Camp Jameson

by Wendy Lea Thomas

  I waved to Sienna as she stepped out of her cabin in the distance and she gave me a ‘go get em’ look. I busted out laughing. Oh, if she only knew how I really wanted to.

  I tightened my sweatshirt around my waist then wrapped my hands around his tight abs. He followed my gaze to Sienna. I couldn’t help but notice the bewildered look she gave him as we pulled away.

  When we got clear of all the people, Avery’s body relaxed, then he shot through the woods past all the cabins.

  Along the way, I could see his place in the distance through the trees and my heart raced. I had already forgiven him. He had shown me so much of himself and I knew that scared him. That was his true game. I told myself he wanted to get close to me but he held onto his fear. I realized Avery thought too much, just like me.

  We started to climb the ridge up the mountain and I leaned into him more. The non-sensible side of me wanted to find the hem of his shirt and slide my hands over his warm skin. I pushed the thought from my mind and scolded myself. That was not why we were here. This was not a date. I won a contest. He’d just hurt me again.

  We rode up the mountain for about thirty minutes over old dusty trails past half buried cabins from a bygone era. The thick canopy of forest thinned as we rode higher and the tires of the quad dug deep into the rutted trail.

  Finally, we arrived at the top of a lightly wooded lot. He turned to the left and headed toward a cliff. We reached a large wooden bridge with planks missing every few feet as it swayed in the stern breeze that flowed up from the valley.

  He pulled off to the side and turned the motor off. I climbed off, wishing I didn’t have to let go and tried to loosen the strap on my helmet. He had already taken his off and stepped to help me with mine. He loosened the strap for me and I tugged the helmet from my head. I smoothed down my bangs and untied my sweatshirt then draped it over my arm.

  “Are you ready for this?” he said. Did you really have to ask? I said to myself. Instead, I took it upon myself to be a smartass and yawned in fake boredom. Avery chuckled.

  “Bold and beautiful,” he breathed. His eyes danced with excitement. He stepped to the back of the quad, pulled out a backpack, secured the strap over his shoulder, and we walked toward the bridge. He led me past the bench next to the bridge and onto the rickety, swaying structure. I stopped to wonder where he was headed, and then I shrugged when I realized I would probably follow him anywhere.

  Bits of wood flaked off under my running shoes as we made our way to the center of the bridge. He stopped mid-center, finding several secure planks that hadn’t as yet fallen to the river below, lowered his backpack to the deck, and then knelt to the ground. You could feel the wind swaying us to and fro. This was insane to sit out here.

  He spread the throw blanket open wide and lowered it to the creaking planks. I took in a deep breath, steadied my nerves, and realized there was no place I would rather be. I swallowed nervously as I watched him bring out plastic cups, cheese, crackers, and grapes. This bridge could snap at any second.

  I pushed my hands into my front pockets and waited for him to arrange everything as a strong gust picked up, causing me to lose my balance temporarily. He glanced up in concern then gestured for me to sit. I dropped my sweatshirt beside me and wearily sat cross-legged on the blanket. I couldn’t believe I was here, alone with Avery, drifting side to side, over a valley at least fifteen hundred feet below. I tried to reign in my thoughts as he sat next to me.

  He opened the wine with grace and poured a glass then handed it to me. I sipped on it, grateful I had something to do with my hands, and watched as he poured himself a glass. I saw him study my KSU t-shirt.

  “Do you like your nursing classes?”

  “I guess. Nursing is all I’ve ever wanted to do since my best friend broke her arm when I was ten years old and I didn’t know how to help her.”

  “You didn’t want to become a doctor?”

  “Nah. The nurse at the Emergency Room was so caring and gentle to my friend during a really scary moment of her life. The doctor just barked out orders. It was the nurse who really helped her.”

  He blinked then studied me. “You have a soft spot for the less fortunate don’t you?”

  “I guess I always have,” I nervously played with the silver chain around my neck and let my hand fall around the rectangular metal. It was a habit of mine that I seemed to resort to when I was lost in thought – which was pretty often; except that this was the first time I’d had a chance to wear it since I got here.

  “Are those Military tags?” he asked. I unclasped my hand around them and held them out for Avery to read. “Lieutenant Terry Joseph Mason, Air Force.”

  “They were my father’s. He was a pilot. He used to take me flying every time he came home on leave. I loved how it was just him and me surrounded by nothing but blue sky. I always felt safe with him. He was killed in Iraq. It’s just me and my mom now.”

  “I’m sorry.” He paused for a moment. “What does your mom do?”

  “She’s an executive for a large business firm in Cleveland. I don’t see her much. She works long hours. I usually only see her on holidays when the business world is closed.”

