"I'm going first," Jan said, moving to the front of the line. She knelt down, waited to be blindfolded, then dunked down and snared an apple on the first try. Grace and the others cheered and clapped, hoping their turns went as well. "Next."
"Go on, Grace," Latisha said, giving her friend a shove.
"Come on, who's next?" Carey asked.
"I guess I am, ma'am," Grace said, walking over to the bucket and kneeling down.
"Good luck," Carey whispered as she tied the blindfold. "Ready?"
Only three of the six members of Bravo Squad that had gone before her were able to secure apples and Grace felt pressure not to let Alpha Squad get the best of them. When the whistle blew, she dove in head first, careful to keep her arms out of the water per the rules. She tried to sink her teeth into the apple but it moved, forcing her to quickly find another. Come on, come on. Time's running out. She picked her head up, took a deep breath, then plunged in again, not stopping until she had an apple pinned against the bottom of the bucket. Grace bit down, made sure she had a firm grip, then stood up quickly, proudly showing off the apple in her mouth.
"Thanks a lot," Carey said as she wiped the water off her face. Grace let the apple drop into her hand and tried not to smirk as she saw just how much water had been splashed on the instructor. She dared to take a quick glance. Yup, got them too. "Sorry about that, ma'am," she said, not meaning it a bit.
"That's four apples so far for Bravo Squad," Carey said, running her fingers through her short black hair and flicking off the excess water. "Next."
"Great job," Jan said, pulling Grace away from the instructor. "Good job nailing Scary too," she added in a whisper. "You should have seen the look on her face when you came up and soaked her."
Grace now allowed herself to chuckle. "Yeah," she said. "Carey looked like a drowned rat."
"Yeah, you got her good," Jan said. "Hey, it's Mo's turn."
Grace took a bite of her apple, peeking over the top of it to watch Carey bend over and add more apples to the bucket. Nice ass.
"Earth to Grace,"
"Huh, what?"
Jan shook her head. "You spaced out there for a sec."
"Sorry, got lost in thought," Grace said. She turned so she could no longer see Carey. "What'd you say?"
"I said if Mo gets this then we're tied with Alpha Squad." They heard the whistle and saw a soaked and disappointed Mo stand up. "That's it," Jan said. "Rosetti's our last chance to tie." She prodded Grace with her elbow. "Of course if anyone knows about sucking, it'd be her."
"Yeah," Grace said, daring to pivot and gaze at Carey again. Damn, she's nice to look at.
The whistle blew and seconds later Rosetti pulled her head back, proudly displaying a large red apple between her lips. "Told ya," Jan said.
"Uh-huh."
"Now we just have to hope that Charlie and Delta don't get more than five."
"Uh-huh."
"If it's a tie, we'll probably have some kind of sudden death thing."
"Uh-huh."
"Your ass is on fire."
"Uh-huh."
Jan nudged her hard. "What are you looking at?"
"What? Oh, nothing." She put her back to Carey. "Yeah, we're tied with Alpha Squad."
"Did you get water in your ears or something?" Jan asked. "If you did, I think it leaked into your brain."
“It's the heat," Grace said, wiping her brow for emphasis. Yeah, it's heat all right. “Maybe they'll let us take the shortcut to the lake and go swimming." That thought generated more images of Carey soaking wet, only adding to the emotions heightened by teenage hormones. I hope she's working the late tour tonight. I need some time alone.
"Maybe they will," Jan said, oblivious to her friend's plight. "I love playing Tarzan with that rope."
"You love hitting the water like a cannonball and splashing everybody," Grace said, tossing her apple core in the nearby trash can.
"Not everybody," Jan said. "I didn't mean to soak Viking. She took that chance when she decided to sun herself on that rock."
"You're the one that had to do the pushups," Grace pointed out. ''Not her." They bantered back and forth until Delta Squad managed to pull seven apples from the bucket, winning the event. Then it was time to line up for the next activity, which, much to Grace's joy, was a trip to the lake. She began heading up the hill with the others when a firm voice made her stop.
"Waters, ten hut."
Grace stood still, watching the other girls walking past her, curious looks on their faces. What did I do? she wondered while waiting nervously for Carey to reach her.
"Did I tell you earlier that I would get my revenge later?" the instructor said from just behind her. "Guess what?" Grace felt the neck of her shirt being pulled back. "It's later." An extremely cold water balloon slid between her shirt and skin.
"Oh! Oh that's cold," she yelped but before she could pull her shirt free from her shorts, a well-aimed smack caused the balloon to burst. "Hey!"
"Watch your mouth," Carey warned through her laughter as Grace danced around in a futile attempt to escape the cold water. "Pretty cold, hmm?"
Grace glared at her and pulled her shirt free, wringing as much water as she could. "Yes, ma'am."
“It should be," Carey said as they continued up the hill. "I put it in the freezer to help get just the right chill."
"That is so mean, ma'am."
"And you absolutely deserve it," Carey said. "Don't forget who soaked whom in the apple-dunking contest."
Grace grinned broadly. "I got you good too, but it was an accident, ma'am."
"It may have been an accident but I saw the look on your face when you realized what happened." They crested the hill, meeting the main- trail near the three-mile marker. "Besides, you look like you needed cooling off."
"But we're going to the lake," Grace said. "Ma'am."
"I don't think the lake is as cold as that water balloon," Carey said. "And it was much more satisfying than tossing you in the lake would have been."
Carey had been right about the lake. Except in the shadiest of places, the water was warm from the sun. Grace chose to head for a shady area away from the noise and splashing of others. There, floating on her back with her eyes closed, Grace allowed the gently rocking water to lull her into a light doze. She had no idea how much time passed as she enjoyed the lazy summer day, and would have basked longer under the warm summer sun if a sudden splash of water had not woken her up. Opening her eyes, she found herself face to face with a grinning Carey. "This isn't nap time, Grace."
After a quick look to make sure no one was watching, the teen returned a splash to Carey. "Sure felt like it. I was dozing nicely until someone decided to bother me." She tapped her chin with her finger. "Gee, I wonder who that could be."
“You looked so peaceful," Carey said as she treaded water. "Besides, you were starting to float away and I didn't want you to wake up on the north end of the lake and have to swim back."
Grace looked around, surprised by how far she had drifted from where she first closed her eyes. "Must have been the Z-burger at lunch."
Carey pointed toward the shore and the two began swimming. "I'd buy that if you actually had a Z-burger for lunch, but I saw you inhale three hot dogs, not to mention several handfuls of potato chips. I'm surprised you didn't sink to the bottom."
"I'm a growing teenager," Grace said. "I've probably burned all that off by now."
“You think so?" Carey paused long enough to send a friendly splash Grace's way. "Try eating like that when you're twenty. It'll go right to your hips."
Putting a little more distance between them, Grace readied herself. "Oh, is that what happened to you?"
"What? Why you little..." Carey pounced, catching the backpedaling teen easily.