15. Tea
Chapter 15
Tea
Courting a mate is a quiet affair.
The male loon will return to their territory and establish where nesting will take place.
The female follows weeks later, joining the same male after the previous year in their familiar territory.
Then comes the subtle dance of courtship—side-by-side swimming, bill dipping, circling, and calls between mates to solidify their new home.
“What’s the dream, Arch?”
She felt him tense and hardened her grip, refusing to let him steal his hand back.
It seemed like it took him a considerable amount of effort to even make the move on her; there was no way she was going to let him end it that soon.
He closed his eyes and let out a breath.
He squeezed her hand, then squeezed it again.
She squeezed back, hoping that it would reassure him.
It’s okay , she wanted to tell him.
You can trust me.
He cleared his throat.
“When I started in cocktail bars, I always had this dream in the back of my mind about opening my own spot.”
He didn’t say anything after that.
She rubbed her pointer finger into his skin.
Keep going .
“Not just a cocktail bar, but an actual school. Somewhere people can train, or take short courses. I had my eye on a spot for a while, but then…” He sighed.
“Well, you know.”
“Arch, that’s—”
“Crazy, I know.”
“ Awesome. It’s awesome.”
He looked into her eyes.
“Tea, you’ve seen me try to manage the resort. I’m horrible at admin of any kind, and I can’t get myself locked in to any consistent schedule.”
“Thankfully you don’t have to do it alone.”
His head tilted in confusion.
“Obviously you have me right now,” she continued.
“But the miraculous thing about starting a business? You can hire people to do the things you aren’t good at. People who have those strengths.”
He loosened his grip on her hand.
She thought she’d completely blown it, that he was going to retreat into himself.
Instead, he brushed his hand up her wrist and arm, then back down.
He continued his pattern in soft, methodical strokes.
“I wish I had your confidence.”
She scoffed.
“Confidence? Try again.”
“Yes, confidence. You came to me determined to work this summer. You knew exactly what you wanted, and you went for it. Nothing will stop you. I…admire it. I wish I had some more of it.”
She sighed.
I wouldn’t exactly put it that way.
She didn’t have anything to do, and offering to work with Archer felt more like a relief than a burden.
Even though Wild Pines didn’t pay—thankfully all of her student loan payments were put on pause— it’d become her favorite job yet.
She contemplated if it was the work…
or the man she worked with.
She concluded it was the work.
She liked numbers, but she also liked people.
She needed both. Even though she spent years avoiding the latter.
A thunk came from below and seconds later, a large splash of water crested the boat and splattered all over Archer, spraying Tea in the process.
He growled, hanging his head in defeat.
Then he bolted upright, dropping his hand from her skin, and screamed to his brother.
“All right, asshole, get ready to be cooked beef.”
Austin cackled as Archer ran off the boat and jumped in close enough to his brother that he could have hit his head, splashing Riley in the process.
Austin and Riley left two days later.
Riley made her promise that she would actually talk to her and keep in touch.
Tea agreed, but deep down, she felt like she was going to fail Riley all over again.
Especially after that day on the boat, when Archer reached for her hand and touched her skin in a way that was obviously more than friendly.
She didn’t even try to push him away.
She’d practically egged him on.
She knew she shouldn’t have.
Things with Archer could go south fast. She still planned on driving back to the east coast at the end of the summer and finding a job close to Mom.
If she let herself get involved, she would leave him heartbroken and shattered like last time, and any mended friendships she made would likely be done for good.
And yet that didn’t stop her from thinking about the feel of his hand in hers.
Tea sat in her usual Adirondack chair overlooking the lake, sipping her wine and reading her next book on loons: Voices of the Water: The Mating Patterns of Loons.
She found their mating behaviors fascinating, like how both the male and female incubate the eggs before hatching, and how nests are built close to the water.
She kept mulling over their migration patterns, how it was natural for loons to be settled in the same spot every summer, then traveling somewhere else for the cold season ahead.
It made her think of her own summer migrations, spending long days under the sun at the lake, then long nights back in New Jersey for the winter.
New Jersey had never really felt like home.
For Tea, it was merely a period of time to endure before returning back to the place that felt most natural to her.
She slammed her book shut, rattling the wine glass perched on the armrest next to her.
It was these kinds of thoughts that were the most dangerous.
It opened a chasm in her heart when she thought about what this place really meant to her.
It made her miss her dad.
It made her regret all the wasted summers after his death.
It made her anxious about finding a job and realizing she may never be able to have another full summer at Wild Pines ever again.
Never in life did she imagine being jealous of a bird.
“Let me guess, the loon broke up with the other loon and now they’re trying to divide their twigs and leaves properly, but they still love each other.”
Tea rolled her eyes as she turned toward a smirking Archer.
He was in his swimsuit, his chest covered by a life jacket.
She lifted the book in her hand.
“Guessing you’ve read this before.”
He let out a breath.
“It’s a steamy one.”
