The first week of September was insufferably hot, with temperatures easily hitting the high nineties. Keeping the horses cool and hydrated became our main focus, but that didn't mean our usual chores didn't have to get done too.

I was in my office or in the stables most of the day, with two fans blowing in my face and a mini fridge stocked with icy cold water bottles, but John wasn't nearly as lucky. He was working in the scalding heat from sun up 'til sun down, and since he wasn't the kind of guy to take breaks without someone twisting his arm, I had to make sure he stayed cool and hydrated too.

It was almost three o'clock when I spotted him a couple of yards away, his back turned to me. I leaned against the wooden door of the stables and admired the view. He'd discarded his shirt since the last time I'd seen him, his torso baked by the sun and his hard muscles glistening with sweat. His jeans hung low on his hips and his white cowboy hat hid most of his face.

Daringly I inserted two fingers in my mouth and let out a wolf-whistle that would make my cousin Dale proud.

John's head whipped around and a slow grin appeared on his face.

"Enjoyin' the view?" he called,

"Take a break! Come here!" I called back.

He sauntered towards me, that easy grin still on his face. I smiled at him as he closed the distance, stopping right in front of me. He stood with his booted feet parted shoulder-width and his thumbs hooked in the belt loops of his jeans. He was trying to be sexy, in that goofy way of his, but it totally worked. God, it worked. I looked up into his dark eyes, adjusting his hat so that I could get a better look at his face.

"What's up boss?" he drawled.

I licked my lips; between the heat and his close proximity, my brain was complete mush. "Here, drink up," I said, remembering the water bottle I'd brought with me. I handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said gratefully, taking a generous swig. "Not gonna lie, I was tempted to hang out in the horse trough for a while there; it's way too damn hot to function," he chuckled, leaning against the wall next to me.

I reached for his hand and tugged him into the shade of the stables.

"You're done for today, I've got an idea," I told him with a playful smile.

"I've got another three hours' of work left to do, I can't just–" he began with a chuckle, but I wasn't listening and he gave up halfway through his sentence.

Still holding onto his hand, I spun around and led him into the office so that I could close my computer, the radio I was listening to and the fans. I also needed to rid my desk of the paperwork I really didn't feel like doing right now.

He watched me silently, a grin toying on his lips as I dashed around the room in my flowery sundress, my curls dancing along with me.

"You're givin' me a heatstroke watchin' you move around so much," he commented.

I smiled at him as I pulled my hair up in a messy bun, fanning myself a little.

"Do you wanna go swimmin'?" I asked him. "If we go about half a mile down the trail I use for trail rides with my kids there's this lake my friends and I used to go to when I was younger... Anyway, it's a nice spot. We could go... bring some marshmallows and make a whole evenin' out of it," I added excitedly.

"We can always add in a tent and a couple sleepin' bags, make it a whole night?" he smirked, mischief in his dark gaze. He was looking me over, the look on his face making my heart rate speed up.

"Okay," I breathed.

John went in town to grab junk food for the campfire and I went to change into my nicest bikini, a light blue one with thick white stripes. I accompanied it with a pair of denim shorts and a white tank top, re-doing the bun on top of my head so that it wasn't so lopsided and gross.

I took a deep breath and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I was nervous. I was really nervous. By staying together overnight, did that mean he wanted to–?

Was I ready for that?

Oh God, how was I supposed to know? I liked him, and I was really attracted to him, but taking that next step – it wasn't one I would take lightly... if I decided to take it.

I'd never been with a man before, not like that, and it scared me. What if I wasn't good enough? What if I wasn't sexy enough? What if I was too clumsy and didn't do it right? What if he didn't like it? What if it hurt? What if I told him I wanted to wait and he got sick of me? He was a guy after all; he wouldn't want to wait for too long surely...

I didn't want the spoil the whole evening by over-analyzing things though, so I pushed the thoughts out of my mind, focusing on what I needed to do in order to get ready for our date.

I sprinted around the house quickly, my iPod on shuffle as I packed some things in a big hiking backpack that, when filled, weighed almost as much as I did: sweatpants in case it got too cold, my high school sweatshirt, a baseball cap, extra boots, bath towels, tongs and other things we might need to cook with, ketchup, mustard, seasonings for our burgers, four water bottles, a lighter, a small campfire grill, paper towels, trash bags...

"I feel like I'm forgettin' somethin'," I told the cat as she snaked around my legs, evidently aware that I was leaving her behind for the next 24 hours.

"Oh damn, flashlights," I hissed, making my way across the house to the closet near the front door.

I got some spare batteries from the miscellaneous drawer in the kitchen.

I left the hiking backpack near the front door and added two sleeping bags next to it so that John could carry them out later. We were going to take two horses out there to the campsite, so I didn't want to pack too much in case it got too heavy for him.

Not that I was too worried; after all, he was in the army for almost a decade. He was probably used to long hikes in the scalding sun with a whole lot of gear to carry around with him.

I glanced out of the window just as John came rolling back in the driveway.

