Chapter 5

Mason drove a little slower than usual home that evening. The weather was beautiful so he road with the windows down and his stereo up. Instead of diving straight home through town, he decided to take the long way and come up through the back side of Doc Walkers land. He had traveled this dirt road countless times as a kids, on foot or someones four wheeler. There was a pond that sat partly on Doc's land and partly on Mason't fathers. When Blair had come home in the summers, she and Mason spent hours down by the pond. Fishing, catching craw daddies, skipping rocks. Back then there had been an old rope swing that hung from a low branch of a big old oak tree that sat right up the bank. Mason hadn't been back there in years. As he pulled off the road in

front of the gate that led to the pond, Mason wondered what made him think about it now. The gate wasn't locked, but rather than go to the trouble to open it, he just climbed over the top. Summer grass was just up past his ankles. It would soon be time for him to get his second cutting of hay off of this field. Doc let him cut his fields too. In return, Mason gave him a 3rd of what he bailed. 

The pond was just over the swell in the land that Mason was strolling up now.  As he walked, memories came flooding back. His dad and he spent many an evening just like this one, fishing out of the pond. Mason drank his first beer when he was 14, sitting in a little john boat, with his best friend Garrett. Mason had stole them out of his dad's shop. They wouldn't have gotten caught, but Garrett's little sister had seen them sneaking around and got suspicions.  She was only 10 at the time, but Becky was a smart one.  A week later when she was told she wasn't old enough to ride the four wheelers with them, she got her revenge by telling Mason's dad about the beer. Like he did with everything in Mason't life, John Carter Lawerence turned the incident into a learning experience. He and Garrett's father took them back down to the bank by the pond and over the corse of 2 hours, made both boys drink a six pack a piece. At first they was excited with something to prove, but after 2 of the dark liquid, both boys weren't so sure this was such a fun experience. Needless to say, the little lesson had worked well. Neither of the boys touched alcohol for the next two years. Now sophomore year, that was a different story……

The water was calm and inviting. Doc had kept the dock in excellent condition and all around the edges of the water were closely cut and edged. Mason grinned as he surveyed the sight in fro of him. Apparently he wasn't the only one strolling down memory lane. There, at the end of the dock with her toes in the water, was Blair.

She didn't hear him coming. He didn't make a lot of noise. He was enjoying the picture she made, her long hair in a loose braid down her back, catching the sun light. Renegade strands escaped around her face, drifting in the breeze. A few pieces seemed to tickle the back of her neck and ears.  She looked small and angelic, sitting there in the heart of their old haunts.  

Mason began to feel a little creepy, standing there watching her without her knowing. So he decided now was as good a time as ever to let her know he was there. He strode the few feet down the bank and on to the dock. She heard his foot steps and peered over her shoulder. She didn't looked startled. It was almost as if she was expecting him. Like his being there was the most natural thing in the world. 

"Do you remember all the time we spent here in the summer time?". No "hello" "nice to see you". She acted as though they were in the middle of a conversation and had been talking for hours.

"I was just thinking about it" Mason replied as he knelt to sit down beside her " Thats why I decided to walk down here. Kinda walking down memory lane."

Blair picked up a twig that was sitting on the weathered boards between them and idly rolled it between her finger tips. "Things were so easy, simple then, you know? Some of the happiest memories of my life are down here, in the water or on that swing." With that she tossed the twig off the side of the dock and into the water. They watched it land, causing little ripples in the water. The slight breeze floating off the water picked that moment to lightly tickle the edges of her skirt causing it to flip up above her knee. She smoothed it back down nonchalantly, but not before Mason caught himself admiring the smooth tanned skin. Her body was made for the warm air of summer. Her legs were meant to be displayed and caressed.

 Mason stopped his train of thought before he embarrassed himself. He silently cursed his father. It was his fault. If nothing else, John Carter had instilled in his son an appreciation for the female figure. He had repeatedly told Mason "Son, a beautiful women is to be admired, appreciated and cherished". From a young age Mason had been told "Look at her son, she's a beautiful women." He always finished with "Not as beautiful as your mother mind you, but attractive non the less" Mason figure that was how he got away with what he said.

"Have you been here long?" he asked her, dragging his eyes back to her face. Once could easily get lost there too.

"Oh, about an hour or so. I brought a book down to the old swing, but i don't think that rope will hold me anymore. It's a lot smaller and older than I remembered" she said with a soft laugh. God. Everything about her was soft.

"Yeah, no one has used it in years I guess. I know I couldn't tell you the last time I was down here." A sudden thought came to mind and he began to laugh.

"Whats so funny?" She asked. His laugh was contagious and she couldn't help but chuckle as she watched him. Time had done nothing be improve him. Who had once been a string bean of a farm boy was now a tall, handsome, lithe young man. He had a smile she was sure kept the single girls guessing and a strong brow that made you wish you were a damsel in distress. 

"Do you remember the last time we were down here together? The fight we had?"

She thought for a moment, her forehead furrowing in thought. Her face brightened in remembrance and she began to laugh with him.

"You mean when you and Garrett dared me to go skinny dipping and then I got mad because yall wouldn't stop teasing me and calling me names? Yes I remember! You two were trouble when you got together. I can't believe you even remember that!"

Mason shook his head "Yeah, bad thing is, Garrett is still probably using the same tactics to get girls out of there clothes."

They laughed together. Funny how easy this was. It was almost like they had spent every afternoon together for the past 10 years. 

"Ok then, It's my turn. Mr. Officer. How about it? I dare you to jump in." She smirked at him, issuing her challenge. Mason stared at her in disbelief. Could this girl, who until this very second, he had believed to be the very essence if feminine frailty and shy purity, could this same girl be a little bit of a vixen?

"You're kidding"

"Never been more serious in my life"

"You want me to jump in, uniform and all"

"The uniform is optional. If you don't I'm just going to call you names and pick on you the rest of the evening" She was grinning ear to ear now. He watched her, not knowing what to think, as she jump to her feet and started to unbutton her shirt. He felt his palms getting sweaty. This was not what he had anticipated and he didn't know how to react. He found his self breathing a sigh of relief as he realized she had a cotton slip under the clothing she was quickly discarding. One moment she was standing in front of him in a cute little white cotton dress and the next Mason was being splashed as she jumped in.

Her head popped out a few feet from the dock. As she tread water and glanced back at Mason who had yet to move, she asked "Well, are you a chicken?"