I didn't come here for the reason others usually came, but I understand why they would come at all.

I sat in the plain, tiny rowboat that I would always borrow whenever I came. What's $10 out of my pocket compared to a blissfully silent hour of alone time? The gentle bobbing of the occasional wave soothed me, and any stress of my everyday life melted as I turned the pages of a good book.

Today was no different. I sat in the middle of the pathetic means of transportation, legs crossed and a novel centering the picture. It was about a young boy's journey, accomplishing great feats and facing fears along the way. More inspirational than your average romance story, but intriguing nonetheless.

I don't know how much time had passed, and I didn't really care. All I desired was a calming afternoon on the quiet lake I'd come to call paradise. It became a habit of mine, to come here every week or two. It was almost like a mental cleanse, and the feeling of peaceful comfort acted on me like a drug. I bathed in every glorious second of it, and never once took it for granted.

It was so easy to get lost in, that when someone called my name, it took multiple times for me to even process the fact that someone wanted my attention.

"Um, hello."

My senses yanked my nose out of the story, turning to look at the body that accompanied the voice. I blankly stared at the person, wondering about them.

"Yes?"

A chat didn't sound great at the moment, but I supposed that hurrying through whatever they wanted would speed through and I could get back to my dreamland.

"Haven't seen you in a while, how've you been?"

It was then that my mind accepted the man as a familiar acquaintance, though I still couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"Well... and you?"

I was more curious about who he was over how he was, but politeness never hurt.

"The same. You don't remember me, do you?"

"Not completely."

"We sat by each other in grades 9 and 10. We had a class or two together, I believe."

"Oh, yes. I knew you looked familiar."

I smiled, looking back down to my book in hopes to signal that I was busy, but it wasn't clear enough.

"What brings you by? I only ever thought people came by to fish."

"I have a pole."

I lifted up the thing in the back of the boat, waving it around a bit to proe my point. He chuckled at this, although it wasn't meant to be humorous.

"Why aren't you using it, then?"

I sighed.

"I rented the boat and this came with it. Always does."

"So you come here often, yeah?"

"Sure, depends on your definition of the word."

"Haven't seen you around before."

"Definition."

I was starting to wonder why he was talking to me at all, this conversation was going nowhere.

"Right. Well, what do you do here if you don't fish? Sit in a boat?"

"I read."

"Why? What's wrong with the library?"

"It's too plain."

"Plain?"

I finally placed my bookmark in the story, realizing that he was a curious fellow and that this could very well be the rest of my hour. I turned to him, watching him prepare his fishing equipment.

"You can go practically anywhere with carpet and chairs to read. Indoors are always so stuffy, and places like those have an artificial silence, usually filled with tension or anxiety."

"You lost me at 'artificial silence'."

Ignoring his comment, I continued.

"How many places can you find where it's this peaceful? You're literally floating, and the silence is completely natural. The air is fresh, and the people keep to themselves, usually."

I emphasized the obvious part.

"Oh, am I bothering you, then?"

He seemed surprised to find out that I wasn't ready to socialize, and looked quite guilty and hurt by my accusation. I sighed again.

"No, not at all. I'm just overprotective of my privacy. I apologize."

"I can leave if you-"

"No, really, stay."

It surprised the both of us to hear the command, especially after I described how much I enjoy my alone time. But past the confusion, he smiled at me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

I set aside the book completely, telling myself that sacrificing the rest of my hour wouldn't kill me, as there were many more to come. I continued the conversation, and the small talk was actually quite nice. Though he caught no fish and I didn't get any more of my book finished, I didn't mind it.

A timer rang on my phone, signalling that my hour was up. I apologized to him, explaining that I had to turn in for the day. He said it was no problem and offered to turn in with me, even though he had at least 20 more minutes left in his boat. We did, but even though he was free, I had to get back to running the usual errands. He suggested that we continue catching up, and told me about some place he was invited to that night. I told him I'd think about it, and we departed.

It was only hours later when I wondered just how I came to the conclusion to meet him there, as I stood in front of the booked-out restaurant. He claimed it was a party for one of his college classes, but he didn't find his classmates interesting. As I walked in the place, I understood why. I don't know how long they'd been there, but the majority were drunk and dancing on tables. The music was loud, and I regretted even considering this, but I couldn't back out now.

I pushed my way through the mindless crowd, searching not for the man, but just a space to breathe.

"Oh, you came!"

He approached me, guiding me through to the back of the room and through another door. As it swung shut behind us, the volume was muffled and we were alone.

"Where are we?"

"The reservation room. This is where people call in for parties of large people, you know?"

"Oh. Right."

We started off weak, but the conversation grew with time. The more we talked, the more I wondered why we never spoke in highschool. He really was a nice guy, and intellectual too.

