Wednesday Romance

I hope you had a wonderful holiday season! Mine was nice and enjoyable! I got to see my family and spend time with great friends! I hope the start to your new year has been wonderful! Here's a little romance to kick off your new year!

Chapter 14
“Stacie, you’ve got to help me. I need to come up with something to do that’s interesting.”
Stacie stared at me for a full five seconds before she burst into laughter.
“It’s not funny!”
She wiped a tear from her eye. “Yes, it is.”
I looked around at my other friends who sat eating their lunches. Their eyes held similar mirth though their faces remained neutral.
I almost hoped Stacie would choke on her water when she gulped it down to ease her laughter. But no such luck.
“I take it your date went well last night.”
After the movie with Vernaun, we had done some site seeing and more kissing. He had driven much slower on the way back up the mountain – for which I offered many prayers of gratitude – and we didn’t arrive back at camp until around two in the morning. With it being the first day of another session of camp, I had been up early working. This was the first break I’d had all day.
“Yeah, it was good.” I plopped down across from her and pulled out my ham sandwich.
“So what’s with the urgent revival from your usual boredom?”
I would have liked to protest, but knew I would not win that battle. Instead, I swallowed the groan that lodged itself in the back of my throat and shrugged. “I like Vernaun, and if I’m boring he won’t keep me around for long.”
I didn’t look at or acknowledge Wes’ snort. I didn’t want to fight with him…again.
“I want to do something with him that will keep him interested in me. But I don’t know the area well, so I need help. What kinds of things are fun and exciting to do?”
Stacie waved her finger in the air. “I think you mean to ask, what is fun and exciting that won’t scare the begeebers out of you.”
I shrugged and took another bite of sandwich. If cliff jumping would keep Vernaun around, I’d be willing to try it.
Zack put on his sunglasses and lean back in the grass. “There’s always the loop.” The laziness in his voice made his suggestion sound nothing like the grand adventure I was looking for.
Wes wadded up his paper bag with exaggerated loudness and threw it at him. “She’d never make it out alive, Zack. I doubt even ‘The Wall’ has completed the loop.”
“Then that’s perfect.” My steady gaze dared him to contradict me. I should have known he’d try.
“Forget it, Andy. Hiking is not your thing. And obstacles? You wouldn’t last through the first part of the course.”
“Wes,” Stacie put a hand on Wes’ arm, “you need to relax.”
I ignored Stacie’s interjection every bit as much as Wes did. “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t do. If it’s something I want to do, I’m going to do it and nothing you say will stop me.”
He took a breath, his face heightening in color.
Stacie stood. “Come on, Wes.” She tugged on his arm, and after a moment he stood. He turned hard, red eyes on me, and I knew he hated me. I forced myself not to shudder.
After he left with Stacie, I groaned and rubbed my eyes. I just wanted my friend back, not this angry person that exploded every time another guy was mentioned. I didn’t understand why he was so determined to keep me in a safe little box.
I turned to Zack. “What is so bad about the loop?”
The grass and leaves crunched a little under his weight as he moved. “Nothing. It’s a hard obstacle course. Not many people can do the whole thing. Not many people try.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“If you were alone. You could easily fall and no one would know.”
“But I wouldn’t be alone. I’d be with Vernaun.”
Zack grunted.
I sat there and worried and wondered over Wes’ dramatic reaction to the activity. The very thought of his behavior made me angry. He was my best friend, not my brother or my dad. But at the rate he was going, he was quickly losing his status as best friend. I didn’t want a best friend that I fought with all the time. His exaggerated behaviors revolving around Vernaun ate at my patience like little worms creating a network of lace. Before long I feared my endurance would collapse from entertaining his theatrical mood swings.
“It’s only because he loves you.”
I blinked my thoughts away when Zack spoke. “I know. He wants to keep me safe, but I need to grow out of my comfort zone. I can’t do that with him breathing down my neck.”
Zack chuckled and shook his head. “You are so naive.”
“What?”
At that moment, Stacie walked toward us with a solemn looking Wes shuffling in her wake. He didn’t look at me, but I could tell that his temper had been curbed. I wondered if I should say something about the activity or just leave. Fortunately, Stacie took control of the situation.
