Page 6 of Riverside Reverie

I dropped my phone into the centre console without checking her latest Snap. There was no sense in giving Brinley power when she wasn’t even here. It felt like a waste of energy, energy that I could spend worrying about all the uncertain things this trip would undoubtedly contain instead.

Like all the unfamiliar people, and variables. My stomach churned with nervousness. “Let’s see how this trip goes first, I might not like you by the end of it.”

Jasmine cackled, like what I’d said was the funniest thing she’d ever heard.

3

PATH OF THE PADDLE

Lux

When we had been driving for over four hours, Jasmine started to squirm in her seat. “Oh man, I have to pee so bad,” she exclaimed, squeezing her legs together, her face pinched with discomfort.

“Me too. How much further?” The urge wasn’t too bad for me, but if Jasmine was going, I might as well, too. I didn’t know when I would get the opportunity to use an actual toilet again.

“Until we reach the marina? Twenty minutes, but I can’t hold it. We’re going to have to stop.” Jasmine answered, flicking her turn signal on. She waited for a break in traffic, then turned into a tiny old gas station. There was a long line spilling out of the door of the gas station, running along the entire length of the small building.

“This is going to take forever.”

I frowned at the line, the pressure on my bladder increasing. Having to pee was a lot like yawning—once someone really had to go, everyone in the vicinity seemed to have to go.

Jasmine found a parking spot and surveyed our surroundings. “Come on,” she said, opening the door and stepping outside. I reluctantly followed her while she walked around the back of the gas station. She led me away from the potential prying eyes of other travellers, close to the treeline, then she started undoing the button on her shorts.

“You’re seriously peeing out here?” I asked fretfully, glancing around with a somewhat horrified expression on my face. Anybody could look over and take a good guess at what we were doing here.

“You realize that we’ll all be peeing in the bush, right?” Jasmine laughed, squatting. “You can hold it if you want, but who knows how long the lineup for the outhouse at the marina will be. Probably twice as long.”

I mulled it over, debating. My friend stood, pulled her shorts up, and waited for me to come to my decision. Sighing, I began to unbutton my black shorts, shaking my head and pursing my lips. “Keep an eye out, I don’t want anybody to see me.”

Jasmine obeyed, standing guard with her back to me. It wasn’t as hard as it had looked, but I wasn’t looking forward to squatting like that the whole trip. My thighs were already protesting.

We walked back to the car quickly, wanting to get out of the crowded rest stop and to our destination as soon as possible. The last twenty minutes of the drive seemed to fly by, and each second that we got closer to the marina, my anxiety surged.

I had dealt with mild anxiety over the years by doing my best to repress it and maintain my sunshine and rainbows disposition, but it was harder to quiet that voice when I had no idea what to expect, and I had no idea what to expect from this camping trip. I was an organized planner, and when I couldn’t plan my days down to the minute I felt a little squirrely.

Jasmine turned right onto a dirt road and drove for a minute before the boat launch came into view, pulling up to the large wooden building. There were a lot of people around, I was surprised to see how many. Close to fifty, at least. Jasmine had been right about the outhouse lineup—it was double the length of the gas station one.

There were two boat launches; one was between the two large docks, and to the left of the far dock was the second launch for canoes and kayaks. People were moving in synchronized groups, getting kayaks and canoes down from roof racks and placing them in the water, or taking their turn to direct trailers into the river at the boat launch.

“We need to go in and pay for our tickets and parking, then we can start unloading. Let’s go say hi to the others first.” Jasmine said.

My gaze went back to the canoe launch. Immediately, my attention was drawn to the attractive man carrying a kayak effortlessly over his left shoulder. His dark blond hair curled around his white baseball cap, and he wasn’t wearing a shirt. He had the yummiest back I’d ever seen; ogling was an unfortunate side effect of his tanned muscles, and I couldn’t even bring myself to feel sorry about it.

Forcing my eyes away from him, I distracted myself by assessing the other people in the group as they approached. One couple was loading up their canoe on the shore of the rocky beach. Another girl with short black hair was already sitting in her kayak, waiting in the water for everyone else. She was the only one to notice our approach, and she grinned widely and waved, calling out a hello to Jasmine that prompted everybody else to turn around.

The guy carrying the kayak turned, too. He was even more gorgeous head-on. He had dark green eyes that seemed infinite, lips that looked like they knew how to kiss, and a strong jaw dusted with facial hair, like he’d already spent a week in the wilderness without access to a razor. The scruff along his jaw suited him and made him even more compelling.

He was tall, too, and still blessedly shirtless. Part of me seriously hoped he’d stay that way.

When he stuck his free hand out to shake mine, my heart jumped up into my throat from the feel of his warm skin on mine. My hand seemed to disappear within his, and I gathered from his grip that he was as strong and steady as he looked.

“Hi, I’m Theo. You must be Lux. Jasmine’s told us a lot about you,” he said, smiling politely. Even his voice was sexy. I felt myself melting a little.

“Oh, that’s promising,” I said dryly when I finally found my voice. His eyes seemed to twinkle, and my heart stumbled again. “Did she tell you that I’ve never been camping before in my life?”

Theo’s lips curved into a beautiful, bright smile, and he laughed a little. I wanted to fall into the sound. “Yeah, she might have mentioned it once or twice.”

“I felt like they needed fair warning,” Jasmine glanced between me and Theo, looking rather self-satisfied, before giving me a playful smile. Noticing the look on my face, she patted me on the back. “Kidding! You’ll be fine, Lux. It’s really not that difficult.”

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