CHAPTER FIVE
After lunch, we’re given free time to hike, swim, play games, or socialize. I decide to spend my time reading through the informational packet we received so I know what I can and cannot do and what I can get away with by bending the rules.
As I walk back to the cabin with Lily and Lara, I notice how similar everything is. All the cabins match in size. Some appear to be mirrors of mine with the bathroom located on the opposite side. A bench and a water fountain sit out in front of each. People congregate around the steps leading up to the door or sit on the bench chatting. The casual contact between the other campers puts me more on the outside since it’s obvious they know each other by their closeness.
Once we arrive at our cabin, Lily and Lara decide to go with a group headed down to the lake. From our view near the top of the mountain, the lake shimmers with threads of gold and blue as the sun hits it. They invite me along, but my interest lies in finishing my reading.
I walk to where my stuff still waits on the bunk next to the door and grab my pamphlets, planning to find somewhere to read them before I check out the computer area. It seems like my best option to discover more about this camp and the area.
As I get ready to leave, Fallon returns to the cabin. I pause at the door and say, “I’m going to take a walk, then check out the computers. Do you want to come?”
She glances at the papers in her hand and winks. “No, thanks, I have a super-secret spy meeting that requires my attention. I plan on reviewing this paperwork before tomorrow.”
Shrugging, I wave goodbye, and head down the stairs, opening the packet as I go. The first page lists the head counselors, Kelly Whitney and Harold Baker.
With my head down reading, I meander down the path. Sitting at one of the picnic tables under the trees near the Corral sounds relaxing. About two cabins down and not far into my reading, I run into a wall, or at least, a solid object the size of a wall. I crane my head up and peer into electric eyes. The blue seems to spark as they smile down at me.
I take a step back, overwhelmed by his large body that ripples with muscles. He’s like a Norse god. I can’t seem to pull my gaze away from him as I stammer, “I’m so, so sorry. I’m normally more aware of my surroundings. I would ask if I hurt you, but it felt like I hit a brick wall.”
In my musings over the eyes and body of Thor, I miss the guy next to him. He doubles over, laughing at both of us. “Ha, ha, ha. Stud here gets that from all the ladies.”
“Shut the fuck up, Micah! You just wish you had a lady.” Thor smirks and directs his attention back to me. “I thought you saw me, or I would have stopped. Are you hurt?”
“No,” I say, now wondering why he didn’t stop. Why would he want me to run into him? Did he want a reason for us to talk? I shake my head, trying to wrangle my thoughts back together. “It shocked me.” I giggle, then clamp a hand over my mouth. What is wrong with me? Giggling? Giving myself a shake, I direct the question back on him. “Are you all right?”
“There’s not much that can hurt Jay. I’ve seen him take on two guys bigger than himself and come out on top.” Micah brags, clearly with some sort of hero worship going on. “Although, I don’t think there are many people bigger than him this year. He had a huge growth spurt since last year. Last year, we came so close to winning, mainly because of Jay.”
“Micah, I can answer for myself. Thanks.” Jay sticks his hand out to me. “I’m Jay. This is my third year here. If you need anything, let me know. I heard what Mindy did to you. Ignore her. She isn’t worth the time.” He speaks so quickly it seems rehearsed.
“You didn’t think that last year when you two were found behind the pool house.” Micah again doubles over laughing.
I, on the other hand, turn beet red and glance down. Way too much information provided in this introduction.
“Dude! What the hell? You know very well I only pulled her back there to get information on her team. I never planned on her jumping me. I was glad her dad found us because she was relentless.” Jay’s cheeks heat. At least, I’m not the only one embarrassed by this conversation.
Micah prods Jay further. “Whatever! That’s not the story she told everyone.” Micah takes two steps to his right to avoid Jay’s reach in case the Jay punches at him.
Jay turns back to me, his face earnest. “You can ignore Micah, too. Clearly, he and Mindy belong together. I know you don’t know me, but trust me when I say those were rumors, just like what she’s saying about you is just a rumor.”
I nod in agreement, slightly confused. Why worry about my opinion of him? If he wants to mess around with her, it’s none of my business.