“Andy, when are you done this afternoon?”
“At four.”
“Great! See if Vernaun is available, and we’ll all head over to the loop.”
My eye brows drew together. “All of us?”
“Sure. It will be fun. And I could use and outing.” Her smile made me want to believe her but a quick glance at Wes and I wasn’t so sure.
~ * ~
This isn’t so bad, I thought as I trekked up the trail of the first hill. I looked over to Vernaun, and he smiled. We made quite a crowd as the six of us hiked up the hill.
Zack hadn’t come with us. He’d claimed he didn’t get done until five, but I wondered if Jessica was still dangling a carrot in front of him and making him jump through hoops. He was like a puppet when it came to her.
Stacie and Wes had both come. I guessed that inviting themselves along was a compromise they had made. It was the only way Wes would allow me to go – although I would have come anyway and not told him. And this was Stacie’s way of making it not look like Wes was being overly protective. I sighed. Oh well. In some ways, it was nice to have my friends enjoy this with me.
One of Vernaun’s friends, Jared, and his girlfriend, Nikki had decided to come along with us as well. I wondered if Nikki would last the entire hike. From the things Zack had told me earlier, I gathered that it was an intense course. No doubt Nikki would break a nail or something.
I listened as everyone clomped up the hill, their laughter and quiet conversations drifting over the welcomed breeze. The longer the hill extended, the steeper it seemed to get. My breathing became more ragged as I pushed myself further up the hill.
“I forgot this first hill was so long,” Jared huffed behind me.
At the moment, I wouldn’t have been offended, or surprised, if anyone wanted to call it quits and go get ice cream. I immediately thrust that thought away. I was determined to be exciting not boring and unoriginal. “Could someone tell me what other things are on this course?”
Vernaun looked over at me. “You’ve never done this before?”
“Nope. Zack told me about it. I don’t get out of my booth much.”
He smiled and wrapped his arm around me. “I’m glad you asked me to come along. I tried this my first summer here, but we never finished, and I haven’t had time since.”
I heard Wes mutter something that sounded less than complimentary as he walked behind us. I decided to ignore him.
Just then, we rounded the top of the hill. My mouth fell open at the field of boulders that stretched in front of us. “Wow.”
Stacie came up beside me. “Is there a way around it?”
Vernaun chuckled. “I think you can go around, but the trees are thick on both sides. The point is to go over it.”
“Over it?” Nikki squeaked.
The hill sloped down for about twenty yards where the field of boulders lay in a little valley, like marshmallow mounds over a giant pan of brownies. I started down the hill and approached the first boulder. It stood taller than me by several feet. Moving to a smaller one, I soon discovered they were all about the same height.
“How do we go over them?” Stacie stood beside me looking up at the monstrous rocks.
Taking a step closer, I noticed that there were little grooved cut into one of the boulders. Gripping them, I placed my feet in the lower ones and climbed the rock like a ladder. When I reached the top, I looked down and smiled. A wave of adrenaline rushed over me. Climbing the rock hadn’t been nearly as difficult as I’d imagined.
I looked down and could see the others following me, so I continued forward. The boulders dipped and curved; each one butting up against another. When I got to the edge of the valley, I expected another set of hand holds, but there were none. Looking across at the other boulders, I didn’t see any either.
“Now what? Are we stuck up here forever?”
I looked back and tried not to roll my eyes as Nikki came up behind me with a panic stricken face.
Before an answer came to mind, Vernaun sat and slid down the rock. I smiled and followed. He caught my waist at the bottom and gave me a quick squeeze before setting me down to help Stacie. When we were all on the earthen ground once more, we started up the hill.
After the boulder adventure, I was eager to see what else lay ahead. The boulders hadn’t seemed dangerous, just difficult. But Zack had said the loop was dangerous, so I put one foot in front of the other, anxious to see what other obstacles lay ahead.
