Thanks again to my loyal readers/reviewers! I think you will like this one :) Enjoy!

We're both pretty tired by the time we get back from our dinner. The whole ride back Casey keeps saying she can't believe we got a cabin for an engagement gift. I can't either but I'm actually more amused by how excited Casey is about it.

I tell her about the text from Olivia almost as soon as we're through the door. I didn't want to show her at the restaurant; but now that we're home it can't wait.

"This is the text I got when I went to the restroom," I tell Casey, bringing up the text and handing Casey my phone.

She reads it and I watch her eyes go wide in shock as she hands it back to me. "Wow. She said congratulations."

"You don't think it's a big deal? Should I just ignore it?"

Casey pulls me down on the couch beside her and places her hand on my knee. "I don't think it's a big deal, no. We're not exactly keeping our engagement a secret so I'm not surprised that Olivia knows. Just don't text her back. As long as she doesn't come by the apartment or your office, I think it's fine. It's just a text. The Olivia chapter of our lives is over and all we have ahead of us is happiness. Don't let a stupid text spoil that."

I grin at Casey and place my hand on her knee as well. God, I love her so much. She's so understanding and loving. Her heartfelt speech this evening just confirmed that even more. Those were the most beautiful words I have ever heard.

"I'll delete it and put it out of my mind. You're right; she is behind us now and will never be an issue again. But I wanted to show it to you. I didn't want to hide it. I would have shown it to you right away, but it wasn't the appropriate time or place."

Casey plants a sweet kiss to my cheek and I feel myself melt. "Of course, baby. And thank you for showing me. I would have waited until we were home too. I had a great time tonight. I'm still in disbelief over that cabin. And your mom is so sweet."

"My mom absolutely adores you. She thinks you are the cutest most sweetest thing on this plant." I laugh lightly and add, "I think she likes you more than she likes me!"

Casey laughs as well and rests her head against my shoulder. "I doubt that, Alex. But she's a good woman. I'm glad she's going to be my mother in-law."

I start massaging Casey's bare arms and I can't resist placing a kiss to her neck. "Don't you want to get out of this dress? I thought the strapless bra was killing you."

"Sitting here right now with you is nice. I'm too lazy to get up."

"Mmmhh. I rather like sitting here with you too." I reach up and undo Casey's hair, causing it all to fall down to her shoulders and I run my fingers through it to get the tangles out. "I had a great time tonight too. It was nice having dinner with our families. And about what I said before we left - about you having a big butt. You know I was joking, right?"

"Yes, I know. And just you wait - I'll find something to tease you about!"

It's Friday night. No work for either of us tomorrow. And Casey doesn't have to leave for DC until Sunday night. So we have time for some…extracurricular activities while the night is still young.

"Why don't we go get out of these dresses and continue the celebration?"

Casey sits upright and looks at me, a sly smile on her face. "Really?"

"Sure. Why let a Friday night go to waste?" I answer, twisting a strand of Casey's red hair around my finger.

Ten minutes later we're both undressed and in bed, giving ourselves and the mattress quite the workout. It's funny; we were tired when we came home, but we both seem to have gotten a second wind.

We go for nearly an hour before Casey collapses against me, completely out of breath. She presses her bare stomach against mine and gazes into my eyes while I smooth her sweat-drenched hair away from her forehead.

"Give up, baby?" I ask, continuing to stroke her forehead while she smiles lovingly at me and nods. I'm just as out of breath as she is, but my stamina is still with me. "Aw. I'm usually the first to give up. I guess I should feel special that I wore the great Casey Novak out!"

She smiles again and kisses me. "I'm ready to cuddle up with you and go to sleep. And have sweet dreams about our wedding. And our cabin."

That sounds wonderful to me. I switch off the bedside lamp and put my arms around Casey so I'm holding her as she lies against me. It feels so natural; so right. We fit together perfectly. Like we were meant to fit together this way.

"I love you, Alex. And everything about you. Your dorky glasses and all. See you in the morning." Casey adjusts herself against me and sighs.

I'm smiling even though she can't see it. I wait a few minutes until I'm sure Casey thinks I'm not going to answer her, and then I say, "I love you too. Even with your huge butt. Sleep well. And I will make you breakfast tomorrow."

But I don't think Casey heard me. She's breathing steadily and I lay there until I fall asleep, enjoying the feel of my beautiful fiancée against my naked body and counting the beats of her heart.

The next month passes quickly and is filled with wedding planning and work. Casey's job keeps her busy and with summer coming up and the campaign getting into full swing, she'll be even busier. And just a week ago she agreed to help handle the campaign's legal affairs. Her being away in DC one day a week has not been an issue thus far; she's been getting home before bedtime Monday night and we've been able to spend our evenings and weekends together.

