CHAPTER SIX JUNE 10, 2020   Karter cracked open his eyes as bright sunlight filtered through the windows and he rolled around in his bed, wishing he could sleep in just a bit longer. During the night, his sleep had been fitful since part of him had been hyper aware of sharing the room with now two ually active couples. He was used to hearing strange noises from Lani’s room whenever Rowan had stayed over at their apartment during the school year, so he had already mentally prepared himself for that when the group had decided how to divide the rooms the previous day.   However, he hadn’t expected Ripley and Jeremy to take over the room in a haze of lust after the chaotic game of King’s Cup. And Karter very much wished he could erase certain images from his brain after accidentally walking in on the young couple when all he had wanted was to grab his toothbrush from his duffel bag.   As such, Karter had barely been able to sleep a wink, in case either of the couples in the room had decided to act on their hormones in the middle of the night. Luckily, the night had passed quietly, save for soft snores and light breathing as they all slept, which he greatly appreciated for his own sanity.   The others soon began to stir after their alarms rang, Lani being the first to climb out of bed and head into the bathroom to wash up. Karter reached for his phone, which was next to his pillow after he had fallen asleep while checking his text messages, and unlocked the device.   And then his heart stopped when his eyes locked onto the most recent unread text message at the top of the screen.   It was from Ariadna.   His mouth grew dry like the deserts they had visited throughout the road trip as his heartbeat resumed, now speeding like a racecar on a Formula One Grand Prix track. His thumb shook slightly with anticipation as he clicked on the message thread and read the short text she had sent him an hour ago. His brain seemed to short-circuit as he soaked in her words, soaked in this precious moment of finally hearing from Ariadna again after weeks and weeks of painful silence.   She wanted to see him again.   She wanted to talk to him again.   She missed him.   She wanted him.   Karter felt like breaking out into song and dance right then and there on the top single bunk.   Not wanting to keep Ariadna waiting for too long, Karter’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he composed his response. Nothing too long since he didn’t want to come off as desperate, but nothing too short either since he didn’t want to come off as uncaring.   Because he cared. A lot.   Seeing Ariadna in Las Vegas on his birthday had solidified that sentiment.   Karter was going to do whatever he could to make it work between them. He was done floating in this weird space of in between and uncertainty. If Ripley and Jeremy could take things to the next level, so could he and Ariadna.   Soon after he sent his text message, the icon with three dots appeared at the bottom of the screen, signaling that she was typing a response. Karter held his breath as he waited and watched. Time seemed to drag on for eternity as the three dots continuously rippled in the bottom left corner of his phone screen. When they disappeared for a moment without being replaced by a message, Karter’s heart almost stopped again as he clutched the electronic device tightly and held it up to his face. They reappeared shortly after, to his relief, and rippled some more as if to .   God, it was too early in the morning for such a wild roller coaster of emotions. He wasn’t going to make it through today if this continued.   Just as he was about to go cross-eyed from staring unblinkingly at the three dots, a new message from Ariadna appeared in their place and Karter hungrily read the text. By the end, he realized his jaw was aching and he reached up to feel his face, wondering why it was so sore.   And he discovered that his mouth was turned up into a wide smile that had clearly been there ever since he had read the first text from Ariadna.   Chuckling softly to himself after realizing that he had been smiling unconsciously at his phone for such a long time, Karter texted Ariadna again, injecting some flirtatious attitude into his words. Thus began a steady back-and-forth between the two and Karter’s mind soon floated up to the clouds, filled with so much delight and cheer.   He was never going to let Ariadna slip through his fingertips ever again.   Jeremy suddenly called Karter down from the top bunk, saying it was his turn to wash up and pack before they joined the others for breakfast. The male Hong Konger reluctantly locked his phone after telling Ariadna he would be busy for a while and climbed down the bunk ladder. Bringing a change of clothes with him into the bathroom, Karter brushed his teeth and then stepped into the shower to quickly clean himself.   The entire time, all he could think about was Ariadna and how happy he was to finally be in contact with her again. The way they were speaking to each other now, it was as if they had never stopped talking in the first place. And now, more than ever, Karter wished he had invited her to the road trip so that they could be having these conversations in person. Instead of Jeremy and Ripley getting lucky the night before, it could have been him and Ariadna sharing a special and intimate moment together.   