Chapter Fourteen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The power didn’t come back on until after dinner and the rain was still pounding on the roof when we called lights out. I felt antsy from being inside all day and even crocheting couldn’t calm me down. I ended up falling asleep wishing I could run.

On Tuesday morning, the rain was still drizzling but the lightning had passed and we were cleared for our regular schedules with the exception horseback riding and mountain biking due to the mud.

We said goodbye to our campers after breakfast so we could work our scheduled activities outside and I was already feeling less suffocated by lunch time. We sat down at the table with our girls and they excitedly told us all about their mornings. Lizzy complained about not being able to ride horses that day but they all seemed happy otherwise. As we walked back to the cabin after lunch, they chattered away as if they had to get it out before their quiet rest period.

We were almost to the cabin when someone called my name. I turned around and saw Christy walking heading in my direction.

“Shit,” Hannah muttered behind me and I sighed.

“Seriously. Wish me luck.” I headed towards Christy and met her at Cabin Fourteen. “Hey, Christy. What’s up?”

She put her hands on her hips and glared at me. “So, was it all an act to try to get him to chase you or what?”

“What?” I shook my head quickly. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t act stupid because we both know you’re not. Was your plan to get your hooks into Drew all along?”

I shook my head again and let out a sigh. “No. Of course not. It just… happened.”

“Sure it did.” She stepped towards me with an angry look on her face but I didn’t retreat. “Now that the chase is over, it won’t last. He and I have a history, Shaylee. I know what he likes and what he needs. Don’t get comfortable.”

She didn’t wait for me to respond as she turned on her heel and walked back towards her cabin. I waited a minute before doing the same to mine. I didn’t go into the main cabin door just in case any of the girls were trying to nap and opted instead for the side door to the counselor room. As I turned the corner, I was surprised to find Drew leaning against the cabin near the door.

“I’m not going to lie… It feels good to be fought over,” he said with that cocky smile on his face. “I was just waiting for the hair pulling to start.”

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. “Don’t make me regret this.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied with a chuckle as he closed the distance between us. “Seriously, though, are you okay? What did she want?”

“She wanted to know if I’ve now achieved my endgame, which is apparently you.” I shook my head in annoyance. “Oh, and to warn me that you were only in it for the chase and that this won’t last through the summer.” I used my hand to gesture between the two of us.

“This,” Drew mimicked my gesture. “is none of her business.” He placed his hands on either side of my neck before smiling at me. “Please don’t listen to a word she says.”

“I haven’t before. Why would I start now?” I asked as I ran my hands up his chest. Drew leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips.

“I actually had a real reason for coming over,” he murmured as his thumbs swept against the charm on my neck before doing the same to my lips. “We’re still going out tomorrow night, right?”

I nodded and narrowed my eyes at him. “You trying to back out?”

“Hardly.” His mouth quirked into a smile. “Do you want to stay in town for the night? If so, I was going to bring a change of clothes with us.”

“I figured it would be easier.”

Drew just gazed at me for a moment, his blue-green eyes bright as they roamed my face. I waited for him to kiss me but he didn’t. He let his hands drop instead and took a step back.

“I’ll see you later?”

I furrowed my brow and stared as he took another step back. “Seriously?”

“No,” he answered with a chuckle as he surged forward and pressed his lips to mine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and his came around my back as our mouths moved together like a synchronized dance. When we finally broke apart, I opened my eyes slowly and couldn’t help the smile that flit to my lips.

“Walking away without kissing you takes more strength than I have,” Drew whispered as the tip of his nose touched mine. “I’d rather run ten miles and you know how much I hate running.”

I laughed and kissed him once more before gently pushing on his chest. “That says a lot.” I moved towards the door and wiggled my fingers in a wave. “See you at dinner.”

“Bye, Shay.” Drew grinned and disappeared around the corner.

I walked into my room and Hannah was writing in her journal when she looked up at me.

“I was starting to worry that Christy killed you and buried your body somewhere.”

