Rowan
"Rowan..."
Ro, wake up."
I awoke with a jolt, the one and only Sam Kiszka rubbing my arm in hopes to pull me out of my sleep. My cheeks were flushed red in embarrassment.
"I'm sorry, Sammy." I said quickly, lifting my head off of his shoulder. I didn't realize I was that tired.
"It's all good." he said with a smile, "Ready to walk until your legs become Jell-O?" he asked, laughing at my zombie like state as I made my way out of the car. The other three boys had gotten out of the car to gather their things while Sammy dealt with the task of waking me up. I felt kinda bad.
"You better hope I'm ready to walk because if these bad boys give out," I said jokingly, gesturing to my short legs, "one of you boys better know how to give a gnarly piggy-back ride."
"Don't worry mama, I've got you." Josh said, giving me a playful side hug, before looking at Sam who was giving him the side-eye.
"And if not," he added, "I'm sure Sammy boy here would be more than willing." Sam flushed red and Josh gave Sam a pat on the back before closing the trunk and signaling for all of us to follow him to the trail.
Jake walked next to Josh, talking about random things as they went. Sammy, Danny, and I trailed a couple of feet behind the twins as we all headed over to the wooded area. Sam's outfit was interesting to say the least, he wore a white tank top with a grey pair of shorts that were... rather short. He also wore a light windbreaker tied up around his hips and a pair of black Birkenstocks.
The sun wasn't particularly bright, the clouds covered it for the most part, but it wasn't cold out by any means. Kind of humid, really.
"Up here there's a waterfall. It's Sam and I's favorite place to swim. It's absolutely fantasmagorical." Josh said excitedly, not a hint of humor or irony in his voice, looking back at me with excitement. God, he's something else, that's for sure.
"Yes... whatever Josh said." Jake added with a tone of fake concern in his voice. Sam and Danny laughed lightly, looking over to the twins.
"Hmm, I think it sounds amazing." I said with a shrug, smiling. I couldn't believe I had friends like this. I loved adventure and they seemed to as well; it was perfect.
"Trust me," Sam added, nudging my shoulder playfully as we continued walking. "You'll love it."
I looked down at my feet as I walked with the boys, kicking rocks and carefully listening to their conversations. Danny and Sam had been talking about how much they were "digging" a new guitar riff that Jake had played for them the day prior at practice. They planned on using it for a new song that was in the works. I really wanted to hear them play at some point, but I was too scared to ask.
"Woah," Danny gasped as Sam tapped on my shoulder at the same time, pointing for me to look ahead.
"Yeah." I said, almost in a whisper, "Woah."
"Do y-" Sammy started to say before Josh cut him off,
"Jake and I are going in!" Josh shouted with a gleaming smile before they both threw their shirts off and ran as fast as they could. I had to admit, for being kinda short boys they were pretty fast. I nodded at the boys as they went before turning back to Sam with curiosity. I wanted to know what he was going to say.
"I was going to ask if you liked it." Sam said with a shrug before leaving us and walking towards the water quietly. He seemed upset, but I couldn't really tell why.
My face sunk as Danny and I followed now all three of the boys. I wondered if Sam was upset with me. I thought he was happy and I really wanted him to be but I guess I was just assuming things.
"He will be okay, ya know?" Danny said, looking over to me with a warm smile. It was almost like he could read my mind or something.
"I hope you're right. I thought he was happy but now I'm not so sure." I said slowly, looking back at Danny.
"I think it's just that he's the type of person who always has a lot to say and never feels like they can say it." Danny said with a shrug,
"Don't worry about it too much. I promise it will be okay." He added, putting his pinkie out and gesturing for me to do the same. I obliged and held mine out to meet his.
After the sacred pinky promise, Danny and I arrived at the water. Josh and Jake were farther out closer to the waterfall, splashing each other and playfully spewing profanities. Sam was standing at the bank, taking his shirt off in preparation to get into the beautiful water. I tried not too look but it was difficult.