At the very least Karter wasn’t going to squander away this suddenly revived connection with Ariadna if he could help it.   Once all of their belongings were properly packed into their duffel bags, the five of them traipsed down to the Base Camp Eatery at Yosemite Valley Lodge to have breakfast with the rest of the group. Kallie greeted him cheerfully when he sat next to her with a plate of pancakes and he offered a bright smile of his own as he playfully poked her cheek. “Did you get a good night’s rest, Kale?”   “Probably better than yours, considering I didn’t drink yesterday,” Kallie answered teasingly. Her expression then softened as she asked, “Do you have a hangover or anything because of King’s Cup? You drank a lot during the game.”   Karter shook his head and grinned toothily as he poked her cheek again. “Nah, I sobered up before I went to sleep.” He then rolled his eyes as he jabbed a thumb in the direction of Ripley and Jeremy. “But please remind me to never room with those two ever again. My poor eyes were defiled last night.”   Kallie swatted his hand down while giggling and asking, “You walked in on them?”   He nodded with a deep grimace. “Never again,” he then croaked out while dramatically covering his eyes with the back of his hand and slumping in his seat.   “We figured they were doing stuff, since Rowan told us they were getting pretty handsy in your guys’ room, but I guess you didn’t get the memo,” Kallie commented with a bright laugh.   Karter stared at her in mock incredulity. “You knew and didn’t warn me?! My eyes could’ve been saved from the desecration they suffered?!” He let his upper body fall forward onto the table and groaned loudly. “I thought we were friends, Kale,” the male Hong Konger whined as he tilted his head towards her. “I totally would’ve warned you if you’d been rooming with them instead.”   “You’d be in big trouble if you didn’t,” Kallie said with an amused smile. “I have actual eyes that need to be protected. Anyway, enough early morning talk. Let’s eat.” She then looked over at his short stack of pancakes and worriedly asked, “Is that enough food for you, Kai?”   “Should be fine,” he answered with a nonchalant shrug. “I can always order more if I’m still hungry.”   The Chinese-American girl hummed in response, glancing at him and his breakfast one more time, before redirecting her attention to Alexander and starting an animated discussion on the upcoming final season of Attack on Titan.   Karter tuned them out and began daydreaming about Ariadna once more. He pensively chewed the fluffy, buttery pancakes while gazing into the distance as the familiar Spanish beauty completely took over his mind. His fingers itched to take out his phone and resume their conversation, since he didn’t want to leave her hanging for long, especially when there was the risk of Ariadna abruptly disappearing again for several weeks. But Karter also knew that Kallie would start berating him for having his phone out at the table while they were eating. He had been chewed out many times in the past for being on his phone while having dinner with Seth and Kallie.   So the male Hong Konger resisted the urge to contact Ariadna right now and let his mind wander into reminiscing the good old days that they used to have during the school year instead. Now that they were talking again, they could reignite the passionate flame that used to burn brightly every night they were together. And this time, it would burn even more intensely, even more brilliantly, now that his feelings were no longer wavering.   Ariadna was the one for him. He could sense it deep in his bones.   Karter was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear Russell rounding up everyone until Kallie tapped his shoulder and called his name several times.   “Is everything okay, Kai?” She gazed down at him with palpable concern.   “Hm? Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” Karter answered as he stood up and stretched his arms. “Sorry, Kale, I was just thinking about some stuff. Did I miss anything?”   Kallie shook her head. “We’re heading to the cars now. And what were you thinking about?” she asked curiously as they walked out of the dining area with the rest of the group.   “Nothing important,” he replied with a teasing smile.   She immediately latched onto his arm, eyes wide and sparkling. “Now you’ve gotta tell me, Kai. You know you can’t hide anything juicy from me.”   “I’m very much aware that there’s no way to hide anything from you,” Karter said with a deep chuckle as he tugged her closer to him. “Trust me, Kale. I’d tell you if it were worth mentioning.”   Kallie gazed at him with some suspicion while also shooting him a cheeky grin. “Okay, I’ll let you off the hook for now. But just know that I’ve got my eye on you, Kai,” she answered saucily while pointing at her face with two fingers and then pointing them at Karter.   