Lying on the woven linen picnic blanket draped over the beams of the dock next to Dakota, who's warmth radiated off of his skin and onto mine while he pointed out a constellation, was perfect. The lite beers we'd had had long since worn off, but the fireflies, stars, and lake held their own form of intoxication. I felt incredibly comfortable in this moment. So free. Dakota dished,

"You know, my brother Fox has a major crush on your cousin Amber. It's so funny. Amber is such a nice girl. Have you gotten to see her since moving here?"

I smiled at the thought of grown-up newly 18 year old Amber being a nice girl. I answered,

"No, I haven't gotten to see Amber yet. I honestly hope she'll give me a chance. I ran into Ivy and she just doesn't like me-- at all."

Dakota chuckled, shaking his head, and responded, half-joking

"Well, Ivy doesn't like anybody."

We lied in peaceful silence once more, watching a gray owl fly overhead. Dakota reflected,

"The summer when I was ten, I met you, once. You and Amber and Ivy were getting sno-cones at the General Store. I was there with my mom and brother, also getting sno-cones, and you were just covered-- absolutely covered-- in paint."

I laughed, unable to recall that specific memory

"Really? Well, that definitely sounds like me."

He leaned on his hand, turning toward me. I asked, mirroring his position by turning on my side, too

"Well, what did you think of me?"

He smirked,

"I was 10, and about to get a sno-cone. No offense, but I didn't think much! But now..."

He trailed off, and leaned in toward me. I immediately thought of how soft Dakota's lips would be on mine, how perfectly his hand would fit on the small of my back if he were to draw me closer... but he only leaned in to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear. I mentally sighed in anguish. Finishing his statement, he said

"I think you're a very determined, passionate person, and you remind me a lot of your Grandpa Ezekiel."

The words touched me, especially since I wasn't able to have a relationship with my grandpa outside of the birthday phone call; But probably no girl wants their crush to think of them like a grandpa, I concluded.

We continued lying on the dock, chatting about town and our favorite things in life. I sat up now, and Dakota asked

"Want to play truth or dare?"

I playfully replied,

"If we do, at least one of us is gonna end up in the lake."

He grinned

"Good. I don't know about you, but I could always use a swim."

I nodded

"I'm game, you start us off. Ask me something."

He turned on the flashlight we'd brought and held it under his chin, casting ghastly shadows on his face. He said in an intentionally spooky voice

"Summer, truth or dare?"

I laughed at his attempt to scare me, then paused, weighing my options

"Truth."

He bit into another wild-berry, a little of the purple-red juice lingering for a moment on his full lips

"Okay, how much do you know about Morgan, Vermont?"

I scrunched my brows

"Are you asking me history questions?"

He shook his head, looking more serious than I'd expect

"No. I was wondering if you'd heard anything... unusual about Lake Seymour and its surroundings."

I thought for a moment, and then answered, laughing

"Well, the cab driver who brought me here from the airport told me to watch out for werewolves. I guess that's the only creepy thing I've heard about around here. Besides the bullfrogs of course. They're pretty creepy too."

He laughed, and then said

"I'd heard you didn't know anything about the town's superstitions, but wow. I can't believe some cab driver was the first one to mention the whole 'werewolf' thing to you."

I shrugged

"I don't really buy into all of that. Anyway--"

I flashed the light and placed it under my chin on before continuing, with an equally spooky voice

"Truth or dare?"

He answered

"Truth!"

I asked

"Tell me about your tattoo."

He seemed almost shocked, and looked down at the howling wolf silhouette on the under his wrist. He admitted

"It's been re-done pretty recently, but I originally got it in... juvie. Which is ironically where I figured my life out."

I asked, shocked

"What did you do to get into that kind of trouble?"

He shook his head, now teasing

"You'll have to ask me on my next turn. Truth or dare?"

I answered

"Dare."

He took a spoon out of the bowl of berries and handed it to me with a devilish grin

"Here's your microphone. Serenade me."

I gasped

"Oh no. I'd rather try to lick my elbow or um, dunk my head under water for 20 seconds... but not sing!"

