The year was 1965.

Monday.

It was two days after my junior year of college and I was driving up to Lake Wisconsin for one week of fishing. I had rented a cabin and a boat. We had been going up there ever since I was old enough to hold a fishing rod in my hand. My parents first agreed to my going alone when I turned seventeen under the condition that I call every night. Every summer since, I’ve been going up and still call home every night.

The three hour drive was a breeze, making one stop for gas. I got to Moon Valley at noon, checked in and went to the cabin. After unloading the car and getting settled in, I grabbed my fishing gear and headed down to the pier. Once I had the gear the on board, I decided to go north and do some trolling. After about an hour and no luck, I dropped anchor and reeled in my line. I got a second rod with a worm on the hook and a bobber in the water and then began casting my Mepps spinner.

Looking at the homes along the shoreline, I noticed one that was a log cabin with an undisturbed lot on either side. I thought to myself, "If that ever comes up for sale, I'm buying it." I knew it was wishful thinking, but a guy can dream, can’t he? At that very thought, the bobber was yanked below the surface. I literally dropped the rod in my hand, picked up the one with the bobber on it and set the hook, the fight was on! After a five minute battle and one last leap out of the water, I boated the smallmouth bass and took the hook from its mouth. Before releasing it, I laid the fish on the measuring tape adhered to the boat. The fish was seventeen inches long, I then grabbed my hand held scale and it read, two and a half pounds. Finished with that, I released him back in the water. 

I stayed in that spot for the next ninety minutes, catching smaller bass on the Mepps and a few sheepshead on the line with the bobber. It was getting late, so I headed back to my cabin and had a sandwich with Mac and cheese and some cucumber salad. Mom had made some food, so I wouldn't spend all my money eating over at the Ferry Crossing Bar & Grill in Merrimac. After eating, I went down to the pier, grabbed the rod with the Mepps spinner on it and did some casting as the sun began to set. I caught and released a few striped bass as the last rays of sun disappeared behind the hills on the other side of the lake. I stowed the rod, tackle box and net in the boat and called home as I walked back to the cabin.

Tuesday.

I was up the next morning before the sun, made myself scrambled eggs and bacon and toast with a glass of milk. After cleaning the dishes, I loaded the cooler with pop, bottled water and a sandwich. After getting everything ready, I went down to the boat and set off for a day on the lake. I went to the spots dad took us to and had some success but nothing like the bass from yesterday. The peacefulness in the early morning was a refreshing change from the noise of cars and planes. Throughout the day I saw an eagle swoop down and come up with a fish in its talons, there were a few egrets standing in the water near the shore. Hawks could be seen soaring over the trees in search of their next meal. Before I knew it, the time had come to head back to the cabin. 

With the boat secured, I went to the cabin and decided to go eat at the Ferry Crossing Bar & Grill. Pulling up to the place, there was a long line of cars waiting for the ferry and the parking lot was packed. Stepping inside, I noticed there was one empty table by the window and grabbed it. The waitress came over and I ordered a patty melt, onion rings and a Diet Pepsi. I recognized a number of regulars from earlier visits with my parents. The waitress brought over my Pepsi as I was watching the cars get on the ferry and looked over at the Merrimac Ferry Landing Concessions and saw that it was busy. Now I had a taste for some ice cream and decided to go and get a cone after I ate. 

While looking out the window, a voice said, “Excuse me, if this seat isn’t taken, may I join you? I really don’t want to stand at the bar.”

I turned and said, “Be my guest, my name is Jake Thompson.”

“Hello, Jake Thompson. I’m Diane O’ Malley.”

Mmm, he is handsome, short blond hair, about six foot one and a solid build. He obviously works out. Those blue eyes just sparkle and when he smiles, the cutest dimples appear.

“Nice to meet you, Diane.” 

She’s beautiful, fiery red hair braided in a ponytail, freckles peppered across her face. Sparkling emerald green eyes, about five feet six, slender build, definitely works out.

Before another word was said, the waitress came over with my food and asked, “May I take your order, Miss?” 

“I’ll have what he’s having.” 

