He threw his keys on the table and crashed down on the couch. Hyde had expected their meeting to be colder than usual but not so disconnected like tonight. He sighed at how withdrawn she appeared tonight, almost as if she was hiding from the events from the previous year; this also came as a surprise because Donna was never the type to run away from anything. She had always been determined to confront the problems and simply deal with them.
His decision to leave the Formans' home tonight before Donna returned came out of the obvious reason that these two young people would only continue to sit in uncomfortable silence or start a bad conversation that might turn into an argument, and that was not appropriate in front of Mrs. Forman.
Hyde accidentally glanced at the window and the picture of the moon began to slowly transport his mind to those nights.
THE PREVIOUS SUMMER
He had returned to the lake that late afternoon to drown silently into the night. Leaning on the tree that was only two feet away from the water, Hyde removed his glasses and closed his eyes. He understood why Donna had appeared like she was in a trance when he saw her and before he cruelly interrupted her to hand over the beer; it was very peaceful here and the summer air was almost intoxicating. Sometimes it takes someone the longest time to realize just how special and interesting some of the simplest things can be. This was one of them.
Enjoying the quiet sound of the night, he smiled but then heard some soft rustling, which alarmed him. Opening his eyes, he moved his head carefully to the edge of the tree and noticed a girl with a yellow cap and black sunglasses approaching the shore; he was out of her sight because of the cover which the tree he had leaned against provided for him. The girl dressed in a blue sweater and shorts stood at the very edge of the shore and smiled while looking at the tamed water. Observing her, Hyde almost took a step forward with an intention to 'chat-up' this strange girl when suddenly he stopped. The girl took off her sunglasses and then her yellow cap from which the soft red hair fell gently down to her back. It had been Donna. "Hmm... what is she doing here?" he wondered and decided to remain in his spot despite the terrible feeling of 'stalking' which the situation almost gave out; curiosity began building up inside him as he placed his hands on the tree's bark.
She looked around with caution and hope that no one was watching her. When Donna was convinced of the solitude, she pulled up her sweater to show the pink cotton bra with a tiny blue ribbon in the middle. This drew a small devilish smile on Hyde's face. Once again the redhead took a careful glimpse of her surroundings and then pulled down her shorts, which she carelessly dropped next to the blue sweater that lay on the darker green grass. She chuckled. "She's not doing what I think she is?" Hyde whispered and then his blue eyes registered how Donna's hands went down on the smooth skin on her leg that was being enlightened softly by the moon's glow, until they reached a small beaded bracelet on her left ankle. "Oh, when did she get that?" Hyde was amazed by this small piece of jewelry and the tiny amount of sexiness it gave the redhead as it rested on the thin and incredibly feminine ankle.
Donna's fingers caressed the red and orange beads before they swiftly traveled up on her body and reached her back. Feeling the temperature of his body rise with enormous speed, Hyde wanted to pull away but the dammed curiosity glued him to his spot. She took off her bra but the long locks of her hair provided a safe cover for her breasts. Immediately with another chuckle coming out of her, she reached down to remove the last piece of her underwear. This time feeling even embarrassed, Hyde diverted his gaze away. If it'd been someone else he would happily continue his observation, but Donna was his friend and it seemed awkward.
After hearing a loud splash, Hyde returned his blues to the girl that was now swimming in the lake with nothing on but her own milky skin. The moon must have liked this tall redhead as it deliberately kept a strong glow around her that provided more than enough light for this young man to watch Donna move slowly in the water. Another smile, only this time wider, decorated his face. He kept his sunglasses inside his right hand as he watched her; they would only blur the picture if he put them on and he liked what he saw in front of him. Only her head and drenched hair that dragged behind her were visible, the other more intimate parts were covered by the dark water. Donna closed her eyes and leaned on the watery surface as she made tiny circles. There was a smile on her face; she was enjoying this. A loud laughter followed, after which she made a strident splash with her arms and then dived inside.
Hyde chuckled. Despite the unpleasant argument, he knew that he had been right. This had been her, his best friend - free and satisfied if only for tonight; the spark had still been there inside her. He saw her appear on the surface again. "Whoah!" she screamed and laughed loudly like a little girl. This was perhaps the perfect opportunity to salivate over but the young man only smiled enjoyably. "That's my girl," he spoke quietly.
Then a larger stone unexpectedly rolled over and into the water making a sound which startled Donna. Hyde realized that he had accidentally kicked the stone that was next to his left foot. "Fuck," he cursed and saw how Donna suddenly froze while covering herself entirely up to her head.
