Duck lake

I had never heard of that place before, yet it was at a ten to fifteen minutes' walk from the campus, depending on one's speed. When I reached the parking of the canteen where the meeting area was, Gaya had already reached and she was chatting with Dave. He was wearing a black pair of jeans and a matching black shirt. If he looked good in pastel colours then he looked even hotter in dark colours. He kissed me on both cheeks and while Gaya was looking in the other direction he pecked me on the lips. It felt as if we were having an illicit affair.

'There he comes,' Gaya announced pointing to Roy who was slowly making his way towards us.

'Girls and guys, sorry for being late. Shall we go?' he said with an exaggerated flourish.

'Yes, my lord. Let's depart,' Gaya said with a mock curtsy.

We had to walk in front of a mini-supermarket, where there was already a crowd of students eating in an area designed for those who wanted to eat on the spot.

'They sell tasty boiled noodles here.'

'Oh, you've tried. Ya, with Julien and Nit.'

I waited for him to continue and invite me to eat with him here one day, but he didn't. Maybe I'll invite him then later.

We then walked in front of a stadium and through the fencing I could see a few athletes doing their warming up. After that, there were no other buildings, just fields ....and a cemetery. I didn't know that there was one around. I was not very superstitious but I felt a bit freaked out to be out alone. I shivered and Dave did not miss that. He held on to one of my hands, and it was so efficient in drawing out my fears. I felt so safe and comfortable. Gaya and Roy were walking ahead, busy pointing out landmarks. After about eleven minutes of walking we reached a small arched concrete bridge. To the right of the bridge you could actually see a river flowing at a fast speed while to the left,

'Here's Duck lake. I leaned over the bridge slightly and I could see a small lake shaped like a duck. It was surrounded by long reeds and big boulders piled on top of each other.

'It rained yesterday so it's a bit tricky to go down today. Let's go on the other side.'

Next to the river there some concrete benches and they were luckily dry. We all fit on only one bench and it gave me the opportunity to sidle even closer to Dave. It seemed that all I was interested in doing these days was to be as close to Dave as I could.

'This is a meeting place for lovers. It's quiet and secluded,' Roy claimed, winking at Dave.

I blushed furiously as I understood the implications of his words.

The croaking of a frog startled me and I almost jumped off my seat. It was followed by another croaking.

'You see, even frogs come here to romance.' joked Roy.

We stayed there for ten more minutes before Dave got up, stretched his arms above his head and said that we had to go as we had booked the court for 13 00 and it was almost 12 50.

With regret, I also got up already missing the warmth of Dave's body next to mine. But he was right, if we were late, we might not get the court to play.

'You can stay here for a longer time if you wish,' I said to Gaya and Roy.

'No, we'll come too. If we want privacy, I have my apartment. We don't need to come here.'

This time, at a quicker pace, we left for the campus where we bid goodbye to Roy and Gaya.