This Summer (20 page)

The kids bombard the trash bins and I wait until our table is empty before standing up. I glance at the agenda and Hadley and I are in charge of cleaning up the cafeteria while Dylan and Brenda take our kids to the cabin to change.

The place clears out quick and soon enough it’s just the two of us. Hadley takes the other side of the room and picks up some strewn trash under the tables. The silence between us is only broken by the clanging of pots and pans from the other room. I take a stack of plates and put them on the counter just inside the kitchen. I go back and forth until most of the plates are cleaned up.

“Is this how it’s going to be for the rest of the summer?” Hadley asks.

I stop mid-step. Since when did she approach a problem at the head? “What do you mean?”

She crosses her arms over her chest but doesn’t move from her spot. She’s blocking the silverware tray that I have to bring into the kitchen. I go to her, walking the long way around a table to come up behind her. I take the plastic bin in my arms.

“I know you,” she says softly. “You’re mad about something. And by the way you threw the ball today, I’m pretty sure I know why.”

“Then you have your answer.”

“No I don’t. I know the who but not the why. We just met him today and already you have a problem?”

I pick up a fork from the floor. “Why do you care?”

“Because how we act here directly affects our camp. And my Dad. There’s no reason for you to hate him.”

If she only knew. “I don’t hate him. I just don’t like the way he treats people.”

Her shoulders nearly touch her ears. “He’s been perfectly polite.”

“I can’t believe you would let him touch you.”

She tugs at the hem of her shirt. “Why not? Why is it so horrible to believe that anyone might be interested in me?”

“It’s not—” I pause, searching for the right words.

“Since when did you care?” she pushes.

“I’ve always—” I stop myself before going too far. My knuckles are ghost white with my grip on the bin. “I’ve heard things.”

“Like he’s a player?”

“Yeah.”

She leans her hip against the table. “Sebastian already told me.”

“And you’re okay with that?”

She shrugs again. “I don’t know. It feels nice to be wanted. I didn’t want to be tied down this summer. I just wanted one last summer experience before going away. Nothing’s going to be the same after I leave.”

Boy did she hit the nail on the head on that one. “But him? Why not someone else?”

“Like who? You?”

Her defiant stare is incredibly sexy. I adjust the bin in my hands, keeping them from touching her. God, I want to touch her.

“I didn’t mean it,” she whispers. “It’s just—this situation is making me insane.”

“What do you mean?” I push.

“We’re supposed to be friends—”

“We are friends.”

“But you’re acting like that time you caught Sarah hanging out with Bobby DeLuca that night when she said she had been out with her mom.”

I flinch at the memory. “I’m not jealous.” I remember how furious I was that night.

“Just because you disappeared from my life doesn’t mean I still don’t know you,” she says. “And whether or not it's because you see me like a little sister like you did when we were kids, I still know you. And if we’re going to move past this, you have to let me in. At least as friends. Right now we’re in a strange space. And I don’t like it.”

She has no idea how much I want to let her in.

I focus on the dirty silverware in front of me. It isn't the most pleasant sight but I don't need her eyes distracting me. I swallow my pride and open up to her. “You’re right.”

She moves closer to me, my hand still circling her wrist. “But, why?”

“Because I hate seeing you with him.”

“With Dylan?”

I move my gaze up to hers. “Anyone.”

Her chest heaves slowly and silence falls over us. “What—”

The front door clicks open and I jump back, the metal pieces crashing together. Two of the Camp Henry counselors enter the room with Aiden and Lily’s group on their heels. I turn away from Hadley and take the bin to the kitchen.

“Go get changed!” Lily calls from across the room.

Hadley turns to her friend. “Okay.”

I wait in the doorway a few seconds more before coming out. The group has already passed through the cafeteria toward the auditorium and if I go fast enough I might be able to catch Hadley.

I push through the doors and nearly run into Dylan. I look over his shoulder and, through the darkness, I can see Hadley moving toward the cabins.

“One sec, bro” Dylan says, grabbing my arm.

I wrench my arm away from him and move out of the way of the kids entering the cafeteria.

Brenda’s eyes widen. “Come on kids.”

