with hers.