icfreeman

From the winter event, where I took Eric to work, our relationship changed.  We became friends and started working together instead of against each other.  Then, one day, everything changed.

July 4th was less than a week away when Eric questioned me about my plans for the holiday. 

"I don't have a lot of plans for the fourth," I said.  "I may meet up with my friend Adrienne because it's her birthday, and I may go to the pool at my apartment, but other than that, I don't have any plans.  What are your plans?"

"I'm off that day, so I'm going to my sister's and brother-in-law's house to hang out with them," replied Eric.

It wasn't until several days later that Eric asked me to join him.

"Since you don't have any plans, would you like to come over to my sister's house on the fourth?  We will hang out, go swimming, drink some beer and later we'll cook some ribs."

Okay, honestly, he had me at ribs.  Anyone who knows me knows that I can put away some ribs.  Beer is good too.

"Okay," i said.  "Just call me and I'll come over."

Well, the fourth came, and as my sister, Jara, and I sat painting on the floor of our living room watching The Devil Wears Prada, my phone rang.  When I hung up, Jara asked, "Who was that?"

"That's my boss Eric.  He invited me over today to hang out and eat ribs.  I thought about saying 'no', but I figured 'why not,'" I said.

I got up and got dressed.  I packed my swim suit, towel and an extra change of clothes before calling Eric back for directions.  Turns out, his sister lived only a couple of miles from me.  I got in my car and started driving.

When I got to the house, I went to up to the front door and knocked.  A minute later, Eric answered.

"Come in.  I want to introduce you to everybody," he said.

I followed as he led me to the kitchen where his sister and brother-in-law where talking.

"Ivie, this is my sister, Lindsay, and her husband, John."

"Nice to meet you," I said as I shook their hands.

Eric briefly took me on a tour of the house, showing me pictures of when he and Lindsay were kids, and of Lindsay's wedding.
Then we went downstairs to get in Lindsay's SUV.  We were going to John's parent's house to go swimming.

We swam for a couple of hours and drank a few beers while talking.  John and Lindsay wanted to know about how Eric and I met, what I do at the restaurant, where I'm from, if I have any siblings-- the usual stuff.

Later, when we got back to John and Lindsay's house, they started preparing the ribs. 

Now, the best BBQ sauce in the world is Bone Suckin' Sauce.  I knew that we just had to go out and get some for tonight, so Eric decided to go with me to the grocery store.  We quickly went in and out of the store grabbing the BBQ sauce and a few other items.  On our way back to the house, Eric decided to show me a spot where he used to hang out when he was younger.  We parked, and went through an underpass to where an unloading ramp was to a lake.  At this point, the alcohol had caught up with us, and Eric ran behind the bushes to relieve himself, leaving me with his drink.

Not wanting to watch, I walked to the edge of the ramp.  The cement slab was green with algae, but in the middle of summer, the water looked very inviting.  I took one step onto the ramp.  The water felt warm.  Like warm bathwater, so I decided to put my other foot in the water.  Uh oh.  Big mistake!  As I set my other foot in the water, my weight shifted, and I fell backwards into the lake. 

Eric heard the splash and came to see what had happened.  About that time, I was coming up from beneath the water, but I had the sense to save his drink.  Not one drop had spilled.  In fact, my  hand that was holding the drink was the only dry part of my now drenched body.  Seeing that I was alright, Eric burst into laughter.  Finding humor in the situation, I joined his laughter. 

When I said the water was surprisingly warm, Eric went into the lake with me.  Now we were both drenched as we headed back to the house.  As soon as we got in, Lindsay offered us a nice hot shower.  Eric let me go first. 

Good thing I brought a change of clothes, I thought.

When I dried off and got dressed, it was about time for dinner.  I trounced downstairs to the kitchen, where everybody was at.  Apparently, there was no Coke in the fridge, so Eric and I went down to the basement to grab an extra pack.  We were joking about what had happened at the lake, and then the moment happened.

As we were coming up the stairs, I was just ahead of him, when I turned around to respond to some whitty comment that he had just made.  Because I was ahead of him, when I turned around, we were at the same eye level.  Our eyes met, and the laughing turned to silence.  I could hear my heart pounding, in anticipation of his kiss.  Only, he turned his head.  Moment gone!  I turned back around and headed back up to the kitchen.

Dinner was amazingly good.  I was starving, and just as promised, ribs were served along with what John called "sex rice" because the rice is almost as good as sex.  After we all pitched in to clean up the kitchen, Eric led me to the formal dining room and living room where a feather couch sat against the wall.  This time, Eric didn't let the moment slip away.  In the darkness of the room, he came over and kissed me.  So, I kissed him back.