“I can see that you were very concerned.” I smiled at her and poked my head out into the main cabin. The girls were reading, painting each other’s nails, or writing in notebooks. No one even noticed me as I retreated back into our room. “We have a really good group of girls.”

“We do,” Hannah agreed as she closed her journal. “Are you sure you’re okay if I hang out with Jordan tomorrow night? I hate to abandon you on our day off.”

I nodded my head, toeing off my shoes so I could fall onto my bed. “It’s really fine, Han. I see you more than anyone else so spend time with Jordan. Drew and I are going to hang out.”

“Okay, good. Maybe we can meet for lunch on Thursday or something.”

“That would be great.” I watched as Hannah opened her journal back up and my eyes drooped until they were closed. It felt like just seconds later that she was shaking me awake and we were heading off to our afternoon activities. Hannah and I had lifeguard duty, arts and crafts, and obstacle center coaching for the afternoon.

We met our girls in the dining hall for dinner and they were eager to tell us their soccer game against Cabin Seven earlier.

“Six to two?” I asked, truly impressed. “You guys killed them.”

Maria nodded happily as she took a bite of her garlic bread. “They were talking so much trash. It was nice to rub their faces in the mud.”

“I wish we’d been there to see,” Hannah said as she grinned at the girls.

“Me, too,” I agreed. “We’re really proud of you.”

Lizzy was giving us the play-by-play during dessert when someone tapped on my shoulder. I turned and saw Keaton standing beside our table with a smile on his face. I stood and gave him a hug.

“Hey, stranger.”

Keaton’s grip was tight as he returned the embrace. “Hey, Shaylee.” He released his hold and took a step back as he gestured to the dining hall doors. “Do you have a second?”

“Yeah, sure.” I looked at Hannah questioningly and she nodded.

“We’re almost done. We’ll meet you outside.”

I followed Keaton and he led me to the small bench that was right outside the door.

“I wanted to apologize for asking you out and then disappearing,” he explained quietly as he sat and gestured to the spot next to him. “I had an emergency back home and had to go take care of it.”

With everything that had gone with camp beginning and falling into our routines, I’d actually forgotten about him asking me out. “Oh, that’s okay. I understand.”

“Good.” He reached out and tugged on a piece of hair that had fallen out of my ponytail. “I saw on the schedule that you’re off tomorrow night. Can I take you somewhere?”

I gave him an apologetic smile before shaking my head. “I already have plans tomorrow night.” For some reason, I felt like I had to add, “With Drew.”

“Drew?” Keaton’s eyes went wide with surprise and I wasn’t sure why. “Don’t you think that’s a little strange?”

I furrowed my brow in confusion and shook my head. “Why would that be strange?”

“Hey, Keaton.”

Both of us turned our heads to find the man in question walking towards us, his hands shoved into his pockets. Keaton gave him an annoyed look before jerking his chin towards him.

“Drew. What’s up?

Drew looked at Keaton before glancing at me. “One of your girls- Jenny, I think- is looking for you, Shay.”

“Jenny?” I stood quickly before looking at Keaton. “I’m sorry. Jenny has health issues. I have to go.”

I didn’t wait for him to answer as I powerwalked into the dining hall and back to the table. I immediately went to Jenny and crouched down next to her.

“Hey, you okay?”

She looked at me, surprise coloring her face, and nodded. “Oh, I was just wondering where you were.”

“Oh.” I released a relieved breath and nodded my head. “Okay. Well, I’m right here.”

The tone chimed over the intercom to let us know that dinner was over. I straightened up as the girls stood from the table and I followed the group out of the dining hall. I looked for Keaton and Drew when we made it outside but neither were anywhere to be seen.

Alexandra went to mail distribution at the rec center to pick up our cabin’s mail and we took the thirty minute respite to go through the letters and digest our food before heading to the treehouse for our final activity of the night. This was my favorite end of the day activity because we spent the hour sitting at top, overlooking the camp, and just chatting. The girls also loved doing the zip-line over and over and they were getting really good at it.

