Point of Retreat

weekend. So technically, next weekend is sort of occurring right now…this very second.”
     
    She grabs my face with her hands and positions it in front of her so that she can look me straight in the eyes. “Will? You better not be saying this because you think I’m about to call retreat, because I’m not. Not this time.”
     
    She’s serious. I gently roll her onto her back and ease myself on top of her. I place my hand on the side of her head and stroke her cheek with my thumb, looking her straight in the eyes. “You’re not? Are you positive you’re ready to not call retreat? Right now?”
     
    “Positive,” she whispers. She wraps her legs tightly around my thighs and we completely give in to our need for each other. I grab the back of her head and press her mouth into mine even harder. I can feel my pulse rushing through my entire body as we both begin to gasp for air between each kiss, like we suddenly forgot how to breathe. We’re both desperate, doing our best to get past the moment one of us usually calls retreat. We pass that moment pretty quickly. I reach around to her back until my hands find the clasp on her bra and I unhook it while she frantically tugs at the button on my pants. I pull the straps of her bra down over her arms to slide it off when the worst thing in the world happens. Someone knocks on the damn door.
     
    “Christ!” I say. My head is spinning so fast, I have to take a moment to calm down. I press my forehead into the pillow next to her and we both try to catch our breath. She slides out from under me and stands up.
     
    “Will, I can’t find my shirt,” she says with panic in her voice. I roll onto my back and pull her shirt out from beneath me and toss it to her.
     
    “Here’s your ugly shirt,” I tease.
     
    The boys are beating on the door now, so I hop out of the bed and go down the hallway to find my own shirt before opening the front door for them.
     
    “What took you so long?” Kel asks as they shove their way past me.
     
    “We were watching a movie,” I lie. “We were at a really good part and didn’t want to pause it.”
     
    “Yeah,” Lake agrees, emerging from the hallway. “A really good part.”
     
    Kel and Caulder walk to the kitchen and flip the light on.
     
    “Can Caulder stay here tonight?” Kel asks.
     
    “I don’t know why you guys even bother asking anymore,” Lake says.
     
    “Because we’re grounded. Remember?” Caulder says.
     
    Lake looks to me for assistance.
     
    “It’s your birthday, Kel. The grounding can resume tomorrow night,” I say.
     
    They both go to the living room and start watching TV.
     
    I reach my hand out to Lake. “Walk me home?”
     
    Lake grabs my hand and we head out the front door.
     
    “Are you coming back over later?” she asks.
     
    Now that I’ve had the chance to cool off, I can see where coming back might not be a good idea. “Lake, maybe I shouldn’t. We got really carried away just now. How do you expect me to sleep in the same bed with you after that?”
     
    I expect her to object, but she doesn’t.
     
    “You’re right, like always. It’ll be weird anyway with our brothers in the same house.” She wraps her arms around me when we reach my front door. It’s incredibly cold outside, but she doesn’t seem to care as we stand there and hold each other.
     
    “Or maybe you’re wrong,” she says. "Maybe you should come back in an hour. I’ll wear the ugliest pajamas I can find and I won’t even brush my teeth. You won’t want to touch me. All we’ll do is sleep.”
     
    I laugh at her absurd plan. “You could go a week without brushing your teeth or changing clothes and I still wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off you.”
     
    “I’m serious, Will. Come back in an hour, I just want to cuddle with you. I’ll make sure the boys are in their room and you can sneak in like we’re in high school.”
     
    She doesn’t have to do much convincing. “Fine. I’ll be back in an hour. But all we’re doing is sleeping, okay? No tempting me.”
     
    “No tempting, promise,” she says with a grin.
     
    I cup her chin in my hand and lower my voice as I speak. “Lake, I’m serious. I want this to be perfect for you and I get really carried away when I’m with you. We only have a week left. I want to stay the night with you but I need you to promise me you won't put me in that position again for at least 162 more hours. ”
     
    “One hundred sixty-one and a