-- 09 --

Reba was awoken by the sounds of birds chirping. She glanced over at Brock who slept peacefully at the other side of the tent with Lori-Ann's and her overnight bags separating them. She quietly slipped out of the tent, enjoying the fresh morning dew. She looked around, no one woke up yet. She decided to do a little stretching. She started by swinging her upper body from side to side. She put one hand on her waist and threw the other arm above her head, and did the same for the other side. She parted her legs and bent to one side to touch her toes, she did the same to the other. She nearly fell head first when she looked between her legs and saw Brock peaking his head out watching her.

"Good Lord, you startled me!" complained Reba placing her hand above her heart.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to see what you were up to." Brock came out of the tent, and did a little stretching himself. "No one awake?" Reba shook her head from side to side "rough night I guess." Reba snickered at his comment. "Wanna go jogging?"

"Looking like this?" she panned her hand showing that she was still her pajamas, and Brock was wearing his t-shirt and shorts.

"I run in my boxer shorts all the time." Reba couldn't help but chuckle.

"I gotta change though, stay out here." she made Brock stay outside and stare at the trees until she was done changing. She came out wearing a pair of shorts and white tank top and her shoulder length hair was tied in pigtails. They slowly jogged along the trail while having a nice conversation; they didn't really pay attention to where they were going. They got lost.

"Brock... do you know where we are?" Reba looked around and everywhere was just forest.

"I'm not sure..."

"I think we should head back." they tried to jogging and walking back to where they came from, but stumbled when they found a fork in the trail. They were looking at each other to see if any of them happened to remember which trail they came from. No luck, so they took chance, when they realized it wasn't familiar, they turned around. If that wasn't bad enough, Reba stumbled on the root of a tree and fell forward scraping her knees and the palms of her hand.

"Reba are you alright?" Brock helped her up, brushing the dirt of her knees.

"I sprung my ankle" Brock sat her down on a log and gently massaged her ankle the way his coach taught him when any of his teammates would sprain an ankle.

"I'm going with my gut instinct here, we came on the right track, and we should be back to our tent soon. Here, hop on." Brock gave her a piggyback ride to the tent. "You're much lighter than I first thought."

"You're saying I look fatter than I weight?"

"Huh? No. I mean you got curves and-"

"Stop talking" Reba covered his mouth with her hand.

"Weren't your hands just in the dirt when you fell?"

"Oops, yeah sorry." Brock chuckled, still carrying her on his back; he started to run when he saw the campsite not too far. He slowed down, taking his time, as he wanted to treasure the moment a little while longer. He loved the feeling of her heartbeat against his back. Reba wasn't about to complain when he slowed down. She too loved the closeness between them. She had to fight her temptation not to kiss the side of his neck. She may have had to hide the feelings she had for him, and this was the moment that she'd like to take advantage of, to be so close.

"Where the heck have you been?" Lori-Ann was worried when she didn't see her friend. Mike said Brock was gone too, she was relieved seeing them coming back together. Brock sat Reba down on a bench and looked for a first-aid kit.

"We went jogging and got lost, I fell." told Reba to her best friend, the rest of the group once they knew the two safely returned, they went back to their own business. Brock came back with a bucket of water, rubbing alcohol and band-aid. He rinsed her knees with water, dried them with his towel, cleaned the wound with rubbing alcohol and put a few band-aids on her knees. The rest of the water, he told Reba to wash her hands and he cleaned the wounds on the palm of her hand as well. Reba's eyes got a little misty, not from the pain, but the way he took care of her. She wanted to throw him a hug and shout how much she loved him, but she had to scream in her head that he didn't want anything more than friendship, don't ruin it! Mike handed him a tension bandage. Brock used it to wrap around her injured ankle.

"Where did you sleep last night? I came out and looked around, you weren't anywhere nearby." asked Mike

"In Reba's tent." Lori-Ann answered "I came back in the middle of the night, almost slept on top of Brock."

"And I thought you might have gone to one of the guys tent, I didn't know you got lucky"

"We didn't..." Reba had an urge to clarify that nothing happened between them when she saw Mike's crooked grin, in fact, they weren't even close.

"I know, I mean honey, if you're brave enough to have him in your tent, why the heck did you put our overnight bags between you two? And the way you slept was like you were leaning against one wall, and Brock the other. I could have slipped in between and slept more comfortable than you two." Lori-Ann quipped

"That settles it then, my girlfriend could be in my tent tonight, Lori-Ann would be with her boyfriend and you two together." said Mike, Reba gave both of her friends 'the look'

"You can't be serious!"

