The next week went by slowly. Each day seemed to drag for me. I was busy and even made an overnight trip to Nashville. But all during the days, my thoughts were of Peyton. I wondered what she was doing. I tried to picture her swimming nude at the cove. I found myself getting erections during the days. I would stay behind my desk to hide the tent in my jeans.

At night I would prepare something to eat and watch tv. I would catch myself daydreaming about her when the tv would bring me back to the present and to reality. I tried to think about where this encounter with Peyton was leading. There was a sense of fear that someone would find out and my life would be ruined. Then, there was a sense of excitement that a teenage girl would find me attractive, or at least, desirable enough let me watch her get herself off on my boat. Friday finally came. I kept my focus on work until lunch time. I talked to my partner and we agreed that we all deserved an afternoon off. The secretaries were happy with that. We closed down shop and I headed home.

I had a map in my truck of the lake. I had all my fishing spots marked on the map which also showed roads around the lake. I had spent some time during the week trying to figure out which road was the one where Peyton and her grandmother lived. I narrowed it down to two and decided to check them out before I got home. I had time before I was to meet her at three o'clock. I turned off the interstate and made my way on a state road that skirted the western side of the lake. I turned onto a county road and rode for about fifteen minutes. I spotted the road I thought was a possibility for where Peyton lived.

I turned onto it and slowed my speed. It was a very rural area, which surprised me because is was so close to the lake. There were several houses. All were small, wooden sided homes. Most had garden plots. I decided that any of these could be hers.

I turned around and made my way to the second road. This took only ten minutes. As I drove down this one, I noticed there were fewer houses. I spotted what had to be a drive way. It was unpaved and led into trees. I slowed to look down the road. I spotted a white house that needed painting. There was an older model Ford parked in the yard. I could not see anyone but I did notice the name Bishop on the mailbox. Realizing I was wasting my time, I turned toward the main road and home.

I showered quickly and dressed in shorts and a golf shirt. Sliding on my deck shoes I headed down to the dock. I checked the fuel in my bass boat, cleaned it out a bit, and made ready to go for Peyton. My heart was beating. "What is this going to lead to?" I asked myself time and again.

It was a warm day but very comfortable on the lake. I looked at my watch. It was five minutes till three. I increased my speed. There were a few boats on the water. I knew there would be more later and over the weekend. As I rounded a point, I slowed the boat. I made my way along the shore and rounded the point that led to the cove. I breathed a sigh of relief that there was no one fishing. I guided the boat toward the bank, cutting the engine to let it drift close enough for me to jump to it. I held the bow line, making the short distance with no problem. I tied the rope to a tree and made my way up the bank. There was a path leading into the woods. I decided to follow it, hoping maybe to run into Peyton. I had not gone more than a hundred feet when I saw her coming through the trees. She waved and I waved to her.

Peyton approached me. I opened my arms. She stepped to me and we hugged. Then, she looked up and me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. "Been waiting long?" She asked.

"No, I just got here and decided to come ashore." I smiled at her. "It's nice to see you."

"Yeah, it's nice to see you, too." There was a bit of nervousness in both our voices.

I pointed up the path. "Do you live far?"

She shook her head. "No, not so far. I can walk it in twenty minutes." There was silence.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked, taking her arm and leading her back toward the boat. I pulled the rope and brought the bow closer. Peyton was wearing a short denim skirt and a loose blouse that had flowers on a background of blue. Her hair was pulled back with clips behind her ears. I reminded myself that she was fifteen years old.

I followed her, pushing the boat away from shore as I stepped onto the bow. I sat behind the wheel, started the motor, and reversed into the cove to get us away from the bank and any stumps or tree limbs that might be in the shallow water. I pushed the gear shift to forward and the throttle. The boat began to move out of the cove and across the water. Peyton's hair was blowing. She was so beautiful. She wore no makeup, which would only have hidden her natural skin color. Her face was so smooth. Her lips were thin. When she smiled it seemed that her eyes grew brighter.

"Wanna' take the wheel?" She looked at me surprised.

"I don't know how to drive a boat," she said over the sound of the motor.

"I'll show you," I said as I rose from the chair and allowed her to sit down. She placed her hands on the wheel and I placed mine on top of hers. I did a couple of turns to show her how the boat responded. "It is important to keep your eyes open for debris in the water. Sometimes logs and limbs will float along with the current. We don't want to take a prop off. It's a long way to row to my house." I laughed. "You don't want to be too close to the bank, either."

I placed my hands on her shoulders, standing behind her. She guided the boat over the water. I wanted to reach down and place my hands over her breasts, but I dared not. I slowly massaged her shoulders. Occasionally, she would turn her face up toward me and smile. I pointed out the way to go.

"That's my house there," I said, leaning over her shoulder and pointing.

"Nice," she said.

"I'll take it from here." She stood and I took the seat. I slowed as we approached my dock. "How about watching the front of the boat?" I said as we drew near. Peyton quickly stepped toward the bow. She placed one hand on the side of the boat and leaned out to keep the boat from bumping the dock. Her skirt rode up onto the back of her thighs. She had such shapely legs.

I tied the boat as Peyton waited for me. We held hands as we walked up the steps to the house. We entered through a door in the basement. This area of the house was finished off with two bedrooms and a bath. There was also storage closets for seasonal clothes and fishing gear. I directed the way to the steps that led to the main level. I was eye level with Peyton's ass as we made our way up the steps.

