EMMA'S BOAT
Part Six
Looking over, Jamie’s jacket was riding up aggressively again, pulling down on it and trying to keep it lower seemed to be working but swimming with it looked like a no go. As it was we didn't need to swim, the current was still pulling us along, but it sure looked uncomfortable with the jacket up around your head like that.
Rolling onto my back again and letting my own life jacket take my weight, my head came to rest on the collar in a now familiar way. The jacket naturally held me at about a forty five degree angle in the water, so it was easy to lay back and relax without doing any work. I just let my legs hang below me. The strap that passed between my legs was keeping the jacket held down on me securely; so unlike Jamie’s lifejacket mine wasn’t riding up at all. I laced my fingers together over my chest and just enjoyed floating along for a minute, letting my head rest on the collar. The jacket was really quite comfy in the water. Now that I was no longer embarrassed by it; the tightness and security was cozy and comforting. Even the helmet wasn’t bothering me so much now.
I could hear Jamie splashing over to my left and glanced over that way again. Jamie was treading water actively with arms and legs, occasionally using one hand to pull the jacket back down to get their head clear of it. I couldn't help but take the opportunity to throw the line back.
“You're looking pretty comfortable over there” Jamie looked over at me annoyed. I just smiled and gave a small wave, then reached back over my head with both arms in a big stretch and yawned before lacing my hands behind my head in a show of relaxation. In truth the crotch strap was annoying me a bit again, it wasn't uncomfortable, just hard to ignore and I wanted to reach down and adjust it slightly. But I wasn't about to give ground in my victory over Jamie’s earlier comment.
Jamie had drifted over to me, still splashing around.
“Fuck this thing, it just won’t stay put.”
“Looks annoying,” I smiled.
“Ha. ha. Ha you’re so funny,” Jamie pulled the vest down again just to have it pop back up around their head, one side getting caught on their helmet and pushing up on it causing them to cock their head to release it before yanking down on the vest again.
The current was taking us out of the narrows and back out into the cove. As we cleared the opening and floated out into the open area of the cove Emma, Steph and Mike came into view. Emma was standing on the shore a short distance from the boats, helping Mike up the steep bank. I rolled onto my stomach to better swim and started making my way over to them.
From the water it was more obvious why the bank could be tricky to get up. It was steeper and more slick than it had looked from the boat; slick and muddy. Emma had her feet planted well apart and had a good grip on one of Mike's arms with both of her hands. Mike was using his other arm to help crawl up the bank. Judging from the mud on his legs it wasn’t his first try. As we swam up, joining Steph waiting in the water, his foot slipped and he nearly went down. He would have gone down had Emma not had a good hold of him. As he slipped she just pulled hard leaning back and effectively dragged him up to a point where he could get a hold with his free hand. Mike stood up basically covered in mud. How Emma made it up without someone to help her was beyond me.
“Ok Steph you next, let's get you up here.”
Wordlessly Steph swam up the shore just below Emma, and now Mike, and reached up grabbing onto a root that was the one good handhold. She got her feet under her and started to pull herself up out of the water. Steph pulled herself up slowly and carefully, keeping her balance. As she pulled her torso up out of the lake, water poured out of her life jacket. Floating in the water behind her Jamie and I were presented with a really blatant view of the crotch strap running between her legs and the obvious wedgy it was giving her. I had generally been able to put the embarrassing kiddy nature of the jackets out of my mind; but here among other people again, with the view of Steph’s yellow crotch strap, and the obvious effects it was having on her swimsuit, the view I had caught of myself in the restaurant window was back into the front of my mind. I was violently reminded of how the bright purple straps of my own jacket contrasted with and bunched up my white pants, I could only imagine how it would look with my baggy pants now soaking wet.
