Brian trudged up the hill leading back to the trail. He had woken up early, and had snuck out of the tent he and Nick were sharing to go for a walk, have some time alone. He missed Leighanne like crazy, and being up here was killing him. Michelle was great… but she just reminded him of Leighanne dumping him. It hurt so badly.
The worst of it was that now Michelle was ignoring him, for some unknown reason. It wasn’t making his mood any better. He saw their camping site at a distance, he was almost back. He could see Kevin sitting down in front of his tent tying his shoe. Leave it to Kevin to be up this early.
Brian jogged the rest of the way back, and took a seat next to his cousin.
“How are things going with Michelle?” Kevin asked.
“They could be better… how are you holding up? You’ve barely said two words this entire trip.”
“I’m just a little down and out right now, I guess. I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”
“You need some female company?”
“I wouldn’t say that… I just need someone who understands me. A friend or girlfriend or whatever…”
“Well… I don’t know what to tell you.”
“I think I’m going to go for a walk,” Kevin said.
“OK. Take it easy.”
Brian got himself a Nestea can out of the cooler and looked at his watch. 7 AM. He heard a stirring and looked behind him. It was Gretchen, coming out of her tent. She and Michelle were sharing. Since Howie and Claudia were not dating, they were in separate tents. Howie shared with Kevin. AJ and Amanda were in the same tent.
“Good morning,” he told her.
She smiled. “Good morning.” The way she said it was kind of… a singsong way.
She got herself something to drink and brushed her hair. Shortly after, Nick came out of his and Brian’s tent.
“Hey,” Nick mumbled to Brian. Then he saw Gretchen. She grinned at him.
“Hey…” she said.
“Hey.” They just sort of stared at each other for a minute, grinning, and Brian just shook his head. It had started.
“We’re gonna… go… somewhere,” Nick said to Brian, not taking his eyes off of Gretchen.
Nick and Gretchen started to walk down the trail, and Brian just kept on sipping his drink.
“What are we doing today?” Claudia asked as she came from the tent she had to herself.
“We’ll probably go rent a boat from the dock, and stay on there all day, like we’ve done before. We might go swimming, I think it’s still warm enough.”
“I’m up for swimming,” Claudia said, thinking of the ways she could flirt with Howie in the water.
“Then of course, you know what tonight is…” Brian said.
“Karaoke!” Claudia said excitedly.
“We should be leaving to go get the boat when everyone else wakes up and gets ready,” Brian said.
“No one else is awake?” Claudia asked.
“Yeah. Kevin went for a walk about 10 minutes ago, and Nick and Gretchen left to go on a walk about 2 minutes ago. AJ, Amanda, Howie, and Michelle are still asleep.”
“Oh.”
“Want something to drink?” Brian asked, motioning towards the cooler.
“Nah. Brian, let me ask you something… is Howie interested in me again? Is that why he invited me on this trip?” Claudia asked.
“Uh… I really don’t know, Claud. You’re going to have to ask him if you want an honest answer, because he hasn’t confided in any of us about it.”
“Hmm…”
“Claud… did something happen with Michelle yesterday? Because I noticed that after y’all went and collected firewood, she clammed up and wouldn’t talk to me for the rest of the day.”
“Well… she did seem to get upset when Amanda mentioned something about you and Leighanne…”
Brian’s pulse began to race. “What did Amanda say to her?”
“Just… that… you and Leighanne had only broken up a month ago.”
“Oh no!!! I didn’t want Michelle to know that!” Brian cried.
“Take it up with Amanda,” Claudia replied simply. “I’m going to go put on my make-up.” She went back to her tent, and Brian buried his face in his hands.
“What are you thinking?” Nick asked Gretchen as they walked along the trail.
“Just that… I feel… safe. With you. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt safe with someone, ya know?”
“I’m glad you feel safe with me. I’m sorry I pounced on you last night with that kiss and everything.”
“No… I didn’t mind it. I think I needed it.”
“Are you convinced that I’ve turned from my old ways yet?” Nick asked.
“You might have to prove it to me a little more…” Gretchen said, coyly. Nick tried to lean over and kiss her, but she pulled away, laughing. “Not so fast, mister. That’s not what I meant.”
“What did you mean then?”
“Exactly what I said.”
“If it makes you feel any better, you’re the only one I’ve been pursuing since me and Mandy broke up. It’s not like I have 10 girls back home that I’m going to continue stringing along once you and I separate,” Nick told her.
“You probably could if you wanted.”
“Well, I’m not . And I wouldn’t lie to you.”
“I know you wouldn’t. You’ve been honest with me from the very beginning,” Gretchen replied.
