Page 19 of Loathing Ryan
All I knew was that these last few weeks of camp were probably going to be the longest weeks of my life.
9
IZABEL
The following morning,we all dressed in our bathing suits to prepare for the kayak trip. I had a cute one-piece swimsuit that was blue with white polka dots. Juliet wore a flattering pink bikini. I reached into my suitcase to pull on a pair of athletic shorts and a t-shirt.
Before I could even get the t-shirt over my head, Juliet swiped it out of my hands. “You don’t need that,” she said to me, scolding me as though I were a child. She threw it back in the suitcase against my protests. “You’re so pale, you could use some sun.”
“We’ll be out there all day. I don’t want to fry,” I pleaded with her. She was right; I had fair skin, so yes, theoretically, I could use some color. Realistically, though, I would burn and come back from this trip looking like a lobster.
She shrugged. “Take sunscreen.”
I rolled my eyes but let it go. I supposed I could go with just the swimsuit for a few hours. I would be fine. If worse came to worst, I was hopeful that one of the girls had packed some aloe vera that I could borrow. In the days leading up to our departure for camp, I had misplaced the list I had so painstakingly prepared. Because of that, I spaced out and forgot the soothing green gel that was likely still sitting on my dresser back in my dorm at school.
After gathering everything else I would need for the day, I looked longingly at my shirt one last time. Against better judgment, I left it sitting on my bed, and we headed out to breakfast.
As we were eating, I tried my hardest not to dwell on the fact that I would be stuck with Ryan all day in a small boat. If I thought about it, I would surely worry myself sick, imagining all the horrible things he could do to me on a river. Instead, I tried to focus on whatever Juliet was rambling about and ate my oatmeal in silence, my stomach churning the entire time. I couldn’t shake the feeling of trepidation, so I drank more coffee, hoping the caffeine would help.
Spoiler alert, it didn’t.
By the time we all were ready to load up onto the bus to take us to the let-in point, I was a frazzled mess. Ryan found me right away with minimal effort–again, I wondered if he had planted a homing device somewhere on my person. He shouldn’t have been able to find me so easily amongst all of our classmates. Wearing a pair of blue plaid swim trunks and a gray t-shirt, he let his sunglasses slip a little down his nose so he could peer at me over the rims.
“Cute suit,” he patronized me. I sighed and pushed past him, not deigning to respond. He followed behind me as I climbed onto the bus, then plopped down next to me in my chosen seat, scooting until we were pressed up close to each other.
“What are you doing?” I asked him sharply once he settled. I tried my best to wiggle away from him, but he was crowding me into the window. His shoulders were so broad that I barely had any room left. Jerk.
He pushed his sunglasses up onto his head and looked over at me, his head dipping a bit so he could look directly into my eyes. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I had been this close to Ryan. I tried my hardest not to get lost in those bright green eyes. His cologne filled my nose, too, the spicy blend burning my sinuses just a little, but in the best way. As I stared at him, I noticed that he had a few light freckles dotted over his forehead and his nose, likely from lots of time spent in the sun.
“I’m sitting,” Ryan responded, deadpan, bringing me back to the present.
“I know that. What are you doing sitting next to me?” I asked, my tone snarky. “Go sit next to Todd or someone who actually likes you.”
He leaned back and gave me an amused grin. “We’re partners, Bells. I’m supposed to sit next to you.”
I sighed and looked out the window, concluding that I wouldn’t win this battle. This was going to be such a long day. I spent the remainder of our ride with my eyes glued to the trees we passed. Ryan hummed next to me like he didn’t have a care in the world. Every note that came out of his throat pushed me closer and closer to the edge. I tried to focus on my breathing, fighting the urge to reach over and strangle him.
The bus ride from the camp to the loading dock was about fifteen minutes, which felt like an eternity plastered next to Ryan. As soon as we arrived, we were shuffled off to the side so that a counselor could give us the details about what we were supposed to do today. He went through the rules and safety measures, meticulously checking off boxes on his list as he rattled off instructions. Ryan groaned beside me. When I didn’t respond immediately, he groaned again, making it obvious he wanted my attention.
“God, what?” I whisper-shouted.
“I’m bored,” he whined, leaning toward me.
“I don’t care. We’re supposed to be listening.”
“We’ve heard it a thousand times already. This isn’t our first kayak trip,” he said. I ignored him again.
“It’s important that we all stay together,” the counselor said. “The route is easy until the river splits about a mile from the let-out point. Whoever is steering needs to make sure that they stay to the?—”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Ryan whispered in my ear, distracting me again.
I looked over at him, exasperated. “Why are you so annoying?”
He shrugged. “It’s my calling.”
“The weather is pretty clear for the next few hours, but we are due for some scattered thunderstorms later in the day,” the counselor went on. “Our itinerary looks good, so we shouldn’t run into any issues. Make sure that we’re keeping an eye and not dawdling around. If we all follow these guidelines, we should have a great day for some kayaking. Now let’s get on that river!”
Ryan and I were the last to get our kayak. Everyone was already loaded up and out on the river before the counselor got to us. Ryan took the back position since he was stronger and could paddle a lot easier than I could. I donned my lifejacket and took my seat up front, ignoring the way my neck felt exposed with Ryan–my sworn enemy–sitting right behind me. The counselor gave us our paddles and then pushed us into the water.