I think the next couple of months will tell whether she's taken on too much. If she were single it wouldn't be an issue; but she's my fiancée and I want to spend time with her. Quality time, not just an hour or two before she falls asleep at night.

I know I'm hypocritical. My job as DA has kept me at the office late many times and Casey has always been understanding. But it's different now. We're at a different place in our relationship. I understand Casey will have to travel around the state for her job but if it takes too much time away from us, I will ask her to give up some of it.

So I finally decide to talk to Casey about it over the holiday weekend. It's Friday of Memorial Day weekend and Casey and I are on our way to our cabin. We have three wonderful days of no work and relaxation ahead of us. Casey was off all day today; the lucky girl gets a four day weekend. She took the day to pack for us and take care of some last minute errands before we left when I got home from work shortly after five.

We decided to take Harrison. He's in a pet carrier in the backseat of my car, a travel cage disassembled in the trunk. We've been driving for just over an hour and so far Casey has asked me to stop twice so she could get him out and hold him. I have the air conditioning in the car cranked up way too high for my liking and Casey is still complaining about him being warm.

"He has fur, Alex. Poor guy is hot back there. We should have taken my jeep. I could have opened the windows in the back for him."

"Then roll the windows down and I'll turn the air off." I glance in the mirror and see him sleeping in his carrier. "He's asleep, Casey. I think he's fine." Then I look at my GPS. "And according to my Garmin, we only have a little less than two hours to go. I think he'll make it."

Casey finally stops fussing over her animal and digs out her newest electronic toy from her purse. I give her a sideway glance as I see her unzip the black case and lay her iPad out on her lap.

"I hope you aren't doing something work related," I tell her, putting my eyes back on the road. "We agreed no work. I have stuff that needs to be tended to as well, but I'm not touching it until Tuesday."

Casey shakes her head, not even looking up. "No. I intend to keep my promise. I'm just looking through my music on here. We need some tunes. I charged it last night so we have full battery power."

I hear a few clicks as she makes a screen selection and then suddenly a Katy Perry song is blasting from the unit. I recognize it right away; it's that awful song 'Firework'.

"Casey!" I yell out, semi-serious. "Not that song! Please! I'll drive us directly into a tree, I swear."

Casey giggles and increases the volume until I threaten to throw her out on the side of the road and speed away while she runs to catch the car.

"Then what would you like to listen you, your Majesty?" Casey asks in a very polite sweet voice.

"A Train song. You know I love them."

Casey obliges by putting on 'Hey, Soul Sister' and placing the iPad on the console between us, lowering the volume so we can carry on a conversation and still hear the music.

I pick up Casey's hand and kiss the back of it. "That's more like it, sweet cakes."

"I'm glad you're happy. You can repay me by buying me dinner. There's a Kentucky Fried Chicken on the next exit. That sounds pretty good."

I look at her as if she's lost her mind. We had agreed to drive straight without any major stops so we could arrive at the cabin at a decent hour. Dinner should be drive-thru easy-to-eat-in-the-car food. Greasy chicken doesn't qualify.

"Let's get something we can eat in the car."

"We can eat chicken in the car," Casey argues.

"It's too greasy, Casey."

"They give us napkins. And they do have things that aren't so greasy. The chicken strips aren't bad."

God, we're already arguing in the car like a married couple.

I quickly come up with a compromise. "How about Subway? I saw that on the sign as well. Subway on the way, and we'll get KFC on the way home. How does that sound? We'll have amble opportunity to eat greasy bad food this weekend with that grill there." I look at Casey and see her smile, then I add, "And you do know that grill is all you, right? I'm not touching the thing. It will explode on me."

"Probably will. Don't fret; I'll be the grill master!" It's her turn to pick up my hand. "And okay, I can do Subway. Just because you're cute and I can't resist."

As we get closer to the cabin we intend to scope out the nearest grocery store to the cabin and get everything we need for the weekend in one haul so we don't have to leave our sanctuary until we drive back home on Monday night. We stop at Subway and eat in the parked car in the parking lot and discuss what we're going to need. Ice, Mountain Dew for Casey, hamburger meat, hot dogs, chips, ice cream…everything on the planet that's bad to put into your body is what we will be eating for the next three days.

I surprise Casey by pulling into Kentucky Fried Chicken. She doesn't say anything, but gives me this sort of victorious smile as she unbuckles her seatbelt and comes around to the driver's side and opens my door.

"Go in and get our food. We'll eat out here in the car," I tell Casey. She gives me an odd look and I add, "I sacrificed Subway for you; the least you can do is go order for us." I motion towards the building. "Go. I'll babysit Harrison."

