He stuck his tongue out at her and rolled his eyes.
“Are you both okay?”When they nodded, she continued, “You’re the last group back.Come on, it’s lunchtime.There are towels on the beach.You aren’t the only group to take a dunking.”
“I’m starving.”
Working in unison, they hauled the canoe onto the shore and secured it to a post.Wrapped in towels, they headed to the common room for lunch.
“Imightbetootiredto go to the bonfire tonight.”Exhaustion dragged on Eric’s shoulders as they headed from the common room toward their tent after supper.“I had no idea an afternoon of intentionally tipping a canoe would be so tiring.Everything aches.”
“Yeah.I’d forgotten how much effort it takes.”
“Forgotten?”He paused mid-step to look at her.
She kept walking and said, “I used to kayak.Flipping a canoe is different, but similar.Rolling over and coming back up takes skill.”
“How much kayaking did you do?You seemed to outshine everyone on the lake today.”He suspected it was a lot.Her ability to steer their canoe, even when he was messing up the directions, plus her skill at righting the canoe, would indicate that she’d spent plenty of time on the water.
“A lot.I kayaked a lot.”
He got the feeling she was still hiding her full experience, but he let it slide.This wasn’t about a relationship between two people.Even if it were, she was entitled to her secrets.He certainly wasn’t going to blurt out his entire life story immediately upon meeting someone.That would be crazy.
This trip was about building strength and unity between employees, turning them into friends, and teaching them how to work together under new and potentially trying circumstances.
So why did her keeping things to herself hurt?He pushed the uncomfortable question aside and said, “I am definitely ready for a hot drink and a long rest.”
She gave him a side-eyed look.“Is that a shot at me not letting you sleep?”
He paused on the red shale pathway.“Actually, no.Do I seem like the type to hold a grudge?”Irritation walked up his spine.
“I can’t decide.”
Her blunt honesty shocked him.What kind of person didn’t cushion their words?Her opinion was a little off-putting.
“That was blunt.”
She shrugged.“Did you want me to lie?”She walked backward down the path, still facing him where he’d stopped.
“No.I guess not.”
She waited for him to catch up and fell into step beside him.“Sorry.I’m exhausted, too.Like you said, not enough sleep last night.Add that to two days of fun on the water; that waterpark took more out of me than I realized, and you’ve got one tired Wanda.Tired Wanda is grumpy Wanda.”
He didn’t respond; he just let her confession hang in the air between them.After a while, she added, “Sorry, Eric.I’m not used to this much physical activity, but that doesn’t give me the right to throw my grump at you.”
Unable to help himself, he laughed at the unusual expression and the vision it generated in his mind.
“Apology accepted.I wasn’t exactly pleasant when we got on the bus.”
“I’ll take that as an apology, which I accept very graciously.”
Her tone rang between sarcasm and laughter, and left him puzzled.Wanda was an enigma, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to untangle all the confusing strands.For now, for this team building event, he was just going to go along to get along.For the most part, when she wasn’t hungry or tired, she was enjoyable company.
“Well then,” he said, “Look at us, being all adult and building a truce.This ridiculous trip is doing its job and building a relationship between us.”
“I’m going to grab a warmer sweater and head to the bonfire.Are you coming?It’s trivia night.”
He groaned.
“You don’t like trivia?”She unzipped the tent and was in and out with her sweater before he could respond.“You grabbing a hoodie or something?”She paused with her hand on the zipper, questions in her eyes.
