Nothing Like the First Time by Keren Hughes Page A

He placed a chaste kiss on my lips and rephrased the question.
    “Carly Summers, would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
    “I… I… ask me when you’re sober and I’ll think about it ,” was all I could say. I wanted to say yes—of course I did. But I couldn’t help but think he was asking in the heat of the moment.
    We lay on the dock, ou r clothes strewn everywhere—the blanket and shared body warmth the only things keeping us from freezing our butts off. We lay side by side, looking up at the sky as it turned from purple to inky black.
    “Let’s go inside ,” I mumbled sleepily.
    No reply came so I looked at Grey and saw that he was asleep. I didn’t want to disturb him, so I wrapped myself around him and pulled the blanket tighter around us before falling asleep to the sound of his heart.
    The next morning, I woke up before Grey. I gently moved from out of the blanket and found my clothes. I got dressed and then lay back down beside this handsome man who I was head over heels in love with , whether I chose to admit it or not. He was a sight to behold—with his chiseled jaw and soulful eyes—though they were closed, so I couldn’t peer into their depths.
    A little while later, Grey woke up and called for me. I was down at the edge of the dock with my feet in the water. He made his way down to me, collecting his clothes along the way.
    “Good morning, beautiful,” he said as he came to a stop beside me.
    “Good morning ,” I replied with a smile. I looked up to kiss him as he bent over me.
    He got dressed and sat at the water’s edge with me. He pulled the blanket around our shoulders.
    “I wasn’t drunk last night, you know,” he blurted out of nowhere.
    “Really? It seemed like you were a little tipsy, you were asking me silly questions , after all.”
    “Hmm… Should we go inside?” he asked, avoiding the subject of his proposal.
    “Perhaps,” I replied.
    We got up and I picked up my shoes before walking up the dock and into the house.
    “Good morning, were you two out for a stroll in the fresh air?” Naomi greeted us as we walked through the door.
    “Yes, it’s a beautiful morning ,” Grey replied coolly, though I did see the hint of a smile on his face.
    “Well , get washed up and ready for breakfast,” she said as she puttered about the kitchen, making all the things for a full-cooked breakfast.
    “Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked as Grey went to wash his hands.
    “No, sweetie, I have it under control, but thank you,” she replied as she moved to take care of the fried eggs.
    “Okay ,” I said with a smile as I entered the small washroom Grey had just vacated.
     
    ***
     
    After eating, Grey and I did the washing up. I washed while he dried. He hadn’t said much over breakfast. Come to think of it, he hadn’t said much all morning.
    “Hey, are you okay?” I asked as I passed him the last plate to be dried.
    “I’m good. Why?” he asked in a quiet voice.
    “You just haven’t said much .”
    “I’m okay, really. I’m just a little sore from sleeping on a wooden dock all night, but I couldn’t bring that up at breakfast, could I?” he whispered.
    Just then my phone began to ring. I dried my hands and fished it out of my jeans pocket.
    “Hey, where on earth have you been?” came Jodie’s voice as I answered.
    “I’m… umm… with Grey ,” I answered in a slightly embarrassed tone. I hadn’t told Jodie I was going to the lake house and I hadn’t told her I was staying away for the night. I hadn’t realized at the time that I would stay overnight, it hadn’t even occurred to me.
    “Wow , are you two, you know, an item now?” she probed in her usual ‘casual but nosy’ tone.
    “We haven’t really talked about that ,” I said as I made my way out of the door and signaled Grey to stay where he was. I walked down the dock before blurting out that he had proposed.
    “He what?” she all but yelled down my ear.
    “Yeah, he asked me