  I downed the remaining wine in my cup and Avery quickly filled it. We sat in silence looking out at the forest below, just taking in the scenery, munching on cheese and grapes.

  “I started running because of my dad.” Avery looked at me curiously. “He told me if you ever wanted to work something out in your head there was no better way to do it then by running outdoors. He was right. Nature seemed to consume me and make all my problems feel small.”

  I looked to see Avery staring at me. His emerald eyes seemed to shine amongst the sky in the distance. We were so high you could barely hear the waterfall in the distance but the mist layered itself above the river below us.

  “My father gave me two other pieces of advice, want to know what they were?” I rambled nervously. Avery nodded and popped a piece of cheese in his mouth.

  “Always read a newspaper and stay current in what is going on in the world today. Second, listen more and talk less. I’ve done all the talking. Now it’s your turn.”

  “Your arms are very solid. Tell me about being a gymnast back in high school?” I narrowed my eyes at him. He was not opening up to me.

  “My best friend in middle school talked me into joining with her. I found it was a great way to let out frustration. I liked the independent part of the sport. You are only as good as you want to be. I suppose tumbling made me feel closer to flying. It was a way that I could feel closer to my dad when he was always gone.” Avery’s face softened. “Why all the questions? When do I get some answers from you, Mr. Jameson?”

  Avery chuckled. “Alright, you can ask me all the questions you want until the sun touches those trees. Then we’ll have some real fun.”

  I looked to see the sun just above the tree line. I playfully glared at him. He thought he was so clever.

  I chewed on a red grape while I filed through my long list of questions in my head and tried to ask the most important one. I knew he wasn’t going to talk about the woman that crushed him so I went to my second choice.

  “The only one that is pressing is why did you start Camp Jameson? Don’t you worry about what people might think?”

  Avery looked toward the setting sun and shifted nervously, bringing his arms out behind him, and leaned backwards.

  “That’s two questions,” he smirked gloriously to me. I wanted to melt right there.

  “You can’t stall waiting for the sun to go down. It doesn’t work that way,” I said.

  “I’m afraid we don’t have enough time for me to tell the story properly. But I will start by saying this,” he said leaning into me. “If I never opened this camp, I never would have met you.”

  I chuckled. “That has got to be the worst pickup line I ever heard.”

  “Maybe so,” he grinned. I blushed as he gave me a heated look.

  “I will tell you
this, it all started right here in this very spot. My brother and I hiked this ridge with the intent of rock climbing but we found this old bridge. On our way back down the mountain to our truck and hitch-trailer we missed our trail to the parking lot and veered off course. It took us around the far ridge across from the parking lot. At the edge of a clearing beneath an overgrown bush was a ‘for-sale by owner’ sign. Before I knew it, I had the owner on the phone asking for a price and how many acres they had to sell. Because I had graduated a year early from high school and I only had one more year left of architecture school, I decided to use some of my trust fund from my grandfather to buy the land.”

  The base of the sun touched the trees, bathing the horizon in a shimmering orange glow. Avery stood, wiping his hands down the front of his jeans, as he steadied his feet on the ever-swaying bridge.

  “Time to have some real fun.”

  I turned to see a Club Car utility 4x4 pull up across the bridge. Pierce jumped out and rounded to the back of the cart. He pulled out a bag of gear and strode casually but carefully toward us. He’d obviously been on this bridge before. Neither one of them had any fear of it. I glanced toward Avery and I could see his excited smile on his face and then I studied Pierce. This was week three of camp and I still hadn’t really talked to him. His shoulders were wide and he wore a deep tan like Avery.

  “Aria, you know my brother, Pierce.” Pierce whistled loudly through his teeth. I could feel my face heat up under his stare.

  “Hi,” was all that I could say.

  “Yummy.” He looked me over from head to toe. I took a step behind Avery as the breeze stiffened a bit, causing me to reach my hand out to Avery’s shirt to steady myself. Pierce studied me. “Shy one, aren’t you?”

  “Let’s get the gear ready. We’re losing daylight,” Avery interceded. I was thankful he did. Avery leaned over and lowered his mouth to my ear.

  “Look who else doesn’t trust easily,” he breathed. He was smirking at me when he pulled away and I blinked at him, not sure how to reply. I realized then that he was quoting my words from the morning I had breakfast with him.

  I watched as Avery and Pierce went to work with unpacking the gear. They both took out several lengths of rope, clamps, and harnesses, and I watched, intrigued by their knowledge. They had the same build. Pierce was younger and his eyes were blue. I still had no idea what I was in store for. It seemed very dangerous to try and bungee off this rickety old thing. I waited patiently until I saw Pierce begin to mount the support device to the side of the bridge. Avery laughed at my nervous stance.

  “Nothing will make you feel more alive than bungee jumping off Jameson Bridge. I knew you’d like this.”

