Laurey

"Hey, Jud" Laurey tried to sound casual, as though she just happened to be in the cornfield.

"Yeah?" He stood up and mopped his forehead.

"It's so hot; I was thinkin' I'd like to go swimmin', and so maybe you could come with me? Just to keep an eye on me? Normally, I'd ask Aunt Eller, but I'd feel safer with you there. If you ain't busy, I don't wanna—"

"No, I-I can keep you company 'f you want me to."

They walked to the lake, not saying a word, but she wondered if his mind was racing as much as hers.

"Right, well, I'll let you…" he mumbled before turning away.

"You can look at me" she blurted out before she lost her nerve.

He whirled around. "Yeah?"

"I know you've looked in my window before, ain't like you've never seen me."

He opened his mouth to explain or protest, but he didn't have to.

"I used to think it was wrong, but now I know you was just keepin' me safe. So, it's all right for you to look at me now" she finished lamely, unwilling to voice the real reason. She'd seen the pictures on his walls, saw the way he looked at her across the kitchen table. She knew women's bodies were valuable, so she thought her body had some value to him. It was certainly something he deserved to look at after saving her, maybe even something she owed him if he was going to continue watching over her.

Before she could change her mind, she wriggled out of her jeans and her top, followed by her underclothes. She kept her eyes firmly on the ground, not wanting to see the way he looked at her, and certainly not wanting to make eye contact and invite him to do anything more.

She dove into the water and glided along, letting the current stroke her body instead. The way the ripples caressed her brought back memories of that night—of being touched in those secret, sensitive places. She closed her eyes and submerged under the water. If only it hadn't been that man who had touched her, if only it had been…

She rose back to the surface. If only it had been Jud.

She normally didn't let herself entertain the idea, tried to push it aside. But in the water, with him standing right there, still looking at her, it was impossible to keep those thoughts at bay, and all she could think about were how his hands would feel on her body, how his lips would feel on hers. Her heart raced at the thought that his mind was probably running in the same direction, especially with her naked as a jaybird right in front of him, willingly stripping in front of him like a showgirl or one of his postcard girls.

Unable to take any more, she pulled herself out of the lake. Normally, she would have lay on the grass and let the sun dry her off, but she had already let Jud see her with her clothes off, and lying down naked next to him…that couldn't be justified.

"I forgot a towel" she explained, swiping the water droplets off her arms and legs.

"Right." She glanced at him and saw that he was staring at her in that intense, scrutinizing way she used to hate, looking everywhere except her face. "I can go to the house and get you one."

"That's all right. It's warm enough so I'll dry off quickly. And, uh" she slipped into her clothes. "I don't think we should tell Aunt Eller. I'll just say I went swimmin' on my own."

"Yeah, that's-that's smart."

She finished buttoning her shirt and smiled at him over her shoulder as she began to walk towards the orchard. "Gonna pick some cherries—make you another pie." She walked away, her wet hair soaking through her shirt, providing relief from the heat of the sun.