Ten minutes later we're both burning through paper napkins and trying our best to keep our take-out trash off the floor of my car. I can't stop wiping my fingers; this stuff is beyond greasy! Casey better appreciate what I've done for her.

"There's so much I want to do to you right now," Casey says seductively as she takes the last bite of her cole slaw and puts all her trash into the to-go back.

I swallow my bite of my chicken sandwich and tell her, "I can think of a few things I'd like to do to you too, but unfortunately we're outside of a family restaurant. But once we're at our cabin, I'm all yours."

Casey's grin grows wider. "So a sidebar in chambers later, counselor?"

My grin matches hers. "Absolutely."

After we're finished, we both deposit our garbage in the outdoor trash can and go inside the building to wash our hands. Then we get back on the road again.

Once we start driving again, Casey brings up a subject I had hoped she wouldn't.

"So I'm going to look at another motorcycle next week. This one is a Honda, available at the Honda dealership downtown. It's yellow and black. Pretty nifty. I want to take it for a test drive."

Casey has been taking her time picking out a motorcycle and I've been glad. I'm in no hurry to have her on the back of one of those things. But I know she's getting one sooner or later so I can't avoid it forever. And she has been taking a safety course; she just went to her last class in the four-week course yesterday and passed the test at the Secretary of State's office that allows her to get her motorcycle endorsement.

"Oh, really?" is all I can think of to say. Really, what does she want? Me to turn cartwheels and act all excited?

Casey picks up on my less-than enthusiastic attitude. "Are you sure you're okay with this?"

She's just offered me an out, and I know it. All I have to do is say no, that I've changed my mind. And end of conversation; no motorcycle.

But I can't do that to Casey. It's not fair. I don't want to control what she does or what she buys. I don't like the idea…but I can accept it and deal with it as long as Casey promises to be careful. And the safety courses were a good start.

"Well you know I am not thrilled about it, but I trust you Casey. And I know you want it. You've gone through with your part of the bargain and taken the safety courses, so I have to stick with my part. I'll go with you to check out the Honda."

Casey smiles, prying one of my hands off the steering wheel so she can hold it. "Yeah?"

I take my eyes off the road just long enough to look into Casey's eyes and squeeze her hand. "Yeah. Let's do it after work on Tuesday. It's a date."

We stop at a Wal-Mart about twenty minutes from our destination. Wal-Mart is not my first choice for grocery shopping, but they do have pretty much everything and neither of us knows the area well enough to know if there's another shopping center.

We load our cart with all our food necessitates and then I have to wait for Casey to pick a new pair of flip-flops. She always does this when we're in a hurry; finds something extra to delay us longer. The girl does not need a new pair of flip-flops. But I keep my mouth shut as she tries on every pair and I tell her that they're all cute, hoping that will get her moving faster. Finally she picks out the ugliest pair they have – pink and green.

While we're standing in the checkout line, three young boys all under the age of ten are running around the lane, laughing loudly and kicking our shopping cart. Their mother is standing a few feet away, not even watching them and chatting away on her cell phone. I do my best to ignore them but I can tell Casey is getting pretty annoyed. After they push the cart into Casey for the third time and start knocking items down off the rack on our right, Casey can't hold her tongue anymore.

"Okay! That's enough! This is a grocery store; not a daycare," she says, and I watch helplessly as she turns to face the boys' mother. She waves her hand right in front of the woman's face until she lowers her cell phone and stares at Casey questioningly. Then Casey says, "Are those your boys?" When the woman nods, Casey goes on. "Would you mind ending your phone conversation and getting some control over them? They've hit me three times with our cart and are now knocking stuff off the shelves. I came here to shop, not babysit."

I'm trying to hold back the smile that's creeping across my face. Leave it to Casey to say something. Months ago that would have humiliated me and I would have gone to the car pretending not to know her; but now I stand by our cart and proudly take Casey's hand as she comes back over beside me. I hear the gentleman behind us say quietly, "I'm glad someone finally said something."

The woman barely utters an apology and collects her kids and they move quickly through the checkout line and after a few minutes it's our turn. As Casey is loading the plastic bags in our cart, she looks at me and says, "Sorry."

I shrug, loading the last couple of bags in and pushing the cart towards the exit. "Don't be. You were the only one in that line with enough guts to say something."

We make it out to my car and start loading the trunk and backseat with bags. It's dark now and we're only able to see by the parking lot lights.

"Kids annoy the crap out of me. Especially little ones like that. They should be kept on a leash until age twelve," Casey says, slamming the trunk closed when it's fully loaded.

I giggle at her and go around to her side of the car to kiss her before she gets back in the car. "Why don't you suggest the Senator propose that legislation? I'm sure that will win him his re-election."

