We’d been walking for hours — through the quiet village, up the winding mountain path — just talking, laughing, sometimes not saying anything at all. The air was thinner here, the scent of pine heavy in my lungs.

Then we saw it. Tucked between the trees, the surface steaming faintly in the cool mountain air — a warm lake, hidden like it was waiting just for us.

You looked at me, that slow, daring smile curling on your lips. No words. Just the weight of your gaze before you started pulling your clothes off.

The sound of fabric sliding over skin felt too loud in the stillness. I followed without thinking, every inch of me prickling under the cold air until I stepped in and the water wrapped around me like heat made liquid.

You swam closer, fingertips brushing under the surface, and I wondered if the warmth was from the lake… or from you.