The lake stretched wide and dark before them,

Moonlight scattering across its rippling surface.

Tall pines loomed on all sides, the branches whispering with the wind.

The air smelled of damp earth and pine needles, thick with the scent of summer.

"'Are we really doing this?'

Kara asked. Her voice breathless, half from excitement, half from nerves. Across from her,

Lena grinned, already tugging her t-shirt over her head. Of course we are. I didn't drive us all the way out

here to chicken out now.

Kara hesitated.

It wasn't that she hadn't gone swimming at the lake before.

She and Lena had spent every summer of their childhood,

wading into its cool depths, laughing, daring each other to dive deeper, swim farther. But this was different. They weren't kids anymore. And the idea of shedding her clothes, standing bare beneath the moonlight,

made her heart hammer against her ribs.

Lena, on the other hand, was fearless.

Her shirt hit the ground, then her shorts.

Kara caught a glimpse of bare skin before she forced herself to look away, her cheeks burning. Come on, slow poke! Lena teased,

stepping out of her underwear and tossing it onto the pile of clothes. She turned,

her silhouette outlined against the Silver Lake, and with one last smirk, she took off running.

She hit the water with a splash, a gasp, then a loud, delighted laugh.

Oh, it's freezing! Oh!

She called.

Kara swallowed hard, the night air pressed cool against her skin.

...