Chapter 16

Ron woke up first and pulled away from Brenda and covered her as the fire had gone out during the night and she no longer had his warmth next to her. He went into the kitchen and started fixing breakfast. Brenda woke up and came into the kitchen when she smelled the food cooking. She came up behind him and put her arms around him and pulled him to her. He kissed her quickly and continued fixing the bacon and eggs. Ron set the food on the table and Brenda complimented him on his cooking.

"It's nice being waited on," she said.

Ron laughed, "Don't be too happy about it, you have to clean up the kitchen. You have never cleaned up after a man cooks, have you?"

Brenda found out that he was right. She washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen counters and spatters on the walls and floor. While she was working Ron got dressed and went out to the boat. He worked on getting the boat ready for over an hour. Brenda finished in the kitchen and started to shower and get dressed. Ron called into her to put on a bathing suit and to bring some clothes to put over the suit in case they wanted to go ashore.

She came out of the bedroom in the only bathing suit that she owned, a one-piece suit, and Ron shook his head.

"No way a woman of mine is going to be seen dressed in that," he laughed, "We have to go into Mercer and get something to eat and drink while we're out on the water. We'll stop at one of the shops and get you a bikini so you can show off that beautiful body of yours."

Brenda started to protest because she hadn't worn a bikini since she was a teenager. Ron put his arm around her and told her that he insisted. She told him that she would look at what the stores had, but she wasn't promising anything. The weather was very warm for mid October but Brenda wondered if it wasn't too cold for a bikini.

Ron pulled the Expedition out of the garage and they went into Mercer. Ron took her to a little shop that had swimwear and he sat while she picked out a bikini. The first ones she picked out he didn't like, he told her that they were something that her mother would wear. The one that Ron finally agreed to was a lot skimpier than anything she would have picked for herself. Ron paid for it and they went to the grocery store and picked up deli meats and bread. Brenda selected ready-made macaroni salad and potato salad and they drove back home.

Ron cast off the lines and pulled the boat away from the pier. He pulled out into the lake and increased the speed of the boat. Brenda sat up on the covered bridge with him to stay out of the wind. She took off her slacks and shirt and modeled the bikini for him. Ron showed her where she could sun herself and be out of the wind and out of sight of any other boaters. Brenda laid on the deck at the back of the boat and found that she was quite warm in the sun with the boat shielding her from the wind. She saw Ron watching her and she took her bikini top off and started soaking up the sun.

They stayed out until the sun was setting and was just above the horizon. Ron turned for home and they docked just as it was getting dark. Ron asked her if she was up to going into Mercer for dinner and she told him that she would rather stay home and just have a sandwich.

The ate sandwiches and what was left of the salads and Ron made a fire in the fireplace. After they had showered together they put on their robes and lay down in front of the fire. Ron poured them a glass of wine and they held each other and watched the fire. Brenda was not used to being on the water all day and fell asleep in Ron's arms. Ron kissed her and covered them both with a blanket. He took her back into his arms and went to sleep on the floor.

The next several days were either spent on the water exploring the lake or with Ron showing Brenda different sights on the island. One day they took the boat through the locks of the ship channel and into Puget Sound. Ron started teaching her how the run the boat and she was finding that she really enjoyed being on the water. They only ate out one night and Brenda would not allow him to cook anymore. They made love every night in front of the fire.

On the Friday before they were to be back to work, Brenda woke up and Ron was not in the bed. She got out of bed and she looked for him. When she couldn't find him in the house she put on her robe and went to the boat. The boat was locked and it did not appear that he had been on the boat this morning. After a quick check of the grounds, she went back into the house. She took a shower and got dressed.

By 9 o'clock she started to get worried and by 11 o'clock she was wondering if she should call the police and see if he had been in an accident. Ron pulled into the garage a little after noontime and she ran to meet him at the door. She threw her arms around him and hugged him.

"I was worried sick wondering where you were," she said.

Ron hugged her, "I had to pick up a few things for the house and you were sleeping, so I thought I'd let you sleep. I didn't know that I would be this long."

Before Brenda could say anything Ron started to talk, "I made reservations for a place in Seattle and how about we go into Mercer and get you a sexy number for tonight. It's a pretty high class joint and I want show you off."

Brenda protested a little and said that she had a dress that was nice but Ron insisted. They drove into Mercer and Ron took her to an exclusive women's shop. He showed her what kind of dress he liked and she tried it on. It was a beautiful blue dress that was cut low and came to about 3 inches above her knee. Brenda liked the dress herself even though it was sexier than what she would have bought for herself. She made Ron go outside while she bought lingerie and stockings for under the dress. When she tried to pay for the clothes she found that Ron had already paid. She walked out to the car and got in.

"You have to stop buying me clothes, its not right," she said.

"Well, we'll see if we can bring them back tomorrow," he smiled.

Brenda punched him in the arm lightly. Ron started the car and they drove back to his house.

Ron worked on the yard in the afternoon and Brenda offered to help. Ron wouldn't let her get her hands dirty saying that she was too beautiful to get her hands dirty.

"You are very good for my ego," she told him.

About 3:30 Ron and Brenda took a shower together. Brenda kissed him. She told Ron that she loved him. Ron was strangely quiet and Brenda wondered why he wasn't in the mood to make love. They finished their shower and Ron went into another bedroom to get dressed. Brenda took a lot of time getting dressed and putting on her makeup. Ron came into the bedroom and got his suit coat and walked over to Brenda and kissed her getting lipstick on his mouth. Brenda laughed and wiped the lipstick off. She check ed herself and decided that she looked good enough for a special dinner in Seattle. When she came into the living room Ron gave a whistle and told her she was beautiful.

Chapter 17