Page 20 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“You’re lying.”

“Hey, now we definitely swapped spit,” he winked.

I leaned my head to the side. Was he trying to distract me?

“I had to give you mouth to mouth to get that water out.”

I wished I remembered that part.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Okay, I think. Thank you for saving me.”

“I need you alive so that I can claim the kiss you promised me.” He winked.

You tell a boy you’ll kiss him and he’ll do anything to make sure he’ll get it, including saving your life. Not that I minded, of course.

“We’re not out of the woods yet, literally.”

“But we will be.” He touched the side of his shorts. “Shoot, I must have lost my granola bar in the water.”

“There goes dinner,” I joked, and actually made Nick chuckle.

“Come on – are you ready to head downstream?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

I reached up to his offered hand, which he didn’t let go of until we had to climb over a few piles of rock. I followed his carefully chosen steps, wary of my surroundings. After all, didn’t bears come to the river when they were thirsty? I had never joined the Girl Scouts, but I hoped that staying on the move was a better idea than remaining in the same spot, waiting to be rescued. There were more clouds in the sky, and the sun was way past the noon point. Anytime a cool breeze blew, I shivered. Nick, on the other hand, given that he always wore a pair of swim shorts when camping even when he wasn’t going swimming, was nice and dry from the waist down. Well, except for his soaked sneakers.

What if we were making a mistake by heading down the river? Wasn’t it better to stay closer to where camp was and get a fire going? Then the rescue party our teachers had probably sent out could see the smoke.

“Nick, are you sure this is a good idea?” I asked.

“No, I’m not, but I’m doing the best I can.”

“I know. It’s just getting a little cold, and you’re hurt.” I reached to his face, gently touching the cut he had over his left brow. “You’re going to have a scar.”

“Cool.”

Boys!

I shivered again. It had been just over an hour walking, and I didn’t want to complain, but I wanted to make sure that our chances of survival weren’t slipping.

He stopped and looked me over. “Okay, let’s take a break and try to get your clothes dry.”

“How?”

“Take your shirt and shorts off and put them on that rock. It should still be hot from the sun.”

“But I’m not wearing a bathing suit like you.”

“Jo, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

“What do you mean?”

“The windows to our rooms are a foot apart.”

“Peeping Tom.”

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