“What bothers you so much, then?” Nick asked.
“It’s just weird… I think what bothered me so much about knowing that you were a player was that I want to be significant to you… I don’t want to be one of your toys. If you did have several other girls that you were talking to and fooling around with, that would make me… not so special to you. It sounds kind of selfish, I know, but…”
“Not at all. You want to be the only one for me, not one of many. I understand,” Nick said.
“Yeah.”
“I think everyone wants that. To be so special to another person that they are the only one that person wants to be with, the only one that the person can think about. You’ve already achieved that with me, Gretchen. And that’s the truth.”
The minute Howie woke up, the thoughts of the previous night came rushing back. Oh, the embarrassment! The minute he had fallen and let out that cry, Kara and her friends had come running over to see what had happened. Howie had been so ashamed, because he had been spying on them, but they didn’t realize that. They invited him to come over to their campsite and sit down for awhile until he felt like walking back to his site. His ankle had been killing him, so he had agreed.
He found out that the guy was a brother of Kara’s. His name was Greg. The other girl, Jamie, was Greg’s girlfriend.
“What brings you here?” Kara had asked.
“Oh… me and some friends are up here for the weekend.”
Kara nodded. “Having fun?”
“Yeah… why not? We just got here a few hours ago.”
Jamie wanted to leave Kara and Howie to talk and go on a moonlight walk with Greg, but Greg had declined. In his exact words, he had said, “I don’t think we should leave Kara alone.” Like he didn’t trust Howie or something.
So, for about 20 more minutes, Howie had stayed and chatted with Kara, Greg, and Jamie.
Finally, he had said that he needed to go back before everyone started to worry about him.
It had been so weird sitting there with Kara when they both knew that he had asked her for her number and she had refused to give it to him. That had been a blow to his confidence, and running into her hadn’t made his pride any stronger. So, of course, when he got back, Claudia came running up to him, hugging him, saying she had been waiting for him, etc. He had been too wiped out to push her off or anything. So, maybe letting her hang all over him was leading her on, but… what can ya do?
Howie’s thoughts came back to present day, and he heard voices outside the tent.
“What’s going on?” he asked after he had gotten out.
“Kevin’s gone to go rent the boat,” Brian told him. “So go change into your trunks, because we’re going to be out there all day.”
AJ was standing by his tent in his bathing suit, doing a little ‘Getting Jiggy With It’ dance. “Hurry, you guys. I wanna get out there.”
Michelle came out of her tent with a bikini on, and Brian and Howie, even AJ, took notice of her figure, and her tan.
She looked at Claudia. “Do y’all just wear like, denim shorts and a shirt over your bathing suits?” she asked. Claudia nodded. “OK.”
Michelle went back into the tent, and Brian let out a low cough. “Wow.”
“I know someone who will look even better,” AJ said after he had regained his composure. “Amanda…” he called.
“I’m coming,” she called back from inside their tent.
“Where are Gretchen and Nick?” Howie asked, noticing that they were not present.
“Out walking, but they better get back here real quick,” Brian said. As if he had said the magic word, Gretchen and Nick appeared at the end of the trail.
“We’re back,” Nick called.
“Go get your bathing suits on, Kevin has already gone to rent the boat. He’ll be back to come get us real soon,” Brian told them.
“OK.”
They separated into their tents to get ready, and Brian paced impatiently. Michelle came out of the tent as Gretchen went in, and she had now covered up with short denim shorts and a yellow tank top.
Finally, everyone was ready, and Kevin had come back to retrieve them. They walked to the dock, and saw that Kevin had rented a big, beautiful motorboat.
They placed the cooler in the back, and all got on.
“We all set?” Kevin asked at the steering wheel.
“Yeah!” everyone called.
Soon, they were going full speed along the lake.
Brian and Michelle had reconciled, though she had said that she wanted to discuss something with him later. He was now happily rubbing suntan lotion on her back.
Gretchen and Nick were trying to find a good radio station on the radio to play, but couldn’t agree on anything. They finally agreed on a “mix” station- one that played all types of music.
Kevin anchored the boat in the middle of the lake, made sure everyone had their life jackets on, and they all jumped into the water.
Gretchen tried to get Kevin involved. He had been isolated from the group ever since they had gotten there.
“Kevin, pick a water game for us to play,” she said.
“I don’t know…”
“Personally, I think we should get back in the boat and play strip poker right now,” AJ joked.
“That’ll come later,” Howie told him.
“Huh?” Michelle and Gretchen asked.
“Uh… no one told you guys?” Amanda asked.
