“Oh my God, we are so bad at this.” I start laughing. Nate laughs with me, and Sam goes by us and splashes me with water.
“Hey,” I yell at him, momentarily forgetting all about the dangers of the water.
“We’ll get this.” He nudges me with his elbow and gives a wink. “We’re good at syncing our movements,” Nate says, and heat crawls into my cheeks. He chuckles at that. “On the count of three,” he says again, and I put more force into my stroke.
“We’re doing it,” I say, the pumpkin rocking as we power forward.
“Coming Sam,” I yell. Up ahead Faith and Albert are killing it, close to halfway across the lake, but Sam is closing in on them. “Let’s get him,” I say to Nate.
Working as a team, we both row, and someone bangs us from behind.”
“Sorry.”
I glance over my shoulder and see Doug, the man who’s horse nearly killed me, working hard to get by us. He hits our pumpkin again and knocks us out of control. We start spinning, and by the time it stops, I’m dizzy and laughing so hard my stomach hurts.
Nate’s roar of laughter goes through me, and when he rights us again, I steal a glance at him. Attractive. Funny. Rock solid. I can’t deny that I really like being with him, in the bedroom and out.
Don’t fall for him, Kira.
“Ready,” he asks, and I quickly pull myself together, fearing I’m already in deeper than I ever meant to be. We’re different people from different worlds who are just enjoying each other. Neither of us wants a relationship, he made that clear, and this hookup comes with an expiration date. After that quick lecture, I nod, and we start paddling. Ice-cold water splashes up, and I yelp as it chills my body.
“That is freezing,” I cry.
“I’ll warm you later,” Nate says with a grin. “Right now, we need to get Sam.”
We get moving again, and all around us, people are laughing and having fun, and I’m glad I pushed through my fears. Nate was right. I’m having a blast.
We paddle harder and faster, our movements now in sync, and we’re making headway across the lake. There are numerous pumpkins in front of us, but we’re gunning for Sam. Sam glances over his shoulder, and when he sees us closing the gap, he flicks more water at me.
“Cheater,” I say and flick water at him. “Let’s bump him,” I say.
“You are competitive,” Nate says. “And for a tiny thing, you’re pretty feisty, too.”
I laugh at that, and catch up to Sam. We bang him with our pumpkin, and we both go into a spin. Nate gets us right again, and Sam is hollering.
“We have cheaters,” he yells out, but no one pays him any attention. From Sam’s other side, Jason hits him, and Sam’s pumpkin nearly flips.
“Motherfucker,” he yells, and we’re all in hysterics when he sets his paddle on his lap, grips the sides of the pumpkin, and tries not to capsize.
“Now I feel bad,” I say to Nate. “Let’s help him.”
“Yeah, help me,” Sam says, pouting at us.
I look at Nate. “Bring us close again.”
We get close, and maneuver around him, once we’re in front, I give his pumpkin a push and send him in the opposite direction. Jason comes over and gives me a high five.
“Well done, sister!”
“You are dead to me,” Sam says, but he’s laughing and having a good time, and that’s the whole point of this, right?
“You’ve got a mean streak in you. I’ll have to remember that,” Nate says, making a face that feigns fear.
“Don’t get on my bad side,” I warn. The truth is, I don’t really have a mean streak, and I’ve been on the wrong end of bullying and would never purposely hurt someone. Up ahead, Albert and Faith reach the finish line, followed by a few more people.
When we finally arrive, Sam is closing in tight behind us, followed by Jason, but we weren’t even in the top ten, which is fine by me. I just sailed a pumpkin across the lake and survived. That’s all the bragging rights I need. When I get back to Victoria, I’ll be able to brag to…no one. That thought hits like a punch. But I push it to the back of my brain when my crazy “brother” Sam jumps from his pumpkin and comes running up to me. I shriek when he scoops me up and swings me like he’s going to toss me into the frigid water.
“Sam,” I scream. “Put me down.”
“Not until you tell everyone you cheated, and I have no match.”
“Never,” I say.
“Okay then,” he says and starts to swing me again. The only problem is the ground is wet, and his legs go out from underneath him. He hits the hard embankment, flat out on his back. But my landing, on top of him, is much softer.
“Damn, you okay?” he asks and searches my face.
“Yeah, you?”
Strong arms wrap around my waist and lift me clear off Sam. “You okay?” Nate asks. I nod and he holds a hand out for Sam to pull him up. “You hurt, buddy?”
“Two things hurt. My ass and my dignity.”
“That’s what you get,” Cody says, coming up behind him, the woman he’d been talking to earlier nowhere to be seen. He puts his hand on Sam’s shoulder. “Let’s hit the beer tent. A few drinks will help restore your bruised ego.”
“Sounds good,” he says, tosses his arm around me, and leads me to the tent. I glance at Nate behind me, and he’s scrubbing his chin as his phone rings in his pocket.
“Coming,” I say.
“Yeah, I just need to get this.”
I head into the tent with the guys, and Izzy and Heather call us over. I catch Faith’s eyes, and with a wave, ask her to join us at the long wooden table. Sam and Jason disappear and come back with beer and a tray of hamburgers and hotdogs for everyone. My stomach takes that moment to grumble. Nate and I had been up late building up an appetite, and I worked off the small bowl of cereal with all my paddling exertion.
Nate saunters in but stops to talk to some guy before he meets us at the table. I know him well enough now to see that he’s upset about something but trying to put on a happy face.
“Everything okay?” I ask quietly as he slides onto the bench next to me. Our outer thighs touch, and it’s like he’s seeking my comfort. I shift a little closer to him, needing his contact in much the same way he seems to need mine.
“Work stuff,” he says and takes a drink from his glass. “Thanks for the beer, Sam.”
“Okay,” I say and let it go. I take a drink of my own beer and find it bitter. I’m more of a wine girl, but I like sitting around the table with all these people. We’re all so different, our backgrounds, our appearances, our work, yet we all just really…fit. I’ve never really fit anywhere outside academia. For the first time in my life, I understand what it’s like to be a part of a community. Gram would have loved this right now.