Sunday

by Tori Lee

  Sunday

  Chapter Seven of the Lemons for the Week series

  Written by:

  Tori Lee

  A Dark Lotus Collective Work

  Sunday

  “Hey, are you okay?”

  Eve looked up wide-eyed. Camping had never been her thing; nature had never been her thing and going to trail walks had also never been her thing. As proven today when her camping group went for a hike and she’d nearly just died. She wasn’t clumsy per se, just that she lacked the balance and finesse that her other companions seemed to naturally have in an outdoor environment. Give her some heels and a business suit or skirt and she could run circles around these people laughing. But throw her in a set of hiking boots and ask her to walk along a narrow pathway by a gorge and that was asking for trouble.

  “Yeah I – I’m okay, thanks,” Eve felt the tight grip on her arm loosen. The very same grip that had just saved her life and prevented her from becoming a very broken and very messy egg at the bottom of the large gorge. “Sorry – I must have lost my footing.”

  “The ground gave out under your boot – it’s because of the rain,” Jake said as he smiled at her, his warm voice was soothing and it helped to ease her rapidly beating heart. “I told Julia that we shouldn’t have taken this path but she’s pretty determined to get to the top of the ridge today.”

  “Well that’s just Julia,” Eve said as she accepted Jake’s hand and he pulled her from the ground and stepped away from him to gain more distance. “She tends to get that way when she has an idea in her head.”

  And that’s not the only idea she has in her head, Eve thought sarcastically as she thanked Jake. Julia, her best friend, had asked her to come on this extended weekend camping trip weeks ago. Eve had refused at first – sighting work and her boyfriend as being too important and too busy. However, circumstances changed two weeks ago when she’d broken up with her boyfriend and was required by her office to use up some of her extensive vacation time.

  It wasn’t her fault that it had accumulated to such a large quantity – she worked a lot and rarely took time off because her office was busy and they asked her to work extended hours. It seemed a bit hypocritical to Eve that the office would demand so much from her and then turn around and get all ‘pissy’ about her having ‘too much vacation time banked’. She was more than happy to take time off; they’d just never approved her for more than a few days at a time in the past.

  But that was neither here nor there.

  The real problem was that Julia, after finding out that Eve had broken up with her boyfriend, had invited Jake.

  Jake.

  The tall, handsome, fit, tanned, gorgeous man with a smooth deep voice.

  It wasn’t like Eve had any issues with the guy, he actually seemed really nice. Her issue was with Julia – and how Julia seemed determined to get them together. Like this entire stupid camping trip was some ‘love experiment’ that she had cooked up with her husband Rob. When Julia had told Eve that she was inviting a friend to come along so that she wouldn’t be a third wheel she had assumed that Julia meant her female friend Alice.

  Clearly, she’d been wrong.

  Which is no matter, Eve thought as she started walking along the small pathway once more, this time walking in front of Jake. She was determined to have fun just the same.

  When they finally made it to the top of the ridge Eve thought that her legs might very well be dead – or at least dying. They burned and screamed at her to stop, but she refused to appear weak before the others and so she made her way to the look-out point and stood next to Julia.

  “See – I told you this would be worth it!” Julia turned to her with a look of excitement on her face. “Look at that view! It’s beautiful!”

  “It’s certainly something,” Eve said quietly looking out over the railing to the gorge below and the trees beyond that. She wasn’t sure that beautiful was a strong enough word to describe it. Surely there was a better term in the dictionary than that. Perhaps marvelous, or spectacular, or breathtaking, or maybe even jaw-droppingly extraordinary. Somehow beautiful just felt too mundane of a description.

  “So… what do you think of Jake?” Julia leaned towards her and dropped her voice. “Is he something too?”

  Eve frowned and refused to take her eyes away from the incredible sight before her to look at her friend. “He’s very nice.”

  “Nice?” Julia’s voice deadpanned and Eve sighed, forcing her eyes away from the view and turning to look at her as she spoke. “Really Eve – that’s the only thing that you think of him? Nice? He’s an incredible guy and you’re not even giving him a chance. You two have hardly even spoken since we got here Friday.”

  “Julia,” Eve sighed. “I told you before we came on this trip that I wasn’t looking for another relationship or to hook-up with anyone. Look – Jake is great, he’s really nice, he’s obviously hot – and he just saved my damn life – but nothing is going to happen on this camping trip. Besides – you told me he just got out of a serious relationship.”

  “Yeah a crappy one like yours,” Julia muttered. “You two deserve a good time – I think you would both be really good for each other.”

  “Can we not just have a nice time here?” Eve almost pleaded. “Look – I just want to escape a little, go on these hikes, swim – whatever the hell it is that you do on these camping trips. Can we not just do that? Don’t ruin your own trip because you spend all your time trying to orchestrate something between us – let’s just camp, okay?”

  “Okay fine,” Julia rolled her eyes and gave her a look. “But you’re passing up on a good opportunity.”

