Lake House Fireworks

Maddie hadn't left her room in four days since her breakup with long-time boyfriend Jake. She was heartbroken, devastated, and unwilling to see anyone. Nonetheless, her friends Sam and Kenzie arrived at her door with a cooler in hand and no patience for excuses.

"We're not asking," Kenzie said, already pulling suitcases out from under the bed. "You're coming to the lake house."

"I don't want to go anywhere," Maddie said firmly, truly meaning it. It had been almost five days since Jake ended things with a text message — just a text — and she still hadn't figured out how to fill the hours that once belonged to him. Every song on the radio seemed designed to upset her. Seeing every couple on her social media feed felt like a personal jab.

"That's exactly why you're coming," Sam said. "You can cry by a lake instead of in this apartment. You need a change of scenery. You can cry the same tears with a better view."

Maddie almost smiled—almost. Sam’s sense of humor was unmatched, as she always knew how to effortlessly crack a joke to lift her spirits. 

Kenzie said, more casually than necessary, as she looked at her nails, "I also heard that the Bennett family rented the house next door for the summer. They have a son who supposedly has a boat and… abs." She smirked at Maddie.

"I'm not interested in guys with boats and abs," Maddie protested. “I want Jake.”

"Nobody said you had to be interested. You can, you know, just take a look. It won’t hurt you, I mean, looking is basically therapy for your eyes," she coaxed.

“That doesn’t even make sense, Kenzie,” Maddie fired back.

“It doesn’t have to be sweetie, you’re coming along whether you like it or not,” Kenzie stated.

Maddie gave in because she knew how persistent Kenzie could be, and it was easier than fighting a battle she would probably lose. Plus, maybe Kenzie was right. Perhaps the lake would help, or perhaps nothing would. Either way, she packed a bag and headed out to the car. 

The lake house had the familiar scent of cedar and sunscreen, just like every summer during Maddie's childhood. For the first morning, it lived up to its promise — she didn't think about Jake until after ten a.m., setting a new personal record.

Then she saw the boat. Yes, the same one Kenzie had mentioned the day before while coaxing her to come to the lake.

It was tied up at the neighboring dock, sleek and white. A guy in a faded white T-shirt and red swim trunks stood in it, expertly coiling a rope as if he'd done it a thousand times. He looked up, caught her staring, and smiled warmly.

"You must be the cousin," he called out. "Or the friend. Shoot, nobody tells me anything around here."

"Friend," Maddie said shyly.

"Hi friend, I’m Eli," he hopped onto the dock, wiping his hand on his shorts before offering it.

Maddie let out a nervous giggle before extending her hand out to him, “I’m Maddie.”

"Maddie, great name. Say, do you wakeboard?" he asked.

"Quite poorly," she replied

"Perfect, today is your lucky day because I'm an excellent teacher," he bragged.

She laughed genuinely—actually and loud enough to startle her. She pressed a hand to her chest, as if to verify the sound wasn't coming from someone else.

“I don’t know if I should,” she said, trying to play hard to get.

“Yeah, I don’t either, but hey, it could be fun,” he enticed.

“Okay, fine,” she replied.

 She stepped onto his boat, and Eli drove away onto the open water, leaving the lake house far off in the distance.

 He then explained the correct way to strap into the board and shared some tips for a smoother ride.

 “Start by relaxing your grip on the rope while keeping hold. Then, focus on keeping your knees bent, like in a crunch, as you stand up. After standing, continue to keep your knees bent and imagine you’re sitting on a barstool,” Eli explained.

Maddie could hear words coming from his mouth, but she wasn’t really paying attention. She was too distracted by his tanned six-pack and chiseled shoulders to even think about the instructions.

But she wasn’t about to let him know that, so she sarcastically replied, “Wow, I thought you said you were a great teacher. You’re just repeating the same things everyone has been telling me for years.”

“We’ll see about that, Maddie; jump in,” he commanded.

Eli allowed her to position herself before accelerating. Immediately, Maddie fell forward, landing face first into the water. Eli couldn’t contain his amusement.

“Looks like you’re a terrible student,” he challenged.

“That was your fault; you went too fast,” she shot back.

Eli let her try again, and this time Maddie almost stood up before faceplanting into the water again.

