I feel like I'm... over prepared. I didn't know how to dress for canoeing, so I looked it up. Then I went down a rabbit hole of what you might need for canoeing. It's not my fault, it's google's. The sites just kept getting suggested.

So, here I am. I have snacks, extra shoes, extra clothes (including extra swim trunks), goggles (just in case), a plastic holder for my phone, plastic bags to hold my stuff and Lia's if she forgets, even more snacks, a first aid kit (which I had to buy), flashlights, sunscreen, hats, and a lot more that I can't remember because I just grabbed them and stuffed them in the bag. At least we won't be caught off guard by anything.

Lia's meeting me at my place because we're taking my car there. What I didn't know was that Gale was going to be here. It's not a problem, but I feel like it might be weird introducing her to my best friend right now. I wish I knew how girls thought.

"Hey, you tryna like... leave? Just for maybe twenty minutes."

Gale looks over at me acting hurt. "You want me to leave? Am I not worthy enough to meet Lia?"

I roll my eyes. "At least pretend not to know her name. She'll think I talk about her and might take it wrong."

"Would she be taking it wrong, though?" Gale asks as he plops down onto the couch. "You just don't want her to take it right."

"No. We're friends... and I can talk about friends."

"And I can know your friends names," he replies with a smug look.

"Unless you want to get smacked, I'd suggest doing as I say."

"You can't beat me," he jokes. I just suck my teeth and grab my- filled to the brim- bag. It's 12 o'clock so she should be here soon. We had agreed to meet at 12 so we'd have time to get there and do paperwork or anything.

There's a knock on the door and I almost drop the bag. "Remember, you do not know her name," I hiss at Gale.

"Yeah, yeah."

I go over to the door and open it to find Lia with barely anything in her possession. I can see the string of her bathing suit top around her neck and she has a really small bag that maybe holds her phone and money, but other than that she has nothing.

"Looks like it's a good thing I packed enough stuff for the both of us," I joke, holding up my bag. "You look unprepared to me." I step aside to let her in.

"Who's the one who's been canoeing before? Me or you?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"If I didn't know I'd say it was me," I shrug.

"As someone who truly doesn't know, I'd say it's her," Gale butts in. I see Lia jump as if she didn't notice him. "Hey, how are you? I'm Gale." He comes over to shake her hand.

"Hey, I'm Lia," Lia answers as she shakes it. She sounds a lot more timid than she did a second ago.

"Gale's my suite mate and you might recognize him from the basketball team," I explain.

"Of course," she nods. "Nice to meet you."

"You too." Gale goes back to sit down on the couch and turn on the TV.

"Ready to go?" I ask Lia.

"Yup."

We make the short walk to my car and I throw my bag in the back before we head off. "You have the directions?"

"I remember how to get there. I'll tell you where to go."

"So, what I'm hearing is: if we get lost blame you."

"What you're hearing is: if we get lost, it's cause you don't know right from left."

"Wow."

The ride was about 15-20 minutes, but it didn't feel long at all. Lia and I spent the whole time talking and joking. As we get out the car, I realize we're about to go on a river in early February. The weather was warm, not cold, but that doesn't mean the water will be.

"Will the water be cold?" I ask Lia.

"The way canoeing works is you're supposed to be in the boat, not the water. But it's like 70 degrees (Fahrenheit), so the water shouldn't be too cold."

"The sarcasm is not appreciated lil missy," I say, referring to her first comment.

She just laughs.

The process to get our boat only takes a few minutes, then we have to strip to our bathing suits and put the lifejackets on. "Here, put your phone in this plastic bag." I hand her one.

"Thanks."

"Mhm. And now you can put your clothes in my bag miss 'I don't need anything'."

"I don't need it," she says rolling her eyes. "But it is convenient." She folds her clothes and puts them in.

After we get our lifejackets on its time to get in the canoe. I realize we do have to step into the water to get in. "You lied to me," I tell Lia, feigning hurt.

"How?" I look over and she seems genuinely confused.

"We have to get into the water to get in."

She playfully sucks her teeth, giving me a little push. "You have to take like three steps into the water. You'll be fine." We get into the canoe and row the boat into the river. She's in front rowing and I'm in the back, my bag between us. "If we flip the boat, everything in your bag is ruined," Lia decides to tell me once we've already taken off.

"That would've been a good warning for before we left the dock."

"I forgot," she says innocently.

We row until we lose sight of the dock, and that's when I start to realize how great the scenery is. The rushing water surrounded by trees. If you look into the water you can see some little fishes swimming.

"This is a pretty view," I tell Lia.

She looks over her shoulder at me. "I know. That's why I love it so much. We don't have to row so fast, we have two hours before we have to finish."

I slow down my rowing and enjoy the view more. The sound of the water and nature was so calming, I felt like I could lay back, close my eyes, and take a little nap.

My calmness is interrupted when Lia starts to make the boat rock. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm turning around," she says as if it's nothing. I watch as she starts to stand up and switch directions.

"If my bag falls into this water you're paying for everything in it... and the bag."

She sits down, now facing me, right after I finish my threat. "You good now?"

"Whatever."

"You see that spot over there?" She asks, gesturing to a spot on the side of the river where the trees hang over and create a little nook.

"Yeah."

"We can row over there then stop for a little bit." We do just that. Once we're under the hanging trees, she picks up her oar and puts it in the canoe. "Did you bring hand sanitizer?"

"I'm sure I did." I dig through my bag and, sure enough, there's hand sanitizer. I give her a pump then squeeze some into my hand. "You want a snack?"

"What'd you bring?" She ends up taking a bag of Taki's and a bag of Sour Patch Kids. I choose a bag of Dorito's and a Twix bar. "Do you like canoeing so far?"

"Yeah, I do. Thanks for inviting me."

"Well, it was your idea to 'chill outside of a party'," she teases.

"And it was a good idea."

We continue to have conversation and I begin to realize something. I've been attracted to Lia, yeah, but now that we've hung out a couple times I'm starting to really like her. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.