"Who's there?" Donna shouted, looking nervously around. There was no reply. "My boyfriend's waiting in the car! He'll be here in a split second if I scream!"
"I thought Forman left for Madison," Hyde suddenly appeared and crossed his arms. The sunglasses were back on as he smiled fondly.
"Hyde! God! What do you think you're doing here??"
"Well, right now I'm enjoying the view," he smirked. And he wasn't lying.
"You were watching me??" Donna felt horrified. She was desperately wishing for a negative answer. Eric had had that opportunity of seeing her entirely nude and Hyde was not the desired person to follow in those footsteps.
"Well," he shrugged, glancing away. Hyde knew this seemed inappropriate but he was having fun.
"Geez! You're even more perverted than I thought! How dare you??" she was clearly irritated.
"Hey, man. I'm still a guy, you can't really blame me," he defended himself while trying to conceal his grin but it was easier to not fight it. Hyde did not have Eric's fortune in enjoying her entire body with his eyes but he was not going to tell that to Donna. Let her be fuming for a while, it was presenting her beautifully.
Donna shook her head and glanced at her clothes. "If I was dressed I would've gone up there and beaten the crap out of you right now!"
"You can come like that, I don't mind," he told her and rubbed his nose. "Or would you like me to join you in there," his devilish grin was glowing.
"Absolutely not! Would you mind leaving now?" she was still far from being calm.
"Why, man? You get to see something as extraordinary as this once in a lifetime."
"You're really having a blast with this, huh?"
"Oh yeah!"
She bit her lip and eyed her friend up. "Alright then," Donna said and dived in. "Where did you go now?" he approached the water, still sporting the grin. Then suddenly Donna emerged to the surface, splashing him with huge amounts of water. "Ahh!" he took a step back and removed his sunglasses. Hyde saw her smile; she did not take it so horridly after all. "So that's how we play right now, huh?"
"Not really. I still wish this was acid instead of water!"
"Donna, man. You can be the nastiest person when you wanna be," he told her.
"Thank you. Now, please get the hell out of here and let me enjoy my bath?"
Hyde, who was soaked badly by now, gave her a strange look. "After this? No way, man."
Donna tilted her head. "Well if you stay then I'm going to tell Eric that you tried to sexually harass me!" she lifted her eyebrows.
"Would you be so daring?" he snorted.
"You said I can be a nasty person," she chuckled. Her shyness was slowly fading but it did not encourage her to reveal anything beneath her neck.
"Well I wish Forman could see you now, 'cause he's missing one heck of a view!" and winked before feeling another big splash on him. "Geez! Easy, will ya?"
Donna laughed with satisfaction.
"You're only giving me a really bad indication to come in there, man," he told her.
"You do that and they'll be fishing for your body at the bottom of a lake tomorrow morning!"
"Won't it be obvious who did it?" he raised an eyebrow.
"No. No one knows I'm here," she shrugged and dipped her chin in the water.
Hyde watched her pleasantly. "Do you know how long it'll take me to dry these stupid clothes off now?" he protested.
"It serves you right for stalking me!"
"I wasn't stalking you, man, I... just happened to drop by at the same time as you."
"You're an asshole!" and splashed him again.
"Shit! Alright! That does it!" he took off his boots and then went for his t-shirt.
"What... what are you doing??" Donna began swimming backwards.
"What does it look like?" he said and reached for his jeans.
"Don't you dare! Hyde! I'm serious!" This had been not what she had needed. But her words did not reach him when he jumped in the lake.
When he emerged, Hyde was met by a blurrier image of Donna's pleasantly wet face. Removing the drops from his eyes, the picture had become clearer. Her hair was glued back, uncovering her face fully and the sparkle in her eyes while she watched in both shock and slight annoyance.
"You do realize that this is taking a wrong advantage of the situation, don't you," she sounded serious.
"Is that what I'm doing?" He did not appear to be too bothered about this.
"Yes! Could you please now close your eyes so I can leave?"
"What makes you think I'm going to let you?" he teased her.
"Because your face is going to be redder than a goddamn tomato by the time you reach home," she threatened him.
"I'm shaking with fear right now," he chuckled. The drops of water which were sliding down the girl's face made her seem even more appealing. But Hyde knew there were limits, he was not going to cross them…again.
Donna groaned. "Hyde."
"Come on, man. How often do you get to do this?"
"What, being harassed by you?" she pouted.
