Page 53 of Riverside Reverie

It’d be nice to avoid another situation like that by finding someone that already got along with both Jasmine and Talia.

It took our group just under two hours to get back to the marina. We made it within minutes before the general store closed, giving us enough time to let the owners know we’d be heading out tonight instead of tomorrow.

We unpacked our canoes and kayaks as dusk fell, working together as a group to get everything loaded up. The good thing about that was that we were the only people in the parking lot getting ready to leave.

I’d hitched a ride with Desmond in his old truck, and once we jumped the damn battery again, we kept it on to recharge it and used his headlights to finish loading everyone’s gear.

We packed Zoey and Kai first so they could head out, Kai wasn’t feeling the best and Zoey was worried he was going to have a seizure. He’d been on top of his meds but sometimes that didn’t matter, especially if he was overtired and overstimulated.

Once they’d left, we helped Baz get their canoe on the top of his Jetta while Rhiannon and the other girls helped load their supplies. They took off too, honking as they left the parking lot.

Then it was just Talia, Jasmine, Lux, Desmond, and me. Desmond and I put Talia’s kayak and Jasmine’s canoe on top of her CRV while the girls finished loading their gear. Talia had driven in with Baz and Rhiannon, but she’d be returning with Jasmine and Lux since they were going to the duplex.

“Alright, see you guys back at the house!” I said, grinning at Lux in particular. She smiled back, a little uncertain. The girls piled into Jasmine’s CRV, Talia squishing into the backseat while Lux rode shotgun.

Desmond and I climbed into his truck and he put it into gear, following Jasmine out of the marina. It was only a forty-seven-minute drive back to Sudbury, but I itched to hold Lux already.

“Well, that was a good trip. Sucks we had to cut it short,” I commented, sitting back in my seat and casting a glance at Desmond. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, it was great,” Desmond replied. There was something about his tone.

“What happened?” I demanded, eyeing him warily.

“Nothing,” he sighed, running his hand over his face. “Nothing happened at all.”

“You know, a little bird told me that a certain someone has feelings for you,” I told him, trying to hide my grin.

He shot me a look, his brow furrowing. “What little bird?”

I sent him a look in reply, knowing he knew exactly who I was referring to.

He grunted, turning his attention back to the road. “I don’t know about that. I think you and the little bird have your hopes up.”

“We’ll see,” I lifted a shoulder in a casual shrug.

Lux seemed serious when she’d told me Jasmine had feelings for Desmond that night, plus I’d been observing the two of them for a while now. There was something there, something that they were both fighting.

But Desmond wasn’t in a talkative mood, and he put on the radio to drown out my attempts at conversation. I chuckled, unperturbed, and ended up falling asleep after fifteen minutes. The late nights and little sleep I’d gotten over the last few days had caught up with me.

* * *

About an hour later, we pulled into the driveway of our duplex. Jasmine’s car was already parked, the canoe and kayak still on the roof rack, although the girls weren’t in it. I could see the lights on in their house.

We unloaded the truck, carrying everything into our place. The two coolers, our sleeping bags and our duffle bags went inside, while we carried our tents and air mattresses around back to the storage shed.

Once that task was completed, we took down our kayaks and hung them up at the side of the shed. Then we returned and unloaded Jasmine’s canoe and Talia’s kayak, hanging them up on the other side of the shed.

When that was done and we were about to head inside, an unfamiliar car pulled up with a few boxes of pizza. Jasmine stepped out to pay for it and caught sight of us. “Hey guys! Come in for some pizza, I ordered enough for all of us.”

“Sounds good,” I grinned, taking the pizza boxes off the delivery guy while Jasmine handed him a wad of cash. She grabbed the bag of pops and dips, and the three of us walked inside.

Lux was sitting at the small round kitchen table, her hair damp from a shower she must have recently taken. She smiled timidly at me when I walked in and set the pizza down on the table in front of her.

“So, what do you think of the place?” Desmond asked Lux, glancing around with pride. Jasmine and Talia always kept it clean, and I know that made Desmond happy, especially after the amount of money we’d sunk into renovating it.

“It’s very nice,” Lux told him, smiling. “I’m not opposed to the idea; I don’t know if I can commit. I need to find a job first.”

Desmond nodded. “Well, consider it yours, if you want it. If you don’t, just let me know before the end of August. I’d really hate to have to find another student renter, but I can if it doesn’t work out. I think Jas and Talia would prefer having you as a roommate.”

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