My mind returns to my earlier thoughts of why we’re talking. He not only wants to talk to me, but he also wants to make sure I think better of him than the rumors suggest I should. Everyone here is strange. People tend to not care about those around them. Even when rumors go around, it never seems to stop anyone’s interactions.
My musings distract me again because Jay’s head tilts, flipping his light brown ponytail onto his shoulder, as waits for my response. Embarrassed, I admit, “I totally missed what you said. Sorry.”
“I asked if you wanted to swim with us. We’re headed down to the pool, now. The pool’s Olympic size, with lanes on one side for people to do laps. There are also two slides and three diving boards.” As Jay describes the pool, Micah enthusiastically bobs his head.
Jay’s claimed my attention. I wouldn’t mind talking with him longer, but I don’t know how to swim. I keep that to myself. “I would, but I’m heading over to the park to read this lovely piece of literature given to me by Kelly.” I wave the packet in front of me. “There’s a swing or picnic table calling my name.”
Before I realize it, Jay grabs the packet from my hand and tosses it over into the weeds. “You don’t need that. I’ll keep you on the straight and narrow.”
His electric eyes pulse with excitement. I go to collect the packet, and he grabs my hand, his palms rough as he holds mine tightly. “You don’t want to grab that, now. It’s sitting in poison oak.”
What am I going to do? That was my excuse not to go with them. “I’m sure Fallon has a copy she can let me borrow.” Tugging my hand free, I spin away from him to head back to the cabin.
Micah hops in front of me, walking backward. “We should see if Fallon wants to swim with us.” Micah’s eyes go glassy with a dreamy, far-off stare. Fallon has an admirer.
“She told me she’s prepping for some meeting tomorrow,” I warn Micah in case Fallon says no to swimming.
“She’s going to be a team lead this year. She wants her team to win. I’m sure she’s mapping out her plan to make her team as strong as possible.” The reverence in his voice solidifies my suspicions about his crush on her.
“Fallon can take a break and join us for the swim,” Jay adds as he walks beside me. “Would that make you more comfortable than joining just Micah and me?”
So much for hiding my swimming discomfort. I’m glad he assumes I don’t want to be alone with them rather than I don’t want to swim.
“If Fallon will go, I’ll go,” I say with as little conviction as I can. “I still want to read through that packet.”
“That works for me.” Jay’s enthusiasm eclipses my despair.
When we reach my cabin, I instruct the boys to wait at the bench while I go find Fallon. I find her on the floor, lying on her stomach with papers spread out everywhere. She jumps as I kneel over her. “Hey, Micah and Jay are outside and want to know if you’d like to go swimming.”
Fallon bounds to her feet more quickly than I expected. “Micah wants me to swim? How cool is that? Yes, totally, we’re swimming.”
Clearly, the infatuation goes both ways.
“The thing is, I really wanted to finish reading through the packet before tomorrow morning,” I hedge. “You also look busy. Maybe, we can go swimming another day? I need to borrow your packet, too, because Jay threw mine into some poison oak.”
Please agree with me on this one, I silently plea. I’ve never tried puppy dog eyes on anyone. I wonder if it will work on Fallon.
Of course, it won’t because Fallon heads to the bathroom to change before I can finish my sentence. “Jay did what? That’s surprising. He normally ignores everyone unless he wants something from them. I can’t image what he’d want from you on the first day other than maybe a date. He’s not my type, but you two would be cute together. Go for it.”
Wait, what? How did this turn into me dating Jay? “I just met the guy. I’m not ready to date him. Do we have to swim? I told them I would only go if you were going.” Some honesty here may help.
She gathers her towel. “If you don’t want to swim, just tell them no.”
I already told them I would though, and I hate going back on my word. I also want to figure Jay out. He can’t like me since we just met, but what would he want from me? Mindy probably put him up to it.
With my mind made up, I grab my suit. It’s black with mesh cutouts that enhance my hourglass figure. Luckily, my foster mom Jeannie likes fashion because my swimming attire would be a tank top and shorts. “It will only take me a second to change.”