"No, skinny-dipping!"
"Alright, I do admit it's the first time I've ever done it like this but..."
"So our talk last night did get you," he smiled.
"Let's not get into that," she did not want to touch last night.
"Ok, fine. But you were enjoying yourself tonight. It was nice to see that."
Donna watched his face and how some strands of his wet hair remained on his forehead, close to his eyes before he removed them with his hand. It actually looked funny. "I thought you gave up with hitting on me by now."
"I wasn't trying to do that."
"Each time you lie it makes it worse, Hyde," she told him and began to swim away when Hyde stopped her, grabbing her left arm. Donna looked at it and then back at him.
"It's nice here, don't go," he told her softly.
"Actually, I'm not that comfortable swimming naked with you," she lied and did not struggle when he pulled her closer to him.
She looked equally beautiful being wet as she did in her drier state. Hyde was picking up every inch of her skin and every drop on her face hungrily with his eyes and he liked it. He could kiss her now; it appeared to be the perfect opportunity to taste her lips. It was only him and her and no one else was around; no one knew they were here; no one would know what would happen here. Hyde placed his hand on her cheek and caressed it until Donna quickly pulled away.
"Hyde," she told him with a flat voice. "You do anything else and I swear I will kill you myself." But he saw her jagged swallowing, a good sign for appearing nervousness.
She did not have to worry; he was not going to kiss her again no matter how tempting it appeared to him. He made that mistake last night. He couldn't do it now. He respected Eric and he respected Donna. "I wasn't going to do anything," he told her honestly.
But Donna turned away and swam to the shore. "You tried that three times this month. Three times!" and threw him a glimpse. "Please turn around!"
Hyde did so. "You've probably read wrong," he said and heard the dripping of the large drops from Donna's body as she went to get her clothing.
"I've had a lot of experience, Hyde," she replied and began dressing up. "And what was that last night, huh??"
"It wasn't what you think it was, man!" He turned around to see her and luckily she was already in the process of pulling down her blouse. This girl was always a quick dresser.
"Then what was it? That stupid test of yours to see if I still had some...'sparks' in me? Did you hope those sparks would appear in bed?!" she suddenly snapped at him.
Hyde was taken aback. He had expected her to react less fondly to what had happened but not like this. "No, man, it wasn't..."
"I had a good time here, yes! You were right about that! I was enjoying myself tonight before you appeared! And then I find out you were watching me? God, Hyde!"
He swam over to the shore. "It's not like that, man! I'm not hitting on you!"
"Please don't say any more. Just please, shut up! I was hoping to relax these couple of weeks before I went back but you're making it incredibly difficult for me!"
"Well I'm sorry! If it bothers you so damn much I won't hassle you anymore! But I was not trying to get you in bed!"
Donna threw him a sharp look.
"Don't you trust me?"
"I do! But it gets difficult at times when you act like this and especially as Eric and I are still engaged!" she sighed. "I love you, Hyde. You're my best friend! But God, you can be such an asshole at times!" she threw her hair back and ran away.
Watching her leave, Hyde exhaled and then submerged underwater, wanting to wash away her image. She was right. Maybe he had been hassling her. But it was not intentional. It would be sleazy on his part if he did that. It had been a good suggestion to stay away from her for a while. The distance would do good.
THE PRESENT
Facing the boring wall once again, Hyde sighed. It had been a year and it gave them both the needed time apart and the needed time to think, especially him. He was not going to lie that it hadn't been good seeing his friend again. He had missed her. He had missed Eric as well but Donna... "Heck, maybe because she's just a girl you used to have a crush on." Hyde shook his head and laughed at himself. "What were you thinking all those years back, man? That something was going to happen? Get a life! Find a girl. Start with something better. Hell." He sat up and looked at his hand where a silver ring stood around his index finger. He sighed again. It was the ring Donna had bought him two summers ago when she, Eric and Hyde went out for dinner one Saturday night.
They took a walk, discussing several interesting moments of their present lives when they came across this street salesman who was selling silver pieces of jewelry all lined up on a black silky surface of a wide black suitcase. Donna got excited when she saw the rings and necklaces as she had wanted to get something for herself and plus the prices were cheaper than in a real jewelry store. The man who was selling the rings and necklaces looked as normal as anyone could get with a plain red t-shirt and blue shorts, his head although shaven gave not the appearance of a thug but rather simple normality. She was looking fondly at the necklaces for a while and then picked up a thin silver chain with two small silvery seahorses in a circle hanging from it. "Ah, this one is awesome! I'll take it!" she exclaimed and handed the necklace to the man. "What do you think?" she asked Eric.