"I'll be down in a second! Can you get the tent? It's on the top shelf of the closet to your left, I can't reach it," I yelled at him when I heard the front door open and close.

I was halfway up the stairs to grab my camera in my bedroom, just in case John decided he was feeling photogenic – he wasn't too excited whenever I wanted to take photos with him, but I was going to make him, I didn't care.

"On it," he said, his voice carrying all the way up to the second floor landing.

When I came back down, we picked everything off the floor and headed off to the stables to saddle up two horses. I wasn't surprised when John picked Spirit.

"Hey buddy," John said to the horse, running his fingers agilely over the horse's muzzle and through his dark mane. "Feel like third wheelin' it tonight?" he smirked.

"He'll have his own date; he won't be a third wheel at all," I smiled, heading to the stall in front of Spirit's, owned by a young Palomino named Saffron. She was six years old now and the foal of another one of our horses.

"Mm, Saffron, good pick. She'll keep up with him good," John agreed.

It was still light out – and still way too hot – when we got to the campsite. My dad used to take me and my mama here sometimes when I was little, but that was quite a few years ago, almost a decade. I took my friends here a few times during the summers for bonfire parties when I was a teenager, but other than that this place hadn't seen much traffic in over three years.

There was a lot of overgrowth, but otherwise it was just as I remembered it, right down to the rope swing tied to a thick branch, hanging a couple feet over the still water.

"We planted those three trees over there," I pointed out. "When I was six... the one in the middle is mine... The one on the left is my dad's... and that's my mom's," I told him. They were getting big; fourteen years was quite a bit of time to spread their roots and become one with the surrounding woods.

"That's awesome," John smiled, already beginning to unload our camping gear onto the ground. When he was done and the horses were safe in the little enclosure my dad had built, John wiped the sweat off his brow and adjusted his hat. "How cold do you think the water is?" he asked longingly.

"The trees cover up most of the sun here so pretty cold," I told him, looking at the water too, only I was a little more reluctant. I was a total chicken.

"Are you goin' in?" he asked playfully.

"If you are," I giggled, glancing up at him and realizing he was already starting to undress: taking off his hat, slipping out of his boots and stuffing his socks inside. I bit down on my lower lip, watching him as he took his shirt off and let it fall to the ground at his feet.

"Damn right I am," he grinned, fiddling with his belt and causing me to look away. I heard his pants fall down and peeked from the corner of my eye...

...and I blinked a few times at the sight, grateful that his focus was on putting his clothes together in a pile. John looked good in his underwear. My throat suddenly felt very dry. I cleared it as silently as I could and forced my gaze not to wander too far down.

He went over and grabbed onto the rope, giving it a few good tugs to make sure it would hold his weight. I watched him, still fully dressed.

"If you're waitin' for it to get warmer, I can assure you it won't," I called.

John turned his head around to look at me and made a face. "Shut it, I'm concentratin'!" he told me, and I burst into fits of laughter. He tightened his hold on the thick rope, his shoulders moved like he was taking a breath, and then he started running, going full speed towards the edge of the bank.

He swung Tarzan-style over the water and cannonballed in the deepest part of the swimming hole.

"Shit! Oh, damn, that is cold!" he yelped when he resurfaced, sweeping his wet hair out of his face.

It was my turn now, and by his reaction alone I really wasn't too thrilled about going in there.

"Don't you dare chicken out on me now," he said.

Slowly I started to undress in front of John; I had my bikini, so it's not like I was stripping into my underwear the way he had or going completely nude, but still my cheeks flushed red at the thought that he was looking on... and that, by the look on his face, he obviously liked what he saw. John was seeing me with barely any clothes on for the first time and, being a twenty year-old woman unused to male attention, I was feeling all sorts of insecure.

With my bare foot I pushed my clothes into a pile and wrapped my arms around my torso, looking at the water, and then at the man waiting for me.

"On three or I'm comin' to get you myself," he smirked and I took a step back, watching him like a hawk. He swam closer to me; it was a little shallower where he stood now, the water reaching the middle of his chest. "One... two..." he paused and gave me a long look.

"John, don't you dare," I warned him.

"Fine, okay, take your time," he said with a shrug, raising his hands defensively.

There was something in his gaze. He didn't mean – oh crap!

With all of the force that he possessed – which was a lot – he caused the biggest splash he possibly could, making sure all of it was sent my way. I was drenched!

"John!" I shrieked, glaring at his stupid, laughing face.

"No reason not to join me now," he grinned.

"I really don't like you right now," I glared.

"Oh come on, you totally do," he teased. "I'll warm you up if you jump," he added, taking on a totally different approach... seducing me into jumping into an icy pit of doom.

"You could come up here and warm me up," I smiled, feeling new butterflies explode in my belly. I wrapped my hands around the rope swing and took a deep breath. I really didn't want to do this. "Okay, fine, I'm comin', don't you dare splash me again!" I said.

"I cross my heart," he smirked.

I closed my eyes and started to run, screamed and let go.