As Steph reached the full extension of her legs she was no longer able to use the root to pull herself upward, her left hand was supporting her weight on the muddy bank. She was moving her right hand from the root to reach up for a hand from Emma or Mike. Emma grabbed her hand to help her up but didn't have a good hold of her yet as she started to slip. Mike was jumping in to help but with her other hand still supporting her weight on the bank she didn't have a free hand. The collar of her jacket, with it’s handy grab loop, was standing up behind her head directly in Matt’s view. With surprisingly little hesitation Mike grabbed the loop at the top of her life jacket, just as Emma lost her grip and Steph lost her footing. She just about pulled Mike back down into the water but he managed to keep his footing as Steph went down into the steep muddy bank. She went down hard enough that I was briefly concerned. Emma was there a second later, ignoring the hand Steph was holding out, and grabbing the loop with Mike. A moment later the two of them dragged, a protesting, Steph up the bank onto the flat grassy bit at the top. From the water; the effect of dragging her up the bank by the lifejacket was painfully obvious. To me in particular, strapped into a clone lifejacket.
As Mike and Emma released her on the flat ground Mike really threw it home.
“Hey those kiddy life jackets come in handy after all”
Steph rolled over onto her back and sat up, she had mud up her arms, her life jacket and helmet were all covered, she even had a little on her nose. She didn't look pleased.
At this point just about all the progress I had made in coming to terms with the kiddy lifejacket had been swiftly pulled out from under me. I was self conscious about the jacket all over again.
“Ok your turn kid!” that was Mike looking right at me. The repeated jib about kids was really unnecessary.
Tentatively I swam over to the bank, and reached up to grab the root. Looking up the steep muddy bank Emma and Matt were standing to my left and right ready to lend a hand. I was determined not to need it. With way too much confidence I stood up quickly, the water pouring out of my life jacket caused my center of mass to shift as I straightened up. I went down as fast as I had gone up. My feet slipped on the slick mud, twisting as I fell, falling onto my side and getting mud in my face. My helmeted head hit the bank with the collar of my life jacket cushioning it further. I tried to grab something but the bank was so slick it was like reaching for a handhold on a waterslide. I was going right back down into the lake.
I don't know which of them it was but either Mike or Emma managed to get hold of my grab loop and I came up short, covered in mud and laying on my back on the slippery bank. The strap between my legs digging into me uncomfortably. Whoever caught me must not have had the best footing as they didn't pull me up right away as they had with Steph. I was left hanging on the slope trying desperately to regain my footing and recover my pride.
The bank was like sheer ice and despite my flopping around like a fish I couldn't find any purchase, the only thing keeping me from sliding straight back down into the water was the lifejacket and whoever was hanging onto it. As I squirmed helplessly in the now muddy kiddy jacket I could see Jamie floating in the water just below me, thankful somewhat distracted by the continued riding up of their own jacket. So I was able to convince myself that they didn't fully appreciate the massive wedgie I was getting, or the excellent view I was presenting them.
“Give me a hand will ya!”
That was Emma from right behind me, evidently doing everything she could to hang onto me. Honestly I don't know why she didn't just let me fall back into the water, like I wasn’t hanging off the side of a cliff here, it was a few feet of mud. I wasn’t even out of the water fully. I squirmed and splashed around a bit more trying to crawl backwards up the bank without any success until suddenly I was being hauled slowly up the bank, laying on my back, still squirming for some purchase.
A moment later I felt moss and grass under my hands and got a good purchase. Emma and Mike insisted on pulling me all the way onto the flat ground such that I was dragged a good three or four feet further than necessary before being allowed to sit up and pull at my crotch strap to free myself from the atomic wedgie I had received. Looking over to my right I saw Steph also still sitting but looking very amused. Apparently my own ordeal was bad enough to make her feel ok about hers.
Over by the bank Emma and Mike were ready to help Jamie up. Jamie did better than me to start getting to their feet ok and even taking one good step up the bank keeping their left arm way out to balance. But upon reaching forward to take Emma's outstretched hand they slipped and went down hard, sliding straight back down into the water. Jamie popped up a second later with the life jacket around their head, cursing. It took two more tries before Jamie managed to grab Emma’s hand with their right and Mike’s with their left even then almost slipping at the last moment before making it up.
“Fuck me that’s slippery today!”
Of the four of us Emma was the only one not covered in Mud, I was by far the muddiest of the lot, with even my face and hair covered.
Mike took one look at me and laughed.
”You win the mud contest for sure” he was holding his chest.
“Ya, ya! Only because I didn’t go for a swim after falling” Jamie was remarkably clean considering their first fall thanks to two dips back in the lake.
“Fair enough haha, your jacket’s made it easy actually. Something to grab other than your arm.”