By the third fall into the water, Maddie was laughing so hard she could barely find the surface. Eli cut the boat's engine and drifted back toward her, sunlight scattering gold across the wake.

"You're doing that thing," he said, "where you fight the rope instead of trusting it."

"Is that a metaphor?" she replied.

"Only if you want it to be." He grinned, and a small easing appeared in Maddie's chest — something that had been clenched tight for weeks — loosening just a bit, like a fist uncurling at last.

She managed to get on the board on her next attempt. Wobbly and unsure, with arms flailing for balance, she was up and gliding over the flat, golden evening water, while Eli cheered from the driver's seat like she'd won an Olympic medal. For those brief moments, she wasn't the girl who was dumped via text. She was simply a girl on a lake, moving quickly and laughing at nothing.

“I told you I’m an excellent teacher,” Eli boasted as she got back into the boat. Not willing to let him get too cocky, Maddie shot back, “Don’t let it go to your head, hotshot.”

“So you think I’m hot…” Eli smirked, making Maddie blush.

They spent the remaining week making excuses to stay close. Sharing coffee on the dock at dawn, playing card games that evolved into long conversations. He teased her; she teased back. It felt natural, but that ease frightened her a bit, as she no longer linked 'easy' with love.

Kenzie and Sam noticed her getting close with Eli and teased her about it. “I told you the neighbor was hot,” Kenzie said. “And there you were in your miserable apartment not wanting to come. Now look at you gawking over him.”

“Save it, Kenzie,” Maddie fired back.

“Hey sweetie, I’m happy for you. But how about you ask if he has any friends? You know we helped you out; how about you hook us up with one of his friends?” she continued.

Maddie rolled her eyes; Kenzie had always been boy-crazy since she met her.

“We’ll see,” she responded.

On the Fourth, Eli found her by the bonfire and tilted his head toward the water, or rather the boat.

"Best seats in the county," he said. "She’s already stocked with blankets, snacks, the whole nine yards."

"Are you flirting with me? Is this your way of trying to impress me?" she teased.

"Maybe a little. Are you coming or not?" he asked.

She boarded the boat as dusk settled in, and Eli guided them to the lake’s center, where the water was calm and dark, and the sky stretched above like something about to happen. He turned off the engine, and an awkward silence fell between them as tension mounted. 

"Nervous?" he asked, settling beside her on the padded bench.

"About the fireworks?" she asked.

"About anything," he responded serenely. Though he sensed she was nervous, he chose to give her a chance to explain before making any assumptions. Over the past few days, Eli had become adept at reading her body language. 

She gazed at him—truly observed the gentle curve of his mouth and how he watched her as if she were the most captivating thing on the lake—and a sudden warmth ignited in her chest even before the first firework burst in the sky. It was an unmistakable, unfamiliar thrill, full of life.

Just as she was about to speak, the first burst of red exploded overhead, and the whole lake filled with reflected light, noise, and color. Eli gently reached for her hand and found it in the dark. Maddie thought: oh. There it was. That feeling she'd been sure was gone for good.

He kissed her gently first and then passionately under the light of the fireworks. With each kiss, she felt the light returning to her life. Eli escalated it, and eventually, their clothes flew off, fueled by raw passion and desire. Later, they jumped into the lake and skinny-dipped under the bright moonlight.

It was magical, as if it were straight out of a Hallmark movie. That night, Maddie remembered what it felt like to be wanted, desired, and, above all, loved.

The relationship with Eli didn’t last past summer. She always knew it wouldn't, because it was almost logistically impossible to sustain—he had a life two states away, and she had one waiting for her back home, and neither of them pretended otherwise. But when she packed her bags at the end of August and looked back at that dock one last time, she didn't feel the hollow ache she'd carried in since June.

She felt something closer to gratitude and a spark in her heart.

Eli hadn't fixed her, hadn't erased Jake, and definitely hadn't promised her forever. What he'd given her was smaller, somehow, more important than any of that: he'd reminded her that her heart still worked. That it could still race, still leap, still light up like a summer sky full of fireworks.

And that, Maddie decided, driving home with the windows down and the radio loud, was more than enough to believe in love again.

“I’d say it was a successful summer, wouldn’t you agree, sweetie?” Kenzie asked, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. “Look at you, you’re glowing again,” she observed.

“Yes, it was,” Maddie laughed, and she meant it.