While I change, Fallon hides her stash of secret plans. “That suit is adorable.” She waves her hand up and down my figure. “If you don’t want Jay, I’m sure there will be other boys lining up to get your number.”
I shake my head at her as I pull my shorts and t-shirt back over my swimsuit. Who starts a romance at summer camp? The likelihood of me ever seeing or speaking to anyone after this is slight. “I just want to make it through today. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves with the boy thing. We should focus on you and Micah. He’s cute in a geeky sort of way.”
“He is, isn’t he? We spent as much time as we could together last year, but his team was doing so well they didn’t have much free time. After we left camp, Parker and I had to head back to Chicago while Micah was off to Texas. We emailed some right afterward, but we didn’t keep it up.” Fallon turns wistful at this point as she remembers something. I’ll have to ask her about it later.
“Are most of the kids not from Ohio? Why would anyone purposely come to Ohio for camp?” I question her as we walk out the door.
“People come from all over. You’ve met Lucca. He splits his time between Italy, which is where his father is from, and Brazil, which is where his mother is from. This place is unique in the people that you meet and the things that you do. You’ll see.” She runs off to talk to Micah before I find out anything else.
“So, you decided to join us. I’m glad. The pool is great.” Jay matches my stride as we walk up the lane, which must be difficult for him since he’s more than a foot taller than me.
Since Micah and Fallon outpace us by twenty feet or more, I decide to confront Jay on Fallon’s comments. “If I ask you something, do you promise not to get mad?”
“You can ask me anything. One of the first things you’ll learn this week is not only how to trust, but who to trust. You can trust me, and no, I won’t get mad.” His sincerity bleeds through his speech, so I question whether or not to ask him now.
“Well...” I sigh and pause. Coming across as a huge jerk right after I met the guy bothers me, but my mind focuses on Fallon’s comments about him.
He steps in front of me and stops. “I swear, whatever it is I won’t be mad, and I’ll answer as honestly as I can.”
“When I went to tell Fallon about running into you, she mentioned you don’t talk to people unless you need or want something from them. We couldn’t figure out what that could be with me, though. Is Mindy putting you up to this?” I watch my feet shift from foot to foot, ignoring his gaze.
“Hey.” He puts his finger under my chin and lifts so my eyes meet his. The sparks return, locking me into place. “Fallon’s right. I don’t talk to a lot of people. I wanted you to know that not everyone here is like Mindy and that not everyone will believe the rumors she spreads. As I said, I’ve been on the biting end of her comments, so I thought I should do something about it.”
My shoulders relax, and the urge to throw my arms around him overwhelms me. I contain myself even though the sparks now reach my chest and make it hard to breathe. “Thank you for answering me. I’m not used to all of this. I’m on my own most of the time.”
He throws his arm over my shoulder as we return to our path to the pool. “If you don’t trust me with anything else, trust me when I tell you that you are not alone here.”
His arm remains across my shoulders as we walk in silence until we reach the fence around the pool. Fallon and Micah, already in the water, splash around near one of the slide exits. She dunks him, but they both laugh about it. Jay opens the gate for me leads me over to the pool. He places our towels on one of the loungers sitting in the grass. I sit on the edge and let my feet dangle in the water at the five-foot mark. The water won’t be over my head, but it will come up to or even cover my mouth if I’m not on my tiptoes. As long as I stay near the edge, I should be fine.
Jay sits down next to me. “You don’t want to go in? Do you not have a swimsuit?”
I realize I didn’t take off my shorts and t-shirt. This is so embarrassing. I don’t care if others are in swimsuits.
“Yes, I have a swimsuit.” I sigh, stand up, and pull off my clothes. Jay glances over my figure, and a crooked smile adorns his lips as I sit back down. “I was thinking I would just like to feel the sun for a bit. I might get in later.”
“You look great in that suit.” He compliments me as he stands up and pulls off his t-shirt. His stomach is nothing but hard muscles. No wonder I felt like I hit a brick wall. Before I finish my ogling, he dives in the water. He didn’t even give me a chance to turn red over his swimsuit remarks.
