The warm sun feels so nice on my wet body, warming me out of my shivers. JR shifts his place on the dock next to me. Our feet are dangling in the water, splashing each other and giggling with tired giddy. His hair dripping non-stop and I'm finding myself wiping his hair off his forehead frequently. The swim skirt that I found in one of the closets has ridden up to my hips. I pull in down. JR's body glitters with water droplets and his arm, which is a couple inches away from mine, radiates heat that makes me overly-alert to the fact that he's right next to me. Even after my craziness in the woods two hours ago. I've apologized shyly to him earlier and he told me there was nothing to apologize for with a smile that made me goopy. I have already forgiven Amber for what she did – but I haven't approached her yet. I will, just later, when I'm not busy with the guy my heart has crumbled over in a fangirl-y mess.

JR leans down and sends a thin wave of water over me. I scream and dissolve into uncontrollable giggles. JR laughs at me for not being able to stop and keeps splashing me – until I shove him forward into the water. I'm laughing so hard that I can't breathe. I act quickly and pull my feet out of the water so my victim can't make me his victim.

I peek over the dock edge, waiting for JR's head to reappear, but I don't even see air bubbles. My laughing fit subsides long enough for me to my head in confusion and cautiously lean father out over the water. But I don’t see JR at all – and the lake water is surprising clear compared to the muddy, sandy, murky ones I've swam in before. But the sun is low in the sky now and the trees are reflecting their dark colors off the water, making the surface of the lake a mirror.

I slowly sit up. There's no way that he drowned; this is a trick. Just as I come to this conclusion, something drips onto my shoulder and I realize that any sound behind me has been blocked out by a presence. "Boo," JR whispers into my ear, a wide smile in his tone. I screech and whip around, nearly plummeting into the water. He laughs like I had been before I shoved him into the lake and he clutches his midsection. I shove him away from me and stand up. But I have to look away as I laugh with him.

Remember that the boy is in nothing by swimming trunks. They're light blue, green, and yellow. His cinnamon sugar body, gleaming in the sun with the sheen of water, is perfectly lean. When he flexes or laughs, his stomach hardens, revealing abs that are better than MinHyun's when I walked in on him and BaekHo while he was in the middle of a sit-up. Like the Boxer boys, the rest of them are as hairless as a Victoria's Secret's lingerie models (or any of their models >.>) and have just as flawless skin.

Not that I really observed the other boys when JR was above water or out of the house or anywhere in my vision.

As we stand on the dock laughing, I'm also frantically calming the swell of lust that's blooming in my mind and chest.

When the two of us calm down, we hear Amber yelling out from the porch, announcing that the hordes of pizza boxes arrived. Courtney and Rosie, who are on the beach, quickly pull on their shirts and gather the blanket, racing against the boys who are splashing out of the water, knees lifted high to avoid the resistance of the waves.

"The girls are going to get to the house first," I observe to JR. We're staring back up the dock, not bothering to hurry up to snatch the food before it disappears down BaekHo and Courtney's big mouths. JR smirks, amused, brushing his fingers against the back of my hand. I catch his fingers and interlace mine through his carefully. I haven't taken his hand first yet and I don't want to accidentally do it when he doesn't feel like it.

But JR doesn't pull away in discomfort or hesitate or wince as I fear he might (I always imagine the worst things; I don't know what it is about me). He smiles down at my unsure eyes gently and holds on firmly. I look away back towards the others, grinning like a fool and biting my lower lip to try and hide it. The boys have made it out of the water and are now sprinting up the stone stairs built into the slight hill up to the cabin.

After a few seconds, JR and I are the only ones on the beach. My feet sink into the soft, a-degree-hotter-than-'warm' white sand. We're in a soothing, contented, and sleepy hush as we watch the waves trying to reach our legs, but we're walking right out of its reach. Sand coats our feet and by the time we reach our discarded shirts near the steps, the sun has dried off the excess water from my suit. JR's shorts are still dripping even though the rest of his body is dry.

There are two short flights of stairs up to the patio/porch. JR stops us before the second flight, on a wide, flat grey stone landing. He turns to stare at me for a moment. His damp hair flutters weakly in the breeze coming off the lake. I brush it off his face slowly, taking the liberty to let my fingers linger on his forehead. I half-heartedly fix his hair a bit just so I can continue to have my fingers lightly sweep the edges of his face.

And it's in this sweet warm moment that I make a promise and a wish so strong it surprises me in its intensity:

I will not let anything happen to this beautiful face. If it's in my power, I won't allow it to get scarred from any violence. This is a face I've quickly grown to cherish and love; the last thing that I'm going to let happen is for it to get disfigured or mangled in any way. God, please take this as a prayer. Please protect JongHyun for me.

~ ~ ~

"Starr?" JR calls softly, pulling me away from my thoughts.

"Hmm?" I hum. I let my hand drop from his hair, deciding that I've dragged my liberty out long enough. I don’t want to give the impression of clinginess this early. Wait – I mean I don't want to be clingy at all . . .

JR tightens his hand around mine and glances out over the water. "Do you think . . ." He falters and I wait, ready to stand there until only my bones are left. A strong gust blows my hair across my face. I move to push it aside but JR beats me to it. He tucks the long, damp, tangled strands behind my ears. He's not smiling, but he doesn't look upset. He looks relaxed, at ease, and maybe a tad nervous.

JR his lips and tries again. "Do you think that . . . that you'd want to go . . . out sometime? With me?"

My heart stops beating. "On a date?" I ask, deciding that I should try to figure out if I'm dreaming the easy way first before I resolve to slapping myself like an idiot.

JR shuffles and runs his hand through his hair, tugging at the ends nervously. One side of his mouth tilts upward in an awkward smile. "Yah. . . ."

I smile.

JR'S POV

JR was quite doubtful and tense as hell about asking Starr out on a date. But it was so worth the gut-wrenching anxiety.

Her smile blows him away.

First her lips twitch. Then they spread into a genuine and broad smile. The apples of her cheeks turn a pretty shade of pink and she bites her lower lip. JR noticed that she does that often when she's around him. Or when she's uncertain. He desperately hopes that it's because she's just shy and not because she's about to turn him down. Her brown eyes sparkle and, from where JR's standing and the angle of the sun, her eyes appear translucent and light hazel. Her long lashes cast a brush of a shadow as she looks down briefly. Her hair falls forward again. JR automatically takes it into his fingers; instead of tucking it away, he plays with it, rubbing it slowly between his thumb and forefinger, feeling the separate strands.

Then Starr leans her head against JR's arm momentarily. JR didn't realize how close they were standing until Starr's small movement brings it to his attention. He blushes. She pulls back just as quickly and suddenly as she leaned in. The force of her happy, flushed, smiling face leaves JR stunned for a few long seconds. He's too mesmerized to even blink. And he doesn't want to; it would cut short the time that he gets to see Starr so joyful.

"Yes, I would really like to, JongHyun."