Casey wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me back. "Mmmhh. You're being snarky now, but I still want you."

"The feeling's mutual; now let's get back in the car and find our cabin. We'll put all the food away and then go to bed. I think we're both exhausted so we'll unpack our bags tomorrow. Besides," I pull her closer to me and kiss her neck. "I really want to get my hot fiancée in the sack."

Casey pulls away from me and raises her eyebrows sexily. Then she opens the passenger side door and motions for me to get in. "Be seated. I'll drive the rest of the way."

I wait until she's in the car and buckled up before I say, "Sure, now that I made a promise of getting into bed you're willing to drive. You require extreme methods of motivation, don't you?"

She grins at me and starts the car. "You're motivation enough to make me do anything."

We arrive at our cabin about forty-five minutes later, after some difficulty finding it. It is secluded and out of the way and my so-called 'best on the market' GPS did a poor job navigating us. And the after nine PM darkness didn't help either.

But even in the darkness, the cabin looks impressive. The outside lights are on; I remember my mother calling to tell me that they had the electricity turned on for us this week and the lights are on a timer. It looks perfect. There's a vast desk attached to the front of the cabin and a dock leading down to the lake, with a boathouse on the right. I can see what looks like a kayak lying in the sand on the shore of the lake.

"Oh my God, this place is incredible…" Casey says as she helps me get the grocery bags out of the trunk and the backseat.

"Yeah; I can't wait to see the inside," I agree.

I remind her to leave our bags and we'll unpack in the morning and we go inside. I fumble around for the light switch just inside the door, and once I find it and the light springs to life, we both gasp in shock.

We're standing in the what appears to be the living room. There's a couch and a flat-screen TV mounted on the wall, as well as coffee table. There's a winding staircase off to the right and a small hallway to the left.

"Wow…" Casey says, not able to wrap her mind around this belonging to us. "This is great."

We find the kitchen easily and deposit the plastic bags on the table. The kitchen is incredible as well; stainless steel appliances and an island in the middle of the room. It's clear to see that the cabin was sold fully furnished.

We make another trip to the car for the remaining grocery bags and quickly put all the food away. Then Casey brings in her ferret and gets the cage set up in the living room.

Once we have everything put away, we both collapse on the couch and rest our heads against each other. I don't know about Casey, but I'm exhausted. The driving, the grocery shopping, putting the food away…I'm ready to snuggle up with Casey and go to sleep.

"I love this place," Casey says, stroking my hair back. "I can't wait to explore it some more tomorrow. I'm so tired. What do you say we find the bedroom and go to sleep?"

Casey must be a mind reader. I allow her to take my hand and pull me up off the couch and we find the master bedroom easily. There's another bedroom across from it that's empty, but the master bedroom has a fully-made king size bed, a dresser, a small flat-screen sitting on a TV stand and a mini fridge in the corner.

"A TV in the bedroom!" I exclaim excitedly. "Great! You won't let me have one in our bedroom at home."

"I never said we couldn't; I've just never liked to have one in there." Casey slips her flip-flops off and drops them down beside the bed, lying on her back and staring up at the ceiling. "Did you call the satellite company and get the service turned on here?"

My face falls as I remember I forgot that. "No…"

Casey sits up quickly, a grin spread across her face. "That's okay - I remembered."

I laugh and get in front of her, placing both hands on either side of her and effectively pinning her down so she can't escape me. I smile at her cockily. "Well, don't you think of everything, Miss Novak?"

"Yes," Casey says with a giggle, running her hand up my arm and capturing my lips with hers. "And you won't be able to call me Miss Novak for very much longer."

That makes my heart swell with pride as I realize she's right. This is Memorial Day weekend. We only have a little over two months as single ladies.

"That will be a shame. Are you going to do anything wild on the night before our wedding?"

Casey contemplates my words for a moment. I can't hold my position any longer and I allow myself to fall into her, resting my head on her chest as she starts to stroke my hair and my forehead. "I don't know. We'll have to see. You never know with me. You know the good thing about me?"

"What's that?" I ask, already knowing that there are so many good things about her that I could never list them all.

"I'm a surprise to myself. The things that come out of my mouth and my actions are a surprise even to me." She giggles and adds, "I actually don't know if that's good or bad."

I lean up and kiss her and Casey sighs contently and completely relaxes when I break the kiss. "It's a good thing. You're special, Casey. And you know what? I brought the letter book. If I wasn't so exhausted, I'd go to the car to get it and we could fall asleep reading them the way we like to do."

Casey sighs again. "That sounds beautiful, Alex. But I'm so comfy; don't you dare move. Let's get some sleep and tomorrow we'll check this place out; I'm dying to know what's upstairs."

