Bros List (Sample - Full Version on Amazon)

Chapter 5 - Trinity

Chapter 5 – Trinity

“I know you want to tell me where we’re going,” Trinity said playfully. She held on tightly to her boyfriend’s arm. It felt good to be so close to him after several days away.

Nate shook his head. “Not a chance,” he said. “You need to work on your patience.”

“Of the two of us I hardly think I am the one who needs to work on patience,” Trinity said.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Nate asked. “Name one time I’ve been impatient for something.”

“How about every time we get into my bedroom alone?”

“That doesn’t could,” Nate said. “No one could be patient to make love to a girl as beautiful as you.”

Trinity laughed. She was just teasing Nate; she really didn’t care where they went as long as they were together. She loved Nate. Of course he was incredibly handsome, but he also had a good and generous heart. She knew that he was her soul mate and she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him and, though she wouldn’t scare him away by bringing it up quite yet, one day raise a family with him. She imagined them 50 years down the road as a cute old couple walking down the street just like they were now.

Thank goodness they had found a moment to be alone. Trinity didn’t want to take her hands off of Nate and that would have been awkward with Bryson around. She thought it had ended up turning out quite well for all parties involved. She and Nate got to be together and she could tell from the look in her brother’s eye that he was not at all upset at having to spend a couple hours watching David and Justin wrestle. Liam, Bryson’s ex, had recently broken up with him and Trinity was pleased to see Bryson crushing on someone new. She knew Bryson had always found the Caldwell / Reagan boys attractive – like every other girl and gay guy who laid eyes on them – but they were straight and too linked to Trinity for that to be anything but a passing fancy. Perhaps Justin would turn out to be gay. He was a total babe. If not, at least Bryson was moving on and getting to enjoy some eye candy. Losing Liam had been enough of a shock and then with the change in schools Bryson had become very depressed. Her brother deserved to be happy and there was no good reason why he shouldn’t be. In addition to being a great guy, he was extremely good-looking. An awful lot of girls at Lakeville had been devastated when they learned about his sexual orientation.

“You know the river is down this way, right?” Trinity said as they continued walking down the embankment of one of the U’s parks. “I hope your surprise is within the next 100 yards or so or we’re going to have to go back up and cross at the bridge.

Nate shook his head. “Oh ye of little faith,” he said. “Look yonder at that sprightly lad who is waiting with our method of conveyance upon… okay, I’ve ran out of old talk. We’re getting across the river in that canoe.”

Trinity spotted Oliver standing beside a canoe which he had pulled up onto the shore.

“Oh Nate, that’s so romantic!” Trinity cried. She couldn’t believe he went to tall the trouble to get a canoe for her! Wait, where had he gotten the canoe? “Whose canoe is that?” she asked.

“I stole it from the U’s canoe and kayak club,” Nate said.

Trinity laughed. Nate didn’t. “Wait, Nate, you’re not serious, are you?” she asked, horrified.

“We’ll bring it back afterwards,” Nate said. He must have correctly predicted the lecture she was preparing to give him because he quickly added, “Don’t worry. Oliver helped me so if they had seen us we could have split up and there would only be a 50% chance that either one of us would get caught. Less, actually. We’re both pretty fast runners.”

“I can’t believe you involved your little brother in your larceny,” Trinity said. She let go of Nate and hugged Oliver to her protectively.

“He’s fine,” Nate said dismissively. “If you keep hugging him like that he’ll be even more than fine.”

“Stop it, Nate,” Trinity said but she let Oliver go. The boy was beaming. “Oliver, how long has your big bully of an older brother been making you stand out here?”

Oliver shrugged. “Not too long,” he said. “I really don’t mind.”

“See? There you have it,” Nate said. “He’s fine. Let’s get back to the part about how romantic I am.”

Oliver held the canoe while Nate and Trinity got in. Trinity sat in front while Nate sat in back.

“Wait, is Oliver not coming?” Trinity asked.

“Not if he knows what’s good for him,” Nate said.

“Nate, you can’t just leave him here to wait for us with nothing to do.”

“He’s got plenty to do,” Nate replied. “Oliver, go find a group of college kids playing disc and join in. It’s college. They won’t even know they don’t know you. Extra points if you find a group of girls.”

“Sure,” Oliver said happily. “I’ll come back every once and a while to see if you’ve returned.”

He reminded Trinity of a little puppy who was being rewarded by his owner. The way Oliver looked up to the older boys always tugged at her heart strings. He idolized them. It was so cute. At least, it was when they weren’t taking advantage of him.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Trinity said when Oliver left.

“That’s what little brothers are for,” Nate said. “Now stop talking about Oliver and concentrate on me.”

They paddled across the river. The current wasn’t very strong at that time of year. They drifted peacefully. Trinity scanned the opposite bank, wondering where Nate would steer the canoe. It seemed completely covered by trees that were bent low by multi-colored autumn leaves so that the branches dipped into the water. Trinity couldn’t spot any openings in the tree cover.

They headed towards a large oak tree that had fallen over slightly so that it was hanging out over the river. The roots of the tree clung valiantly to the bank. “Paddle harder and watch your head,” Nate said.

Trinity did as she was told. After a few strokes Nate said, “That’s good.” She let up and the canoe glided under the leaves of the tree.

Trinity was surprised when the canoe slid to a sudden stop before reaching the bank. She looked down and saw that they had run up on a hidden sand bar. The sand bar was actually relatively high and stretched for a ways underneath the trees. Trinity looked up and saw the sunlight streaming through the beautiful yellow and red leaves. It was like being surrounded by a stained glass window.

Nate had found them a private beach that Mother Nature herself was shielding from view with one of her finest displays of artwork.

“Nathan Calvin Caldwell, how did you find this spot?” Trinity asked in wonderment.

“I knew approximately what I was looking for so I woke up at 4 AM this morning and ran along the river bank,” Nate said. “I looked until my 8 AM class and then came back after lunch. I was just about to give up when I found it. You can get out and step on the sand bar. I tried it out. You won’t sink.”

Nate got out to demonstrate. He held his hand for her and helped her out of the canoe.

“Nate, this is amazing,” Trinity said. He was the sweetest boy in the world to do this for her.

Nate reached back into the canoe and pulled out a folded up blanket that Trinity hadn’t noticed before. He spread it out on the sand. They sat down and Nate put his arms around her.

“You’re the amazing one,” he said. “I’m just trying to make sure you don’t realize that you’re too good for me.”

“I love you,” she said. She rested her head against his firm chest and they watched the little ripples of water that glided through the golden foliage.

They didn’t need to speak any more. It was enough for them to be together and to draw love and inspiration from each other’s company.