“Ya I dono why they don't put a little loop on all jackets” Emma, of course, had to chirp in. I had an idea or two as to why they didn’t do that myself.
Rolling onto my back again and letting my own life jacket take my weight, my head came to rest on the collar in a now familiar way. The jacket naturally held me at about a forty five degree angle in the water, so it was easy to lay back and relax without doing any work. I just let my legs hang below me. The strap that passed between my legs was keeping the jacket held down on me securely; so unlike Jamie’s lifejacket mine wasn’t riding up at all. I laced my fingers together over my chest and just enjoyed floating along for a minute, letting my head rest on the collar. The jacket was really quite comfy in the water. Now that I was no longer embarrassed by it; the tightness and security was cozy and comforting. Even the helmet wasn’t bothering me so much now.
I could hear Jamie splashing over to my left and glanced over that way again. Jamie was treading water actively with arms and legs, occasionally using one hand to pull the jacket back down to get their head clear of it. I couldn't help but take the opportunity to throw the line back.
“You're looking pretty comfortable over there” Jamie looked over at me annoyed. I just smiled and gave a small wave, then reached back over my head with both arms in a big stretch and yawned before lacing my hands behind my head in a show of relaxation. In truth the crotch strap was annoying me a bit again, it wasn't uncomfortable, just hard to ignore and I wanted to reach down and adjust it slightly. But I wasn't about to give ground in my victory over Jamie’s earlier comment.
Jamie had drifted over to me, still splashing around.
“Fuck this thing, it just won’t stay put.”
“Looks annoying,” I smiled.
“Ha. ha. Ha you’re so funny,” Jamie pulled the vest down again just to have it pop back up around their head, one side getting caught on their helmet and pushing up on it causing them to cock their head to release it before yanking down on the vest again.
The current was taking us out of the narrows and back out into the cove. As we cleared the opening and floated out into the open area of the cove Emma, Steph and Mike came into view. Emma was standing on the shore a short distance from the boats, helping Mike up the steep bank. I rolled onto my stomach to better swim and started making my way over to them.
From the water it was more obvious why the bank could be tricky to get up. It was steeper and more slick than it had looked from the boat; slick and muddy. Emma had her feet planted well apart and had a good grip on one of Mike's arms with both of her hands. Mike was using his other arm to help crawl up the bank. Judging from the mud on his legs it wasn’t his first try. As we swam up, joining Steph waiting in the water, his foot slipped and he nearly went down. He would have gone down had Emma not had a good hold of him. As he slipped she just pulled hard leaning back and effectively dragged him up to a point where he could get a hold with his free hand. Mike stood up basically covered in mud. How Emma made it up without someone to help her was beyond me.
“Ok Steph you next, let's get you up here.”
Wordlessly Steph swam up the shore just below Emma, and now Mike, and reached up grabbing onto a root that was the one good handhold. She got her feet under her and started to pull herself up out of the water. Steph pulled herself up slowly and carefully, keeping her balance. As she pulled her torso up out of the lake, water poured out of her life jacket. Floating in the water behind her Jamie and I were presented with a really blatant view of the crotch strap running between her legs and the obvious wedgy it was giving her. I had generally been able to put the embarrassing kiddy nature of the jackets out of my mind; but here among other people again, with the view of Steph’s yellow crotch strap, and the obvious effects it was having on her swimsuit, the view I had caught of myself in the restaurant window was back into the front of my mind. I was violently reminded of how the bright purple straps of my own jacket contrasted with and bunched up my white pants, I could only imagine how it would look with my baggy pants now soaking wet.
As Steph reached the full extension of her legs she was no longer able to use the root to pull herself upward, her left hand was supporting her weight on the muddy bank. She was moving her right hand from the root to reach up for a hand from Emma or Mike. Emma grabbed her hand to help her up but didn't have a good hold of her yet as she started to slip. Mike was jumping in to help but with her other hand still supporting her weight on the bank she didn't have a free hand. The collar of her jacket, with it’s handy grab loop, was standing up behind her head directly in Matt’s view. With surprisingly little hesitation Mike grabbed the loop at the top of her life jacket, just as Emma lost her grip and Steph lost her footing. She just about pulled Mike back down into the water but he managed to keep his footing as Steph went down into the steep muddy bank. She went down hard enough that I was briefly concerned. Emma was there a second later, ignoring the hand Steph was holding out, and grabbing the loop with Mike. A moment later the two of them dragged, a protesting, Steph up the bank onto the flat grassy bit at the top. From the water; the effect of dragging her up the bank by the lifejacket was painfully obvious. To me in particular, strapped into a clone lifejacket.
