Page 36 of Riverside Reverie

“Thanks,” I murmured, breaking contact and following Jasmine to his cooler to grab the creamer.

“Everyone cool with egg burritos?” Desmond asked, glancing at us. “They’re cooked, just have to warm them up.”

“Sounds delicious,” Jasmine replied, and Desmond grinned at her before he resumed pulling tinfoil-wrapped burritos out of the cooler beside him. “Can we help with anything?”

“Nope, we’ve got it. Sit back and relax,” Desmond said, tossing her another easy grin. Jasmine nodded, tugging my hand and leading me towards our camp chairs. They were a little damp, but not soaked. Someone must have brought them up right when the rain started.

My poncho worked to keep me dry from the dampness, and I was thankful Jasmine had thought to bring an extra one for me. We sipped our coffees quietly, watching Theo and Desmond work the stoves and chat amongst themselves while Baz inspected the rain shelter to make sure it was holding up okay.

A few moments later, Desmond walked over with two breakfast burritos, holding them with paper towels. “They’re a little hot, so you might want to let them cool,” he said, his gaze resting on Jasmine for a moment.

“Thanks, Des! We’ll handle clean up,” she promised, sending him a bright smile.

“Don’t worry about it, there’s not much to clean,” he winked before walking back to the camp stove to put more on. We continued sipping our coffees, letting the egg burritos cool a little longer.

When the burritos had cooled enough to eat, I unwrapped mine and took a bite, moaning from how delicious it was. Scrambled eggs with red and green peppers, onion and cheese. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until I started eating, but it hit the spot.

Normally, I wasn’t much of a breakfast girl. But there was something about being outside in nature, with all the fresh air, that made me ravenous.

The others weren’t up yet, but they started stirring when the scent of egg burritos and coffee reached them. One by one, Zoey, Kai and Talia emerged from their tents, Talia carrying her floaty. It was looking more than a little deflated now.

They came down to join us, Talia blowing her floaty back up as she walked. Her eyes still half-closed.

Baz went back up to his tent to fetch Rhiannon and Moose. The moment he unzipped the tent, Moose barrelled out and headed straight to us, tail wagging. It took Rhiannon and Baz a little longer to come down.

Rhiannon was moving gingerly, as if she was stiff and sore. Baz walked behind her, with his hand on the small of her back. He had a thick blanket in his other arm, and once he brought her over to her chair, he wrapped the blanket around her and helped her get settled.

He planted a quick kiss on her lips before heading over to grab coffee.

“Is it going to rain all day?” Talia asked, dropping her re-inflated floaty onto the ground before wiping the sleep from her eyes.

“Until later this afternoon,” Rhiannon replied, accepting the mug of coffee Baz brought her with an appreciative smile. He also brought her a breakfast burrito, which he tucked into her chair’s cupholder to cool.

“Ah, sorry Rhi,” Zoey said, sending her a sympathetic look, sitting in the chair beside her.

“It’s all good, I took some meds. Later I’ll get into the cold water, that’ll help with the aching joints.”

“We could all use a rest day after yesterday,” Kai said, stretching near the coffee station. “My muscles are pissed.”

“What muscles, bean pole?” Talia teased, knocking him with her hip as she approached Theo with her empty mug.

Zoey snickered, stopping when Kai sent her a wounded look. “You’ve got muscles, babe,” she assured him.

“Wanna arm wrestle?” Talia asked, flexing her bicep. I had to admit, it was muscular—even more muscular than Theo’s, and he had impressive muscles. It was clear that Talia worked out.

“Maybe later, once I’ve hit the whiskey,” Kai grinned.

“You’re right. You’d have to be drunk to not feel the pain and the shame of losing to me again!” Talia snorted, holding her mug out for Theo to fill. He poured the rest of the coffee in, then immediately set to making more.

Jasmine leaned over to whisper something in my ear. I met her halfway. “Talia is a three-time winner of the Canadian Professional Arm Wrestling Championship,” she explained. “The guys always challenge her when drunk, but she dominates every time.”

“I believe it,” I said with a laugh.

Desmond finished cooking up the rest of the burritos, and once everyone was fed, he grabbed one for himself and joined us. Theo waited until he’d finished brewing more coffee before walking over with the percolator. He filled a tin mug for himself and paused in front of Jasmine and me.

“Want a top up?” he asked us.

“If everyone’s already had some?” I asked. I was feeling more than a little tired from yesterday’s…adventures.

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