Chapter 3: A Bittersweet Reunion

Well, after that day on the river, I couldn't help but fantasize about the gorgeous river guide. A few times in class that fall, I found myself daydreaming about getting married and and having cute little babies with him. Having family picnics with a red and white checked blanket, lemonade, and mini sandwiches cut into triangles. Then I blinked, only to find myself back in English class. Very disappointing to say the least. As the year snailed on, I got lost in the stresses of school and oppressive boyfriends. Finally the month of May rolled along, and I was visiting the doctor for some old volleyball injuries. After the checkup he told me about a job that I might be interested in. He handed me a pamphlet for a river rafting company and told me to call and apply. Well, it turns out I got the job without even so much as a "What is your name?" I showed up for the first day and met some of the guides I would be working with. There was Darron, the owner of the company, Myron, Darron's little brother, and Justin.. It didn't take me more than a second or two to recognize him this time. It was the shorter guide that took my team out the previous summer. Oddly enough, this was the very same rafting company that the hot guy in the yellow shirt worked for! I was more than excited when I realized this. But my excitement was promptly extinguished when Justin told me that he was still up at school and probably not going to be working this summer. So a month passed and it was June now. One particularly horrible day, I got a ride with another guide, Jimmy, to the river for some work. I was feeling pretty sick, I had a headache and I was trying to ditch my recently dumped boyfriend. I suppose I shouldn't leave out the fact that I looked like a homeless hitchhiker, so you can imagine how horrified I was when we pulled up only to see the one guy I had been dying to see all year.. There he was. His tall toned body, white bandanna, unforgettable smile, amazing blue eyes. Every ounce of me wanted nothing else but to stay in that car, out of sight. I couldn't let him see me looking like that! After a minute, I found myself slipping out of the car, with my eyes to the ground, hoping that this would somehow keep him from noticing me... I had avoided him successfully for about 2 minutes, and then I heard, "Hey!! I remember you!" I looked up and saw him beaming at me. All I decided to say was "Ya.." I managed a slight smile. I didn't talk to him at all the rest of the day. As you might expect though, I definitely put in twice the effort to look my best after this... TO BE CONTINUED!