After we’d all taken the fun way out of the treehouse, we went back to the cabin and the girls began showering. Once everyone but me was clean, we played Twister in groups of five for a few rounds, everyone giggling uncontrollably after every round. When we were done playing, Hannah and I reminded them about our night off the next evening and rehashed the expectations we had for the ten of them.

I also spoke to them about potential pranks and got their input so I could shop while I was in town. The trick was going to be getting rid of Drew while I bought what I needed. The girls were on board, though, and they had a few ideas of their own.

I went for my run after the kids were in bed and grabbed a shower as soon as I was back. When we were up the next morning, Hannah and I changed our sheets so Joanne and Tammi would have someplace to sleep.

The day went by at a snail’s pace but when we made it back to the cabin at seven-thirty that evening, I was nervous. I didn’t understand why, especially since I’d obviously spent time and even the night with Drew before, but the butterflies raged like a hurricane in my stomach.

Although I’d technically asked Drew out, he’d planned the evening for us. Since he knew the town better than I did, it made sense. He told me to be ready by nine so we could make it to dessert by nine-thirty.

“That dress looks fantastic on you,” Hannah said when she came out of the bathroom. I tugged at the short-sleeves of the lilac-colored dress and sighed. It fell about mid-thigh, a bit shorter than I would have liked, and was modest in the front but showed a lot of bare back.

“Black belt or silver belt?” I asked as I turned to show Hannah both and she immediately pointed to the silver one.

“Wear your silver sandals with it.” She pulled on her own dress and I was jealous of every curve it hugged on her. The white, sleeveless dress dipped low and showed off her cleavage in a way that would have Jordan mesmerized.

I glanced in the mirror once I was all dressed and gave myself a nod. My dark hair had a few lighter strands from where it’d been kissed by the sun, and I had curled it so it fell in large curls at my shoulders. The purple eyeshadow around my eyes made the light brown stand out and the nerves were written all over my face.

I packed my overnight bag quickly, reluctantly accepting the handful of condoms Hannah handed me, and I’d just zipped it up when a knock sounded on the side door. I opened it and stepped back to let Joanne and Tammi in.

“Damn, you girls look great,” Tammi said with a grin as she looked to both of us. “It’s going to be a fun night for the two of you.”

I shouldered my bag and released a nervous sigh. “That’s the plan. Come on, I’ll let the girls know you’re here.”

We walked out into the main area and the girls gasped and fawned over the outfits Hannah and I were wearing. Once they’d settled down and we’d hugged them all, they promised they’d be perfect for Joanne and Tammi. We told them goodnight and I followed Hannah out the front door of the cabin.

“Oh, geez,” Hannah said as she jumped, almost knocking into me in the process. “Jordan. You scared the shit out of me.”

I looked over her shoulder and grinned when I saw both Jordan and Drew standing in the grass. Jordan probably looked nice but I didn’t take notice as my eyes fixed on his roommate.

Looking at him caused my butterflies to swarm. Drew was wearing a grey, short-sleeved button-up shirt and a pair of dark jeans. The blue Dodgers hat he normally wore was missing and his hair was brushed, looking the neatest I’d ever seen it, matching his recently trimmed beard.

“Hey, Shaylee,” he said quietly, a smile on his face as I walked towards him. “You look gorgeous.”

I tugged on the hem of his shirt and placed a small kiss on his lips. “You don’t look too bad yourself, Moore.”

He took my bag from me and slung it over his shoulder with his own before grabbing my hand. After stopping to check out our phones, the four of us walked to the loading zone in front of the amphitheater where Kurt was already waiting for us. Drew and I climbed in the back seat while Hannah and Jordan sat in front of us. We all made light conversation all the way to town and Kurt stopped to drop Hannah and Jordan off first so they wouldn’t miss their movie. When he pulled in front of building with the name ‘The Chocolate Bar’ in front of it, he turned to smile and Drew and me.

“Be safe and have fun, guys. I’ll swing by and leave your bags at the hotel for you. See you tomorrow?”

We both nodded and thanked Kurt before climbing out of the van. Drew took my hand immediately and smiled at me.

“Ready?”

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves before nodding and following him inside the building.