He laughed brightly, hugging her close again, and then began distracting her with funny anecdotes that the boys had shared the previous night after the girls had moved rooms for their own talk. When they reached the parking lot, Karter helped Kallie and Elliot load everyone’s duffel bags into the trunk before they all piled into the SUV. The male Hong Konger had already called shotgun, leaving Alexander grumbling under his breath as he crawled into the back row again, soon joined by Elliot once everything was securely packed.   As soon as they were on the road again, Karter unlocked his phone and resumed texting Ariadna. Luckily, he received a response from her moments later, causing his heart to sing with joy. While the others engaged in a simple word association game to pass the time away, since the drive to Lake Tahoe was projected to be around two hours and a half, Karter kept himself occupied with the wonderfully riveting conversation he was now having with Ariadna.   Sometime during the drive, Kallie glanced over at him and furrowed her eyebrows. But she couldn’t keep her gaze trained on Karter for long, since the navigation system verbally directed her to change lanes on the freeway.   Completely unaware of her passing stares, Karter continued texting away while wearing a blissful smile on his face.   The day was already off to a great start.       Everyone piled out of their respective SUVs once the cars were parked in the car park of Emerald Bay State Park at Lake Tahoe. After the crew rented their canoes and life vests, they congregated in the shade for a quick safety session conducted by the rental company, which included a basic lesson on how to properly maneuver the paddle. Once the session ended, the group thanked the instructor and dispersed to collect their boats.   “Wait, wait!” Chanel called out suddenly. “Since we’ve got ten girls and ten guys, let’s get into pairs of the opposite gender!” While speaking, Chanel pulled Alexander towards her canoe.   “Ooh, me likes this idea,” Kallie concurred immediately as she instantly skipped away from Vanessa and looped her arms around Karter’s instead. “Sorry, Nessie, you can go with Leon instead!” the Chinese-American girl sang happily and unapologetically.   Most of the group agreed and promptly formed their own pairs, leaving Jonas, Amelie, Jason, Bianca, Lucas, and Chloe without a pair yet.   “Hey, Amelie, can I pair up with you?” Jason plastered the brightest smile on his face as he walked up towards the Taiwanese girl. “I have something I want to say to you,” he uttered while sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck with hope shining in his eyes.   Amelie opened but before she could give an answer, Jonas appeared on the other side of her.   “Are you coming with me?” Jonas asked tonelessly.   “Err, I—I, err...” A look of uncertainty crossed her beautiful features as she glanced apprehensively at both boys, at a loss on who to choose.   “Hey, I asked her first,” Jason blurted out indignantly. His voice was laced with petulance and his lips were pressed in a thin, straight line.   Jonas only gave Jason a quick glance and said nothing. True enough, Jason was fully wearing all of his emotions on his sleeves. The Taiwanese boy had a displeased look, emphasized by the visible frown, on his face. He looked like a hurt puppy whose owner had taken away its favourite toy bone.   On the other hand, Amelie seemed to be holding an internal battle in her head as she bit on her bottom lip. Even though her face remained impassive, Jonas could sense her silent predicament.   “Come on,” Jonas finally said, directing his statement at Jason, “let’s have a canoe race between the two of us. The winner gets to canoe with her.”   A look of surprise crossed Jason’s face, and Amelie looked both astonished and relieved. Jason in his cheeks, contemplating, before he eventually nodded.   Securing Jason’s agreement, Jonas wordlessly lifted up his canoe and walked to the lake. Jason picked up another boat and scurried after the older male.   “I like Amelie!” Jason stated confidently.   Jonas merely nodded. “I know.”   Only receiving a lukewarm response from the older male, Jason continued, “Then why are you doing this? Do you even like her? I know Amelie likes you, but you shouldn’t be taking advantage of that.”   Jonas raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, “Yeah, I like her. If not, why else would I be having this race with you?”   Jason gulped and his drying lips at Jonas’s simple confession.   “I know you like her and I like her too. That’s why I’m suggesting a fair competition between us,” Jonas continued as he dropped his canoe into the water.   “Okay, no hard feelings from the loser.” Jason recovered and straightened his back, stretching after dropping his canoe and paddle beside Jonas’s.   Jonas nodded.   “Let’s get this started then. First person to reach that rock wins.” Jason pointed his index finger at a huge boulder that was standing upright in the lake.   Jonas nodded again.   After Jason roped in Russell, who was one of the most unbiased people out of everyone regarding their love triangle situation, to be their referee, the two boys climbed into their respective canoes. At the whistle from Russell, the boys started paddling as fast as they could towards their destination.   