A month or more has elapsed and now it's late April. The weather's heating up with more wamer days and so is John and Esme's relationship. They've been deemed a couple, much to Phillip's chagrin, and have had fun from horse back riding to hiking and rock climbing, as well as the more standard dates like dancing or movies. This day finds the couple going on a white water river rafting adventure.

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"So, ready for this?" John asked Esme, grinning as they left her dorm. "It's not a high level river I've chosen, since you've really not done this before."

"You can say that again!" Esme laughed as she buttoned up her coat. This was going to be exciting! Truth be told, she was a little nervous. She had only been swimming in a pool, let's hope she would be able to stay in the raft.

"It's not like there are rivers in New York City!"

"You're definitely right about that," John laughed. "Outside the city, yes, but not in. This will be a grade one level river, which is the easiest for a beginner."

"Thank you!" Esme sighed relieved as they walked to John's car. "I hope you have insurance because I'm not sure if I even know how to hold a paddle!"

"You'll be safe," John assured her. "I've done river rafting many times so I'm a pro. Also there's safety equipment you've got to wear while rafting, such as a life vest and a helmet plus a wet suit."

Esme frowned, "And you own all that equipment for two persons?" she asked. She hadn't really thought about the equipment. John said he would take care of everything. "Or are we going to rent it?"

She got into the car and watched the landscape go by. She had looked up the river on the map, it was not that far from DC. "By the way, Phillip didn't give you any trouble when he found out what we're going to do?"

"A little bit," John admitted. "But he knows I've done this many times and I wouldn't let any harm come to you." He shrugged. "That's Van Dyke for you though. As for the equipment, we're renting it."

Besides her safety, Phillip had started about John not being right for her, for at least 10 minutes. "Good, I know he means well, but it sometimes gets annoying," Esme said. "Anyway, tell me more about rafting, what do I need to do?"

"It's more about the scenery and enjoying your surroundings, as well as the adreline rush," John told her as they drove. "Just follow my instructions while we're on the river and you'll be fine."

The last month with John had been incredible and so much fun. Only if there was one downside to this is that he kept expecting that she would trust him blindly. Esme wasn't very good at that.

"John, not sure if you have noticed in the past month, but I have a little problem with just doing as I am told," she remarked with a grin. "Little bit more information about what to expect, please."

"Yeah, I've noticed that," John smirked. "Don't mind really. I like my women feisty and independent."

"Women?" Esme smirked. "Plural? Do you want to rephrase that last sentence?"

She and John never made any agreements on what kind of relationship they had, but she did hope he wasn't seeing anyone else at the moment.

"That's in general," John clarified. "But for you...I like my Gypsy feisty and independent. Makes life even more interesting."

Esme started to laugh, "okay, tiger, nice save," she said. She leaned back and looked at John. "So, how much will I need the towels you've told me to pack?"

"You'll be needing them at the end of the rafting trip," John told her. "Hope you wore your bikini under your clothes like I told...suggested. There's a swimming hole at the end of the river. Very private and secluded. I thought we could spend a little time there after the rafting's over."

"A swimming hole?" Esme asked not being quite sure what he meant by that. Probably just a lake or something. "Well, I almost made it to the swimming team, so I'm sure I won't drown."

She winked at John, "We could have a race, I bet I can beat you at swimming."

"Perhaps." John grinned. "You want to wager on this though?"

"Of course!" Esme replied immediately. She was going to win this one. With rock climbing John had made it to the top of the mountain before she had, with cycling he was first at the end of the street. This time it was her turn!

"What do I get when I win?"

"Okay for all purposes, say you do win," John replied. "What would you want if you win? Although I was hoping it would be a more leisurely swim, just the two of us...all alone...no one around...."

He grinned, hoping that Esme would get the hint.

Esme did get what John was talking about, "slow down, tiger," she said. "Race first, relax later." She put a finger against her lips and thought about what she would ask for. "When I win, you are going to... you will have to... dry me off after swimming, from top to bottom, without any intentions to 'relax together'."

John's one eyebrow arched and he was silent for a moment. "That's cruel and unusual punishment, I hope you know. Not sure that's legal really."

"Well, you know, all--" Esme started as she stopped in mid-sentence. She wanted to say 'all is fair in love and war', but as soon as she opened her mouth realized that was not a good thing to say. She didn't even know if she 'loved' John, or what else that was going on.

"... All I wanted to say, is that sometimes illegal things can be quite... pleasurable," she continued. "I am going to win, so you'd better prepare yourself, but just for my own amusement, what do I have to do in the unlikely case you win?"

John shook his head. "Not sure really...maybe play a game of truth or dare, perhaps. I'll let you know if I think of anything."

However the way he said it was nonchalant, almost as if he wouldn't mind losing to Esme. Besides she did say, 'race first, relax later." Both of them would be winners then.

"I love games. I don't mind about the truth, I think I should be worried about your dares," Esme said with a wink. She stretched out and looked at the surroundings, they were almost in the woods. "Are we there yet?"

"Getting close. Just a few miles down this road," John told her as he turned off the main road. "Hope you also brought a warm sweater or sweatshirt once this is over. Water's not that warm at this time of year. Plus I want you to be careful when in the river. It may look peaceful on top, but below is a whole different scenario."

"Are you trying to scare me?" Esme asked. "I've walked through Central Park alone by night, a little river is not going to scare me."

"No, I'm not," John told her. "However I'm trying to prepare you for the possibilitie of what could happen. You gotta treat nature with respect. If you don't, it'll carry dangerous repercussions."