Coming to the top of the hill, I felt like the ground might drop out from under my feet. Earlier I’d thought I might go cliff diving if Vernaun had wanted to. As I stood at the edge of this small cliff looking down, I changed my mind. Stretching out in front of me was a small canyon with a wide, deep, and fast flowing river. We stood ten feet above it with three ropes for a bridge.
I gulped.
“You have got to be kidding me!”
I hadn’t meant to say that out loud. When Vernaun turned around, I realized with a sigh of relief that I hadn’t. I turned to see that Nikki was breathing heavily and looking like she might pass out. Jared put an arm around her, trying to comfort her as she sat. “It wont’ be so bad, Nik.”
“There is no way I am going across that!”
Wes’ brows knit together. “What did you think the loop was?”
She stood and shrieked. “I don’t know. I thought it was a little hike. In a circle! I didn’t realize it was a death trap.”
Wes inclined his head. “You do know that this trail is off limits to campers. When we were hired we signed a contract saying we can’t hold the camp liable for anything that may happen to us on this trail. There’s a reason for those rules.”
She glared at him and turned to Jared. “Take me back. Now!”
Jared’s shoulders slumped, and he threw an apologetic look at Vernaun. “See you later, dude.”
Vernaun put an arm around me and muttered in my ear. “I’m glad you’re made of tougher stuff than that.”
His breath tickled my ear, and I had to work hard not to giggle at the sensation. “Who’s first?” I looked around at my friends and Vernaun. I could tell that Stacie was feeling about as brave as Nikki. Wes seemed to be glaring at Vernaun, who seemed oblivious to everything but me. “I’ll do it.” I turned and moved to the rope.
“Wait.”
I looked over my shoulder and saw Wes approaching.
“I’ll go.” The look in his eyes was so intense that I knew he only wanted to go first to make sure it was safe. For me.
He gripped the ropes that were waist high, one on either side of his body, and placed his foot on the rope on his feet. For some reason he had become my protector; more so than normal. Zack had told me it was because Wes loved me. In that moment, I wondered if Wes loved me more than just a friend. The absurdity of that thought made me snort, and I walked a little closer to the ropes as Wes neared the other side.
Wes landed safely on the other side of the river. I inhaled deeply and reached for the ropes, tentatively placing my foot on the third one. I took one step, then two, then three. This wasn’t so bad. I looked up at Wes who paced on the other side. He cupped his hands around his mouth. “Push your arms out a bit to keep the ropes tight.”
It felt like I was walking on a tight rope wire. And as long as I focused on the rope instead of the river below, my hysterics didn’t overtake me. The further toward the middle I got the more wobbly and unsteady I felt – like a plate of jello during an earthquake. I could hear everyone on both sides of me encouraging me on and offering various pieces of advice.
I leaned dangerously to the right and my heart threatened to beat out of my chest with fear. The river rushed beneath me, rocks cutting their surface and beckoning me. Stacie screamed and I heard Wes’ voice roar above the pulsing blood in my ears. “Keep your feet moving! Andromeda! Look at me and keep moving!”
Automatically, I looked up and put one foot in front of the other. I hated that he used my real name, but it had probably saved my life. I watched him as he continued to encourage me forward. Within no time, I made it to solid ground a breathed a sigh of relief as I took three steps away from the rope.
Wes seized me and wrapped his arms protectively around me. My arms instinctively wrapped around him as well as a sense of relief seized me. I felt giddy with delight for having accomplished something so daring.
I could hear Wes muttering something into my hair, but I couldn’t make out what he said. Suddenly, I heard Vernaun yell, and I turned to look across the river. Stacie was on the rope and leaning precariously to the left. I yelled for her to keep moving and not look down. Wes hollered something too.
Stacie picked up her foot to move it and slipped off the rope. She hung from the top two ropes but I knew that her arms wouldn’t be able to hold on for long. Vernaun and Wes raced for the ropes to help her up, and I followed close behind. The rope creaked beneath my feet as all three of us stood on it and Stacie dangled from the hand holds like a bell jingling on the reigns of a horse.
For some reason I knew the boys wouldn’t reach her in time. I knew she was going to fall. Looking down into the river below me, I made sure that I was well away from the bank below and let go of the rope.