“No…”
“We always play strip poker right here in the middle of the lake!” she said, laughing.
“What?!” Gretchen exclaimed.
“You don’t have to play if you don’t want,” Nick told her.
“I don’t think I will,” she replied, a look of shock on her face.
“What the hell?” Michelle said. “I’ll play.”
“Yeah!!” Brian said.
So for about an hour, the group stayed in the water, playing cheesy games like “Marco Polo” and the girls-on-top-of-guys’-shoulders-fighting game.
Finally, Kevin said, “OK, let’s eat lunch, and then play some strip poker!"
“Yeah!” AJ, the most enthusiastic about it, said, and quickly climbed back into the boat.
Gretchen gave Nick a worried look. “Have some of you ever gotten… fully naked?”
Nick laughed nervously. “Uh… yeah, but see, we have a table that we all sit at, so us guys, we never have to see anything that the other guys have because it’s hidden under the table, ya know what I’m saying?”
Gretchen nodded.
After eating ham and cheese sandwiches on French bread and telling a lot of jokes, everyone was ready for strip poker.
Gretchen said she would watch, but did not want to get involved.
They all sat around the table, and to make it fair, made sure they all had on the same amount of clothing. The girls all had six items to take off: their bikini top, bottom, shorts, shirt, and two shoes. The guys only had four: shirt, swimming trunks, and two shoes, so they each put on two pieces of jewelry to make it even.
Kevin dealt the cards, and everyone took a look.
Amanda, who was really bad at putting on a poker face, immediately went, “Oh, man!” after still not having a good hand after getting replacement cards.
AJ grinned after that, and said, “OK, everyone, lay ‘em down.”
As he had thought, Amanda had the lowest hand. She chose to take off her shirt.
20 minutes later, Michelle had also had to take off her shirt and shorts, Amanda had taken off her shorts and both shoes, Brian had removed a shoe, Kevin had taken off his shirt, Nick had taken off a shoe, AJ had still not had to remove anything, nor had Claudia or Howie.
In the next hand, things got a little more complex. Amanda lost again.
“The bikini top goes!” AJ cried happily.
She was just about to take it off when they heard another boat’s motor.
“Crap!” AJ said.
Howie recognized the people on the boat. It was Kara, Greg, and Jamie.
“Hey Howie!” they called as they passed by. AJ glared at Howie. “You know them?”
“Yeah,” he said. He waved back. “One of those girls was the one that interviewed us in Los Angeles, remember?”
“Whatever. Amanda… continue,” AJ said.
“I don’t want to play anymore,” Kevin interjected.
“Ohhhhh,” AJ moaned.
“Yeah, let’s quit,” Michelle said. She was not too eager to see Amanda’s chest.
“You would say that,” AJ told her rudely. “What’s the matter, don’t want to be outdone?”
“AJ, shut the HELL up,” Brian said. “I don’t want to hear you talk to her like that again.”
“No, it’s OK, Brian. I think AJ just needs to grow UP. He can see his girlfriend naked when they’re back in the tent, he doesn’t need to see it here," Michelle retorted.
AJ was silent.
“Let’s stop all that, you guys. AJ, chill out,” Kevin said.
“Who’s Kara?” Claudia asked curiously to Howie.
“No one. Absolutely no one,” he replied.
Brian strummed a chord on his guitar. “Kevin, you’re up first!” he said. They were now back at the campsite. It was 8 PM, and supper had just finished. Now they were going to play karaoke.
Brian looked through the book of songs he could play for Kevin to sing.
“How about… I’m Too Sexy ?”
“You can’t play that on a guitar… can you?” Kevin asked.
“Yeah, it had the chords right here.”
“OK…”
Brian started strumming, and Kevin started singing.
“I’m too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy it hu-urts!” Kevin did a move with his pelvis that made everyone burst out laughing.
“I’m too sexy for Milan, too sexy for Milan, New York, and Japan!”
Soon, Kevin was getting so into the song that his body movements had everyone turning purple with laughter.
“I think that’s enough for you, buddy,” Brian said.
Howie was up next, and he had to sing “Stop In the Name of Love.” Just the fact that he knew none of the lyrics except for the chorus made everyone laugh.
After he had finished, he snuck off away from the group. Claudia didn’t even notice. Suspiciously enough, she was too busy staring at Kevin to notice him leave.
He wandered off into the woods, knowing exactly where he was going. Straight to Kara’s site.
He didn’t know why he was even bothering, but he wanted to go.
He saw the campfire from her site when he was 20 feet away, and started walking faster.
He didn’t know what he was going to say, but it was going to be very honest.