Trevor frowned, ashamed to admit to himself that he hadn’t cared what she had been under the surface. He had only cared about one thing, getting a nut off.
“Men!” Davidson called. “Blindfold time.”
Trevor tied his blindfold securely behind his head and adjusted the thick band over his eyes. The minute he lost his sight, his sense of hearing heightened. The sound surrounding him grew louder, meshing together to become a dull roar. The water lapping against the boat, the birds, the breeze moving through the trees, and the sound of Piper breathing in the seat in front of him.
The trolling motor zinged to life and had Trevor scrambling to grab his paddle and situate it on his lap.
“You ready back there?” Piper asked.
“As I’ll ever be.”
“Boaters ready?” Davidson asked.
A chorus of voices replied.
“On your mark…get set…go!” Davidson yelled.
Trevor started paddling, still situated so close to Kent that their paddles clanked. “Shit, we’re all caught up.”
“It’s okay, keep paddling, everyone’s breaking apart,” Piper said.
It seemed like every other stroke the paddle would hit the water the wrong way and if what Trevor felt was any indication, they’d go cockeyed.
“Turn right!” Piper yelled.
“I’m trying,” Trevor said as he dug the paddle into the water on the left side of the boat, and then shifted to the right side.
“Just paddle on the left side for two strokes to straighten us out.”
He did as she instructed.
“Good, now keep your pace on both sides. You’ve got it, Trevor!”
Which told him that the momentum he felt was all off. He could have sworn he had almost gone in a full circle.
He found a pace and continued on with Piper’s constant encouragement. She didn’t get angry, she kept a level head and reassured him they were headed in the right direction.
“Okay, keep going, just like that. If I tell you hard left, I want you to paddle extra hard on the left side for a stroke. Hard right, paddle extra hard on the right, okay?”
“Got it,” he said with a grunt. “Are we dead last?”
“Nope, first, but Rachel and Steve are right with us, maybe a half a boat length or so behind.”
“Can’t have that,” he said, blowing out a harsh breath as he put more force into his strokes.
They chugged on a ways and stayed on course for the most part with only a few calls from Piper to adjust their direction.
Trevor found himself smiling. He’d expected to be on some sort of hot seat all weekend. This fun side of Davidson was something he never showed at the office, and despite all that hung in the balance, Trevor enjoyed the sun and pure folly of what they had to do.
At least at the moment.
The Newlywed game was coming up; well, that was an entirely different animal. One that had him clenching places he'd rather not think about.
Something hard hit them, rocking them precariously. “What was that?”
“Don’t stop paddling. It was Christina and Mike. They bumped us.”
“How did they get beside us?”
She let out a laugh, letting him know that she enjoyed this challenge as much as he did. “It’s a mess out here, Trevor. It’s not like there’s lanes.”
“Where’s Kent and Deanne?”
She shifted, he couldn’t see how, but he felt it, and the kayak rocked hard enough that he locked his hands on the edge.
“They’re almost back at the dock.” Amusement laced her voice.
“Wait, what?”
“I don’t think it’s on purpose. She’s trying to guide him and he’s doing loopdey loos.”
“Poor bastard.”
“Just keep going. Rachel and Steve are getting ahead,” she yelled.
“Can’t have that,” he ground out as he paddled deep. The boat rocked again and that time water hit his thigh. “Shit.”
“Careful, you almost tipped us.”
“I’m trying.”
“I know, it’s okay. Hard left,” she called back.
All he heard was screaming and splashing. Rachel’s voice had gone from a shriek to something ferocious. Might want to check her for rabies. Jesus, if she made partner, his ass would be looking for another job.
“Trevor! Did you hear me?”
The boat shifted with her words and they rocked again, only this time water poured into the left side of the boat. The sound of Piper’s squeal pierced his ears before he went completely under.
The minute he popped up, he tore off the blindfold, searching for Piper. Waving his arms, he turned to find her sputtering and scraping the water from her eyes and face.
He ran his hands over her arms and cupped her chin. “Shit, are you okay?”
“I was better before we ended up in the water.”
“What the hell happened?” he asked, smoothing his hands over his hair to squeeze the water out.
“Good question. I called out hard left two more times and you just kept going straight.”
“Shit. I didn’t hear you.”
“You think? I didn’t notice,” she said.
“We’re going to lose,” he said, shielding his eyes, looking toward the shore.
“It’s just a race, there’s nothing we can do now. Let’s get the kayak flipped over.”
He sighed. “Yeah, I guess. So, any idea how to do this?”
“It’s probably a lot like a canoe. You get up under it and flip it over.”
He looked at the kayak and back at her. “There’s no air under it.”
“No, there’s not,” she confirmed.
“There is under a canoe when it’s upside down.”
“Usually. Look, we face each other with the kayak to our side. We use the hand farthest away to hold the edge. On the count of three, deep breath, duck under, reach for the other side and push it up and over.”
They pulled the kayak to them and lined up just the way Piper said. Despite it being his fault for being in the water, she smiled and focused on the task at hand.
“Okay, one…two…three,” she said.
He sucked in a deep breath and shifted under the boat. Locking his hands, he hesitated not knowing if she had grabbed her side yet. This was Piper though, for some reason, he felt like she had it. Sure enough, she reached out and nudged him with her foot and he just knew what she was trying to say.
He thrust up and the boat broke up over the surface, the water cascading off of it. They tossed it off the side where it bobbed and swayed.
“Good job, Trevor,” she said, blinking the water out of her eyes.
“Not so bad yourself. I’m impressed.”
“Well, hold that thought, we still have to make it back on the boat.”
They bobbed on the surface and looked to the shore where Steve and Rachel dragged their boat onto the sand and she screamed like a banshee, “I won! I won!”
“Well, I guess that’s that.”
“Sorry, Trevor.”
“I don’t think it’s all going to come down to one race. Come on. Let’s get on this thing.”
They took opposite sides and dragged themselves up. The boat pitched a few times, threatening to toss them right back in, but in the end, they made it. Trevor lost his blindfold in the commotion so they just rowed to the shore.