Every Summer Has A Story

Ch. 48 - Keeping Up With The Lakes

When Austin had said "swimming", Eve thought he meant in the lake. Nope. Austin's mom lead Eve through the downstairs walkout to a huge outdoor infinity pool that over-looked stunning Lake Michigan.

"Mrs. Lake, this is incredible," she murmured, mouth agape.

Mrs. Lake chuckled breezily.

"Call me Eliza. And thank you, Austin helped me design a backyard overhaul last summer."

That was another check on the "things about Austin Lake I never saw coming' list.

Eve floated out into the pool on an over-sized inflatable Flamingo that matched Eliza's, sipping on a masterfully made frozen margarita.

"How's that 'rita tasting, lovely?" Ezra called from the outdoor bar.

Eve took a long sip and grinned,

"As fabulous as you are!"

Austin's older sister, Cora, tossed her long blonde hair over one shoulder and giggled.

"Ezra's margs are dangerous!" she warned from her perch on a lounge chair near the fire pit.

Avery sat on her right, toasting a marshmallow over the flames.

"I've woken up many a morning in new clothes with zero recollection of the night before," he confirmed.

Eve smiled, a lot of the initial awkwardness she had felt at the beginning of the night fading. It was incredibly intimidating coming into an immaculately clean and decorated 3 story mansion. She came from humble means. Her parents did well, they were comfortable, but she had never stepped foot inside of a home so lavish. She glanced up at Cora over the top of her drink and took a moment to study her. She looked a lot like Austin, actually, and rocked a bathing suit just as well. Eliza had shared that her daughter was a nurse in Chicago and that her husband, Noah, was in the military. Cora and Noah had a little girl, Ivy, that Eliza adored. It was late enough in the evening that Noah had taken little Ivy upstairs to bed, and Eve was excited to see her again in the morning. Eliza described her as a "three-nager" and Eve couldn't resist a little bit with sass.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Eve?" Eliza asked warmly, breaking into Eve's thoughts.

Eliza had her auburn hair pulled back into a simple french twist, showing off her elegant neck. She most closely resembled Avery and her soft, yet strong, demeanor matched him as well.

"I really am," Eve said.

"Austin tells me you're working at the summer camp near our summer house?"

Eve nodded cordially.

"Yes, I'm the health officer. I'm getting some extra experience for my medical school applications."

Eliza cocked her head in a way that told Eve she was pleased to hear that.

"How wonderful! We need more strong women in the medical field."

"That's true," Eve nodded, "and I'm excited to get started."

"You're certainly a breath of fresh air after the last girl Austin brought home," Eliza said dryly, "I know it's unkind of me to gossip, but she lacked ambition and didn't treat my boy with any care or respect."

Eve tried to keep her expression neutral. Evidently Eliza had a very different connotation of her relationship with Austin than what it was in reality... a reply died on her tongue however, as she was suddenly flung, drink and all, from her comfortable perch on the large flamingo. Cool chlorinated water sloshed over her head as she held the plastic cup toward the heavens, kicking her legs hard to keep the margarita unscathed.

"Austin!" she squealed, swirling around to confront her attacker.

A cute blonde wearing a shit-eating grin and bright orange board shorts splashed a little water toward her.

"Oh man, bummer! What happened Five Oh??"

A little fire of competition ignited in Eve's soul as she handed Eliza her cup with a sweet smile.

"Would you be so kind as to hold this for me, Mrs. Lake?"

"Eliza," she corrected with a grin, "and absolutely."

"Go get him, Evie!" Avery hollered, egging her on.

With her beloved tequila safe, Eve turned her sights on the middle Lake boy.

"Oh, sweet little Austin," she said with extra twang, "that wasn't a good idea, sugar."

Austin chuckled, but started backing up slightly at her advance.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said innocently.

Eve clucked her tongue and fixed him with a devilish grin before taking a big gulp of air and dropping below the surface, going straight for his ankles. She was pleased to see Austin drop like a sack of potatoes until he was eye-level with her underwater. With a burst of bubbles, she shot back up to the surface and swam away furiously, knowing Austin would be coming after her.

"Yas, Five Oh!" Ezra hollered, hoisting his drink in the air.

"Swim, Eve, swim!" Cora squealed gleefully.

Eve hit the stairs at the shallow end and scurried up onto the textured concrete, sprinting to the safety of the bar area. She flattened her back against the bar as Austin jump out of the pool, his laser focus on Eve's path of retreat. This was a strategic move on her part. Now she could clearly see Austin and he couldn't sneak up behind her.

"You had that coming, Austin!" Avery said, still perfectly comfortable in his lounge chair by the fire. 

"Eve is about to learn that if you mess with the bull, you get the horns." Austin said with a wink.

Eve put her hands on her hips, right above the ties on her white bikini.

"First of all, that's a quote from The Breakfast Club. Be original. And I'm from the South, sweetheart. Bulls don't scare me."

Austin cocked an eyebrow and broke into a dead sprint, reaching Eve's carefully selected spot before she had a chance to react. Any attempt to escape was thwarted by Austin putting a solid arm on each side of her shoulders, his palms pressed firmly against the stucco finish on the side of the house . Eve watched the beads of water sliding down his impressively sculpted chest.

"Homeboy doesn't skimp at the gym..." she thought, a series of inappropriate thoughts passing through her mind in succession. 

Judging by the heated look in Austin's sparkling hazel eyes, his thoughts didn't appear to be too terribly pure in nature, either. 

Eve seriously didn't know how to feel about that.

"What's your move, Eve?" he whispered, his gaze following the contour of her body in a way that made her shiver all over.

Austin seemed to be pretty brave out of the earshot of his family, and Eve toyed with the idea of playing along...

"Just waiting to see how brave you really are," she shot back in a saucy tone, enjoying the look of surprise on his pretty face.

"Make your move!" Ezra called, breaking the unexpected spell.

"Gladly," Austin grinned, abruptly pulling his hands away from the wall and tossing Eve over his shoulder.

"Damn it, Lake, put me down!" She squealed, halfheartedly pelting his back with her fists.

"Not a chance!" He hollered a breath before jumping into the deep end, the cool water dampening the flame that had made a valiant attempt to burn between them.