Chapter 2
Fun in the Sun
Inuyasha and Kagome drove the 20 miles to the lake in relative comfortable silence. The lake was a beautiful one, nestled at the base of one of the mountains surrounding the valley where they lived. Kagome had lived in the valley her whole life, but had never known of the lake. She had only discovered its existence last year when she had gone out for a solitary drive. She often just drove to calm her mind.
Two roads accessed the lake. One was the back way, which took much longer and was mostly gravel. This dusty road had brought Kagome to the lake. For several weeks following her discovery, she thought this dusty road to be the only way to get there. That is until one day Inuyasha had taken the second route when work allowed them to drive there together. Kagome felt rather stupid after that, but Inuyasha never rubbed it in.
The main or second route was the one they drove today. The paved road jogged off from the south end of town. After about a mile, the road curved and started up a somewhat steep hill. When you reached the top, you could look out over the lake. The paved way skirted the lake for another mile or so before it turned to gravel and took off up the mountainside. Just before the pavement ended, there was a little swimming area complete with a swim dock, boat ramp, and tiny boat dock. As small as the place was, it was actually quite well known.
Inuyasha pulled the car onto the single strip of gravel that made up the parking area. With tourist season still 2 weeks away, the parking lot and swim area were virtually empty. Only four or five cars lined the parking lot and no one was parked ditch side across the street. No boat trailers were in sight either. This thrilled Kagome. She hated the confinement of the swim area.
The couple exited the car, with Inuyasha being the true gentleman and carrying Kagome's bag. Kagome breathed in the cool air and took in her surroundings. Nothing had changed...yet. She really did not like tourists. They had a knack for demanding change and some never left the area. They bought up the land, started business, raising the prices, causing the cost of living to increase but still insisting on paying minimum wage. Regular working class people, like her own family, had to have both parents work their behinds off just to make ends meet while the owners got rich off someone else's sweat. That pissed Kagome off.
Kagome took Inuyasha's hand as the couple walked toward the swim area. On their left, in front of the parking area was a grassy lawn that would have been perfect to sit on were it not for the NO TRESSPASSING signs and barbwire fencing. It belonged to some hot rod association that came through the valley once a year. A prime example of tourist demands. Make it so only the exclusive can enjoy it. So now, instead of soft grass to sit on, you had the choice of dirt or the dock. The swim dock rested at the bottom of a rather steep incline. Two new outhouses stood at the top of the hill and off to the left sat the one red picnic table. No one ever used it. The hill was steep and bare, the grass uprooted long ago from people skidding down it to the water.
The dock was three quarters of a square, the shore making up the fourth side. This created a shallow swim area for the kiddies, while off the backside of the dock was the deeper swim area lined with ropes to prevent boats from coming in too close or swimmers from going out too far. Kagome knew she wouldn't be staying within the boundaries the ropes made today. There were no boats in the water, so therefore, no need for that caution.
Kagome sidestepped her way down the incline with Inuyasha in front to catch her if she fell. Reaching the floating dock, Kagome gingerly stepped on to it. She walked the length and glanced at her group of friend seated in the middle. Her best friend, Kikyo, wearing a red bikini and her hair held back from her face in a ponytail, was dangling her feet in the cool water. Next to her sat Inuyasha's best friend Kouga, his muscular, tanned body contrasted greatly to Kikyo's porcelain appearance. On Kouga's right sat Ayame with her red hair glistening in the sun. In a pink bikini, and lying next to Ayame on a pink beach towel was Rin. Even with Rin's eyes covered by sunglasses, Kagome knew they held her signature sparkle because next to the petite girl sat Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's half brother and Rin's fiancé'. Sesshomaru and Rin were the only other couple in the entire group.
Kagome stifled a giggle at the stoic man seated as though he should be wearing a business suit at a business meeting instead of wearing swim trunk at the lake. His face remained expressionless, though Kagome knew he was happy. She and Rin were the only two able to see how that man truly felt. It was easy for Rin to tell his moods, but with Kagome, it always took longer for her to decipher. The man was way to grown up for his own good, but they all knew because of his attitude he would go places they only ever dreamed about.
Noticing Kagome, Rin quickly stood to her feet and rushed the girl, giving her a small hug. Kagome smiled at the almost overly enthusiastic older girl. Nothing seemed to get Rin down and that is precisely why she complimented the Ice King so well.
"Geesh took you guys long enough." Kouga's voice cut through Kagome's thoughts.
Kagome, being a modest girl, blushed and glanced at Inuyasha.
"What took you so long?" Kouga pestered, eyebrows raised.
Kagome's blush deepened as she suddenly found the wood planks of the dock very interesting. Completely mesmerized at watching Kagome's perfect face flush, Kouga failed to notice Inuyasha move behind him. Planting a foot on Kouga's back, Inuyasha pushed Kouga into the lake, saving Kagome from further embarrassment. Sure, they hadn't done anything like Kouga had implied, but Kagome was one of those girls uncomfortable with talking about such things openly.
Kouga's head broke the surface of the water, sputtering a very colorful vocabulary, most of which was directed at "Dog Turd" for catching him off guard. Rin politely stifled a giggle, but everyone else, with the obvious exception of Sesshomaru; let their laughter loose on the drenched male. Kikyo rose to her feet still laughing softly.
Glancing Inuyasha's direction she simply stated, "Well, I'm not sure about you guys, but I came here to swim."
With that, she delicately dove into the water. Ayame followed Kikyo into the water after removing her shirt and shorts to reveal an emerald green bikini. Ayame surfaced just behind Kouga and grinning slyly, she raised herself up and pushed with all her might, shoving the much bigger male underwater. Kouga then resurfaced next to the dock where Kagome had seated herself on her towel next to Rin. The two were quietly chatting away. As much as Kikyo was her best friend, Rin was more of a sister to Kagome. Heck, the whole group knew they would be sisters one day anyway. Inuyasha and Kagome were destined to be married. He hadn't asked yet, but Kagome knew he would soon. She could feel it.
"You coming in or not?" Kouga asked cutting into the conversation.
"Maybe in a while," Kagome answered, "I just want to sit here and enjoy the sun for now."
Honestly, Kagome was irritated at Kouga. The guy always seemed to interrupt her conversations. It didn't matter where the group was or what they were doing. The guy was just plain rude. He needed to get a girlfriend, but he always claimed, "All the good ones are taken." She did like Kouga, but she also desperately wanted him to learn manners.
"Like heck you are." Inuyasha's voice cut through her thoughts.
The next moment, Kagome found herself flying through the air.
"Yasha!" she shrieked as she splashed into the clear water.
Kagome kicked herself to the surface and shot Inuyasha a withering glare.
"Payback." was all he said to her look.
Kagome's glare turned to a smirk, giving Inuyasha a slight forewarning. Too late to do anything about it, he found himself joining Kagome in the water. Sesshomaru stood on the dock smirking in his own way at his brother.