He cackled

"Well, now I want to hear you sing even more."

I took the spoon reluctantly, and stood on the dock like it was my stage. Imagining I was a pop-star at a concert, I began singing a song we'd heard too many times on the radio while doing home repairs. I had only meant to sing the first few lines, but I got really in to it ended up belting out the whole chorus. I dropped the spoon like it was a mic, and shouted

"Thank you very much!"

He laughed, clapping

"That was great! I might not even mind hearing that song on the radio next time."

I put my hand to my face, which was so warm now, and shook my head

"Thanks. Alright mister, truth or dare?"

He answered confidently

"Well since I don't want to be the next one to sing into a spoon, I'll go with truth one more time."

I laughed

"Okay. Good, because I wanted to ask you why you went to juvie."

He sighed

"I'd tell you sometime eventually... Growing up it was just my mom, myself and Fox. You'd never guess now, because of how carefree seeming the kid is, but Fox was bullied in school every day for being deaf. As his older brother it was tearing me apart to see him go through that, so I started picking on the bullies, getting in fights... and went to juvie at fifteen for breaking a guy's jaw. In juvie, I figured out that kicking someone's ass doesn't make me a better brother, and that's not the right way to protect Fox. You know who bailed me out?"

I shook my head. He answered

"Ezekiel did. One of the many times he was there for me."

I smiled at that

"You were good for each other. It means a lot that my grandpa had someone he could believe in..."

He smiled and gently brushed my fingers with his

"Thank you, Summer."

I reminded him, now playfully nudging him

"Isn't there something you'd like to ask me?"

He smirked

"Truth or dare?"

I replied, already guessing how this would end up

"Dare!"

He confirmed my suspicions by saying

"I dare you to jump into the lake!"

I took off my thin flannel and leapt off the dock's edge into the inky water. There was just something about this lake that called to my soul.

Before even surfacing, I could hear him cheering for me. I took a breath of warm summer night air and asked

"Truth or dare?"

He smiled

"Dare!"

I said

"Join me."

Dakota stood at the edge of the dock, and pulled his gray T-Shirt over his head, exposing the muscles that had been previously hidden by the shirt's loose fit. The moonlight dancing on the water caused a visual effect of silver light to be cast upon his toned torso. Warring urges within me told me to look away while simultaneously staring. In the cool water, I felt the skin on my neck and chest grow warm. Wrapped tightly into a cannon-ball, Dakota sprung off the dock and high into the air before plunging into the water. I was left laughing and choking on water from his humongous splash. He emerged, wiping hair off of his forehead.

Our eyes met, and in that moment I swam forward and rested my palm on the back of his neck. He drew me even nearer, wrapping an arm around my back and bringing his chin near mine. I leaned forward, closing my eyes and meeting his lips near my own. A soft, sweet kiss turning passionate. He moved his kisses to my jaw, and then to my neck. I buried my hands in his wet hair, and brought his mouth back to mine for another kiss. He took my left wrist in his hand gently, and was about to kiss my palm when he saw them. The scratches.

The mood turned from that of fervency to shock and exasperation in mere moments. He asked

"What are those? Where did you get those-- and who...?"

I pulled away from him now, and he let me go. I answered

"What's the problem? They're just scars. I got scratched by a wolf, okay?"

He asked

"Did Asher do this to you? Or somebody on the other side of the lake, like Drake? And when did this happen?"

Looking at them under the moonlight, the scars appeared much more recent. I swam to the dock and heaved myself up, now grabbing for my shirt. I raised my voice at him,

"I don't even know who Asher or Drake are! And no one scratched me. Like I said, it was a wolf! It happened a long time ago. I can't believe you're making such a big deal out of something so stupid! You have a scar too, on your collar bone. And a tattoo from juvie, which you don't see me talking about!"

He raised up his hands, trying to make a truce, and said

"I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I didn't mean to offend you..."

I sighed, shaking my head, caught between the kisses and his comment on my scratches. I finally said

"It's getting late. I'm gonna head in. I'll see you tomorrow."

I turned on my heels and walked to my front door without looking back.