Jonas kept his focus on the large boulder as he exerted his muscles, feeling the burn in both arms. On the contrary, Jason kept casting nervous glances at the older male as he pushed forward with all his might. It was a close fight with Jonas reaching the boulder first and Jason coming in a few seconds later.   Jason panted and twisted his lips, muttering dejectedly, “You won. I lost. Good game, though.”   Humming, Jonas expertly turned his boat and prepared to paddle back to shore.   “Jonas, this is only the start. I will get Amelie to like me back,” Jason claimed suddenly as he too began paddling back to the shore. “I’m not going to wait anymore. I’m gonna confess to her once we reach the shore!” the Taiwanese boy declared with renewed confidence and vigor.   “All the best then,” Jonas replied briefly and curtly.   Balking, Jason looked incredulously at Jonas, as if the older male had grown two heads. “I’m going to confess and you’re wishing me luck here? Are you not afraid that she’ll say yes to me?” the Taiwanese boy spluttered as he paddled by Jonas’s side.   “I said this would be a fair competition and I’m gonna keep my word. If you’re gonna confess, then go ahead,” Jonas answered indifferently.   Jason frowned. “You’re that confident she’s gonna choose you and not me?”   “The ball is in her court. At the end of the day, regardless of the decision she makes, I have no control over it,” Jonas replied plainly.   The Taiwanese boy pressed his lips together, heart palpitating as they reached the shore. The moment they were back on shore, Jason instantly ran to Amelie and pulled her aside, saying that he urgently needed to tell her something before she went off with Jonas. Extremely puzzled, the Taiwanese girl allowed herself to be pulled away by Jason as she peeked at Jonas with concern.   As he waited for Amelie to come back, Jonas loitered around the shoreline. Biting his bottom lip, he restlessly watched an incredibly shy Jason speak to a bemused Amelie under the shade. Jonas unknowingly clenched his fist, holding in his breath as he squinted, trying to observe the slightest changes in the Taiwanese girl’s expression.   Why were they taking so long? What were they even talking about? Didn’t Jason say he was going to confess? And knowing Amelie, she would probably let him down nicely, right?   But wait, would she?   What if she agreed and became Jason’s girlfriend instead? Wouldn’t that mean that they would share the canoe instead? And the entire race earlier would mean nothing, wouldn’t it?   Those thoughts made his stomach churn unpleasantly. The Korean male let out a low growl and wetted his lips with his tongue. Exhaling heavily, his eyes darted around as he forced himself not to look in their direction.   Screw his sky-high confidence. Who the said that he was unbothered about Jason’s confession? Jonas was just about to march over to drag Amelie away when he noticed the Taiwanese girl running towards him with a smile on her face.   Jonas unconsciously frowned. Why is she smiling so much? And the main question was: did she accept Jason’s confession?   Clearing his throat, Jonas wiped off any emotion that would betray him from his face as the younger girl stopped in front of him. “Shall we?” He coolly gestured at the canoe as he pushed the boat into the water.   Amelie nodded enthusiastically as she climbed into the front seat of the canoe with Jonas’s help. She sat cross-legged in the canoe with her back facing the head of the canoe so that she was facing Jonas.   “That’s not how you sit in a canoe. Face the front,” Jonas said as he settled himself comfortably in the canoe boat.   The Taiwanese girl shook her head rapidly as she stared dreamily at the male in front of her with stars in her eyes. Jonas rolled his eyes and started to paddle, ignoring her heated stares yet basking in her undivided attention at the same time.   “Paddle then. You aren’t gonna make me do all the work, are you?” the Korean male stated while nudging the other paddle towards her.   Wearing a silly smile on her face, Amelie sheepishly picked up her paddle and tried to synchronize her with the older male.   Beside them, Lucas sailed off with Jason in the same canoe as him. Bianca and Chloe were hot on their heels, and the fashionista was spewing out professions of overtaking the boys.   Out of impulsiveness, Amelie splashed some water onto a slightly distracted Jonas. Surprised, the Korean male shook his slightly wet bangs, sending the water droplets flying everywhere. He raised a brow at her, only to meet eyes with the simpering girl.   “Why? Did something nice happen? You’re wearing this silly grin and staring at me nonstop,” Jonas noted.   Amelie giggled, “I’m just pleasantly surprised that you wanted to canoe with me. Thanks for winning the race, so I could canoe with you. I'm just super happy with this arrangement.”   Jonas hummed as he slowly paddled the two of them in the lake. After a pause, he softly asked out of burning curiosity, “What did you and Jason talk about just now?”   