I’ve successfully avoided Raiden since we got off the plane. I’ve caught glimpses of him here and there, but I’d be a liar if I said my heart didn’t do a double backflip and start racing like I’m the track and field star, not Raiden.
After lunch, I cut past the cabin I’m sharing with Bonnie and her daughter. She asked for us to be placed together, so I didn’t have to bunk in with a whole bunch of other people from work. I know everyone, but I’m quite shy, and sharing personal space with people I don’t hang out with outside of work and don’t even know more than as a passing acquaintance kind of freaks me out. Bonnie’s daughter, Jenna, is twelve. She’s really enjoying the kid’s camp so far, and she talks endlessly about it every single night.
I head straight for the trails leading into the woods behind the row of cabins. Everyone else seems to be hitting the lakefront and the boats, but I’d like some quiet time to think. Mostly, I just need to mentally prepare myself for lunch tomorrow with Raiden and his mom. I wish I could just get my body in agreement to dislike him as that would make everything much easier.
Of course, just as I get to the trailhead that leads into the woods, Raiden appears like a ghostly apparition that is, unfortunately, mostly flesh and far too handsome. I’ve never seen adult Raiden in khaki hued shorts before. He’s also rocking a tight white t-shirt with palm trees on it and a set of black slides. Who wears slides anyway?
“Hey.” Raiden appears all casual like he didn’t just follow me here.
“Um. Hi. I’m going for a walk…”
“I see that. Can I join you?”
“No. Obviously not.”
“Can I trail behind you, pretending like I’m not following you while, of course, you know I’m there the whole time?”
“No!”
“I’ll just walk in front of you then. I won’t bother you. You won’t even see me if you give me a five-minute head start.”
“No!”
“You don’t own the woods.” He waves at me, so obnoxious that I want to scream. I’m pretty sure this breaks every single kind of rule about not being a huge meathead douchebag, but he’s right. There isn’t anything I can do to stop him. “But this is the start of all the trails. Don’t worry. It branches off. We probably won’t even see each other along the way.”
“Great. Go ahead of me. Maybe the cougars and bears will eat you and not me then.”
Raiden grins, nonplussed by the daunting wildlife probably camping out in there.
“Spiders and snakes too,” I add.
“I’ll be sure to scream if I see anything so you can run for it. That way, if they get me, you can tell the whole world how I thoughtfully and selflessly sacrificed myself for you.”
“Ugh. Do you ever shut up?” I rock back on my heels. I’m wearing runners that I purchased just for this trip. I was ready to do some serious walking and thinking, and now Raiden’s messed all that up. Kind of like how he’s been messing with my mind since the takeover.
Every time I think I’m prepared to encounter him, he proves me wrong.
Kind of like now. My palms are soaking wet, my heart is about to slam its way out of my chest and go running down the trail I’m debating about not even taking, and my va-jay is more enthusiastic than she has been in years. Or maybe ever. I’m starting to think parts of me are broken, meaning the lady parts, my hormonal parts. And whatever parts in my brain responsible for getting my wires crossed and awakening some very unwanted sensations that I can’t seem to control or stop.
I think going to the cabin, plugging my headphones into my phone, and putting on some classical music would help me relax, and that way, I wouldn’t have to deal with Raiden. I could lock him out of the cabin.
But I can’t lock him out of my head.
Freaking potato.
“There’s a team-building exercise in two days.”
“I know,” I snap too quickly. My voice is so shrill that it scares a black-looking bird out of a tree further up the trail.
“They’re doing a fishing derby.”
“I know.”
“You’re going to be paired up with me.”
“Great!” I stomp my foot to work out some of my building frustration—frustration that’s all bad but not all anger based. Now I’m thinking about all the ways I could be paired up with Raiden, and some are pretty imaginative. So yes, it makes me very frustrated. I’m also getting pissed because I just want to go for a walk without him.
Or maybe I don’t want that at all—not really—which is also very frustrating.
Maybe it would be easier to say that everything to do with Raiden is just extremely aggravating.
“I’ll prepare myself to lose. If I were paired up with someone other than you, I think I’d have a chance.”
“Ouch.” Raiden slams his hand over his chest. “Right here, Zoey Zo Zo. You got me right here.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“The guides will do all the work. They’ll teach us everything we need to know and put us right on the fish, and they’ll also supply all the gear.”
“Maybe I won’t give them my information for the fishing clearance tomorrow. Then I don’t have to take part.”
“You can still come on the boat ride either way.”
“You know,
