Friendzoned

Chapter 24

Rae

            I wonder what is taking Ryder so long. I leaned over looking out the window and saw him pacing. His facial expression made it obvious that he was deep in thought about something. What if he is actually mad at me for falling asleep on him and it wasn’t really ok? What if I went too far? He only wants to be friends and I pushed it. I didn’t mean to fall asleep on him though. He must know that. At least I hope he knows that… I can’t have him mad at me if I am going to be spending all summer with him. We just became friends again. I don’t want to ruin it. I guess I will have to start being a little more distant. As long as it makes him comfortable, I’m happy. I really like him and I don’t want it awkward between us.

            The door to the van swung open cutting off my train of thought. It was Ryder. He came in with a huge smile on his face. I could tell it was forced. I smiled back and looked away quickly. He sat down next to me and nudged my arm teasingly. I smiled at him, laughing once before reaching into my bag. I pulled out my phone and pretended to text someone. I had to do something to get my mind off of him. I focused on the random words I was typing in.

            “So who are you texting?” he asked with a sly smile on his face. He knew I wasn’t really texting anyone.

            “Umm… I’m texting my mom to let her know how it’s going.” I lied.

            “Oh ok. Are you sure you’re not just typing random words to help with the awkward silence that was just happening?” he asked. He knew exactly what I was up to.

            “Why would I do that? That’s ridiculous. My mom and I have this way of texting so no one else knows what we are saying.” I said. I have no idea what just came out of my mouth. I just said the first excuse that came into my mind.

            “So sort of like a secret code?” he grinned. I winced at my decision of words.

            “Sort of.” I answered trying to be as small as I could. He left the conversation at that noticing how awkward I felt. Thank god.

            The rest of the drive consisted of awkward small talk between us, listening to music on our own, and sleeping. When the vans parked in the parking lot of the camp grounds, everyone filed out grabbing their bags. It was pretty early in the morning when we got to our destination. There were tables stationed all over with counselors waiting to help people check in. Ryder helped me with my bags and followed me to the nearest table. There were 12 different camp groups. Of course Ryder had to be put in my group. Secretly I was really glad he was, but I didn’t want to feel that way.

After we got our groups, we were pointed towards our counselors. We were instructed to sit and socialize with the people in our group until everyone got checked in. I put my stuff down and sat next to it. Ryder did the same and sighed.

“That was the longest car ride I have ever been in. I’m glad we are finally here.” He stated. I nodded my head in agreement and put my ear buds in. I felt a tug on my left one and turned around to see a very tall, skinny guy who had blonde hair and green eyes. He was actually really attractive. His muscles are at the point where they are barely defined but you could definitely see them. He looked down and smiled at me.

“Hey there!” he said eagerly. “I’m Landon! And you are?”

“Rae.” I replied with a smile.

“Well Rae, how are you doing this fine morning?” he asked. He seemed really sweet and energetic. Although, how he had so much energy so early in the morning was a mystery.