He was so beautiful. He was rather lanky and tall but he still had some muscle to him. He lifted his shirt above his head and moved his hair out of his face. before grabbing a ponytail from his wrist and messily throwing his flowy hair into a low messy bun. And don't even get me started on his eyes, those things were s-
"Ahem..." Danny fake cleared his throat. My cheeks turned to a deep shade of red as I snapped out of my little trance; Danny could totally tell I was ogling at Sammy.
"Are you gonna get in?" he questioned, taking his own shirt off shortly after.
"Uh, yeah." I said, trying to brush the whole thing off, "I'll get in soon, you can go ahead." I lied. I tried to smile, hoping that would make it more believable before making my way over to a rock.
I didn't really know how to swim. I was fine standing in shallow water but I never learned. Though I lived in Florida, I wasn't near the coast and my family never really cared for the beach so it never felt necessary. I figured moving to Michigan would mean I didn't have to worry about it but I was sorely mistaken.
"Hey," Sam said casually as he walked over to where I was standing and observing the boys, kind of startling me to be honest.
"Hey, Sammy." I replied, smiling.
"I was about to get in to swim. Do you wanna join me?" he asked thoughtfully. I hesitated with my answer but I didn't want him to question me.
"Yeah, sure." I said quietly. He smiled at my response and started to make his way back to the bank.
Once I got close enough, I quickly slipped my t-shirt and shorts off, throwing them onto a rock.
I crossed my arms around my chest and I made my way over to Sam. I knew nothing was really wrong with me, but I couldn't help but feel kind of insecure. I was pretty curvy and my chest was something i'd always been a bit insecure about, though nobody ever really commented on it.
Sam smiled at me goofily before getting into the shallow end of the water, making his way too far out for me to follow suit.
I slowly stepped into the water, it's cool ripples sending chills up my spine. It was colder than I expected it to be, but it counteracted the decent amount of heat throughout the air.
I continued walking through the water until it reached my collar bones. That's as far as I would let myself go. I didn't want to risk anything.
"Ro, come swim with me." Sammy whined playfully, motioning for me to make my way over to where he was about ten feet away.
"No, no. I think i'm good here. Thanks though Sammy." I said quickly, hoping he would accept my answer and drop it. He looked at me with confusion for a moment before slowly wading his way back to where I was.
"You're hiding something." he deadpanned, looking at me with lazer focus. He knew me too well and I'd only met him so recently, it was kind of scary.
"I could say the same for you Samuel. But I've absolutely no idea what you're talking about." I said, rolling my eyes before smirking silently. I quickly splashed him in the face, before gasping, shocked at my own doing. The water soaked his hair and I started to laugh uncontrollably.
He wiped his eyes before looking at me as if he was bewildered or something. I couldn't really read his facial expression and I started to worry he was genuinely mad at me.
"Rowan," he started, creeping his way even closer to me, "you're a dead woman walking." he finished, splashing me back and grabbing me playfully by the waist. His soft hands held onto me under the water, and though I wouldn't admit it to him, I loved it.
I think in that moment I realized that he meant more to me than I'd originally thought. He was everything I admired in a person; talented, kind, silly, ethereal, and understanding, among other things.
I was so wrapped up in thought, I hadn't noticed that he was dragging me out deeper into the water. Upon realizing I couldn't touch anymore, I instantly freaked out. I removed my arms from my sides and quickly wrapped them around his neck before pulling my legs up and wrapping them around his waist. I was holding on for dear life.
"Sam stop! Take me back, now." I yelled, holding onto him with my head on his shoulder and my eyes squeezed shut as tight as they could be.
"Ro, it's okay I promise." he said as he started to
move, rubbing his thumb in light circles on my back to help calm me down.
I didn't respond, I just wanted to go back to what I was used to, what I was familiar with.
"I didn't know you can't swim, Ro." he whispered in my ear, breaking the silence, "I'm really sorry."