  She pushed off from the railing and made her way over to her husband who was currently taking pictures of the view with Jake. Eve’s nose crinkled. That was such a Julia thing to say – to describe a person as an opportunity. She just hoped that her friend had not told Jake that she was looking to hook-up. The last thing that she wanted was for this poor guy to be thinking that he was going to get some or that she was pathetic and needed her friends to set her up on a blind date.

  She sighed and leaned back on the rail, her eyes darting across the scenery once more and feeling a deep calm radiate through her chest. Maybe this was why people camped – maybe it was the connection with nature or the quiet in such a large open space that made one feel at peace. Either way, regardless of the whole Jake thing, she was glad that she came.

  “So… how are your legs holding up?” Jake’s deep voice sounded to her left as he came to stand beside her. He’d been talking with Rob but had awkwardly wandered Eve’s way once Julia had attached herself to Rob’s side. Eve knew that her friend was hoping he would do that, even despite their exchange Julia would continue to push her agenda.

  “They’re alright,” Eve laughed. “Sore – but I’ll manage.”

  “Well that’s good,” he smiled at her a bit stiffly before looking out over the gorge. “I think Julia sometimes forgets that not everyone regularly hikes kilometers on end. You’ve done a good job at keeping up.”

  “Except for the almost dying part,” Eve snorted.

  “Yeah except for that – but even then, it wasn’t so bad.”

  “Do you normally go hiking?” Eve asked, trying to be polite.

  “Not as often as I would like but I try to get out when I can,” he said lightly. “How about you?”

  “Nope, not at all.”

  “Really? Never?”

  “No.”

  “So, this is your first trail?”

  “Yeah,” Eve laughed nervously, turning to look at him. This was the most words they’d exchanged on the trip. “I would have thought that would have been obvious.”

  “No – I mean, Julia did say that you didn’t really go camping but I didn’t realize that
you’ve never hiked at all. I just thought that you didn’t hike often,” Jake looked to her with an odd expression. “Shit – well she really picked a bitch of a trail for your first hike.”

  “Oh really?” Eve raised a brow at him in surprise. “I thought it was just me struggling – you know, having never done this – ever.”

  “No,” he laughed and shook his head. “It’s not just you. This is a tough trail – you did really well, especially if this is your first hike.”

  “Thanks,” she felt her lips curl into a shy smile and she turned back out to look at the gorge. It was hard not to want to get to know him, it was hard to keep distance between them. In a way, she wished that Julia hadn’t said anything about trying to set them up – otherwise she might genuinely have pursued something. Now though, she almost felt obligated to fight the attraction she felt towards him just to prove her point to Julia.

  “The descent is easier,” he said as he leaned fully on the rail next to her. “And canoeing tomorrow will be way more relaxing.”

  “I’ve never been canoeing either,” the words came easily from Eve’s mouth and a small part of her brain wondered why she’d volunteered the personal information to the man. It went against her plan.

  “Julia really threw you into this didn’t she?” he asked.

  “Yeah, sort of – I agreed to come though. Thought it would be nice to try something different.”

  “Not really the outdoors type?” he asked slowly. She could tell he was looking at her and it made her skin prickle.

  “Not really – but not because I don’t want to be,” Eve said quietly, her eyes moving from the scene before her to the man at her side once more. He looked interested and so she decided to elaborate. “I don’t hate nature or being outside – it’s not like I’m the type of person that requires a five-star hotel I just never really had much exposure to this. I grew up in a large city and I work too much as an adult. It’s not that I don’t take vacations outside I just don’t take vacations at all.”

  “Do you like your job?”

  The question surprised her, and so did the sincere expression on his face as he spoke. It didn’t feel like he was trying anything or working a secret agenda with Julia. He just seemed curious and she found herself thinking on a response before she answered slowly.

  “For the most part.”

  “Then that’s not the worst thing in the world,” he smiled at her. “If you hated what you did and never took a vacation that would be awful. But if you don’t mind what you do it’s not quite as bad – though it’s nice that you got some time off. I always find that coming out here helps make my vacation feel more like a break – it gets me away from environments similar to my job. It always feels more like I took time off after coming back from camping.”

  “Yeah,” she smiled at him again. “I can see what you mean – you can actually breathe out here.”

  “Exactly.”

  Eve felt a strange pull in her chest as they looked at each other. He had kind eyes, yet she got the bizarre feeling that he was holding back in his interactions with her just as she was. Both of them were being polite, the exchanges were cordial – but something about it felt reserved, almost tight. As if they were both restraining themselves. It was a strange feeling that only grew heavier as they both continued to stare at one another in curious silence.

  “Hey! Are you guys ready to head back?!” Julia called to them, breaking the strange silence that had grown between them with a hammer.

  Eve cleared her throat and pushed away from the railing as Jake turned back to her friend.

  “Yeah – coming!” Eve yelled moving with Jake towards her friends. She looked to him and caught his eye once more, a shy smile curling on her lips. “I’ll try not to die this time – I promise.”

  ⁂

  Eve made her way back to the campsite, running her towel through her damp hair as she walked. It had taken them the entire day to complete the trail from start to finish and after eating a quick dinner she’d made her way to the small shower complex near their campground. It wasn’t much to write home about, but at least the water was clean and lukewarm. She felt refreshed, her muscles were still sore but at least she wasn’t covered in a layer of sweat and grime anymore.

