Summer Romance #wattys2017

Chapter XVIII

 John was in lead. Then it was Donald and Vince. Tommy walked beside her. She had her empty hand on the side he was walking on. Their hands brushed each other as they were walking.

John went over a dead tree that had fallen. Donald and Vince took turns going over it. When Tommy and her got to it, Tommy helped her over it. They put their stuff down and he held out his hand for her to take. She took his hand and stepped up on it. It moved a little. She felt like she was going to fall. Tommy put his other hand up to balance her. The only problem was his hand ended up on her butt.

Nobody noticed. They kept right on walking. Tommy handed her the pole then he picked up his stuff. He stepped onto the tree. She moved out of his way and he stepped off the tree.

She started walking faster trying to catch up with the others. Tommy grabbed her arm to stop her. She looked back at him surprised.

"Slow down. I know where we're going." Tommy said.

She slowed down even though she didn't want to and walked next to him matching his pace. Their hands brushed each others again. This time Tommy took her hand and held onto it tightly. She knew she shouldn't be letting him do this but she was starting to like it.

She looked over at him and he was smiling. Holding her hand made him so happy. How could she deny him this happiness? She couldn't. She wasn't that kind of person. He deserved to be happy and he was happy being around her.

"Just be his friend. That 's all I'm doing. I'm being his friend. Right?" she thought. "No kissing on the lips or inappropriate touching." she reminded herself. "Crap. He touched my butt when he was helping me over the tree." she thought. "I let him do it again. Now, what's he going to try?"

They walked on to the creek. It seemed to be taking a longer than she expected. It was a long walk.

"How far is this creek?" she asked.

"Not too much farther." he said.

They kept on walking until they met up with the guys. Tommy let go of her hand and she looked up. They were standing by a creek. She stared at the creek. This was not what she had invisioned in her head. The creek she had thought about was narrow. This creek was wide. The water wasn't moving too fast so you could see some fish in it. The water was very clear.

"Wow!" she said.

"Nice, huh?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah." she said. "It's beautiful here."

John turned to look at them. She felt ashamed. He walked to the edge and put down his stuff. Donald and Vince followed his lead. Tommy pointed to a clearing a little ways down the creek. They walked over there and sat their stuff down.

Tommy walked back over to John and came back with a worm in his hand. She took a piece and slid it on the hook then threw the line out. She went to sit down but she didn't get the chance. She was already getting a bite.

She pulled the pole and brought in a fish. Tommy looked up and she had the fish in her hand. She walked right past him towards John. She saw he was smiling at her. She walked to John and handed him the fish. She turned around and walked back to her pole. She threw the line back in the water.

She sat dawn and waited for another bite. It didn't take long for another fish to come along and grab the bait. She had caught another fish. Tommy started laughing. She had already caught two fish to his zero.

"You going to fish or watch me catch them all?" she asked.

"I'm going to fish." Tommy said.

She walked back to John and he took the fish. She turned and walked back to her spot.

"Show off!" John yelled.

She smiled. She passed Tommy and sat down. She rehooked the worm that was left on the hook. She threw the line back in the water.

"Are you having fun?" Tommy asked.

"Loads." she said.

Tommy moved to where she was and sat down right next to her. She was watching her line and trying to watch him at the same time. She noticed that he kept staying close to her.

"Already overprotective of me." she thought.

She wanted to ask him how he felt about her but she knew she wasn't supposed to get attached. She liked holding his hand now. It was easy to like him. He made her comfortable. She didn't feel uneasy around him like she did around other guys. She was awkward around other guys.

She was getting a bite. She waited then pulled the pole. She had caught her third fish. Tommy laughed loud enough for the others to look their way. She was smiling at Tommy anf John didn't like it at all.

She took the fish over to John and started to walk away. He stopped her by grabbing her arm. She jerked around quickly.

"What do you think you are doing?" John asked.

"Fishing." she said. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Just be careful, ok. Remember what we talked about." John said.

"I remember. I'm fishing with Tommy and that's all." she said.

"Let's keep it that way, ok." John said.

"I plan on it." she said as she reached inside the can for a worm then walked away.

"Stop making me look bad!" John yelled.

"You don't need my help. You're doing fine all on your own." she said.

Tommy turned to see what was going on. She walked back towards him. She reached their spot and sat down.

"Is everything ok?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah. He's mad about me catching all the fish. He'll get over it." she said.

"He'll have to." Tommy said. "At this rate, you'll have all the fish caught before he gets started fishing good."

She waited to throw her line back in. Tommy looked at her funny.

"I'm giving you a chance." she laughed. "This is the only way somebody else is going to catch a fish."

He pushed her and she pushed him right back. He did it again and so did she. He looked towards John to see if he was watching. He wasn't. Tommy took the opportunity to lean over and kiss her on the cheek. This time she smiled. She was beginning to like kisses, too. She like all the attention Tommy was giving her.

They fished the rest of the morning until they ran out of worms. Between the five of them, they had caught dinner. They sat there talking to each other. Not only was she getting to know John and Tommy, she was becoming friends with Donald and Vince. It was getting close to lunch time and they needed to head back to the house. They got up and headed back out of the woods. Tommy and her walked back behind them in last place again. John was busy talking to Donald and Vince. Tommy took hols of her hand again. She looked over at Tommy and smiled. They took their time getting back to the house. She was enjoying her time with the guys, especially Tommy.