"Want something to drink? I've got about anything you might want. I opened the fridge door as she walked over. She leaned in and took out a diet Dr. Pepper. I preferred diet Pepsi. "How about a glass with ice?" I took a couple of tumblers from the cabinet, filled them with ice, and handed one to Peyton. I then directed her to the deck where she sat on a cushioned lounge chair, stretching her legs out. "My she has nice legs," I said to myself as I sat on a lounge.

We sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke. "How long have you lived here?"

"Hmm, I guess four years. This house actually belonged to my parents. They decided to move and I bought it from them."

"It's really nice. The view is great." She sipped her drink. "It's hard to believe you aren't married." She looked at me.

"I just never found the lady who made me want to commit my life to her." Peyton nodded.

"Yeah, I guess it's better to not get married than to risk a bad one." She was thoughtful for a minute. "I guess that is what happened to my parents." She sat, gazing over the lake.

"Peyton, can I ask about your family? You live with you Granny." I was really interested in knowing about her.

She shrugged and looked at me. "Not much to tell. When I was somewhere around three, I guess, my mom and dad divorced. I have never seen my dad since then. My mom and my brother and me moved around a bit. She had a hard time keeping a job." There was a long pause. "She remarried a couple of times. The last guy was mean to her. He beat up my brother. He tried to..." She stopped speaking. I noticed her eyes teared up. I stood up and sat on the foot of the lounge with her.

"I'm sorry, Peyton. I didn't mean to pry into something that was hard for you." I took her hand.

She shook her head as she wiped away the tears. "No, it's okay." She looked at me. "I was only eight years old. He had my shirt off and was trying to take my shorts off when she walked in. I was crying and telling him to stop. He was drunk. She hit him over the head with one of my brothers baseball bats. She killed him." She began to cry harder. I slid to her and she laid her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arms around her until she was calm enough to talk again. She sat back and continued.

"She was tried but was not found guilty because she was protecting me." She became more composed. "After that, she started drinking and was into drugs. One day she left me and my brother with Granny. We never saw her again." She took the bottom of her blouse and blotted her eyes. I wanted to go for a tissue but I didn't want to leave her. "My Grandpa tried to find her and talked to the police. Nothing ever happened." She looked at me. "Not much of a life is it?"

I placed my hand to her face. "I'm sorry," Peyton. You have had a hard time. But you are very beautiful and you seem very strong. I leaned to kiss her on the forehead. "I'm glad I met you."

She forced a smile. "Can I go wash my face?" We both stood and I showed her where the bathroom was.

"There's a towel and a washcloth on the shelf," I called to her as she walked across my great room. I waited for her. The toilet flushed and I heard water running. She walked back in. Her eyes were a little red but she was smiling.

"Thanks," she said. She gave me a kiss on the cheek. "I think I really needed to share that with you. But it is hard to have such a family as I have had."

"I understand. But you are you and that is what is important."

I went for our drinks we left on the deck. We sat on the sofa and sipped them.

"What about friends? Do you have friends at school?" I realized from her reaction that I had touched another sore spot for her.

"I go to school with kids that mostly live on the lake. Most are from families that have money." She looked at me. "Like you," she said. "I mean, it's not bad. That is just the way it is. My granny and me don't have money, but she is able to get us what we need." She shrugged. "So, most of the others at school don't want to be friends with me."

I reached out and took her hand. "I've known you for one week. I would like to think I'm your friend." At that moment I felt shame about what had happened the week before on my pontoon boat. I felt as though I had taken advantage of her.

Peyton smiled. "I would like that, Lucas." We sat in silence for several minutes.

I turned to her. "Peyton, I'm sorry about last week. I feel that I put you in a bad position. I should never have allowed you to undress with me and..." I paused. "Well, you know."

She leaned toward me. "Lucas, that was not all your doing," she said. "I flirted with you and I allowed it to happen."

"Unfortunately, the law doesn't see it that way. No, I should have stopped what we did and not let it happen."

Peyton reached out and touched my arm. "I need to tell you something." She smiled. "I wanted it to happen. I even thought about it all night after we met. You are a nice man. I liked you. I still do."

I placed my hand over hers. "But, I don't want you to be hurt or think that I'm only after you for sex." I paused. "You had that experience. I don't want you to feel that way about me."

She moved closer to me and we wrapped our arms around each other. She whispered in my ear, "Lucas, I don't feel that way about you. You are a special man. I'm glad I met you."

After a few minutes, we separated from our hug. "You're still fifteen and I'm still thirty-two," I said. "Right now that's a world of difference."

"So, what do we do? Just pretend." She smiled.

"I don't know, my dear, I don't know." I touched her face. "But I do want you to know that I like you very much. Of course, I've not known too many girls your age. Actually, I've not known any since I was your age. But from what I remember, you're a whole lot different than they were."

"And, I've not known too many men your age. Actually, I've not known any other than those I see around in the mall and places. And I don't know them." She smiled. "But you seem to be a whole lot different that what I think they must be like." We both laughed.

"Then I guess we are fishin' in strange waters," I said. "Excuse my metaphor."

"Yep. And we'll just have to see what we catch." She stood in front of me. "And we'll have to make sure we use the right bait." With that she turned and walked down the hall. I was surprised, not really knowing what to do. I stood and followed her. I watched her look into each room. When she came to what was obviously my bedroom, she stepped in. I followed, not knowing where this path would lead me.