21. Tea
Chapter 21
Tea
Once a nesting site is established, loons will make their annual return.
Low success rates or changes to the environmental habitat may contribute to a deviation from previous patterns, leading the aquatic birds to canvas for a new site within the territory.
The pair may produce one or two eggs in a season, then remain in the nest for an incubation period of twenty-eight days.
Tea straddled Archer’s chest, pinning him to the bed.
A small bedside lamp cast his room in a dim orange glow, but it was still enough light to give Tea the chance to thoroughly examine all of Archer’s tattoos.
She traced the snake that coiled around his left bicep with her pointer finger.
“How do you decide which tattoo to get?”
He shrugged.
“It honestly depends on my mood.”
“Do they all have a meaning?”
“Some don’t. Some do.”
She hummed, drawing a line on his skin to the next one.
It was a martini glass, with an olive on a toothpick inside it.
“You would have a cocktail tattoo.”
He slipped a hand inside the old U of M shirt he let her borrow, his fingers finding her waist. His thumbs dipped into the boxer shorts he lent her as well, drawing circles on her hips.
“I have all of the six classics.”
“Tattooed on this arm?”
“No, they’re all over.”
“ All over, huh?” She teased a finger inside the front of his boxer briefs.
“Sounds like I’ll need to do a thorough examination.”
His grip tightened.
“You can find all of them without undressing me.”
She huffed, crossing her arms in protest.
He chuckled.
“Find them first, then I’ll give you a prize.”
“ Oooh , I like this game.” She rubbed her hands together.
“What are the six classics?”
He tapped his fingers on her skin as he listed them off.
“Old fashioned, martini, sidecar, daiquiri, whiskey highball, and the flip.”
She leaned in, scanning his chest. “All right, I don’t know half of those so I’ll look for drinks.”
“You don’t know half ? Do we need to have a lesson?”
“ Shhh. I’m studying.”
He chuckled again.
His hands were still on her body, his fingers massaging her curves.
She liked having Archer’s hands on her far too much.
The thought of what his hands did to her in this bed, in his shower…
it made her feel warm all over.
She blushed as she replayed some of it in her head.
He touched her cheek.
“What are you thinking about?” he said, bemused.
“ Shhhhh .”
He smiled, then closed his eyes, letting her trace the rest of his left arm with her fingertips.
She found a small cocktail with an orange twist. “ Oh ! This looks like a daiquiri!”
He peeked an eye open, then closed it again with a smile.
“That’s the sidecar. Thinking we do need to have a lesson.”
She grumbled, moving on to his right arm, finding a similar looking cocktail, but with a twist of lime.
“Okay this must be the daiquiri.”
“Good girl.”
She smirked as she continued.
She moved on to his chest, finding another cocktail in a rocks glass.
“Old fashioned.”
“Two more.”
She sat up straight, tapping her lip as she searched for more drinks.
She noticed a small mug at the center of his chest, right above his heart.
Are any of these cocktails served in a mug?
She squinted and leaned back in to give it a closer look.
Upon inspection, she realized it wasn’t a mug.
It was a teacup.
She brushed her pointer finger over the outline.
A string dangled from the cup’s lip, a tea tag attached to the end.
Words were inscribed on the tag, so small that she could have easily missed it.
Sweet Tea
She sucked in a breath.
Archer flinched. “You found it.”
“Yeah, I guess I did.” She brushed her thumb back and forth on the inscription.
“Was this your first tattoo?”
He nodded, tucking her hair from her face so he could look at her.
“This was my first, the one on my back was next.”
“You remember my nickname,” she whispered.
“Of course I do.”
“I honestly thought you forgot.”
“I would never forget anything about you.”
She blinked down at him.
She liked seeing him this way, soft around the edges, calm and relaxed.
No stress from his job or trying to have some kind of handle on Wild Pines during the pandemic.
His jaw loose, his hands gentle, his gaze tender and knowing.
He hooked a hand behind her neck.
“Come here,” he whispered.
She did as he asked, dipping down to kiss his lips, the feel of his stubble on her chin igniting something deep in her belly.
She let her body go pliant as he rolled her to his side, sliding his hand around her waist and to her butt.
He squeezed as he broke their kiss.
“I have thought about these curves from the moment you arrived.”
She raised a brow.
“I’m surprised. I mean, you barely looked at me.”
“Trust me, I was looking.”
She gave him a smug smile.
“Does this mean I get my prize early?”
He bit her bottom lip and sucked on it.
“I could be tempted.”
She kissed his chin, then left a trail of kisses down his neck, proceeding down to his chest.
He hummed in response.
“What are you doing?”
She grinned, then flipped him back over, pinning him down again with her legs, hands on his chest. “Finishing what I started.”
He laughed, squeezing her thighs.
“You are a tease.”
“ Shh. I have two more cocktails to find.”
She eventually found them—one on his right calf, the other on his left ankle.
She then became far too interested in examining the rest of his tattoos to claim her prize, brushing her hands on each piece of artwork.
“Only one on your back?”
“Just the one.” Archer played with her hair, curling it with his fingers.
Moments later, he brushed his thumb across her lips.
“You miss him?”
She didn’t have to ask who he was talking about.
She knew. “Every minute.”
