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Lake Fireflies

The music pulsed through the trees, low and rhythmic, mixing with the scent of woodsmoke and lake water. String lights hung like lazy constellations between the pine trees, and people danced barefoot in the sand. Someone was trying to roast a marshmallow over a citronella candle, which pretty much summed up the level of intoxication around the lake.

Mara was leaning against a weathered picnic table, sipping spiked lemonade out of a solo cup, when he appeared.

He wasn’t flashy. He wasn’t loud. Just a quiet guy in a gray hoodie with dark curls and kind eyes. The kind of guy you almost overlook — until he says something that makes you laugh in that accidental, out-loud kind of way.

“You look like you’re judging everyone’s Spotify playlists in your head,” he said.

She smirked. “I am. And they deserve it.”

He smiled. “I’m Theo.”

They talked.

Then they talked some more.

They laughed, drank a little too much, shared some wild ideas and laughed some more.

Mara jumped up and started dancing to the loud music echoing across the lake. She pulled Theo to his feet and whirled around with him. She was exuberant and cheerful, soaking up the atmosphere of the evening. Theo’s alert eyes sparkled in the moonlight as he followed Mara’s movements and infectious laughter, her positive energy inevitably sweeping him along with her.

Hand in hand, they ran down to the dock and twirled around each other, suddenly stopping close in front of each other, both breathing heavily and still laughing.

Time seemed to stand still. They sank into each other’s eyes.

Then they kissed the way you do when it’s a full moon, you’ve had a little too much to drink, and you’re captivated by a stranger’s eyes.

It was spontaneous; it seemed natural. At first, it was just a whim of the situation: a strange feeling of connection between two strangers who were in harmony that evening by the lake.

But they caught fire. Mara’s breath caught as their hot breaths mingled and his warm hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer.

As if of their own accord, they moved, closely entwined, towards the boathouse, driven by a silent mutual understanding.

The old wooden door closed behind them, muffling the laughter and music from outside, and trapping them in their own private world which seemed to spin faster and faster.

It was a carousel of emotions and feelings: hands caressing each other; lips kissing each other; hot breath mingling. Mara moaned as his hands found her stiff nipples under her tank top. She instinctively raised her arms, and Theo didn’t need to be asked twice.

With one fluid movement, he pulled her top over her head and let it fall to the floor. More clothes followed – hers and his. Before they knew it, they were lying on the floor, tightly entwined — half on their scattered clothes and half on the dusty floorboards.

His hands were everywhere, caressing her hips, thighs and breasts. He circled her hard nipples while kissing her greedily, their tongues circling each other and their hot breath mingling. Mara arched towards him, a moan escaping her throat. He gasped. His lips left her mouth and found her breast unerringly. She gasped as he took her nipple into his hot mouth and sucked hard. She writhed beneath him as he circled her nipple with his tongue, sucking again and again. Her hands grabbed his thick hair, clawing tightly to hold him in place. She wanted more; she didn’t want him to stop. She pressed her breast against his mouth, urging him on.

His hand slid over her stomach and brushed her hip before sliding further down to knead her sweet little bottom. He grabbed it tighter, pressing her against his hard member. They both moaned, greedy for more and eager to get closer to each other. Mara spread her legs, letting his hips slide between her thighs. She moaned as his hard cock pressed against her pussy. A rough sound escaped his throat. He thrust upwards, penetrating her deeply with one jerk. Mara cried out and pressed herself further against him. They paused briefly while he was buried deep inside her. They both gasped for air.

A cool breeze brushed Mara’s wet nipples as he lay on top of her, taking possession of her mouth again. He kissed her with a satisfied sigh. Then he began to move. Slowly at first — very slowly — while he explored her lips extensively. Mara pushed against him, and he let out a rough laugh when she let out an urgent sound.

He granted her wish, increasing the tempo and thrusting steadily into her, a little faster and harder each time. Mara wrapped her long legs around his hips and urged him on. She wanted him fast and hard; she just wanted to lose herself in him. And he gave her exactly that. Their bodies collided over and over again. She could hear the sound of skin slapping against skin as his breathing quickened. It turned her on even more.

She could feel the orgasm building inside her. She urged him on, gasping loudly and crying out as it seized her, sending shock wave after shock wave through her body. She felt his body tense. He thrust twice, more powerfully, then came inside her with one final, hard thrust.

They lay there for a while, breathing heavily; time seemed to stand still.

A little later Mara laid back on the old wooden bench, her tank top clutched in one hand like a surrender flag. The dust in the rafters caught in the moonlight above them, and she could still hear distant laughter from the party. Her hair was a mess. Her leg was cramping slightly. Her heart was doing something weird — not racing, not panicked… just fluttery.

Theo was sitting on the floor, shirtless, with a look on his face like he wasn’t quite sure what reality was anymore.

“Well,” she said, catching her breath. “That escalated like… a canoe down a waterfall.”

He laughed softly. “I have literally never done something like that before.”

“Oh no,” she groaned, flopping dramatically onto her side. “Don’t say ‘literally never.’ That’s how you summon guilt.”

“No no, I mean—” he pulled his hoodie back on, smiling. “I’m not regretting it. At all. Just… surprised. In a good way. Like, I expected this night to end with a soggy hot dog and maybe losing my keys in the lake.”

Mara sat up, pulling her hair into a messy bun. “Instead you got me, covered in dust and questionable morals.”

“Dusty,” he agreed. “But morally fascinating.”

They both laughed. It was easy with him — effortless in a way that made her stomach tighten again, but for a completely different reason this time.

He stood up and reached out a hand. “C’mon. Let’s go back out there before they send a search party.”

“You go first,” she said. “If we walk out together, it’ll be obvious.”

“You have leaves in your hair,” he said, grinning. “It’s already obvious.”

Back at the party, the fire was lower, the crowd a little thinner. Mara sat on a log with a fresh drink, wondering if this night was going to turn into a memory that haunted her or one that stayed warm and golden.

Then Theo sat down beside her.

He didn’t try to make a move. Didn’t say something dumb like “So… that happened.” He just bumped his shoulder against hers and handed her half a s’more.

“Mara,” he said.

She turned. “Yeah?”

“Would it be weird if I asked for your number? Like, in a sincere way. Not just a ‘hey that was fun, let’s do it again at some future poorly-lit event’ way.”

Her heart did that flutter again.

“It’s only weird if you use it to send me memes about ducks,” she said.

He looked at her very seriously. “That is exactly what I was going to do.”

She grinned, took the s’more, and opened her phone.

The party kept going. Music faded into the sound of water lapping against the dock. The fire burned low.

Somewhere between strangers and something else, they sat side by side, sticky with marshmallow and something like potential.