Somewhere along the way, one of the drunks flew through the door, in pure awe at the discovery of a new place to trash. In seconds, the place was filling, but we managed to escape from the employee exit. He apologized for his classmates, offering to go somewhere else. I politely declined, using the excusue of how it really was getting late, and I had more errands to run the next day. We said our goodbyes, and I left before he could invite me anywhere else.

When I got home, I was thinking about him. About to call or text him another apology of how I had to leave so soon, but I remembered that we really never exchanged numbers. For some odd reason, I felt sad at the fact, hoping I had made a new friend in him. I shrugged it of, though, convincing myself that it was purely coincidence that we met back up. The rest of the night was short, seeing how I was only making a quick snack then getting ready for bed. His face clouded my mind, but I pushed it away as I drifted off.

~~

The next week, the routine began again. I rented the same little rowboat, opened my book, and continued with my story, almost forgetting about him. It wouldn't have even phased me if it wasn't for him showing up again.

"Well, fancy seeing you here."

The voice filled me with both excitement and dread. He was a nice guy, but something about his constant friendliness just drained me. I stuck with the benefit, though, and again put my book aside to talk to him while he continued to not catch any fish.

"So, I got home last week, and realized, that we have absolutely no way of keeping in touch."

"We've met here two weeks in a row already, and I have a feeling that it will become uniform."

"How can you base a weekly routine on only two times? I could die before next Saturday, and you would never know what happened to me. You would think I just stopped coming here to fish, and wonder where I ran off to."

"I don't know if I'd wonder that much."

I liked to tease him, he either got defensive or bashful. This time, he was the latter, and his cheeks flushed slightly.

"Well, if that happened to you, I would wonder."

"Would you?"

"Absolutely. After all, is it not strange to meet back up with someone for two weeks, then they completely vanish?"

"You have a point."

"I do."

"So, what you're getting at is, you want to be able to talk to me without coming here once a week?"

"Well, I wouldn't say-"

"How about we just exchange numbers?"

He agreed, so we did. I smiled to myself, he really wasn't a bad guy after all. He was actually... cute. Not by looks, although he was handsome, but his personality had characteristics of a little boy, simple and open. I liked that about him, it was a refreshing change from the "cool guys" I had come to know.

The weeks went by, and once in a great while we would meet up for coffee or take a walk. But mostly, we just spent our time together at the lake. It was really nice getting close to him, he was a great guy. One day, though, things got a bit awkward.

He had picked me up from my flat, and we were on our way to the lake (it really had become routine for us). When we got there, we both went to the shack-like building where we rented our boats. I told the man that I wanted the cheap rowboat, as usual, but for once, he didn't go to grab it right away.

"Don't you two just want one big one for the both of you?"

I raised an eyebrow at him, about to repeat that I just wanted my little rowboat when I was cut off.

"Sure, why not? I'll pay."

I looked up at him, and he just shrugged. It was cheaper, so I guess it wasn't a bad idea.

"I'll pay you back."

"No really, it's fine. Don't have to worry about floating away anymore, right?"

We smiled, and we carried the boat over to the lake without another word. It had come to the point where I started leaving my book at home, and he didn't bother bringing his fishing equipment. We would just talk for the whole time, enjoying each other's company.

"If I tell you something, you have to promise not to take it the wrong way."

He warned, looking me in the eyes.

"Alright, go."

"I just want to thank you for opening my eyes. Ever since that first Saturday we met back up, I've been seeing things from a different point of view. And I love it. The only logical reason is because you came into my life, so thank you."

I grinned. Flustered by the comment, I looked down to my feet. They were almost touching his, just inches away.

"I guess I should thank you for coming into my life, too. You proved my stereotype of boys wrong, there really are some great guys out there."

"Are you saying I'm great?"

"I am."

"Well, you're great too, you know."

"You're just saying that."

"Yeah, but it's true."

I blushed again, looking back down to the pairs of feet. I didn't know why he kept complimenting me, but it was nice. He was nice.

"I think you're beautiful."

"Thanks."

"Everything about you is beautiful. Your mind, your personality, your character, your looks, everything. You really are beautiful."

"Stop."

I covered my face with my hands, embarrassed for some unknown reason. I got up to leave, forgetting that we were in a boat, and lost my balance.

"Be careful!"

I opened my eyes to see that he had caught me. I was almost on top of him, sitting on his lap at least. This didn't help my face issue, and I froze out of complete shame and embarrassment. His grip on my waist relaxed a bit, and he sat the two of us back up, so I was fully sitting on his lap.

"Be careful."

He repeated himself, but it meant nothing to either of us. We were closer than usual, faces almost touching. All I remember is losing focus as our eyes locked in place, and feeling a deep desire to just let go and give my heart a chance to control me. Moments later, I snapped out of it, scrambling off of him and apologizing over and over. He said it was no big deal, but I sensed an awkward tension between the two of us. Was this my fault?

I guess I will never find out if it was my fault or his. My alarm clock forbids that we meet again, and I have more errands to run.