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“Nah, it’s all good. She would be laughing too if she wasn’t in a competition.”
Viv hauls herself over the edge of the canoe, the man grabbing at her arms and legs to help her in. My jealousy disappears when I see the display. I really should be recording this, but I left my phone back at camp because I thought we’d be in the water.
If only I had known what kind of blackmail I would have gotten.
Finally, they get themselves turned around and headed in the right direction, they’re far from first place and it’s still pretty comical to watch.
Viviana is shouting something at the guy, whose name I learn is Damian and I watch in amusement as he throws his hands up in the air, clearly being defensive. I don’t blame him for it, because I know whatever she’s saying can’t be in a nice way.
Finally, they reach the sandbar and Viv jumps out of the canoe, falling into the water and sand and then crawling, falling and stumbling her way to the flag before she snatches it off the stick it’s attached to.
She rushes back to the canoe, her feet getting stuck in the sand the wetter it gets and she launches herself into the canoe.
“Ooh,” I moan. “That had to hurt.”
“Your girl has grit, I’ll give her that!” Marion laughs. “I would’ve broken my hip with that move.”
I laugh along with her and watch them try to get themselves turned around. All the other groups are far ahead of them, making excellent time and already back to the shore.
“Is she going to be upset that they lost?” Marion asks, genuine concern in her tone.
“Nah, she’ll be fine,” I say to ease Marion’s worry but I wasn’t sure how right I was. There had been instances where Viviana would go weeks without speaking to members of her own family when she lost at their family game nights.
I think it’s why Enzo hesitated in inviting her to our own game nights until Jane and April made it mandatory that she be invited.
I was glad they had because being able to see her every week was something I looked forward to.
Finally, they almost make it to the shore and Viviana stands prematurely, making Damian stand fast as well to try to catch her. They both list to the side and the canoe goes with them, dumping them into the lake.
“Oh! Uh-oh!” Marion exclaims. “Guess they wanted to do some more swimming.”
We laugh together and I make my way to Viv who’s trudging out of the water, soaking wet, hair down in her face.
Cyrus blows the air horn again and laughs, “Well, that was quite entertaining!”
I grab a towel from the ground and shake it out, wrapping Viv in it as she comes toward me, a noticeable pout on her lips. “I lost.”
“I know, babe. But don’t worry, you’ll get them next time.” I rub her arms through the towel and she leans into me.
Damian and Marion are doing their own thing, Damian complaining that the others got a head start and Marion patting him on the shoulder.
We head to the group and Viviana tenses. “I swear if there’s another challenge today…” She trails off and I smile.
“Now, for our next challenge!”
“I swear to—” Viv cuts herself off and I bark out a laugh.
This was the best camping trip ever.
Chapter Nineteen
“Hiking is the bane of my existence. But with him, it may just be worth it. We’ll see…if I don’t die before the end of it.” – Viviana
VIVIANA
I pant and push my legs one in front of the other. I’ve got a backpack weighing me down and an empty water bottle in my hand.
This morning we were woken up at the butt crack of dawn for an “enlightening nature hike.” I took my girl Jane’s stance on nature hikes and preferred to read about them in books or watch them in movies.
