I didn't know why I was acting like this. Was it the story? Was it the ease with which I was able to be around Jake? Was it because I just wanted to get out of here and I thought that this was the fastest way? Or was it, in fact, just that the heat was making me do crazy things?
To be honest, I felt like it was actually a little bit of all of those things. I was feeling less inhibited and willing to do things that I never thought that I would do before. And because of that, I had just jumped into the pond with nothing but my underwear on. I was literally in my bra and panties. I was not the type of person who would do this. At least, I never thought that I was.
If I were to have been given this opportunity in my life growing up, I might have done it. I don't know for sure if I would have or not. I was the type of person that did what I decided on without second guessing it. Most of the time anyway. So, if I were with friends at a lake or something. And if it were a hot summer day. And if I were not feeling nervous, I would definitely jump into the water to cool off and have some fun. Why not? It wasn't like it was illegal.
Then again, it might be illegal here. It might be against the law to show this much skin or something like that. I guess I would find out later. If I were to be punished, that is. Then again, the prince was following me into the water with nothing but his cotton boxers on. So, I guess it wasn't going to be illegal after all. That was good.
"Ash!" He called out to me. "Wait up!" He was swimming toward the middle of the pond where I was treading water.
"You are so slow, Jake." I laughed and pushed myself under the water. This could be a good opportunity for me. I hadn't thought about it before, but there was definitely something that I could get out of this. I needed to see if this guy had the mark that the Keeper had told me about. I was already about ninety-nine percent sure that I had the right guy, but if I wanted to be one hundred percent sure, I needed to see if he had that mark. Too bad the Keeper didn't tell me where it was located on him. I mean, it could be on his chest where mine was. But that would be too easy. My luck, it would be on his ass.
"ASH!" Jake was calling out to me. I was still under the water, hovering just below his feet. I could see clearly with the light that was shining through. "ASH!" He was starting to sound worried. Did he think that something had happened to me? That I had ended up drowning? "ASH!"
OK, I couldn't take it anymore. For one thing, he was being so adorable as he called out to me. The cries were distorted by the water, but I was able to hear him nonetheless. I needed to let him know that I was OK. But I was still going to have some fun with him first.
I swam a little higher and reached out with my right hand. The moment that I was close enough, I grabbed Jake's ankle and pulled hard. That pull helped to propel me toward the surface of the water, while also pulling him under the water.
I was laughing when I broke the surface. Actually, I think that I was laughing before I broke the surface of the water. And, therefore, I was gasping for air when I came up to breathe.
"That was mean." He spit the water out of his mouth as he looked at me.
"But oh, so funny." I was still laughing as he came closer to me.
"Why, you little." He didn't say anything else. Instead, he just put his hands on my head and pushed me under the water. I was still laughing and that move caused me to get a mouth full of water. I was coughing and spluttering when I came up, but the smile was still on my face. And so was the smile that was on his face.
"Oh, now we have a war on our hands." I grinned at him as I moved closer to him. I propelled myself out of the water so that I was able to put my hands on his shoulders and push him down like he had done to me.
Things didn't go according to plan though. Jake had ended up catching me as I moved out of the water and he was holding me half out of the water as he looked up at me.
"A..Ash, that mark there." He was looking at the cherry mark on my chest. The one that I had just been thinking about.
"What about it?" I wanted to know what it was that he was getting at.
"I have one too." He lowered me into the water, but he wrapped his right hand around my waist to keep me next to him. "Look." When he brought his left hand out of the water, I saw that he also had a mark. This one was on his wrist. It was in the perfect spot to be hidden by a wristwatch or by the cuff of a shirt. That was convenient for him.
"Oh." I smiled at him. "Isn't that interesting?" I couldn't let him know that I was happy to see the mark. Or that it let me know that this man was indeed the one that I needed to finish this story. I had been operating under the assumption that it was him since I was at the ball with him. Maybe it was intuition, maybe it was something else, I don't know. It was probably just because the prince was the logical conclusion to the story.
"I am happy. Knowing that we share these similar marks, it makes me feel like we are meant to be together."
"Maybe." I was smiling right back at him. Why was I feeling so happy about this? It was just a line from this story. It wasn't like it was true or anything. He and I were not really meant to be together. Though, for some odd reason, I really did like this man. If I wasn't trapped in a book like this when I met him, I might have actually gone out with him. Though,my luck, he wouldn't like the real me.
"Your mark is like a perfect little cherry. Mine is shaped the same, but it's nowhere near as perfect as yours is." He was still looking at me as he spoke. More specifically, he was looking at the mark on my chest. "It's so perfectly shaped that I feel like I could taste it."
"Why don't you?" Where the hell had that come from? Why did I just say that? What was the matter with me? What was going on with me?
"W..wh..what?" The way that Jake was looking at me was enough to tell me that he was not expecting me to say that. He was shocked beyond belief that I had suggested that he taste the cherry. Though, I was able to see in his eyes that he wanted to taste it. He was a man after all, and I knew that he was going to be excited about it.
"Go ahead. Taste it. See if it tastes like a cherry." I was being way more provocative and seductive than I had ever been in my entire life. I felt like I was a completely different person. And that, for the first time in my life, there was someone that I wanted to be with.
The fact that I wanted to be with him though, should not have been enough to change me like this. At least, I didn't think that it would be enough. Or was this the real me that was just waiting for the right person to come out?
I guess I would never know the answer to that, because after my second time suggesting that Jake taste the cherry, he took my advice. I felt his tongue swipe across the tender flesh at the top of my breast. It was not somewhere I was used to someone touching. Not even me. And the sensation was enough to make me writhe in his arms.
I wanted to throw my head back. I wanted to invite him to do more, but I didn't know how to tell him that. I didn't know how to express that I wanted to have him touch me more. I didn't have to, though. He knew. And it was clear that he wasn't at all done with tasting that piece of me.