Chapter 05.11

“We’re back,” Jenny said calmly. A few of the girls squealed in surprise.

“I’m going for a swim,” my girl said. ”This bug spray is giving me a headache.” She laughed.

“There?” Diane asked. ”You’re going in?”

“It’s the same lake we were jumping into earlier,” Jenny said casually. ”And I’ll stay near the shore in my swimsuit.”

“I’ll come with you,” Susy said quietly, then slipped off her outer clothes, revealing the bikini she already had on.

We stepped out from behind the trees. Everyone greeted their partners—with varying degrees of success. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jessica storm into the tent, clearly offended. Diane looked happy, and Mayoko quietly switched to Japanese. Paul and I quickly lit the campfire.

“Paul,” I said once I saw the girls were safe, ”thanks for not letting her walk around in the dark.”

“I told her if she wanted to walk anywhere alone, she’d have to stop paying for her room,” he laughed. ”After that, she always took the car. And I never let her date any of the basketball guys.”

“How did you even know about the rivalry?” I asked.

“First week of school, when people found out I swam, Alan came up to me during break and warned me to watch my future girlfriend—said they were keeping an eye on me. Daryl filled me in on the rest.”

“Sorry,” I smiled. ”We didn’t realize they’d take it that personally.”

“How many girls was it, Jay?” Paul asked quietly.

“Four—but practically all five,” I grinned. “Diane was the fifth, Daryl’s girl, and since it was a weekend party, Brian and I had a few extra days. Later on, we hunted for replacements and backups just on principle.”

“Susy’s only got one year left,” Paul laughed. “Then we can finally close that chapter.”

Wearing swim trunks, Paul and I headed toward the lake.

“Well, well,” Jenny smiled. ”Look who finally showed up.”

“Sorry, everyone,” I grinned. “We got lost.”

“No worries,” Jenny laughed. “As you can see, we figured it out.”

“Susy,” Paul called, holding towels in his hand, “come on, don’t catch a cold.”

“I’m coming too,” Jenny said, stepping out of the water and taking the other towel Paul offered her.

Jenny stepped in front of me, wrapping herself in the towel. “Be glad you don’t have a girlfriend, Jay,” she said, glancing at me. “If you were seeing someone, she definitely wouldn’t have clapped for that little nighttime stunt. She’d probably ask whether it was your idea, and without even waiting for your admission, she’d calmly scold you, saying it was a very stupid joke. Then she’d ask you to promise not to do it again. She probably wouldn’t call you by your nickname—if she even gave you one—but she’d just call you Jay. She might even take revenge one day.”

“Maybe,” I said with a smile, keeping my eyes on her beautiful ones, “but at least she talked to me—for almost a whole minute. That’s more than I could’ve hoped for… at least for now.”

Jenny blushed, then stepped away to dry off.

“How far behind were you?” Susy asked as she dried off.

“About as far as the two outer tents are from each other,” I said. ”And yeah, we were pretty much right under that tree.”

Susy and Jenny disappeared into their tent. Paul and I headed to ours to sleep.

—

We both woke up early the next morning and crawled out of the tent. We prepped the fire, and Paul started boiling water. A little farther down the shoreline, Mayoko’s and Brian were waking up. Aaron emerged from one of the boats.

“Did anyone sleep in their own tent besides us?” Paul asked as Brian and his group returned.

“We did,” Jenny said, stepping out of her tent.

“Us too,” Daryl added, following her.

“And Jessica,” Aaron said, sitting on a nearby log.

“Go talk to her,” Jenny said gently, placing a hand on Aaron’s shoulder.

Aaron went into his tent. We sat down to eat. Everyone had a few bites, and soon Aaron came out smiling with Jessica by his side. She leaned into him as she ate.

“Everyone good?” I asked. The guys nodded cheerfully. Jessica stayed close to Aaron.

“Let’s make today a chill day,” Diane suggested.

“Want to go shopping, darling?” Daryl teased.

“We could,” I said. ”As a group? In pairs? What do you all prefer?”

“Let’s head into town and figure it out there,” my ex suggested.

“Just don’t get lost,” I teased.

The rest of the trip was filled with sightseeing and beach days. On the way home, Brian was driving the guys’ car.

“This year’s trip was a success,” he said cheerfully.

“Agreed,” I nodded.

“Jay,” Aaron asked cautiously, ”what do we do if someone breaks up?”

“You’re asking him?” Brian laughed. “He still hasn’t figured it out himself.”

“I will,” I said. “As long as that French monkey doesn’t show up.”

“She’s meeting him tomorrow,” Paul said. “She’s going with Adam.”

“Great,” I muttered.