Page 29 of Riverside Reverie

Jasmine nodded in agreement. “And if you go home with a few orgasms under your belt, you’ll be able to face Brinley’s bullshit without wavering. It’ll roll off you like water on a duck’s back.”

I looked back at my friend, shaking my head a little. “Interesting theory.”

“Why don’t you test it?” she challenged.

“Why don’t you test your feelings for Desmond?” I retorted, giving her a challenge of her own.

“Touché,” Jasmine sighed, looking out the tent window. Everyone else was gathered back at the beach, hanging around the fire. It was doubtful they’d be able to hear our conversation. “I can’t do that, though. Desmond is a forever kind of guy. And I’m, well…” she paused, looking conflicted.

“You don’t think you could do forever with someone?” I asked, surprised. Jasmine seemed to have such a solid example with her parents, so why the hesitation? I knew she hadn’t dated anyone seriously ever—but I figured that was because she was focused on her education.

“I don’t know. I don’t know if I’m even ready for that,” she worried her bottom lip. “All I know is I can’t risk ruining our friendship. I value it too much.”

“How would you ruin your friendship?”

“What if I get bored, or crave change? What if I let him down? What if he is forever, but I’m not ready for that yet?”

“Fair enough,” I frowned. It seemed like Jasmine had given it more thought than I initially suspected. She wasn’t the type of person to toy with other people’s emotions, nor did she make rash decisions. Jasmine made calculated choices. After all, she had been raised by a politician who’d drilled it into her head early on that her every action could be misconstrued later.

“Anyway, I don’t want to talk about that anymore. I want us to focus on you having fun, and experiencing all the things you’ve missed out on, okay?” Jasmine arched a brow.

“Okay, fine,” I sighed.

We went back down to the beach, pausing long enough to grab a few ciders from the cooler, sitting down in our chairs around the fire. Baz was perched on the cooking stump with an acoustic guitar on his lap, strumming the intro to a Counting Crows song.

“I love it when Baz brings his guitar,” Jasmine sighed happily.

Rhiannon grinned, her eyes raking over Baz with appreciation. “I know! I love a guy that knows his way around an instrument.”

“It’s not the only thing I know my way around,” Baz grinned at his girlfriend cheekily, and she blushed.

“Yeah, yeah. You’re skilled. Now deflate that ego and keep playing!” Rhiannon instructed, relaxing into her chair.

Baz’s smile grew wider, and he kept playing. When he started singing the lyrics to Round Here, I was surprised at how good he sounded. His voice rivaled that of Adam Duritz’s: it was gravelly and confident, working in perfect harmony with his guitar as he played with a skill I didn’t expect him to have.

He held everyone around the campfire captive, everyone except for Theo. Theo’s gaze was fixed on me, a smile lifting the corners of his lips as our eyes connected. I felt that swell of attraction in the pit of my belly, sizzling through my bloodstream.

I couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like, to—as Jasmine so eloquently put it—use Theo as a dick-straction. I couldn’t deny it; the idea held a serious allure, and judging by the heat that smouldered in his irises when I bit my lower lip at the thought, Theo was thinking something similar.

But I’d never done anything so rash, and I didn’t know what steps to take to signal that I was interested in exploring the heat between us. I wasn’t brave enough to outright say something to him about it, and I felt frozen with my own uncertainty.

Baz finished the song, the last of the chords disappearing into the night, replaced with the crackling of the campfire and the subtle sounds of the night.

“That was incredible,” I complimented, still blown away by his unexpected talent. “Do you play professionally?”

“Thanks! And no,” Baz laughed, “Definitely not. Just something I picked up growing up with a family that loves music.” He set his guitar down and stretched.

“I keep telling him he should do something more with it,” Rhiannon wrapped her arms around him from behind, pressing a kiss to his cheek.

“I don’t want to turn it into a job I’ll end up hating,” Baz shrugged, placing his hand over Rhiannon’s. “Besides, I’m not good at writing songs, I’ll stick to building shit and leave that to the real musicians.”

“You are a real musician to me, babe,” Rhiannon whispered. He turned his face towards hers, meeting her lips in a reverent kiss. I looked away, giving them privacy.

While Baz was distracted with Rhiannon, Talia hooked her phone up to the speaker ball and started playing background music.

The atmosphere around the group tonight was a lot more relaxed. After a day spent jumping off cliffs and paddling, everyone seemed tired. Everyone was still drinking, but at a more leisurely pace than the first night, and without the intent on getting drunk. Conversations seemed more relaxed too, the group breaking off into clusters.

Long after the sun set, Zoey got up and disappeared. She returned a moment later with a bag of marshmallows and a s’more kit.

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