During the course of our meal, I told her that I was staying at Moon Valley. We discovered that we both love the outdoors, fishing, working out. Our taste in foods and movies ran the gambit, we were both twenty and starting our senior years of college in the fall. She lived year round not too far north along the shore of the lake and I told her that I lived in a suburb of Chicago. The next thing we knew, it was closing time and I looked at my watch and saw that it was midnight. Our waitress came over with the tab and I insisted on paying for her meal, she did let me after briefly protesting.

Once outside, as we walked to her car, I asked, “Can I see you again, Diane?”

“You may, if you can find me, Jake. Till then, good night.”

“So, as Sherlock Holmes would say, the games afoot.”

“That it is, but I won’t make it too hard to find me, Sherlock.”

She got in her car and drove off as I was walking to my car. Pulling out of the parking lot, I realized that I forgot to call my parents and told myself that was the first thing to take care of in the morning. 

Wednesday.

I was up by eight o’clock, making breakfast and talking to mom. I apologized for not calling yesterday as I lost track of time. Which was true. It was easy to do, wrapped in conversation with a beautiful girl such as Diane. Mom informed me that dad and a couple of his friends would be finished with remodeling the basement by tomorrow. They would be coming up on Saturday and have rented a cabin not far from where I was for three weeks. I got the address and since Sunday would be my last day at the cabin, I would meet them there. 

By the time I got down to the boat, it was already ten o’clock, so I decided to go over to a deep spot with several tree trunks. When I got there, I took the rod with the bobber, hooked a worm and lowered it to about five feet. Taking the other rod, I changed the Mepps spinner to a hook with a weight several inches above the hook. Once a worm was on the hook, I let it go to the bottom and sat back. Over the course of two hours, I caught both large and small mouth bass. 

I went to a number of other deep spots and had a bit of luck at each. At four o’clock, I made a beeline back to the pier as I wanted to do some shore fishing at the ferry landing before dark. I was hoping to see Diane at the Ferry Crossing after fishing. After securing the boat, I took the tackle box, net and my fishing rod with bobber. I loaded the gear in the car and drove to the landing, parked the car in the designated area alongside the road leading to the ferry boat ramp. Looking around, there was no sign of Diane as I walked down to the ramp.

Off to one side, there was a picnic table where I put my gear. After putting a worm on the hook, I went over and stood in front of the cables for the ferry boat. I set the bobber three feet from the hook and cast it out about twenty feet between the cables and let it drift back. The ferry had just started its trip back from the opposite side and cars were lining up to go across. Some of the people got out of their cars and came down to watch myself and another guy fishing from the point off to the right. 

About three feet from the ramp, my bobber was pulled well below the surface as I set the hook. The fight was on and as the ferry got closer, I struggled to keep the line from the steel cable and being snapped. The ferry was a couple hundred feet away when the fish took one final leap in the air before I was able to bring it in. Holding it by the lower lip to take the hook out, I realized that the largemouth bass was an easy twenty inches and about three pounds. By far the biggest I ever caught and just before the people started going back to their cars, I heard a kid yell, “You're going to put him back, aren’t you?”

I held the fish a moment longer before releasing him and moved out of the way as the ferry was about to reach the ramp. While the cars came off the ferry followed by the cars boarding the ferry, I tossed my line in the water. Once the ferry left, I returned to my spot and caught three more bass. When the ferry returned, I called it a day and gathered my gear before returning to the car and once I had the gear put away, I walked over to the Ferry Crossing to get a bite to eat in hopes that Diane would be there. I sat at the same table as before, ordered a patty melt with onion rings and a Diet Pepsi. I called home after finishing my meal and hung around for a while, hoping she would come. An hour before closing, I paid my tab and went back to the cabin.

Thursday.

I was up an hour before dawn and had a bowl of cereal before going out on the boat. Today I had planned to do some trolling starting at the log cabin of my dreams, which was a twenty minute boat ride to get there. When I arrived, the first rays of sun peeked over the trees as two egrets flew by and I saw an eagle perched atop a tree. I decided to drop anchor for a while and cast toward the shoreline with my Mepps spinner. For some reason, I have always caught more fish with this lure than any other. I tossed out the bobber with a worm on the hook and began casting the spinner. An hour later and no luck, I reeled in the bobber and then the spinner before pulling up anchor. Starting up the trolling motor, I cast the spinner out to the side.