As they headed towards their destination, the river came into view. It was a good 50 feet wide and some what active, with water flowing fast and churning in spots. John pointed to it through the window. "Does that look like a little river to you?"

"Oh my..." Esme muttered. That was not a little river. That was a BIG river! Okay, trust John, he knows what he is doing, he has done this before, you can trust him...

"No... that doesn't look like a little river," she said. "I have to admit, the view is absolutely marvelous! I should have brought my camera!"

"Not to worry," John told her, as they pulled into the parking lot. "I've got my camera with me. You can take pictures with that. And isn't it? I never get tired of the vistas here."

He got out of the car and looked around. It wasn't too busy on this morning with only a few cars outside the rental place. John was pleased to see this. "If you're worried about the river back there, that's where the more advance levels start. We'll encounter a little bit of that, but not to that extent. We start about a hundred feet down the river."

"Lead the way," Esme said as she got out of the car as well. She followed John to the rental place, to get the equipment for the trip.

John entered the rental shop, only to be greeted by a familiar sight, a pretty guide he had flirted with a time or two. "Hi, Cassandra."

"Well, hello there yourself, John," the brunette replied, grinning at him."I see you're ready for your first rafting trip of the year."

"Yep...." John agreed enthusiatically, grinning back at her. "Been looking forward to this all winter."

Esme raised her eye brows when she saw John smiling at the girl behind the counter. Was that flirting or just a smile? She didn't know but in all honesty, she didn't want to know.

She stood next to John and held out her hand out to the girl. "Hi, I'm Esme, John is going to teach me rafting today, I hope you have a safety helmet my size?" she said with a smile, hoping she sounded friendly.

"Well, you're in luck then, Esme. You're going rafting with one of the best non-guides there is," Cassandra cheerfully told Esme, shaking her hand. "He knows his stuff. We keep on trying to get him to come work here, but so far no such luck."

John just grinned and shrugged his shoulders in response. "You know how busy I am with school and work, Cassandra. Maybe after graduation."

Cassandra just shook her head knowingly then led Esme to where the helmets were. After glancing at Esme's head, she picked out a few helmets for her. "Go ahead and try these on and see if they fit, Esme. You'll want the fit to be snug on your head so it won't move or slide around on your head while you're on the river. Same thing for the life vest as well."

Since he was familiar with this, John grabbed a helmet, life jacket, and wet suit. "We'll need the two person canoe for today, Cassandra."

"I'll ring that up in a few moments when the two of you are all ready to head out," she told him, as she helped Esme. "How's that fitting?"

As Cassandra helped Esme, John put his wet suit on. He was just about done when a couple other guides came in the store, one red headed woman, the other a male.

"Smith!" The male guide announced as soon as he saw him. "Good to see you, buddy!"

"Hey, Thomas!" Making his way over to where the two were, John slapped the guide on the back. "Good to be back here. Missed this place."

"Well, hello there, John," the new red haired female guide purred, leaning in towards him. "Need a little company on that raft today? I really don't mind. Business has been slow today. Besides you're looking very well lately."

John chuckled and shook his head, grinning. "Sorry but not today, Jessica. I'm spoken for. My girl's over there with Cassandra getting fitted."

Completely packed, Esme didn't look very confident. "Very pretty," she said to Cassandra. "I can't drown not even if I wanted to!"

She looked around and saw John talking to another guy and girl. And that girl was standing way too close to John! I'm not jealous, he's not my boyfriend, he's just a friend. A friend with benefits...

Knowing that she shouldn't do this, she couldn't help herself. As she walked over to John, she decided that she would ignore the girl for the time being. She put her arm around his shoulder and said: "Hi tiger, how do I look? Pretty as a picture?"

Once John got a good look at Esme in her wet suit, all his focus was on her. "Can't take my eyes off you...that's for sure."

John did a once over of Esme's figure, and grinned. "I like you in a wet suit...Very very sexy."

Seeing that she had lost John's attention, Jessica stomped off.

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself, dressed like a hockey player," Esme grinned. Happy to see that the girl had left. "Is this another friend?" she asked as she looked at the guy who was still standing around.

"Yes, this is Thomas, Esme. Esme, Thomas. She and I...we're dating. Have been for over a month now." John introduced him to her. "He's been working here for...How long is it now, Thomas?"

"Oh...I'd say almost two years," Thomas picked up the story. "I tried going to DC, but found out that I wanted to be outdoors more. I found this place and am happy for now."

He gazed at Esme, his eyes going over her figure. Why was Smith the lucky one when it came to women? Just once, he thought. I'd like to have a woman like that notice me before she noticed John.

Okay, so we've established that we are dating...

"Nice to meet you," Esme said as she shook hands with Thomas. He looked like a nice guy. "Two years, impressive. So you've taught John everything he knows?" she said with a smile.

"Ha! I wish," Thomas laughed. "But unfortunately, nope. Can't take the credit, I'm afraid. It's nice to meet you, Esme. Hope to see more of you here in the coming months."

He turned to John. "So what grade of the river is it going to be today, John? Four or Five?"

John shook his head. "Maybe in a month or so, but for today we're just sticking with Grade one. This is Esme's first time rafting."

"Well, like I said hope you come back and see us again. Maybe get a whole bunch of your fellow students at DC one nice day and try the Grade Three or Grade Four." He noticed Esme's expression. "If there's more than three or four, one of us goes with to help or assist if need be."

"Looking forward to it," Esme said to Thomas. Did he mean higher than grade three or four that someone would come along or with more than three or four students? she wondered. Just to be sure, she kept smiling.

"So I'm all packed, what else do I need?"