"It looks good." He nodded. "Donna, can you afford that?" Eric asked with concern; that was still silver and not cheap metal.
"Of course, silly!" she hit him gently on the chest. "Remember that money I won for my four stories and that part-time job at the shop? Well, I was saving it just for this," she said and glanced at Hyde. "Do you like it?" she asked him.
"Yeah, it's great, it suits you," he nodded.
"Good! Because I also need to buy the present for your last birthday which I didn't get."
"No, man. It's fine. It was nice enough that you called that day," he assured her.
"I owe you," she began looking at the selection of rings.
"Believe me, she won't take no for an answer for this," Eric told him. He had a similar experience twice and he knew how she could get.
Hyde only shrugged and put his hands in his pockets, looking at the rings. He glanced at his friend and saw the enthusiasm which she had while making her selection. It made him smile for a couple of seconds.
"Ohh, this one!" she picked out a thicker silver ring with two horses standing gracefully, facing each other. "What do you think?"
"Donna, man, it's fine. I don't want the ring," he said but that barely registered with the redhead as she was almost on a high.
"It's a birthday present, c'mon!" she encouraged him.
"Look, I don't want it, I got my present from you already; this is unnecessary." And he meant it; it was bad enough that she had to fuss like this but it was even worse the amount of money she would give for a damn ring which he might not even wear.
"I can pick another one!"
"No, this one is great but I don't want it."
"Hyde, if you don't take it and I'm being serious with this, I'm gonna kill you!"
"And she means it too," Eric nodded.
Hyde cocked an eye at him. "Look, I'm not comfortable with receiving expensive gifts, especially from you!"
Donna lowered her defense and looked over at Eric who said: "Hyde, it's a present from us, man. You'll - "
"Are you freakin' deaf? I said I don't want it!" He could see the disappointment in Donna's eyes and pretty soon in Eric's as well.
"Ok, if you don't want it, then fine," Donna spoke quietly and took the ring in her palm squeezing it with her hand. She looked up at the salesman. "I'll take this one as well," and turned to Hyde, "for me."
They didn't speak about it the entire time Donna and Eric had remained there before leaving back for college, almost as if it never happened. On the last day, two hours before they were leaving, Hyde heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, he found Donna standing there, smiling. "Hey."
"Hey," he greeted her back. "Aren't you still packing?" he asked her.
"I was done ages ago," she told him with her hands behind her back. "Can I come in for a minute?" Donna asked with her hair tightly secured in a ponytail and white sleeveless silk shirt that was decorated by the silver necklace with the two seahorses; this went beautifully with the black pants.
"Sure," he stepped aside and she walked into the living room; turning around she waited until Hyde closed the door and approached her.
"I wanted to give you something before I go," she said and pulled out a small black box with a white ribbon around it.
Hyde looked questionably at her. "Donna, I thought we agreed about presents," he said.
"Please," she spoke calmly and seriously but with gentleness. "I want you to have it," she told him.
He watched her for a while and saw the eagerness almost explode inside her and through her eyes. Sighing, he lifted an eyebrow and took the box. "Whatever," he said and untied the ribbon. When he opened the black box he found the silver ring with the two horses settled securely in a small black cardboard platform. Tilting his head, he glanced at her. "Donna, man. I already told you about this. I can't accept it."
"Will you stop being so damn modest? I want you to have it," she repeated and then took the ring from the box. "Here," she said and took his right hand, placing the ring slowly on his index finger.
Hyde glanced both at the ring and her as she put it on. He saw the joy in her eyes and he would feel like a complete imbecile if he was to ruin that. "It's great. Thanks, man." He kissed her cheek and gave her a strong fierce hug.
Donna smiled and closed her eyes. "I knew you would like it," she said and returned the hug.
When they separated she headed towards the door. "So I'll see you soon. Take care, alright?" She opened the door and kept her smile.
"Yeah, you and Forman both. Get rid of that boring college already," he smiled back and when she exited, he slowly closed the door behind her. He then stopped and looked at his present for a while longer, studying the figures. It really was a beautiful ring. "She has taste," he smiled and sat on the couch.
Now, when seeing this ring again for the millionth time and thinking about his encounter with Donna today, no matter how odd it seemed, Hyde was happy that they were here. "Maybe this summer would be better than the others," he told himself and got off the couch.