“Yeah?” I ask, mustering as much calmness as I can.

Dylan scrubs his chin with his hand and waits until the doors close behind the kids. “Just wanted to clarify something with you.”

“What’s that?”

“You try something like what you did on the field again and I will hurt you.”

I’d love for him to try. “Really?”

He lifts his chin defiantly. “Really.”

I step forward, our faces close. “Well, next time you decide to sleep with someone, make sure it doesn’t have the possibility of ruining your job.”

He flinches but doesn’t move. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Stay away from Hadley or else I’ll show you what I’m talking about.” I turn my back on him and hope that he does something.
Just give me an excuse to kick your ass
.

His final words float in the air behind me. “She would deny it.”

“Like I said,” I call without turning around. “Try me.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Hadley

The next morning I wake with the guilt from the night before sitting like a rock in my stomach. Dylan ignored me during karaoke. By the end of the night I was more pissed than anything and didn’t meet him like he asked. Maybe now he was playing by the rules? Was I supposed to catch on with that reasoning? Did I make a huge mistake and leave him hanging? I went to bed with mixed emotions of anger and guilt.

My mind drifts to the conversation with Will and a lighter feeling trickles through me. Will
is
jealous of other guys. A concept that my brain is still unable to process. I always felt that those emotions were reserved for someone other than me. Pressing him seems to be my greatest ally. But it is also the thing I fear most with anyone. Rejection from him will send me back to the day he left a gaping hole in my heart.

“Who wants first shower?” Lily asks groggily from across the room.

I shove the covers off me and sit up on the edge of the bed. “I’ll go.”

Lily sighs and starts lightly snoring. I shake my head, smiling. I inhale the fresh scent of the forest around us, pushing away all the negativity in my mind. I silently vow to myself that I’m going to make the best of the day.

***

“Lily, I can’t believe you did this!” I hiss a half hour later.

“What?” she asks innocently, pulling a brush through her hair. “That other bathing suit was like a hundred years old. My grandmother shows more skin.”

I’m next to her in front of the bathroom mirror, holding the smallest pieces of fabric dangling from my fingers. “How is this going to fit me?”

She’s already changed into a two-piece that fits her like a second skin. She’s used to looking good.

“You already tried it on, remember?”

“When?” I rack my brain, thinking I would remember that.

“They were having that sale in September. It was on clearance so don’t worry, I didn’t break my bank over you.” She winks. “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

***

As we near the lake I tuck the towel closer to my body, a secret thrill going through me. Lily was right. The bathing suit fit me nicely, but I can't imagine ever buying it. Lily and Skye have amazing bodies. I just never thought of myself that way. But when I put it on, a slow confidence built inside of me. That was until I stepped out of the cabin, my resolve fluttering away in the sticky morning air.

Lily strides next to me, her towel rolled up and tucked under her arm. Confident as ever. “Whatever happened with you and Dylan? Did you meet up with him last night?”

I chew on my lip. “No. He was weird during karaoke, plus I was tired.”

She chucks me in the arm. “You’re always ‘tired’. But he did seem a little annoyed last night. That was until I saw him and Brenda leave together.”

“What?” I say, unable to imagine them together.

“Sorry,” she says.

I shrug. “No regrets.”

She nods and pats my shoulder. “No regrets.”

When we arrive at the beach by the lake, most of the kids are already splashing around in the water and the others are playing games on the sand. Will is on the pier judging a cannonball contest. My breath hitches when his head tilts up, scanning the crowd. A few seconds later his eyes catch mine. He lifts a hand over his eyes like a visor and stares.

I dip my gaze to the ground as we find a spot to put our towels. Our flip flops thwack on the ground until we reach the sand and I kick mine off. I pick them up and glance at the lifeguard chair. Dylan is on top of it.

“Hi,” I say.

He peers down at me and his eyes widen. HIs head snaps up again toward the water. “Hi,” he clips.

I give Lily a look.
See?

She wrinkles her nose and indicates for me to follow her a few feet from the chair. She unrolls her towel and drops down onto it. She’s a tanning type of girl. I stand there, my toes digging into the sand.