"Yeah I think that's a good idea, I mean who in their right mind pairs up girls with girls and boys with boys in the same tent, not like we're in our dorm rooms anymore. No offense to you Reba, but I'd rather be with boys." Lori-Ann agreed with Mike's idea.

"No!" Reba refused, turning a different shade of red, mixture between anger and embarrassment.

"What's today's activities?" asked Brock trying to change the subject. It hurt hearing Reba constantly refuse to be with him, although he understood, it didn't mean it didn't hurt.

"Well, this morning we'll go hiking, and in the afternoon we will go canoeing, kayaking, sunfish sailing, whatever you prefer. Answered Mike.

"I don't think Reba can hike with her foot hurt, I'll stay behind with her, and we'll join you at the lake later."

"You can go Brock, I'll be okay." she didn't want him to miss the fun.

"That's okay, I have to do some studying anyway." Lori-Ann and Mike left some snacks and sodas for them before joining the rest of the group to go hiking.

"Brock, I didn't mean to offend you when I -"

"I know, I understand." Brock cut her off. "So, will you help me study?" Reba answered with a smile. Brock was always astonished by her smile. Gosh how he wanted to kiss her.

"Brock, go get your text books!" Reba snapped him out of his daydream. Brock went to his tent and took out his textbooks and note book, he sat next to Reba at a picnic table. She helped him study for his exam. But when the group came back from hiking, they found them both asleep, resting their heads on the table facing each other. With the light wind blowing, birds chirping and both tired from jogging and getting lost, it wasn't hard for them to fall asleep at all. Some of them started to plan the prank.

"Why don't we tie them together?" one suggested,

"Reba's light sleeper, she would wake up before you even touch her hair." Lori-Ann whispered, "I wonder if they knew they are holding hands" she pointed out to Mike.

"Shh.." Mike shushed the group to be really quiet while walking quietly behind them with two tin plates. The girls tried not to giggled. Mike hit the two plates together loudly.

"Jesus!" Brock let out a swear

"Oh God!" cried Reba. They both jumped into each other's arm. Mike was laughing so hard he couldn't run. Brock kicked his butt. They were laughing making fun of Reba and Brock's reaction making their way to the lake. Brock still carried Reba on his back. Mike also offered to help knowing Brock wouldn't let him. Reba also made the excuse that Mike's girlfriend might take it wrong. However his girlfriend said she didn't mind. But to Reba's silent relief, Brock said he could manage.

"Of course, he wouldn't want her legs around someone else's waist" Mike teased making a bunch of girls giggle. Reba had no idea what he meant.

"Reba, kick him" said Brock walking closer to Mike, still on Brock's back, Reba swing her leg at Mike and accidentally hit his most tender spot." she put a hand covered her mouth and constantly apology while Brock almost die laughing.

"Good girl!"

"Hey I plan to use that tonight" Mike's girlfriend couldn't help but laugh along with them. Brock helped Reba on to a sunfish sailboat and they sailed on the lake.

"How's you ankle feel?" asked Brock sailing the sunfish looking at Reba's flame-like hair blowing in the wind.

"I can walk now actually, you didn't have to carry me." Gosh, how he loved those little dimples when she smiled.

"Sure, now you tell me" Brock quipped, even if she told him sooner he still wanted to carry her anyway, feeling her softness on his back, he wouldn't complain.

The sunfish looked like hollowed out surfboard with a sail. It appeared all Brock had to do was pull or release the rope attached to the sail to control the speed, and steer with the tiller at the back. Reba wanted to sail the sunfish. It looked easy. "Can I try?"

"Sure" they carefully switched positions. Brock taught her how to control the sail and tiller. Reba was having fun, but when she turned the rudder too quickly, the wind swung to sail towards Brock. Before she could warn him to duck, the aluminum boom hit him on that back of his head. Reba panicked, she grabbed the rope as tightly as she could to bring the mast back to the centre of the boat. A strong gust of wind on the sail caused the boat to flip. Mike saw the accident and it was his turn to laugh. He sailed his boat near them to make sure they were okay. Since Brock and Reba were still in the water, they grabbed Mike's boat, and capsized it. Brock and Mike quickly kneeled on their boat's dagger board, righting both sunfish immediately. With all four of them in the water, they noticed a couple nearby who were making out in a canoe. The canoe had begun to drift towards them. Brock and Mike swiftly swam to the canoe, grabbed it, and flipped the couple into the water.