Trolling along the drop off point which was about three city blocks from shore, it wasn’t long before I got a strike. I set the hook and eventually brought in what turned out to be a three foot northern pike, weighing twelve pounds and promptly released it. Resuming my trolling, I worked my way further north and eventually to the bend in the shoreline. There, I shut off the motor, dropped anchor and spent an hour casting the spinner. I caught several sheepshead, striped bass and smallmouth bass. Taking a break, I opened the cooler and grabbed a soda before weighing anchor to resume trolling back toward the cabin.

I had maneuvered the boat about fifty yards from the drop off point as I made my way back. There wasn’t any action until I hooked what felt like a monster of a fish right in line with the cabin. Suddenly, I found myself reeling in the line to keep it from slacking as the fish came toward the boat. What happened next had me baffled, as the fish was coming to the surface next to the boat. There was a massive amount of air bubbles breaking the surface followed by a head with mask and spitting out expletives.

When the person pulled the mask from their face I was at a loss for words as she started laughing and said, “I guess you found me, Sherlock, now help me up.”

“Are you okay, Diane?” I asked as I helped her in the boat.

“I’m okay, Jake.” She said as I helped her take off the air tank.

Looking at the tank and hose, we both saw my spinner had ripped a large hole. I quickly told her I’d pay for a new one and she reassured me that she had an extra one as she slipped the fins off her feet. We looked at each other and you could tell this was not something that happened accidentally.

“Well, now that I caught you, where would you like me to take you?”

“To my cabin, straight ahead.”

I looked ahead, it was my dream log cabin! I couldn't believe it. I started up the motor and we headed toward the pier. Once we had the boat secured, I helped her with the gear and she said, “How about I come pick you up say four o’clock this afternoon down by the pier and we do some fishing.”

“Sounds good, I’ll see you then, Diane.”

I got back in my boat and headed back to my cabin. By the time I secured the boat, it was one o'clock. I took a shower and afterwards, slipped on a pair of gray nylon athletic shorts and white sneakers. I chose a dark green T-shirt, then loaded up the cooler with ice, pop and bottled water. While I waited by the pier, I called home and filled dad in about what I caught and was looking forward to seeing them on Sunday.

Diane was right on time, commandeering a pontoon boat. When she pulled up, I couldn’t help notice how gorgeous she looked in yellow crop top, khaki shorts and white sneakers. I handed her my fishing gear and hoisted the cooler on deck. When everything was secured, we set off, heading up the Wisconsin River to her favorite spot. On the way we talked about the things we wanted to do and accomplish in our lives. There were more similarities than differences and I'm sure she picked up on that too. But the conversation never steered to what transpired earlier in the day, though deep down, I knew I had the catch of a lifetime and was not going to let her go. 

We arrived at her fishing spot and tossed our bobbers in the water. I went to the cooler as she began casting and brought a bottled water for us both. I began casting my spinner just as she hooked a fish and as she reeled it in, my bobber disappeared. While I set the hook, she had landed a decent largemouth bass. I ended up with a decent size sunfish. We released them, took a drink of water and resumed fishing and caught a few perch, sheepshead, bass and strippers. 

All too soon, it was time to head back and we watched the sun begin to set in front of us. About halfway back she shut down the motor, turned on the navigation lights and sat down next to me.

“I need to say something, Jake. Just hear me out before you say anything.”

“Go on, Diane. I’m listening.”

“It feels as if I've known you forever, Jake. In just a few days, I feel we have a very strong connection and I would like to see where it may lead. I’ve never felt this way with anyone before.”

I listened to each word and I could see this wasn’t easy for her. When she finished, she took a deep breath and waited for me to say something. Instead of saying anything, I stood and took her delicate hand in mine. Gently pulling her up, I took her in my arms and kissed her. She responded, crushing her lips against mine as our kiss became more passionate. After several long moments, we came up for air and looking at her, I said, “I felt the same way that day we first met and earlier today, I knew we were meant to be together.”

“I’m so happy to hear you say that, Jake.”

I guided her backwards to the bench as we kissed and my hand rubbed the front of her shorts. She was rubbing her hand along the bulge hidden inside my shorts. She sat down on the bench, raised up her hips and said, “Yes, Jake, I want this as much as you do.”

