Skinny-Dipping at Monster Lake by Bill Wallace Read Free Book Online

bunch of guys. Who needs a bathing suit?”

8
    T he thought of wading around, shoulder deep in a lake . . . in the dark . . . without a stitch of clothes on except for our tennis shoes . . . well . . . There could be all sorts of stuff swimming in that water . . . and at night . . . when we couldn’t see . . . with nothing on . . .
    I don’t guess any of us were that excited about the idea.
    So we fished from the bank and never gave it another thought—until it started getting dark.
    Jordan and I offered to run home and get our bathing trunks. Zane asked if we had enough suits for everyone.
    â€œNobody can see us,” Ted scoffed. “You guys aren’t sissies, are you?”
    That shut us up. We each dug into the big ice chest and grabbed another pop, then sat down around the little fire that Mr. Bently started for us before he left. Pepper guzzled another Coke, then grabbed a handful of chocolate chip cookies.
    â€œWhere’s the bathroom?” he asked, wiping hischin. “Do we walk up to Jordan’s house?”
    Ted slammed the lid shut on his tackle box. “Haven’t you guys ever camped out before? You don’t go barging into somebody’s house.” He reached into one of the paper sacks and tossed Pepper a roll of toilet paper. “Here. Go down to the creek.”
    Pepper tossed the roll back to him. “I don’t need that. Just gotta pee.”
    â€œThen go anyplace.” Zane chuckled. “But not near the tents.”
    â€œYeah,” Ted added. “Not on the fire, either. Makes the hot dogs taste funny.”
    Pepper sneered at both of them and trotted off toward the trees that lined the creek.
    â€œWe need to start out with a variety of bait,” Ted explained. “We’ll put cut bait on the first hook, minnows on the second, worms on the third, and shad gizzards on the fourth. Then we’ll start over again till we have all the lines baited. We have to check the hooks about once an hour, see what they’re hitting, and put on fresh bait. Who’s going with me?”
    Nobody looked up. We just sat there, drinking our pops and staring at the fire.
    â€œCome on, guys.” Ted moaned. “It’s not like you have to go every time. We take turns. Twoguys bait the hooks. An hour later the next two guys go take the fish off and put fresh bait on.” He paused. Still no one would look at him. “I’ll go twice. No, three times. But somebody’s got to go with me. I can’t carry the bait and take fish off all by myself.”
    The fire was really interesting. I guess it was downright hypnotizing, the way everybody just sat, trance-like, and stared at it. The flames all orange, and red, and yellow, and blue. The coals . . . glowing and shimmering, almost as if they were alive . . .
    â€œCome on, guys. You’re acting like a bunch of wimps.”
    Maybe we needed to add a little more wood and a log or two. Let the logs burn down to coals, and it would be just right for cooking hot dogs and . . .
    â€œAll right! I’ll just pick somebody.”
    I cringed. So did everybody else.
    â€œKent.”
    My shoulders sagged so far that my elbows nearly bumped the ground. I liked having Ted as my best friend. It did have its drawbacks, though. I set my pop down and slowly got to my feet. Ted stripped off his shirt, then unsnapped his jeans. I did the same. He kicked his pants off. I did the same. He peeled his socks off. I did the same. Then . . .
    I smiled when he stuffed his feet back into histennis shoes. He left his jockey shorts on! Maybe this wasn’t going to be so bad, after all.
    â€œYou get the can of shad gizzards and the worms. I’ll get the cut bait and the minnows.”
    Ted grabbed two pieces of rope and tossed one to me. He took one of the cans of shad gizzards, and handed me a