"Looks like it's gonna rain" said Reba, after climbing back in to the boat and regaining control of the sunfish

"Yeah, I think we should head back." Just minutes after the group reached their tents, it was pouring. Mike reached the tent first. He pulled his girlfriend into the tent.

"Well can you at least give me my bag?" Mike handed Brock his overnight bag. As a reflex, Reba pulled Brock into her tent when she saw the rain that they tried to outrun getting close.

"That was close!" as soon as they zipped the tent, they could hear heavy raindrops on top of their tent. They laughed since they were already soaking wet from the lake anyway. Why did they bother running?

"We should get changed." Brock pulled out his towel, wrapped it around his lower half and changed to clean boxer shorts.

"Shouldn't you wear something else on top of those shorts?" asked Reba tearing her eyes away to look elsewhere.

"You saw me in boxer shorts running around the field all the time, why does it bug you?" well it did make her short of breathe.

"It's inappropriate" Brock grinned looking in his overnight bag and got a pair of shorts to put on top of his boxer shorts. Reba still hadn't gotten changed. "I can't change while you're sitting less than three feet away."

"You don't expect me to go out do you? It's pouring rain outside. Don't worry I won't look." Reba looked for something in her overnight bag.

"Here read this, aloud" she made him sit looking at the opposite side and read the book so she could make sure he did not glance over. Brock chuckled. He opened a page and began to read aloud until Reba was done changing. "Is it gonna rain all evening?"

"Well it's just four o'clock, it may stop before dinner time."

"Let's hope so. Why don't I help you study since we can't really do anything else anyway." Brock was so dying to disagree, but she might not like his suggestion.

"My books are in Mike's tent, and I don't think he want to be disturbed right now for some reason."

"Hmm... I packed scrabble with me, wanna play?" Brock grinned as she pulled the game out of her bag. They sat down on the tent floor enjoying at game together. "Bluetooth? what the heck was that?" questioned Reba about Brock adding the word 'tooth' to the word 'blue' that he had previously just put, in hopes for triple letter points for his 'H'.

"It's what happens to your teeth if you don't brush." Brock tried, Reba glared at him "How about 'bluetoo'?

"Pick 'a' word!"

"Unfair, how come 'redhead' is okay and 'bluetooth' is not?" Reba gave him the look "Fine!" Brock moved his 'tooth' elsewhere, and he didn't get triple letter points. Reba put in a word and snatched a triple point word.

"Celsius? We don't even use that in this country" cried Brock

"How come it's in your chemistry text book then?" Reba lifted her eyebrow enjoying her victory.

"I should stop letting you helping me with my studies, you keep learning new words. Look at the words you put down, 'syringe', who would have thought of that?" Brock whined.

"They are all in your text book" Reba smirked. "Wanna play again?" they didn't even bother counting the total.

"Anything else you have?"

"Hmm... I think I saw Lori-Ann pack a deck of cards, let me see" Reba looked in Lori-Ann's bag.

"Playing strip poker?" now this was something Brock looked forward to! Reba had tried so hard to forget that day and he brought it up. She blushed; throwing what she thought was a deck of cards at him. Brock caught the box in midair and started to laugh. "Now this is something I'm good at!"

"I'm not going to play strip poker with you!" holler Reba embarrassingly

"Not with these, no. Do you realize what you just threw at me?" Reba had a confused look for about half a minute before every single drop of blood in her body gathered at her face.

"Oh my Gosh! Give it back!" she tried to get the box from his hand, but Brock made it harder for her to get. She knocked Brock on the floor while reaching for the box. She was on top of him when she got it and it was the same time Lori-Ann unzipped the tent. Both of them stopped dead in a compromising position, a little stunned, glancing at Lori-Ann.

"That's what I'm here for." she snatched the box out of Reba's hand. "You need some? Here take a couple" she opened the box and tossed her a few packets from inside the box. "I won't be back tonight, you two have fun" Lori-Ann grabbed her overnight bag and rushed out. Reba was beyond shocked. Brock started laughing hysterically. He would have rolled if Reba wasn't still on top of him.

"There goes my reputation"