I dropped to my knees and reached for the waistband of her shorts. When I had removed the shorts, I held up one leg and slowly kissed my up to her way up to her peach. Reaching the knee, I lightly blew on the back followed by flicking my tongue around before kissing further up her leg. The sweet scent of her peach drew me closer and with the lightest touch of my tongue on her clit, she held my head firmly between her thighs as I licked and sucked the juices from her. Her moans and screams of pleasure broke the silence of the night. 

Diane didn’t wait for her climax to subside, she told me to stand and stripped off my shorts. Next thing I knew, I was on my back and she was on top with the head of my cock touching the opening of her peach. I watched as my cock disappeared and when I was balls deep inside her, she held still for a moment. I slid my hands upward along the gentle curves of her sides over to her breasts as she began sliding up and down my cock. She started to pull her top up, I slid my hands down and when her breasts came in view, I moved my hands back only to be joined by hers. Together, we caressed, kneaded the soft flesh and teased her elongated nipples. The two of us were moaning in pleasure as she rode me, bringing us to orgasmic bliss. 

She collapsed on top of me and as we cuddled, realized the sun had set. We lay there a bit longer, looking at the stars and enjoying the silence before getting dressed. Diane started the motor and we continued to my cabin and when we arrived, I secured the boat to the pier and we went up to the cabin. We made love until early morning, finally falling asleep in each other’s arms.

Friday.

Diane and I spent Friday morning making love in bed. In the afternoon we went for a drive and she showed me some of her favorite spots for watching wildlife. I made a quick call home and dad told me they’d be here on Sunday at noon, and gave me the address of where they were staying. Diane called her mom as well and afterward, told me I was invited for dinner. After some more sightseeing to places I’ve never been to, we went back to the cabin and she gave me directions to her home. As she pulled away from the pier, she told me to be there at five and turned the pontoon around. I stood there watching until she was out of sight.

Dinner was great, we her parents made me feel welcomed. By the end of the evening it felt as if we'd known each other forever. I said good night and Diane told me to come by with my boat at seven, Saturday morning for some fishing.

Saturday.

There she was, waiting on the pier with her fishing gear. We loaded the gear on board as we discussed a plan of action, we agreed on showing each other some of our favorite spots. First up was one of mine, then we’d alternate. We would be stopping at Fitz’s On The Lake for lunch took and fish until late afternoon. Fishing was good and by the time we got back to the pier the sun was getting closer to the horizon. After helping take the gear to the storage shed, we walked back to the pier and kissed before I left.

Back at my cabin as I was talking to mom, there was a knock at my door. When I opened the door, I nearly dropped the phone when I saw Diane standing there in her birthday suit. She whispered, “Keep talking.” Dropping her clothes and pulled my cock from the shorts I was wearing. She knelt down and started sucking my cock. It was hard to concentrate on the conversation with mom as l watched her take me balls deep in her mouth. I told mom I had to go, telling her that there was someone I wanted them to meet. After I hung up, Diane stopped, stood and took me by the hand as we moved inside, I closed the door. She led me over to the bed and spent the night satisfying our sexual hunger for each other.

Sunday.

After we made love in the morning, the two of us shared a very long shower. It was getting close to check out time for me as we were getting dressed. While I went to the office with the key and my suit case, Diane had taken my cooler and fishing gear to my car and was putting them in the back as I walked over. After putting the suitcase in, I closed the hatchback and told her I was taking her to breakfast at Candy’s Merrimack Cafe. We got in our cars and went to breakfast when we arrived, my parents were ordering breakfast. We went over and I introduced Diane and joined them. I found out that my parents had rented a cabin down the road from Diane’s parents. We had dinner with Diane and her parents and they hit it off right from the start. 

Epilogue:

Diane and I married a year after graduating from college and are happily married after fifty years, two children and four grandchildren. And we now call the log cabin of my youthful dreams, our home. As for fishing we still enjoy going out on the pontoon and reliving that first intimate time on the water.

The above story is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and events are products of the author's imagination and are used as fantasy. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

**

Copyright ©2020 All Rights Reserved. No part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the author, Banes1