Page 68 of Love You Madly

Derek shakes his head with a chuckle, “No bears, Jenna. Just mosquitoes. Lots and lots of mosquitoes.”

“Probably a good chance you can get eaten by a mountainlion though,” Nate adds with a nasty grin. He has positioned himself on the other side of Karissa, and I can’t help but notice the way he keeps eyeing her, especially when she laughs a little too loudly at one of his jokes. He’s one of those guys with a face you just want to punch. Nate is also one of those guys who seems to think that every woman is interested in him, and his overconfidence is starting to grate on my nerves. I find myself exchanging looks with Josh, who seems to be on the same wavelength as me.

We both get up and walk over to the table where we have food and mixers set out. “Do you think he practices that smirk in the mirror?” I whisper to Josh, nodding toward Nate, who’s now showing off some “hilarious” video on his phone that’s clearly not that funny.

Josh snorts into his beer, barely containing his laughter. “Oh, for sure. Probably spends hours perfecting it. And that hair…it’s like he’s in a constant shampoo commercial.”

I chuckle, feeling a little better knowing I’m not the only one who finds Nate’s antics a bit much. “Guess I don’t have to worry about that,” I say, removing myChicagoBearshat and running my hand over my head that is clean-shaven. “But if he flips his hair one more time, I’m going to start calling him Bieber.”

As the night wears on, I start to notice Karissa getting more and more drunk. She’s taking shots with Tyler, who seems determined to outdo her, but Bayleigh and Emily exchange knowing glances, as if they’ve seen this all before. Josh tries to suggest that they all slow down, but his words fall on deaf ears.

“Karissa, maybe you should pace yourself,” Josh says, his tone carrying a note of concern.

She just laughs, waving him off as she takes another shot. “I’m fine, Josh! Just having fun with my friends and my newboyfriend!” Her last sentence is followed by a hiccup that sounds more painful than funny, and Josh raises an eyebrow at me as if to say, “Good luck with that.”

Nate, still watching Karissa with a bit too much interest, chimes in, “Yeah, Karissa’s just here to have a good time. You don’t have to babysit her, man.” He winks at her, and I feel my jaw tighten.

Josh must sense my irritation because he quickly changes the subject, leaning over to me and saying, “You know, I hear there’s a fishing spot nearby. Maybe we should check it out tomorrow before Nate tries to show us all up with his expert skills.”

I laugh, grateful for the distraction. “Yeah, let’s do that. Maybe we’ll actually catch something… other than a headache.”

Bayleigh suddenly jumps up, declaring it’s time to go skinny-dipping before taking off running toward the lake, stripping off her clothes and throwing them behind her as she does and Tyler runs behind her picking them all up so she doesn’t lose anything while also trying to take his own clothes off to follow suit. Josh looks at Emily who gives him a wink before taking off running behind her friend.

He turns to me with a sympathetic look and I can’t help but laugh, understanding that he doesn’t want to be rude by bailing on me mid-conversation but also that his girlfriend just ran off with the intention of getting naked and jumping in the lake. Derek asks Jenna if she wants to join him, but she is still glued to her phone. She finally looks up and declines the invitation with a quick shake of her head, staying behind while everyone else heads toward the water.

Nate seems to look at Karissa, contemplating making a pass at her right in front of me, but he decides against it. Likely only because we can all see how trashed she is. I watch themdisappear into the darkness, leaving me alone with Karissa, who is anything but fine and Jenna, who is oblivious to the world around her.

Karissa stumbles over to me and hangs her arms around my neck. Her breath reeks of alcohol as she tries to kiss me and convince me that I should sleep with her, her words sloppy and insistent. I do my best to gently refuse her advances.

Her drunken cheer has turned to woozy confusion, and before I know it, she’s stumbling toward the edge of the campsite, heaving up everything she drank. I’m right behind her, holding her hair back and trying to keep her from falling over. The smell of vomit and alcohol hangs heavy in the air, a stark contrast to the clean, pine-scented breeze I enjoyed when we first got here.

“Karissa, I think it’s time to call it a night,” I say, trying to keep my tone calm even as my frustration grows. “Let’s get you back to the tent.”

She gives me a sloppy smile and leans heavily against me, muttering something incoherent about how much she loves me for taking care of her. It’s then that I notice Nate must have decided to come back to the campsite after not having a woman to skinny-dip with. I catch his smirk out of the corner of my eye, but I’m too focused on getting Karissa to a safe spot to care about whatever he’s thinking.

After what feels like an eternity, I get her settled in the tent, where she mumbles incoherently before finally passing out. I sit outside for a while, staring into the dying embers of the campfire, trying to process the night’s events. The distant laughter of the others echoes back from the lake, but I’m too exhausted to care. As Josh and Emily come back, he wanders over and takes a seat next to me, offering a sympathetic smile.

“Rough night, huh?”

I nod, letting out a long breath. “Yeah. This wasn’t exactly what I had in mind when she invited me out here.”

Josh claps me on the shoulder. “Welcome to the club, man. But hey, at least we’ve got fishing tomorrow, right? Just us, the water, and no Nate.”

I chuckle, feeling a bit of the tension ease. “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

After heading back to the tent and discovering Karissa passed on top of both of our sleeping bags, I opt to grab some extra blankets from the truck and sleep in my truckbed instead. Looking up at the stars, I can’t help but think about Callie. If she were here, she’d probably laugh at the absurdity of it all, making some smartass comment that would take the edge off my frustration. But she’s not here, and I have to face the fact that I’m in this mess alone.

The next morning, Josh and I escape for the fishing trip we’ve joked about. The air is crisp, the kind of fresh morning air that makes you feel like you’re getting a new start. The sun is just starting to break through the morning mist as we head down to the lake, its golden light filtering through the trees and casting long shadows on the ground. The peacefulness of the scene is a stark contrast to the messiness of the night before.

We find a quiet spot along the bank, the river gently flowing by, its surface sparkling under the early morning sun. I take a deep breath, the calm of the moment sinking in. As we cast our lines into the water, the rhythmic sound of the reels and the occasional splash as the lures hit the surface create a soothing background to our thoughts.

After a while, Josh starts talking, his voice low andthoughtful, almost as if he’s been waiting for the right moment to speak.

“Karissa’s not usually like that, by the way,” he says, glancing over at me, his brow furrowed. “She’s been through some stuff. Her ex was… well, he was a real piece of work. Wouldn’t let her hang out with us, kept her on a short leash. When they broke up, it was like she just wanted to let loose, you know? Make up for lost time.”

I nod, feeling a bit more sympathy for her, a tightness in my chest that wasn’t there before. “That explains a lot. I wondered if there was something more to it.”

Josh casts his line out again, the water rippling where it lands. “Yeah,” he says, staring out at the river. “She’s a good person, but sometimes she goes a little overboard. I think she’s just trying to find herself again.”

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