They craved the humidity, heat

and relaxation of Clear Lake,

a coveted area north of Galveston.

The sun had been up for hours.

Nothing could ruin their day 

cruising the bay.

It was the perfect location to launch

boats and party down, drinking beer.

He donned baby blue trunks, 

she wore a white, crocheted bikini.

This was a slice of heaven,

following her week typing sleazy dating ads,

and his varnishing upscale woods on yachts

in the marina.

Snacking on Cheetos and beer,

their boom box blared sounds of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

The boat sputtered when he cranked the engine.

Glancing through the smoky haze, they noticed

dark clouds looming in the distance.

Rain wouldn’t stop them.

He turned the key again, success!

She slathered on warm tanning oil.

Now, they cruised under the Kemah bridge

into open waters. She water skied

as he set up his fishing line.

Hours later, he caught

red snapper for dinner.

She dressed and they cleaned

the fish together before rain showers

drenched the deck.

He tugged her shorts off

then climbed down below

for more chilled beer.

Marsha Johansen lives in Albuquerque, NM and holds a Bachelors in Business Management. Her collection of poems called Around the Edges was published in 2018. Both her prose and poems appear in The New York Times Magazine,The DailyDrunk, PoetryLovers.com,  SadGirls Club and the Fixed & Free Poetry Anthology.