The Taiwanese girl’s cheeks flushed a little as she smiled in embarrassment. “Oh, he basically just confessed, saying that he’s liked me for quite a while now, and asked me if I could consider him as well.”   “So are you going to consider him?” Jonas carefully pressed for an answer, trying to appear unbothered and worry-free.   “He’s a nice guy who clicks well with me,” Amelie admitted, “but that’s about it. I don’t get that oomph feeling when I’m around him, so yeah.”   Jonas immediately replied with another question, “You rejected him?”   “Uh-huh,” the Taiwanese girl bobbed her head, “there’s no point in keeping his hopes up when I know that nothing will come out of it. I think that he and I would make better friends than lovers.”   A wave of relief washed over Jonas, and he relaxed considerably at her answers and explanations. Finally, his competitor was out of the picture. A tiny smirk crawled into his face at the thought of the removal of his only competitor. “Poor guy. You just crushed that enamored boy’s heart into smithereens,” he joked with a twinkle in his eyes.   Amelie smacked Jonas’s arm lightly with her paddle at his teases. “He’ll be fine!” She then leaned forward, peering at his face with utmost curiosity. “By the way, why do you want to canoe with me?”   Jonas raised a brow. “You don’t want to canoe with me?”   “No, no, no. But you only won the race because I wanted to canoe with you?” The Taiwanese girl’s face fell a bit as she pouted.   “If not you, who else would I canoe with?” Jonas deadpanned.   “The boys? You’re close to Leon and Lani,” Amelie said.   “Didn’t Chanel say guy-girl pairs only?” Conveniently ignoring how Lucas, Jason, Bianca, and Chloe had broken that loose guideline, Jonas said simply, “Unless you consider Leon and Lani as girls, then I have nothing to say.”   The corners of Amelie’s lips twitched upwards as she bit back a grin at his answer. Dropping her paddle onto the canoe, the Taiwanese girl tried her hardest to swallow down the squeals that were threatening to escape her lips and she covered her face with both hands. Through her fingers, she stealthily took several peeks at Jonas as her face colored considerably out of both shyness and bliss.   “Stop staring at me and do your part in moving the canoe.” Jonas clucked his tongue as he watched the thrilled girl in front of him with a fond smile.       Karter grinned as he rhythmically paddled the canoe around the lake while Kallie sighed happily as she watched Leon and Vanessa float off in another canoe.   “Don’t they look perfect together?” She let out another sigh of contentment.   “You ship them that much?” Karter asked with a chuckle.   Kallie nodded vigorously. “Look at how well he takes care of her! Even though Leon doesn’t say much, I’m pretty sure he’d do anything to make Nessie happy and keep her safe.” The Chinese-American girl then giggled as she excitedly recounted the two exchange students’ steamy kiss in Las Vegas on Karter’s birthday. “There’s no way Nessie would’ve gone for the kiss if she didn’t have feelings for Leon. It was her first kiss too!” Kallie’s expression took on a dreamy quality as she continued to watch the other pair with great interest.   “No way, that was Nessie’s first kiss?” Karter let out a low whistle. “I guess she’s the type to save her first kiss for someone special. Kinda like you, Kale.”   A faint cherry red blush instantly bloomed across the Chinese-American girl’s pale cheeks. “Well, duh, of course I’m not gonna give away my precious first kiss to just anyone,” Kallie said as she turned her head away, lightly fanning her burning face. “I’d only let a guy kiss me if I really liked him. Otherwise, all of this,” she gestured to herself in a sweeping top-down motion, “is completely off-limits.”   “Still planning on waiting until marriage?” Karter asked curiously. He remembered Kallie mentioning this when she had come over to play video games with him and Seth at their apartment one evening, after they’d seen Lani and Rowan stumble into the apartment and straight to Lani’s bedroom in a haze of lust. Luckily, the walls had been relatively soundproof and the volume of the television had also been turned up several extra notches to mask any particularly intense noises coming from the bedroom.   “Yeah,” Kallie answered with a nod. “People can do whatever they want, whenever they want. No judgment here. But to me, it’s such an intimate act that I don’t want to share with just anyone, y’know?”   “It’s fun though,” Karter commented with a grin as he recalled the many salacious nights he had shared with Ariadna during the school year. “But yeah, I get it. I know some people can separate emotions from , but feelings usually end up somewhere in the equation for most people.” And he was no exception to that.   “Right? And it’s such a vulnerable act that I don’t think I’d be comfortable sharing with any random guy.” The Chinese-American girl gazed across the lake with a pensive look on her face as she spoke. “Seth and I talked about it once when we were discussing compatibility between couples. I spoke a lot about how important it is for couples to have emotional compatibility and then Seth mentioned that physical compatibility is just as important. He brought up an an