Beyond Denver

Chapter 41

After breakfast, we all head to the office to get the stubing's wristbands and wait for the bus to take us to the Sugar River. Meggie barely acknowledges me when she shows up holding hands with Mike and enters the bus. What the heck do I see it? Am I delusional or what?

"Unbelievable," Scarlet sighs as we are in the line to get wristbands, "Doesn't she realize this guy is using her?"

Next, I see Aaron carries the cooler with Dan into the bus, the boy with spike hair who drinks vodka straight from the bottle. I grab another cup of coffee. "Don't drink this shit," Scarlet warns. "We'll be hours in the river. Where are you going to poop?"

"Does coffee make you poop?"

"You didn't know that?"

I change my mind about coffee, and as I'm about to enter the bus, I feel a pair of hands on my shoulder. I turn around to see Denver behind me.

"Denver?"

"Who else that could be?" he asks me.

He is wearing a pair of swimming shorts that suit well with him.

"I'm happy to see you here," he says, his eyes boring into mine.

"Let's go," Scarlet says, "Otherwise, we'll lose the bus."

Denver and I follow Scarlet. She heads to the back. Meggie is sitting in the middle row of the bus with Mike, her head resting over his shoulder. Her eyes are closed, and I know she is pretending, so she doesn't have to talk to me or explain anything. Mike pats her head as his eyes give me an intense glare as if he is trying to prove me something.

Scarlet sits with Danika as Aaron sits behind the Russian girl. Everyone stares at me when they see me walking with Denver. I sit opposite side of Danika and Scarlet, without noticing Suzan is there. Before Denver sits, she stands on her feet to hug him. Her body is slim, and she takes advantage of that to throw herself on him even more.

***

Despite the sun out in the sky, Aaron keeps reminding everyone about the big storm coming. Suzan keeps talking to Denver as I look outside the window.

"Let me check your Grupo camera, Dan," her hands are already in his camera. I hear them talking as I look at my phone, a message from Maroney wishing me to have fun at the river. Maroney.

"Are you going to tell me what happened between you and Meggie?" Denver turns his eyes at me after he is done with Suzan. His voice is low, but yet I don't want to talk about this now.

I wonder whether Meggie told people about my conversation with her. What I told about Mike did to me.

"Look, I don't know any of the details about it. We can talk about this another time." I am glad Denver has some common sense.

***

People tight the tubes together with strings. The beer coolers are in the water floating as everyone gets their drinks right away. Amaya and Luna arrive just in time as they didn't go camping. They drove to a small town named Paoli, where the tubing is supposed to begin.

I'm not surprised when Denver places his tube next to mine. Meggie sits on the other side with Mike, still refusing to look in my direction.

It is eleven in the morning, and the sun is out in the sky with full force. There are tons of groups of people tubing in the river, doing the same activity. Most of them are loud, drunk, and carry a stereo that blaring techno songs. Our tubing slowly starts flowing down the river as someone throws a beer can look at Denver, which he grabs and opens it. He offers me, but I shake my head.