Neither of us moves the rest of the night. We don't even bother changing out of our clothes. We just lay there against each other and let sleep claim us, excited for the relaxing weekend ahead.

The next morning we sleep until after nine AM. I woke before Casey and I lay there watching her sleep, admiring how angelic she looked with her red hair silhouetted against the white pillow and the sunlight from the window hitting it just right.

We both made a simple breakfast - toast and eggs - and then went about exploring the cabin after we each showered. Turns out there are two bedrooms upstairs and a sliding glass door that opens up to a balcony on the back of the cabin overlooking the lake. The balcony is fully loaded with a round table and outdoor furniture.

Casey loves the grill. I know nothing about them and it looks like a regular grill to me, but Casey says she'll be "grilling in style" for the next couple of days.

The forecast for this weekend calls for warm weather and no rain, which is perfect since Casey is dying to take that kayak out. And it's just a matter of time before she mentions getting a boat or a wave runner so that dock and boathouse doesn't go to waste.

After a short walk around the property, we relax on the deck with tall glasses of Diet Pepsi. "What do you want to do today?" Casey asks. "Besides enjoy not worrying about something coming up at work? No internet here so we don't have to be bothered with email…it's heaven, Alex."

"We can still check our email using our phone data connections," I point out, trying to be serious. "You know, if you were so inclined."

Casey makes a face at me. "No way. I am not even turning my phone on. We agreed no work; so no work. I have no other reason to check my email. I only use it for work. My phone is staying in my purse until Monday night."

I wish I had that much restraint, but I don't. I plan to stick with our no-work agreement, but I do have my phone lying on the table in front of me. With my job, I do have to be reachable in case of an emergency. I pick it up and open my camera app, pointing the camera lens at Casey. "Well we need mine for photos. You're just too cute to not take photos off." Before she can object, I snap her picture.

Casey reaches out and lowers my hand, making me put my phone down. "Nice. Maybe I'll give you something to really take a photo of later…"

That puts a grin on my face and I quickly say, "I'll save the battery."

Somehow we end up agreeing to take the kayak out. Actually, I know how it happens; Casey suggests it and I want to please her, so I go along with it. Casey has this great idea that we should change into our swimsuits; you know, in case of an "accident" on the lake.

"That water is probably freezing; it's not even June," I yell out from behind the closed bathroom door. I have a new swimsuit that Casey hasn't seen yet so I told her she had change separately from me so she'd be surprised when she saw it.

Casey must be right outside the door, because she yells back. "Stop being a wuss. It's fine. And we won't have to go in as long as we use the kayak properly and there are no…mishaps."

There's something about the way she says 'mishaps'; I can almost hear a sly smile in her voice and I can't help but wonder what she's up to.

I emerge from the bathroom to find Casey leaning against the wall looking at me, her long hair pulled back and wearing a very skimpy blue flowery two-piece swimsuit that very much flatters her. My eyes immoderately go to her body and I have a hard time peeling them away. She looks great; stunning, actually.

Casey smiles and approaches me, gently touching my arm to snap me out of my trance. She looks me up and down and seems to like my pink bikini. "You look really hot, Alex. Wow."

"So do you," I can barely utter. I reach behind her head and flick her ponytail and snap the strap of her top piece. "Very cute suit on a super cute girl."

"Aw, thanks, babe; of course I look nowhere as cute as you, but I'll take your word for it." Casey lets her eyes wander to my bare feet. "Didn't you bring any flip-flops or water shoes?"

I frown. "Water shoes? Seriously? I don't own any water shoes. And no, I didn't bring flip-flops. I guess I forgot."

Casey shakes her head, like this is the worst crime ever committed. She holds up her finger, signaling me to wait as she disappears into the bedroom and comes back out a few moments later holding two pairs of water shoes; one pair solid black and the other pain green and black.

She hands me the back pair. "I come prepared."

I look at the shoes as if they will bite me and raise my eyes to her. "Um, why do you have two pairs of water shoes? Actually, why do you have any? What the heck is the point of water shoes? You aren't supposed to wear shoes in the water."

Casey already has the other pain and regards me an amused grin. "Alex, put the damn shoes on. It's very sunny today and we'll be on the lake right out in the open with the sun beating down on us. The bottom of the kayak will be hot and you will burn the bottom your cute little feet if you don't put them on." To illustrate her point, she covers my right foot with hers. "Those little feet are too cute to get burned."

I roll my eyes at her and finally put the shoes on. They are flimsy and offer no support but I keep my mouth shut as I follow her out of the cabin and out onto the deck, being mindful to shut the slider behind us so no bugs or unwanted animals get inside.

