"Are you okay?" Tommy asked me about thirty minutes later as I approached the spot where he was sitting next to the lake.
"Yeah." I answered truthfully as I glanced skeptically at the canoe he was steadily holding onto. Unsteady boats were not my idea of a good time. And if the three-legged race was proof of anything, then Tom and I didn't have much in-sync rhythm going on either. We were so screwed. He laughed as he watched the doubt that flitted across my features.
"Believe it or not, I'm not that bad at canoeing, Jude." Tom replied defensively as I looked over my shoulder at Chris. He was eyeing the boat skeptically too. Yep, totally screwed. I watched as the other racers got ready to enter the water, and I watched Tom motion to the boat quickly.
"Ladies first." He remarked as I raised a brow at him before climbing into the thing. His civility was scaring me. I yelped as he rocked it gently on purpose—glaring at him over my shoulder as he just grinned at me before pushing it towards the water. I grabbed onto the sides—hard—as I heard it splash into the lake before Tommy jumped in and grabbed a paddle to push it the rest of the way in with. The race hadn't started yet, but most of us were just trying to get a feel for it before it did. Tom turned around to face me and sat down. It grew quiet between us as we just glanced at each other.
"You seem distracted." Tommy remarked as I just glanced out over the lake at the ripples the boat was creating. Distracted would be an understatement. I just shook my head mutely.
"I'm sorry I left, Jude. Especially the way that I did." He remarked as I just shrugged. I didn't want to discuss that now. I looked up to see Chris still standing on the shoreline. His look bothered me. He had never looked that way before, and I wondered at it especially now that we were finally just starting to get to know each other. His earring flashed in the sunlight. It was still my stud. I looked over at Tommy again. He was watching me quietly.
"Are you and Chris okay?" Tommy asked softly as I just glared at Tom. That was not a good question at the moment. He threw his hands up as if to say 'fine.' Kwest suddenly called for the race to begin, and I let Tommy row us over next to the rest of the participants as I picked up my paddle.
"You think we might actually be any good at this." I asked him in amusement as I watched him shrug. I rolled my eyes before splashing water at his head with my paddle just as Kwest yelled 'go.' Tommy threw me a look as we both dug our paddles into the glassy surface—finally figuring out each other's rhythm as we went. He lifted his paddle up further than he should on purpose to send a spray of the wet liquid straight into my face. I choked on it before narrowing my eyes. I could see him trying not to laugh. I picked up my paddle again and threw up even more water. He screeched.
"That's for being such a smart ass the past couple of days." I declared with a grin as he turned around a little causing the boat to sway. I gripped the sides immediately as he threw more water at me.
"That's for you just being you." He remarked as I grinned again. There were cheers from the crowd and I knew we had fallen behind as more water came at me. We were both getting soaked now—not noticing that the canoe was swaying precariously until Jamie yelled.
"You're about to go overboard!" But it was too late. The boat flipped, and I gasped as I took in a lung full of water before digging my way up to surface—coming up sputtering. Tommy was beside me and I laughed as he broke the surface too.
"That's what you get for arguing with me, Harrison." He said on a chuckle as I splashed him in the face before swimming for the shore. He followed closely behind—dragging the canoe. It was Chris that held out his hand to me as I slugged out of the water—peering down into my face laughingly before leaning over to whisper in my ear.
"I think I've decided to extend my stay here a little longer." He announced as I glanced up into his face. There was heat there now, and I shivered. He might have agreed to call it quits, but that wasn't stopping him. Why should I expect it too? Glancing between the two men as Tommy stood up behind me, I realized something. I may not belong to either one of them now, but both were suddenly willing to fight for me. And by breaking up with Chris, I had only managed to raise the stakes.