As Mike and Emma released her on the flat ground Mike really threw it home.
“Hey those kiddy life jackets come in handy after all”
Steph rolled over onto her back and sat up, she had mud up her arms, her life jacket and helmet were all covered, she even had a little on her nose. She didn't look pleased.
At this point just about all the progress I had made in coming to terms with the kiddy lifejacket had been swiftly pulled out from under me. I was self conscious about the jacket all over again.
“Ok your turn kid!” that was Mike looking right at me. The repeated jib about kids was really unnecessary.
Tentatively I swam over to the bank, and reached up to grab the root. Looking up the steep muddy bank Emma and Matt were standing to my left and right ready to lend a hand. I was determined not to need it. With way too much confidence I stood up quickly, the water pouring out of my life jacket caused my center of mass to shift as I straightened up. I went down as fast as I had gone up. My feet slipped on the slick mud, twisting as I fell, falling onto my side and getting mud in my face. My helmeted head hit the bank with the collar of my life jacket cushioning it further. I tried to grab something but the bank was so slick it was like reaching for a handhold on a waterslide. I was going right back down into the lake.
I don't know which of them it was but either Mike or Emma managed to get hold of my grab loop and I came up short, covered in mud and laying on my back on the slippery bank. The strap between my legs digging into me uncomfortably. Whoever caught me must not have had the best footing as they didn't pull me up right away as they had with Steph. I was left hanging on the slope trying desperately to regain my footing and recover my pride.
The bank was like sheer ice and despite my flopping around like a fish I couldn't find any purchase, the only thing keeping me from sliding straight back down into the water was the lifejacket and whoever was hanging onto it. As I squirmed helplessly in the now muddy kiddy jacket I could see Jamie floating in the water just below me, thankful somewhat distracted by the continued riding up of their own jacket. So I was able to convince myself that they didn't fully appreciate the massive wedgie I was getting, or the excellent view I was presenting them.
“Give me a hand will ya!”
That was Emma from right behind me, evidently doing everything she could to hang onto me. Honestly I don't know why she didn't just let me fall back into the water, like I wasn’t hanging off the side of a cliff here, it was a few feet of mud. I wasn’t even out of the water fully. I squirmed and splashed around a bit more trying to crawl backwards up the bank without any success until suddenly I was being hauled slowly up the bank, laying on my back, still squirming for some purchase.
A moment later I felt moss and grass under my hands and got a good purchase. Emma and Mike insisted on pulling me all the way onto the flat ground such that I was dragged a good three or four feet further than necessary before being allowed to sit up and pull at my crotch strap to free myself from the atomic wedgie I had received. Looking over to my right I saw Steph also still sitting but looking very amused. Apparently my own ordeal was bad enough to make her feel ok about hers.
Over by the bank Emma and Mike were ready to help Jamie up. Jamie did better than me to start getting to their feet ok and even taking one good step up the bank keeping their left arm way out to balance. But upon reaching forward to take Emma's outstretched hand they slipped and went down hard, sliding straight back down into the water. Jamie popped up a second later with the life jacket around their head, cursing. It took two more tries before Jamie managed to grab Emma’s hand with their right and Mike’s with their left even then almost slipping at the last moment before making it up.
“Fuck me that’s slippery today!”
Of the four of us Emma was the only one not covered in Mud, I was by far the muddiest of the lot, with even my face and hair covered.
Mike took one look at me and laughed.
”You win the mud contest for sure” he was holding his chest.
“Ya, ya! Only because I didn’t go for a swim after falling” Jamie was remarkably clean considering their first fall thanks to two dips back in the lake.
“Fair enough haha, your jacket’s made it easy actually. Something to grab other than your arm.”
“Ya I dono why they don't put a little loop on all jackets” Emma, of course, had to chirp in. I had an idea or two as to why they didn’t do that myself.
1 comment:
Another well written chapter. Thank you. Can't wait for next one!
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