She wanted to end the conversation right there, but she knew she shouldn’t.
Not after everything Archer confessed to her on the beach.
If he could be brave and talk through the things that hurt, then she could do the same.
She kept her eyes on his tattoos as she spoke.
“I didn’t want to believe he was gone. It was easier to build up a new kind of life and scrape away the memories of him that felt like scars. We moved out of our house, we created new summer traditions in the city, and I ignored my grief.”
Archer sat up, sliding her to his lap, then wrapped his arms around her.
He didn’t say anything.
He gave her space to continue.
She combed a hand through his hair.
“I was so nervous coming here this summer,” she confessed.
“It was the first time I had to really face the memory of him. I thought it would be completely devastating, and some of it has been. I used to have these dreams about him—one moment he’s there, then the next he’s gone—and they came back with a vengeance once I entered our cabin. But…not all of it has been devastating. There are parts of him that I like to experience, like being on a boat, or skiing on the water.” She rolled her eyes.
“Or attempting to ski.”
He smiled, but it was full of sadness.
His hands caressed the small of her back.
“I miss the everyday moments the most,” she rasped.
“Like him singing in the car or listening to Minnesota Public Radio while he made his coffee in the kitchen. Or seeing the way he looked at Mom. I hate that she’s so lonely now.”
“I hate that you were lonely,” he muttered.
She kept playing with his hair.
“I’m not lonely anymore.”
He kissed her shoulder, then pulled her in for a tight hug.
She buried her face in his neck.
“What do you miss about him?” she asked.
He pecked her shoulder a couple more times.
She realized he was kissing her freckles.
“My dad spent his summers so busy with the resort that we never had time to do things together, like fishing or water skiing or sailing. But Gareth always had the time. He treated me like his son and taught me everything.” He looked up at her.
“Do you remember his lake showers?”
She groaned.
“Oh god, don’t remind me.”
Archer grinned.
“He refused to take a real shower and only wanted to wash in the lake. I thought he was so cool.”
“You used to join him a lot.”
“I did. Until I realized what his soap was doing for the environment.”
She closed her eyes.
“He kept doing them though.”
“I should have known something was up that last summer. He didn’t do a lake shower once.”
“It’s okay. I wasn’t paying attention either. I was too preoccupied with…other things.”
“Like your secret crush?”
“Shove it.”
He chuckled.
“Did you know Gareth was the first one to teach me how to make a cocktail?”
Her eyes blew wide.
“Really?”
Archer grinned.
“Yeah. He taught me how to make a margarita. Then we snuck out to the dock and drank them. He kept saying how good mine was.”
“How old were you?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
She shook her head and snickered.
“Why does this not even surprise me?”
He laughed with her, then kissed her on the lips.
“How was that? Talking about it?”
“Awful,” she admitted.
Because it was. It was awful to remember her father and how much she missed him.
But it was also wonderful to live through happy memories.
Remind herself that he may be gone, but he would never be forgotten.
“You’re the only person I want to open up to.”
He scanned her face.
“Why’s that?”
She cupped his cheeks.
“Even after years of no contact, you still know exactly what to say.”
“Okay, well, at this moment, I have nothing to say.” He reached for his bedside table and switched off his lamp.
“Only things I’d like to do.”
He kissed her and she melted into it, ready to strip off the limited amount of clothes they had on.
She wanted to feel every part of his skin on hers again.
She wanted his heavy breathing in her neck and his stubble scraping her skin and the weight of his large body pressing into her.
A low growl bellowed from outside the open window.
They both froze.
“What was that?” Tea panicked.
Archer’s arms were tight around her.
“Oh fuck .”
“ Archer , is that…?”
The sound of a claw scrapping metal came next, followed by the ping of a lid hitting the dirt.
Terror seized her entire body.
“Oh my god.”
“ Shh .” Archer got up from the bed and peeked outside the window.
She followed closely behind, peering around his broad back to get a glimpse.
When he felt her behind him, he held his arm out as if to block her and keep her safe.
They watched in silence as a black bear shoved its nose inside the open dumpster.
“B-bear,” she muttered, stupidly.
“So…I forgot to secure the dumpster tonight,” he whispered.
“You think ?” she whisper-screamed.
He moved his lips to her right ear.
“Yeah, and who’s fault was that ?”
“Yours, obviously.”
The bear continued to rummage through the trash, oblivious to the people whispering by the window ten yards away.
She scanned the screen.
“Can it rip through this? Should we close the window?”
“I think it will hear us.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? Won’t that scare it away?”
“If it isn’t threatened, yes.” He loosened his hold on her.
“I need to tell everyone.”
She followed him out to the living room.
“I’ll help make some calls.”
Fifteen minutes later, the Wild Pines resort was flooded with light.
Everyone was making loud noises to scare the bear.
Music blasted, wooden spoons banging on pots and pans in kitchens, lots of yelling and shouting.
Archer watched the bear descend deep into the woods before quickly securing the dumpster and running back to the cabin.
He locked the door, something they never did at Wild Pines— why would you need to?
—then pointed in her direction.
“You are not leaving my sight tonight.”
She feigned irritation and droned, “Oh no, how awful.”
He shook his head and stormed up to her, then kissed her on the mouth and walked her backward, returning them to his bed.