“You’re going to get weird tan lines if you keep that towel on all day.”

“That’s fine with me,” I say.

“You dropped something.”

I bend over to see what I dropped and before I know it, the towel is ripped out of my hands. I quickly adjust the top and bottom parts of the suit to make sure nothing is showing as the towel floats down on the other side of Lily. I shoot her a look and she’s already looking forward with a wicked grin. She dons her sunglasses and lays back. I quickly spread my towel out next to her and sit down. I push my sunglasses over my eyes as if they can cover my whole body. Lily and her scheming mind…

The sun warms my skin and I finally relax, digging my feet into the soft sand. I let out a sigh.

“It’s nice, right?” Lily asks.

“So nice,” I respond. “I wish I could stay here forever.”

“Me too.”

After a while, beads of sweat start to form around my hairline. And even though I’m wearing almost nothing, the heat starts to get to me. I turn my head to her. “I’m going into the water. You coming?”

“Knock yourself out,” she says, unmoving.

I get up from the towel and make my way down to the water. Sebastian and another counselor are playing Marco-Polo with a group of kids. And losing. Badly.

“Incoming!” Harry yells and I just catch his grin before he sinks under the water in an impressive cannonball.

Will applauds his effort and, with the jeering from the other kids, he’s the next to perform. The water feels amazing on my feet as I wade into the water, knee deep, then thigh deep. Shivers ripple through me. Before I know it, I’m making my way over to the pier where Will and the kids are playing. His eyes are focused on the water as he sprints down the pier. His feet bang across the wood as he runs and flies into the air. His knees tuck close to his body in perfect form. His body slices through the water and he disappears for a moment. The kids cheer and several of them jump off the pier at the same time. The counselor in me steps forward, making sure the kids are all right, but it’s apparent they don’t need my assistance.

Will’s head breaks the surface and he launches his body up. He whips back his hair and I can’t help but stare at the water droplets careening down his chest. His eye catches mine.

“Hey.” He wades closer to me.

“Hi.” I gesture toward the kids. “Seems like you’re having fun.”

“There aren’t a lot of lakes where I live. It’s one part of summer in the North that I miss.”

His eyes move down my neck, and lower, and I suddenly want to dive back into my towel and curl up into a ball. “Want to join the contest?”

“Um, no.”

He smirks. “Not for old time's sake?”

And with that small reveal, the night before starts to make sense. We both seem to have fallen under the spell of summer.

I test my theory. “I seem to recall I’m the reigning champ of cannonballs.”

He tsks. “That’s only because you’re super compact.”

“Excuse me?” I say, flicking water at him with my fingers.

He waves his hand in front of my body. “You’re tiny, easier to roll up into a ball.”

“I think there’s a compliment in there somewhere,” I say, the flirtatious tone coming out of nowhere, but it feels nice. Familiar even, as if I’m slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes.

“Definitely.” He appraises my body again. “Did Lily pick that out for you?”

I tuck my arms over my chest. “Is it that obvious?”

He smiles and shakes his head, swinging back and forth like a metronome. “I remember you being a little more reserved. Not that I’m complaining.”

“Well things change.” I untuck my arms, straining to gain confidence.

I feel his penetrating eyes over every part of my body. “Yes they do.” He wades closer, his mouth close to my cheek. “And I’m not the only one who notices. But I still like the old you. Just don’t lose her.”

He wades away from me and my body leans forward, urging him not to go.

“The offer still stands though. I think you could teach these kids a lesson or two.” He winks.

I shake my head. He turns away, wading toward the pier. He launches himself up onto the platform, water pouring off his bathing suit onto the wood. For a second I would love to be any of those droplets, particularly the ones on his chest, but the thought disappears when a wave of water strikes my dry back.

I whip around to see a few of the kids from Lily’s group hunched over, ready to strike again. I grin. “That’s not very nice.”

One of them strikes, sending droplets of water at me. He giggles uncontrollably. I lunge towards him, picking him up by the waist, and he squeals. The others wage war against me until all but my head is soaked. One of them wraps his arms around my legs and I fight for balance.