Chapter's song: Give me love by Ed Sheeran
The sun was shining directly beneath us as we trailed beside the lake. I carried the fish poles while Bryan had a toolbox in his hands. I was bent on carrying the stupid fishing poles, but now I was regretting it. They weren't heavy but my hand was starting to feel numb. However, I didn't want to complain. I was getting sick of having people help me all the time.
"Do you need help?" Bryan's voice asked as I bit my tongue.
"I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" I wasn't looking at him but by the tone of his voice, I knew he was amused.
"Yes," I muttered through clenched teeth.
"Why do you sound like that?"
"Like what?"
"Like you're strained."
I was opening my lips to respond, when his strong hand grabbed me by the waist. "I've got it." His eyes were intense as he stared at me. He leaned closer and pecked me lightly on the lips. I gasped, glancing behind us, worried that anyone from school could see us. There was no one in sight, not even the camp.
He smiled. "There's no one behind us. We've been walking for almost forty minutes."
"Forty minutes?" No wonder my hand was numb!
Bryan laughed. "Yes. We had to find the right place." He gazed to the front, "and we're not there yet."
Narrowing my eyes, I tilted my head. "Right place for what?"
His eyes held a mischievous glint. "You'll see."
My stomach churned, but not in a bad way, more like in an I-wish-I-was-brave-to-jump-on-you way. My cheeks flushed and my lips curved up as I remembered Juno's scented condoms. We started to walk again following a stream inside the forest.
"What?" he asked suddenly, "You're blushing." He squinted his eyes as he studied me.
I raised a palm, pressing it against my cheek. It felt warm. "I'm hot," I tried to sound nonchalant, trying to mask my embarrassment. I was not telling him about Juno and her crazy gift.
Clearly seeing through me, he grinned and shook his head. "We can stop here." He glanced to the path we were following and checked something in his fancy smartwatch. He placed the toolbox on the floor and took out a few things for fishing. It was my first time doing this, so I had no idea what was what.
Instead, I observed the quiet place we'd stopped. The sound of the water running through the stream was calming. It wasn't too deep, almost see-through. There were a few fish swimming around and for a second I felt bad for them. We were there to kill them.
"What kind of fish are here?" I murmured, scrunching my nose, still watching the fish.
"Mostly trout. Brown or rainbow. I didn't bring all my equipment, but this will have to do." He took out a small plastic container that smelled awful when he opened it. He grinned as I placed a palm on my mouth. "Live bait," he explained. It looked awful. There were live worms on that thing. He grabbed one and passed it through the hook. My eyes were wide and somewhat panicked as I swallowed hard. "You can use anything, even corn, but I prefer to use worms."
"You are quite the expert, huh?"
He shrugged. "I like fishing."
My lips cracked a smile. He looked like an expert to me, with all the expensive equipment and how he knew what he was talking about.
"Okay," Bryan stood up and passed me the fish pole before walking around and positioning right behind me. I was glad he wasn't looking at me because I was blushing like crazy.
Gently, he grabbed my arm and unrolled the fishing line. "You have to pull it back," his voice was soft, while his breathing teased my neck, "before you throw it back with force." He mentioned something about the fish line and how I needed to secure it, but my whole body was so tense that he couldn't actually move my arm. "You need to relax, Jess," he murmured by my ear and I almost close my eyes as a shiver ran down my back. He moved my arm and when it I loosened it, he threw the line to the river. I could barely hear him; my heart was thumping widely against my ribcage. "Now, you need to reel in a bit and put on the safety," he moved a little switch on the pole. "And wait." He pulled apart as I swallowed hard. A part of me was glad that he had moved away, but another part of me, wanted him close again.
He didn't seem fazed at all, though. My brows furrowed as I followed his every move while he set his own fishing pole. Our eyes locked as he stood up; he was sporting a breathtaking smile, and I couldn't help but feel warm about the way he seemed to be enjoying this so much. "Any luck?" he pulled back his arm and threw the line in just as he taught me. Sighing, I shook my head and watched the river. "Try to reel in a bit of line, make the bait move a little." I did it, without much luck.
Four tries later, I was getting a bit frustrated when my line tensed. "I got something!" I shouted excited and panicked at the same time. I started to jump up and down on my feet. I turned to look at him. "What do I do? What do I do?"
Bryan watched me amused and his lips quirked. "Reel it in."
Creasing my brows, I tried to rotate the stupid thing but it didn't move. The line tensed even more and I looked up to see that the whole fish pole had curved down. "Crap, crap!" I kept saying while I kept jumping up and down. My shoe landed up in the mud and I yelped as I fell flat-ass on the river. I never let go of the fish pole, but now I was completely wet from waist to bottom. Bryan's cackles were all I heard before he held me by the waist and helped me get up. I still didn't let go of the fish pole. "You can let it go."
"But the fish!" I protested.
He extended his arm to take it from me, but his foot slipped too, and he started to fall. To save himself, he grabbed on to me but my sneakers were still all muddy, so he ended up dragging me with him again.
I landed on top of him, right in the middle of the stream. "I'm sorry," was the first thing he said as his hand wrapped around my waist. I turned to look at him, and he was even more damp than I was. His pupils dilated as he stared at me, and that boyish smile showed up again. The water was cold but I couldn't care less, I was melting in his arms. His eyes roamed all over my face, pausing at my lips and my stomach fluttered. We both leaned closer, and as our lips brushed, I closed my eyes, my heart soaring for him.
It was a kiss unlike no other. He was gentle, but more passionate than ever. A swirl of emotions played in my chest to the pit of my stomach. He pulled me closer, just as I got completely lost in him. It felt almost magical; almost. The spell broke when my t-shirt rolled up and his hand brushed my waist. I pulled apart while my blood boiled. I'd never gone too far with anyone, but I was sure I didn't want to go too far until I knew exactly what we were.
His eyes were stormy for a moment, before he cupped my chin, "Are you okay? Did I do something wrong?"
Shaking my head, I looked to the side. "I'm just really cold..."
His voice sounded wary as he added, "You're still holding the fishing pole." I glanced at my hand and I was gripping it like my whole life depended on it.
My lips curved up. "I'm earning my dinner."
When I gazed at him, he was studying me with concern, before he grinned a small-smile. "You've earned it." He glanced at my injured hand. "How is it?"
"Wet." I snorted before my eyes focused on a fish passing by. I jumped up but I couldn't get up at once. Bryan chuckled before grabbing me by the waist and helping me up, before he stood up himself.
"I hope you brought more clothes," he murmured before switching something on my fish pole so I could reel the fish in. I hope so, too. I had to pack something in that backpack of mine. Bryan didn't say anything else, but I could feel how he wanted to. However, I wasn't ready to talk to him about us.
I didn't know what to say, or do.
It was obvious I was falling for him, if I wasn't already in love with him. I was scared, I was feeling so much already, but I didn't want to know how a heartbreak felt.
Guess what?! I opened up a Gaby Cabezut's Squad group in Facebook! :)
Please don't forget to vote!
Thanks!