We start to make the trek across the sand to the shore of the lake when I suddenly remember something and stop dead in my tracks. "Casey! Did you remember sunscreen?"

Casey turns around and looks at me innocently. "Opps. No, I didn't. I guess we'll be rubbing Aloe on each other tonight."

Normally I'd object to spending any time in the sun without sunscreen as I burn very easily, but thinking about letting Casey rub Aloe on me doesn't sound all that bad…besides, we can make a trip into town tonight before dinner and pick some up for tomorrow. One day in the sun without protection isn't going to kill me.

Casey reaches the blue and white kayak before me and starts to drag it towards the shore. It looks really heavy but she drags it with such ease that I stand there in the sand and watch in amusement. She stops when it's half in water and looks up at me. "This is a nice one. Glad it's a two-person kayak."

I notice she's standing in the water - and not screaming that it's cold. "Is the water cold?"

She shakes her head. "It's not bad. Come one - you have to help me submerge it before we can get in. And grab the oar over there." She points to the oar lying in the sand to her left.

I grab the oar and I'm surprised by the weight of it. How the heck do people row with these things? It feels to me like it would kill your shoulders. I hesitate before I step in the water besides Casey - she and I have very different ideas of what 'cold' is.

"Alex! Come on!" Casey bates me, and finally I step into the work, gasping loudly when the coldness hits me. It's freezing!

"Jesus, Casey, you said it wasn't cold!"

"We only need to be in it for a few minutes until we get in the kayak; you'll survive. It's not like we're swimming in it." Casey takes the oar from me and tosses it in the kayak. "Come on; just a few feet out."

I follow Casey helping her drag the kayak until we're knee-deep, grumbling the whole way. We stop abruptly and Casey gets into the kayak first, and then holds out her hands to me. "Come on, princess, your chariot awaits."

I take both of her hands and she helps me step in, very unsteadily. I don't relax until I sit down on the little seat and Casey turns around to face me, smiling. "There. Was that so bad?"

It really wasn't, but I don't want Casey to know that. So I stubbornly say, "Yes. And I hope you don't expect me to row with that huge heavy oar."

"Nope," Casey says, not missing a beat as she picks up the oar and starts paddling. "I've done this before." She glances at me over her shoulder and adds, "Plus I'm stronger. You can massage my sore shoulders later. After you apply the Aloe, of course."

I don't argue with her. She is stronger and I have no objection to massaging her shoulders tonight.

Casey is pretty good at rowing. She's acting as if it's no trouble at all. I'd be out of breath and struggling. She even manages to talk while she's rowing. "Isn't it beautiful out here?"

I look around at the lake and realize it really is. The sunlight is casting off the water, causing it to shimmer beautifully. The temperature is just right; not blistering hot but not cold at all either. And the kayak is sliding cleanly over the water, causing very small ripples behind us.

"Yes," I finally answer, "It is pretty out here." I'm looking at Casey's back and I can't help but add, "And the driver is pretty to look at too. Even from this vantage point."

Casey turns around and smiles at me. "Really, Alex? You're checking me out, even here in the middle of the lake?"

"I can't help myself. There is no wrong place to check you out."

With that simple statement, Casey stops rowing. She rests the oar on the hooks in front of the kayak and spins around so she's facing me. A devilish grin has broken out across her face and I raise my eyebrows as I come to realize what her intentions are.

"I've never fooled around in a kayak before. Are you feeling adventurous?"

Normally I'd say no. Going at it in a floating alumnium kayak in the middle of the lake is a little out of my comfort zone. But this is Casey, this is a special weekend, and I realize I am feeling adventurous. So I simply nod at Casey and slide closer to her until I'm practically sitting in her lap.

Casey takes the lead, planting kisses down my neck and causing me to moan until she slides her hand down my bikini top and touches me just right. My body instinctively jerks at the sexy touch and I let out another moan. "God, Casey, just take me down!"

Casey is doing a better job of controlling herself. I'm touching her everywhere now, but she holds back from me and cautions, "We can't go all the way out here; we'll lose our balance and tip over. But I appreciate that you're willing to do so."

I actually find myself disappointed, but I stop and settle for enjoying the feel of Casey's touch and touching her where she likes it. Once we've stopped the hands-on exploration of each other's bodies, we sit there face-to-face, attached at the lips with our tongues fighting for dominance. Casey is wearing strawberry lip-gloss; I can taste it.

After several minutes, we end our hot kayak make-out session. Casey picks up my hand and holds it in her lap, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Wasn't that nice? Isn't it fun to be spontaneous? We'll finish what we started tonight."

I agree whole-heartedly. "You're amazing, Casey. I have experienced so much because of you. I can't thank you enough. I love you."

