Just because I had different dreams didn’t automatically mean I shouldn’t pursue them or they were doomed to fail.
“What are you thinking about so hard over here?” Colin asked, sitting next to me.
“You’re going to make everyone talk if you keep hanging out with me.”
“Let them. If it keeps the assholes away from you, it’s worth it.”
I laughed out loud. I was surprised at his answer. “Why do you want them to leave me alone?”
I felt lighter than I had a minute ago.
He squinted against the afternoon sun. “Maybe I want you to myself.”
His answer did nothing to lessen my shock.
“You know I’m not looking for anything.” I lowered my voice so nobody could hear me.
His gaze was steady on me. “I’m not either. All I know is that I enjoy your company.”
My lips twitched. “That’s a good answer.”
“I want to enjoy this trip. Live in the moment.”
I lifted my chin to feel the sun on my face. “Forget about real life even if it’s only a weekend?”
He bumped my shoulder with his. “Exactly. Now, will you tell me why you were so serious?”
Should I tell him? I had wanted to talk it through with someone who wouldn’t automatically criticize it. “I’m thinking about entering this contest. My friend is pushing me.”
“What’s it for?”
“You submit a photo and say why the picture is important to you. The winner gets paid to document their travel. The photographs are published in the magazine.”
“That sounds amazing. If you love to travel, that is.”
“I don’t know if I would.” That wasn’t entirely true.
“How do you feel when you think about it?”
“Excited.” It bubbled through me, making it difficult to sit still. My knee bounced.
“I think you have your answer then.”
I tipped my head. “Is it that simple?”
“I know it doesn’t feel that way but if you dig down deep, and you’re honest with yourself, you know the answer. Think about how the decision makes you feel—not how it makes someone else feel.”
I sensed there was more to his words he wasn’t telling me. “Was there someone who told you your dream of being a baseball player was unrealistic?”
His jaw tightened. “You could say that.”
I was at a loss for what to say. I felt bad for asking about something so personal.
Henry stood, gathering his things. “Let’s get going. We have some team-building activities to do after we set up our tents for the night.”
The players groaned.
“Team-building activities?” Colin asked me.
I stood, packing up my trash. “That’s why your coaches scheduled the trip.”
We followed the group out of the canyon on our bikes. During the rest of the ride, I thought about why I loved that lake so much, but I couldn’t come up with something that would work for the contest submission. By the time we got to the spot Henry had picked for the night, my head ached.
Why was self-discovery so difficult? I remembered Colin’s words—I was the one making it that way. The answer was right in front of me. If only I could see it.
CHAPTER 6
COLIN
After dinner, Henry stood to introduce the team-building activities.
My eyes caught Piper’s across the fire. She smiled mischievously, the light from the fire illuminating her face. She was beautiful.
“You might think some of these activities are stupid, but if you could get along, you wouldn’t be here.”
It wasn’t that we weren’t getting along. It was more like we didn’t know each other.
“For the first activity, you’re going to stand on this log here, and line yourselves up by birth month.”
Some of the guys scoffed.
“Without talking,” Henry added.
I raised my brows, knowing that would make it harder. I moved to stand with the other guys on the log.
“You have to line up on the log, communicate with one another without talking, and the trick is you can’t fall off the log. If you step off—you’re out.”
I felt the guys’ demeanor change. It was a challenge, and every one of us was competitive by nature.
After a few minutes of awkward fumbling, most of us figured out it would be easiest to hold up our fingers for our birth month. Rod saw my one finger raised in the air and tried to stand to the right of me. I wanted to ask, dude, what are you doing? How are you born before January? Unless he was thinking of the date instead of the month. But I caught myself before I spoke, glaring at him instead.
“What?” Rod asked when I wouldn’t move to give him room on the other side of me.
I tilted my head to the side, shooting him an exasperated look.
“You’re out. You can’t talk,” Piper said, her tone amused.
“For real?” Rod asked her.
“Yes, for real. What are you, twelve?” Piper teased.
“I can say for real.” Rod went to stand next to Piper.
She laughed. I wanted to be standing next to her. I wanted to be the one to make her laugh. Was I seriously jealous of Rod talking to a woman I’d met yesterday?
One of the guys slapped my shoulder, holding up one finger. I moved over to give him room to stand next to me.
I couldn’t pay attention to what Rod and Piper were doing because we still hadn’t gotten everyone in order. A few more guys were eliminated when they fell off the log, but finally, most of us were lined up in order.
“Done?” Henry checked his phone. “That took ten minutes.”
“We were being timed?” Cal, the pitcher, asked in disbelief.
“Yup.” Henry grinned.
The guys groaned. I knew they were thinking they would have moved faster if they’d known about the timer.
“Next, we’re doing an obstacle course. You’ll partner up with someone, relying on them to take you through the course.”
I wasn’t sure how that was going to bring us closer to each other, or how knowing each other’s birth months would either, but I was willing to try if this was what they thought would help.
We went through the course several times with different partners. I assumed it was so we could get to know different guys. It was a bit awkward at first, especially with guys I didn’t know as well. By the time we’d gone through the course, I felt more comfortable with them.
“I think you should do the course,” Rod said to Piper.
“I’d love to.”
Rod opened his mouth, and I knew he’d offer to be her partner.
“I’ll be your partner.” I moved to stand in front of her so she had no choice but to accept, and no one else would think to argue with me.
“Okay.”
“You want to be the one blindfolded?” I asked.
“Sure.” She sounded uncertain.
“It’s the best part of the experience. You have to trust the person.” My voice lowered.
The guys split up to go through the course again, so no one was watching us.
I wrapped the handkerchief around her eyes, tying it off behind her head. “Do you trust me?”