Granite cliffs that rose forty feet above the water towered over the far edge. As Linda and Seth wandered to the water's edge, Linda realized she could see trunks and legs of the bathers playing in it. Seth said "Let's set our towels down over there. This looks like fun!" After Linda spread two bath towels beside a family with a portable radio and a large metal cooler, Seth reached down to lift his t-shirt over his head. He kicked off his shoes. Linda wore an old blouse over her swimsuit and shorts. She dropped those onto the towels and looked up.
"Last one in is a rotten egg!" Seth announced, causing a déjà vu that made Linda's head spin. Seth offered his hand to her as he led her out into the water.
"Ooh, it's cold!" Linda exclaimed as she discovered yet another way Lake of the Woods differed from the crystal lagoon in her dream. They had to side step small children playing in the water with shovels and pails. Once the water level reached their hips, Seth led go of her hand and swam ahead, diving down.
When he resurfaced, he jumped up and hugged his arms around himself. "Ooh doggie! It's cold! Feels good, though!"
Linda bunched her arms in front of her chest, her fists below her chin as she shivered, gradually gathering courage to venture out by Seth, into the deeper water that would cover her waist and breasts.
Seth laughed at her. "It feels good! Just dive right in!"
She shook her head. "No, just let me do it little by little."
Seth pushed his hand across the surface, with an evil smile on his face. "Here, you want me to help you?"
"No! No!" She jumped back toward the shore.
"Aw. Just kidding. But really, it's nice once you're in. A good way to cool off." He floated on his back while Linda edged forward, pushing herself into deeper water. This definitely was not like her dream, at least not the water temperature. Seth kindly, patiently watched her as she inched forward. Gradually the water level reached over her breasts and she gasped, bounding up and down on tiptoe. Beneath her the lake bottom was sandy in places, gravelly in others and boulders broke up the monotony here and there.
When she lost her footing on tiptoe over a boulder, she dipped in up to her chin.
Rather than push backward, to shallower waters, she glided forward, churning her arms in front of her in a breaststroke motion. She floated directly to Seth and he received her, catching her gently in his lean, muscled arms. "See? It's nice, isn't it?"