She's turned around and picked up the oar again, but she turns around one more time and gives me another smile. "You're welcome; and just think - we are just starting our lives together. There is still so much more for you to experience."

I honestly can't wait.

We paddle around for a little while longer. Casey gets tired after a while and takes a rest from her rowing, and I use that opportunity to massage the tightness out of her shoulders. She seems to enjoy it; she leans into me and I go at her pretty hard until she tells me she feels she has loosened up and is ready to continue.

We've turned around and are heading back to the shore when I ask, "Have you ever tipped over in one of these before? Is it dangerous?"

"Yes, I have. Just fooling around. If you know how to swim, you're fine. You can't really get hurt on the water."

"We should have put lifejackets on; I didn't even think about that."

Casey turns around and looks at me again. "We can both swim and the lake isn't deep here. We'll be okay. We won't tip over."

And then an idea pops into my head. A crazy, insane idea. An idea that the pre-Casey Alex would never have come up with.

I notice we're very close to the shore. Less than twenty feet I'd estimate. And that water is freezing; but it wouldn't be that bad to be in for just a short period of time, right?

Casey said I have to experience things. Well, I've never done what I'm about to do before. This is a first.

A smile breaks out as I stand up unsteadily in the kayak. My heart is pounding a million beats per second. This is crazy, insane, reckless. This is something Casey would do, not me.

Casey slowly realizes that I've stood up. She turns around, her mouth open in disbelief. "Alex - what are you - "

She doesn't get a chance to finish her question. With a few strong shakes, I tip us over.

Hitting the freezing cold water is a huge shock to my system. I go under and as soon as I break the surface, I'm gasping and shaking. It's colder than I expected. Casey comes up a few feet from me, gasping at the sudden coldness as well. She locks her eyes directly on me and demands, "Was that on purpose?"

I nod, and suddenly, despite the freezing water and our chattering teeth, we both bust out laughing. It's so funny; here we are treading water just feet from the shore, the kayak floating upside down beside us and the oar floating a few feet away. We're drenched and cold and miserable yet we can't stop laughing.

It takes both of us to overturn the kayak so it's floating properly and Casey grabs the oar as we drag the kayak back to the shore. As soon as it's resting on the sand, we fall onto our knees in the sand, laughing again and shaking even more.

"I can't believe you, Alex!" Casey says, running her hands up and down her arms to try and warm herself. "Look at us! That water is so cold we're bright red. You're going to pay for that…"

I can't wait to get back to the warmth of the cabin now. I remember we put towels in our trunk and I intend to grab them before we head inside. We're both hugging ourselves and making our way across the sandy beach…when I notice something troubling.

From the way I am hugging myself, I can feel something slimy on the back of my shoulder. At first I thing I have a piece of seaweed stuck to me, until I realize I can't brush it off. I stop walking and grab the object and pull it straight off. And when I see what it is, I start screaming.

Casey literally spins around with a horrified look on her face. "Alex! What's wrong!"

"Leeches!" I yell, hurling the unwanted cling-on to the ground. I desperately start feeling around my back for any more and I'm horrified when I do feel more slimly pests stuck to my back. I'm freaking out, hopping around the sand, not able to get a good enough hold to get them off.

Casey immediately comes to my rescue, not able to hide her laughter. "Alex, calm down; stay still. I'll get them off. Stop hopping around."

I want them off now; I can't feel them sucking my blood but I know they're doing so. And who knows what kind of parasite I could pick up from them?

"Get them off, Casey! Please!" I shout desperately as she gets behind me and works quickly to free me from the clutches of the evil leeches. As soon as she says she got them all, I start checking the rest of my body and slowly calm down when I don't find any more.

"There's not that much blood; they didn't get a good meal. Don't worry," Casey says, placing her hand on my shoulder. I look into her warm green eyes and I'm finally able to calm down. "You're okay, Alex. They're just leeches. My brother and I used to get them all the time when we swam in a pond by our house as kids. Our parents told us not to swim there because of them, but we always did. We'd have to peel them off each other after every swim."

I'm appalled - why would they subject themselves to that willingly? Having a leech attached to you is gross and uncomfortable. "Did you ever get sick from them?" I ask with alarm.

"No. I don't think you can. And I'm actually surprised they're out; I would think the water would be too cold for them." Casey does a quick spin-around in front of me. "Do I have any?"

I don't see a single one on her. "No. I guess they liked me more."

Casey drapes her arm around my shoulder as we go to my car and retrieve the towels. We're both trembling from cold but Casey treats me as if I just fell through the ice in the middle of winter. She takes the larger of the two towels and wraps it around me, pulling it tightly so I'll stay covered up. "There," she says with a smile, pleased with her work. "Let should warm you up quickly."