Her mouth split into a grin.
“No breakups. They actually incubate for twenty-eight days once they make a nest.”
“Sounds dirty.”
“ Archer . They’re birds.”
“Where do you think baby loons come from, Tea?” His eyes gleamed with mischief.
“You know, when a mommy loon and a daddy loon love each other very much—”
She tossed her book at him.
It bounced off his jacket and tumbled to the grass.
He chuckled as he picked up the book.
“Want to go water skiing, or do you want to sit here and read more about bird sex?”
“You’re insufferable.”
“I’ll take that as a yes.” He cocked his head.
“Go get your suit on.”
She sighed, then stood up and peeled off her sundress, stripping down to her suit.
Archer stood before her in complete silence, his eyes wide.
She placed her hands on her hips.
“Archer, I know you too well.” She pointed to the lake.
“It’s smooth as glass out there. I knew you were going to ask me.”
He cleared his throat, then nodded as he looked down at the grass.
She tilted her head.
“Something wrong?”
He coughed a laugh and shook his head, looking back up at her after a beat.
Dilated pupils. Flushed cheeks.
Clenched jaw. Good god .
Archer covered his mouth and scratched his face.
“Nice bikini,” he muttered.
He didn’t give her the chance to say anything in response as he walked straight for the water.
Moments later, as she clicked on her life jacket and sank into a seat on Rhonda’s boat, a small smile crept up her left cheek.
“You got this!”
Her hands fumbled as she attempted to slip the ski on underwater.
“No, I really don’t think I do!”
Archer grasped the end of the boat, the muscles in his arms flexing as he leaned over.
“ Cheap shot ,” she grumbled to herself.
“What was that?” he called to her.
She snatched the rope and pulled the handle toward her.
“Put the guns away!” she called back at him.
He looked down at his arms then back up at her, arching a brow.
“Guns?!” Rhonda yelled.
“She’s kidding,” Archer replied, still not looking away from Tea.
“Ready?”
“Not even in the slightest!”
Rhonda roared the engine.
Tea kept a tight grip on the handle and locked in her legs, using the pressure of the water against the ski to pop herself up.
For a few glorious seconds, she was upright, her hair whipping behind her, the sun on her face.
Until she realized her bikini bottoms were down by her ankles.
Shit! She let go of the handle and crouched down, falling into the water on her side.
The water ski slipped off.
She reached into the water for her feet, scrambling for her bottoms.
But they were nowhere to be found.
The boat puttered over to her.
Archer lifted his arms. “What happened? You were up!”
Tea frantically scanned the water around her.
“You didn’t see what happened?”
“Um, no? Did you slip?” He noticed her panicked expression.
“What’s wrong?”
She felt her cheeks flush.
“Um, wearing a bikini was probably not the right call.”
“I beg to differ, I think it was an excellent call—” He paused.
“ Oh. Oh no.”
“My bottoms slipped off and now I don’t know where they are.”
Archer froze, then tipped his head back and let out a booming laugh.
She glared at him. “Shut up and help me.”
He kept laughing as he removed the towel from around his shoulders.
Rhonda stepped up to him, hands on her hips.
“What’s going on?”
“Tea’s nude.”
“I’m not nude. I lost my swimsuit bottoms.”
“So you’re nude,” Rhonda teased.
Archer kept laughing as he stepped to the edge of the boat and dived in, facing the opposite direction to give her privacy.
Thankfully the lake water was dark enough that she was shaded from him as they swam around the vicinity looking for her bottoms.
After several minutes of unsuccessful searching, Archer swam up to her.
“Okay, it’s looking like your swimsuit has been sacrificed to the lake.”
“This is so embarrassing,” she bemoaned.
Archer lifted an arm, reaching for a wet strand of her hair and tucking it behind her ear.
“I’m going to get on the boat and hold up my towel, then you climb on and you can wrap it around yourself.”
She frowned.
“I liked this swimsuit.”
“Trust me, I did, too.”
If she hadn’t been swimming commando in freezing cold water, that comment probably would have left her feeling a little too warm.
Archer did as promised and was a gentleman about it.
She wrapped the towel around her waist tight as he unbuckled her life jacket.
Rhonda maneuvered the boat back in the direction of Wild Pines.
He sat down and covered his mouth, doing a terrible job at hiding the goofy smile on his face.
She sat down in a huff.
“Shove it.”
He tipped his head back and laughed again.
Nan was waiting for them on the dock.
As they got closer and closer to the sandy shore, Tea noticed her grandmother had a mask on her face.
Her stomach plummeted.
She popped out of the boat as soon as they docked, Archer close at her heels.
“Nan? Everything okay?”
Her grandmother sighed.
“Not exactly, my angel. Your grandfather said he wasn’t feeling well, so I took his temperature.”
She sucked in a breath.
She knew what would follow, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready for it.
“And?” Archer asked from her side, his voice tight.
Nan let out a long breath.
“It’s a hundred and one.”