  It was already getting dark and as she turned down their row and strolled up to the campsite, she saw that a fire was already burning. Jake was tending to it and it seemed like Julia and Rob had yet to return from their trip to the showers. Which she had no doubt in her mind was by design and not at all by coincidence.

  “Hey,” Eve said to him as she approached. She felt a bit awkward about being alone with Jake. She knew that she should socialize with him better than she currently was, but she wasn’t really sure what to say. She didn’t want to accidentally flirt with him or give the wrong impression.

  “Hey,” he said quietly. He nodded his head towards one of the empty chairs and gave her an awkward smile in the dim evening light. “I saved you a chair.”

  Eve smiled and bit her lip, a small chuckle escaping her as she threw her wet towel over the line they’d set up near the tents.

  “Thank you – I’m not sure I would have gotten one otherwise, it’s pretty crowded here,” she said awkwardly, tossing her small bag with her toiletries into her tent before turning back to him. She’d never been good at small talk and she wasn’t always the best at being funny either.

  “No problem,” his smile softened. “Julia insisted that we do this right and has brought a giant bag of marshmallows.”

  “Ah, but of course,” Eve took a seat in a chair by the fire. “She’s pretty big on doing things right. I’m not really a marshmallow fan though.”

  “Me either,” he finished placing the last log on the fire. “You uh – want a drink? Rob packed up the cooler with a collection of different things.”

  “Sure – surprise me.”

  Jake moved to the cooler and rummaged around returning a moment later with a can of something premixed.

  “Thanks,” Eve took the drink from him and tried to ignore the way that their fingers brushed when he passed her the can.

  “No problem,” he took a seat next to her and opened his own drink. A long silence carried between them until he spoke again. “So, you can swim right?”

  “Swim? Yeah – I can swim.”

  “Alright,” he grinned at her shyly. “Just wanted to make sure I don’t need to save your life tomorrow if you fall out of the canoe.”

  Eve snorted and took a drink. “You know, I’m not completely incompetent. Swimming is one of the few things I happen to be better at than Julia.”

  “Really?” Jake turned to her, interest glinting in his eyes with the firelight.

  “Really – I used to swim on the varsity team in college. It’s been a while now since the last time I swam but it’s not something that you forget how to do.”

  “That’s true,” he breathed taking a sip of his beer before silence fell between them once more.

  Eve could feel the heat of the fire as it crackled before them, warming her legs and adding a strange sort of calm to the air as she glanced towards him from the corner of her eye. Julia wasn’t wrong. Jake was great and it almost pained her that she was being so moderately social with him – maybe she should be a little more friendly. It wasn’t like she didn’t want to be nice to the guy or make a new friend – she just didn’t want to give the wrong idea about her intentions.

  “So – do you normally go camping with Julia and Rob?” Eve asked, trying to be a little more open with her conversation while tackling a question that had been burning in her mind.

  “I used to – but I was uh – sort of dragged along on this one,” he gave her a sheepish smile. “They seemed to think it would be good for me to get out.”

  “Ahh,” Eve said with understanding as she gave him a genuine smile and shook her head. Perhaps her concerns were unwarranted, maybe they were both on the same page with this one. “I have a funny feeling our
stories are similar.”

  “Break-up?” he asked bluntly, though his voice was soft.

  “Yeah.”

  “Yeah me too – Rob all but dragged me out of my house to get me here. It’s not that I didn’t want to go camping and please don’t take this the wrong way but – ever since Julia and Rob set-up two of their friends they seem to want to constantly play matchmaker.”

  Eve laughed outright, she knew all about Leah and David and how Julia seemed to think that she was some sort of qualified matchmaker after their blind date had turned into a successful relationship.

  “Oh I know all about them – believe me – ugh I’m actually really glad you said something, they all but dragged me here too and this is probably too blunt but – I’m really not looking for anything.”

  “Right there with you,” he smiled at her genuinely, it was wide and open and brilliant. “I just wanted to get out of the house – Eve you seem like a really great person but uh – I really don’t want a random hook-up that’s been orchestrated by my friends.”

  “Oh thank god,” Eve grinned widely at him, feeling her heart ease and her shoulders relax. “I’ve been trying to be so careful these past two days – I didn’t want to come off as rude, but I also didn’t want to lead you on or have any sort of misunderstanding. This makes things so much easier.”

  “No kidding,” he breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back further into his chair. He seemed to be experiencing the same calm comfort that was running through her body now that everything was out in the open and their intentions were clear. “I’ve been struggling to balance it – I didn’t know where you stood on this or what Julia had told you and I didn’t want to be a dick or be too friendly. Fuck – it’s so hard to gauge sometimes. I was in a relationship for five years; I don’t know how to be single or interact with women.”

  “Right?!” Eve said almost excitedly. “I just got out of a six-year relationship – like where do you even go from that? I barely know how to be myself let alone interact with other single people.”