He comes up a few feet away from me. I prepare for him to splash me, but he doesn’t. “I’m going to head down to the other end and play some water volleyball. Do you want to watch?”
Water volleyball puts us in deeper water. My breath hitches, and I deeply breathe in and out to avoid a panic attack. I plan to sit out and stay by the edge. What can happen? “Okay.”
I stand and grab our towels and clothes. Following along the side of the pool to where the volleyball nets are, I deposit them in an empty chair behind where I plan to watch, then head back to the water.
Right after I sit down, two bodies plop down next to me. On my right is Lucca, and on my left is Parker. I lean back to get a better view of both of them.
“You don’t want to play?” Parker asks at the same time Lucca asks, “You don’t want to swim?”
I giggle at both of them. “No, I’m happy here enjoying the sun. I also told Jay I would watch him play water volleyball.”
“You mean win water volleyball. He can’t lose with Lucca and me on his team.” Parker high fives Lucca over my head.
“Will you cheer for all of us?” Lucca pulls off the puppy dog eyes I failed at earlier.
Unsure of what is happening or why they pay so much attention to me, I run with it. “Of course, it makes it easier that I don’t know anyone on the other team.” That sounds slightly insensitive, so I add, “I would have rooted for you guys regardless, though.”
Lucca winks at me as he stands up and dives in the water. Parker stands, but I realize he still has his shirt on. He strips it off, and I get a good look at him. It’s hard to believe he was overweight because I don’t see an ounce of fat on his body. He isn’t as muscular as Jay, but he’s well defined.
He dives in, and water sprays my face. I wipe it off and lean back again, letting the warmth of the sun dry me. Only a few small, puffy clouds and a random bird disrupt the clear blue sky. I miss this living near the city. Everything here smells fresh and clean. I daydream about growing up in an area like this. I stop my thoughts before I become depressed since I only know about families from what I’ve read in books. No point in daydreaming about something I’ll never have or a place I’ll never live.
I sit back up and watch the boys pass the ball around, their graceful movements in sync with each other. The game starts right after three more guys join them. The team on the other side is full as well.
Twenty minutes later, the outmatched other team hasn’t scored anything to my boys’ seven goals. I’m not sure why I’m thinking of them as mine other than the fact they asked me to watch and cheer for them. My hands and throat are sore from screaming, whistling, and clapping at each score or when they’ve stopped the other team from scoring.
After sitting on the concrete for so long, my sore butt convinces me to stand and stretch. I grab my towel, and as I bend over to put it on the ground to sit on, a push from behind knocks me off balance. The hard surface of the water slams into my face before everything goes black.
~
My eyes open slowly. The matching green eyes of Parker and Fallon flash with concern.
“Breathe, Cassie.” Parker’s soft and soothing voice urges. “Can you sit up?”
“What happened?” I try to sit up as Jay’s rough hands on my back lift me.
“Mindy pushed you into the pool.” Irritation laces Fallon’s voice, but she tries to be as calm and soothing as Parker when she talks to me. “You hit the water then passed out. Don’t worry. The lifeguard escorted Mindy up to Kelly’s office.”
I cough a few times, which gets me worried looks from those around me. “I’m okay. I just need to get up and move.”
Those same rough hands help me stand. I wobble a little, and my back rests against Jay’s chest. “I’ve got you,” he whispers in my ear.
Lucca holds a towel out to me. “Do you want to sit in one of the chairs?”
“No. I’d like to go take a hot shower to help clear my head,” I say, not really wanting everyone to notice how weak this made me.
“I’ll walk you back.” Lucca takes my hand after wrapping the towel around my shoulders.
“You don’t have to leave on my account. I remember the way back.” I try to pull my hand back, but he holds it tight.
“No, you shouldn’t be alone since you blacked out.” Lucca directs me to the gate I originally entered through.
Fallon saves me. “I’ll take her. You wouldn’t be allowed in the cabin, and I can sit in there and make sure she doesn’t pass out in the shower.”
I breathe a sigh of relief, let go of Lucca’s hand, and stumble back to the cabin with Fallon.