"You're freezing too," I tell her, watching her wrap the other towel around herself. I would help but my hands are up wrapped up in my towel. "I'm sorry I did that; it was my fault. Now we'll both catch pneumonia and die."

"It's not cold enough for that, and don't worry about it. Don't I always tell you that it's fun to be spontaneous? I'm glad you're finally getting with the program."

We waste no time getting inside and Casey insists on running us a hot shower. It will warm us quickly, plus I can't wait to get the lake water off me. It's not exactly clean. And I still feel icky from those leeches.

"Wait until I tell everyone that I had to have my fiancée rescue me from a leech attack. I'll be the laughingstock of New York."

"Yes you will," Casey agrees with a grin. "You were the damsel in distress and I was your Casey to the rescue. But don't sweat it; leeches are pretty gross. You're not the first person to freak out."

"I think I overreacted just a little…"

"Maybe a little. But that's okay. I expected nothing less; you're my Alex, after all. I know how proper and prissy you are. I think you acted very well, considering." She gives me a quick kiss on the cheek before going back to tend to the shower.

I'm standing next to the shower with the towel still wrapped me around me, watching Casey get our shower water just perfect. She keeps testing it until it's a satisfactory temperature for her. Then she stands up and reaches back for my hand. "Come on, baby. Take your suit off and let's warm you up and I'll check and see if you'll have bruises from those monsters."

And I think about how incredible this is. We're wet and cold and I got leeches on me because of my stupid stunt, and here is Casey just as wet and cold as I am, yet she is doing everything in her power to make me comfortable.

I'm allowing myself to get choked up as I drop my towel and quickly remove my suit. Then I take Casey's hand and she helps me step into the shower, but doesn't get in herself. She gives me a smile and goes to close the shower door when I grab her wrist and stop her.

"You need to warm up too," I tell her. I don't even wait for her to remove her suit. I grab her arm and literally pull her into the shower and position her behind me. Seconds later I hear her wet two piece hit the floor, and she tosses it out of the shower onto the towel on the floor.

We've never showered together before. I'm not sure why exactly, but we never have. It's one of the most intimate things you can do with your significant other.

Casey holds both of my arms from behind and I hear her gasp. "Oh no, Alex! Those leeches got you good…it's still bleeding…"

My hand immediately goes to my back in a blind panic. I don't feel any pain or see blood in the water; how can I be bleeding? I desperately feel around for a wound and only stop when I hear Casey laughing.

I turn around to face her and she says one word, "Gotcha."

I smack her wet shoulder lightly. "Casey!"

"You deserve it for tipping us over like that." She releases my arms and I feel her moving around behind me. "Hand me the soap. You're such a dirty girl; I need to clean you up."

I hand her the bar of soap and as she lathers up my back and scrubs me, I go about shampooing my hair. I'm already warmed up but I don't think it has anything to do with the hot water. I think it's because of Casey's soft and tender touch on my skin.

Once Casey has scrubbed my back and I've let the shampoo and conditioner do its job, I turn around and rinse myself off under the showerhead. Casey stands in the back of the shower and watches me with a smile, patiently waiting for her turn to get clean.

I step aside so my beautiful fiancée can have her turn under the showerhead. She rinses her hair out and shampoos while I wash her back and arms much like she did for me. I love touching her like this. It gives me goosebumps and makes my hair stand on end.

After I soap her up, I start massaging her shoulders again and she moans from that gesture. "Oh, that feels so good. My shoulders are so sore."

"I'm sorry, hon. If you want to go out on the kayak again tomorrow, I'll row us. And I promise not to tip us over this time."

Casey spins around to face me, her hair all lathered up with shampoo. She puts one arm around my waist and pulls me towards her. "You're adorable, but I don't think you'd be able to row. I'll let you try though, if you want. I'll be there to rescue us if you screw up." She pulls me tighter and her bare chest presses against mine, causing those goosebumps to spring to life again.

"You'll always be there to rescue me, won't you?" I ask as Casey holds me to her chest. The shampoo is washing down on me, but I don't care. It's worth it to be close to Casey like this.

I get a wet sloppy kiss for that statement. "Of course, baby. Always. I'll protect you from leeches and other monsters of the world. You have my personal guarantee." She gives my hand a squeeze and turns back around to rinse her hair.

As I watch the soapy water go down the drain, any fears I ever had about monsters of the world and not being good at marriage goes right with it.

So what do you think? I wanted a cute, drama-free chapter for the ladies for a change. Next chapter will be more of the weekend...and something else. Casey really gets into her job. How do you think that's going to affect them? And as the wedding approaches, what do you think will happen? Will everything go smoothly? Please review and tell me what you think!