  “You named the bridge after yourself? Of course you did. But what if I’m afraid of heights?”

  Avery laughed. “You’re here aren’t you? Now, step in.”

  I put my hands on Avery’s shoulders to steady myself as he secured the harness around me. His time near me was too short and all I wanted him to do was close the space between us and kiss me. His hands, even though they were touching me through clothes were in all the right places and I was just about to explode with desire. I guess this was pretty exciting, being up here on a bridge that could snap at any moment and sharing that moment with Avery. It was amazing.

  When I thought he was all through, he stepped closer and put his hands around the back of my neck. I tried hard not to overreact by his warm hands on my skin. I was glad when he lifted my father’s military tags from my neck and gathered them in his hand.

  “We wouldn’t want to lose these.” He stepped to the backpack, set them in, and zipped it up.

  I was so blown away by the gesture that I just stood in awe as I watched him secure his own harness as Pierce double-checked his straps.

  The mountainside glistened even more with the glow of the setting sun as Avery helped me climb under the rope to the ledge of the old bridge. I didn’t want to look down but I couldn’t help myself. I just stared at the rushing water flowing over the rocks kicking up a fine mist and the waterfall in the distance. The supreme foliage of the thick forest covering the mountains that led down to the valley was stunning. We were at least fifteen hundred feet in the air as he pulled me near and clipped his harness to mine.

  “You didn’t think I was going to let you do this without me, did you?” I smiled up at him. “I want to be the one to catch you when you fall,” he said in a low voice. Those words did more to me than I wanted to admit.

  “Put your arms around my chest.” I was nervous and excited.

  “Ready?” I nodded.

  “On my count of three.” He let his fingers trail under my chin and tilted my face to look at him. “Don’t you dare look away. Keep your eyes on the ground and take it all in. Fly with me, Aria.” He studied my face as if he was trying to memorize me then wrapped his arms around my waist. It was the most intimate gesture I could have ever hoped for. Avery looked at Pierce and nodded then looked back to me.

  “One, two, three.”

  I could feel Avery lean over the ledge and I let myself fall with him.

  The rush was exhilarating. The wind pushed my cheeks back away from my mouth and I could feel them rippling in the wind. I screamed in delight and louder than I ever have before. I felt Avery’s chest rumble with laughter.

  I knew I was secured to Avery, so I let my hands fall out to the side and leaned my head back. I was flying.

  “That a girl,” Avery breathed in my ear and wrapped his arms around me tighter.

  I took it all in. I took in the smell of Avery’s cologne as the tears streamed down my cheeks from the air rushing past my face. The mixture of the forest made of pine and oak, nature was all around us. The river gushed below us as the summer heat drifted by in waves off the mountain. The sun had a warm glow in the distance and the river below us was fast approaching. I was plummeting at a fast rate and I didn’t once think of how dangerous this really could be or if the bridge would hold when our bands reached full tension. I was in Avery’s arms, and I felt safe.

  We dropped down within feet from the water. I stretched out my hands farther and let the water brush my fingertips. I laughed aloud as the adrenaline coursed through me. The cords recoiled and pulled us up about six feet, and then we dropped downward again. The ropes swayed us back and forth like a pendulum on a grandfather clock. I looked up at Avery as he wiped the tears from my eyes. My eyes met his and I could see wonder and exhilaration in his.

  “What a rush,” he said closing his eyes. His dark brown hair was tousled now and all I wanted to do was run my hands through it.

  “That was incredible,” I shouted.

  We both hung upside down just taking in each other as the rope stopped swaying. His eyes sparkled in awe. All the blood was rushing to my head. My heart thumped loudly in my ears. Adrenaline pushed through my veins. He readjusted his body and angled it closer to mine. His arms tightened around my waist. I could feel every inch of Avery. His hot breath on my lips. I was caught up in the moment. I couldn’t take it anymore. I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. I brushed my tongue over his lips and Avery groaned then deepened the kiss.

  I tightened my arms around him and pulled him closer. I tilted my head back as he broke away and trailed kisses down my neck. He sucked in a breath but then I felt him stiffen and pull away. I could see the panic that shot through his eyes.

  “I can’t,” he said. Anger spread through me like a wildfire.

  “What do you mean? You can’t kiss me but you can fuck me then leave me? You’re just like Nate,” I seethed. I could feel Pierce beginning to pull us back up. I took advantage of the time we had. It was a long way back up. I know that I was the one to kiss him but had I really read his body language wrong?

  “Avery, why do you pull away every time we get close?”

  “I can’t be with you, Aria. I’m sorry if you thought that this was something more than the contest prize.”

  “Bullshit. So you would
have done this with anyone? Even, say, Caitlyn?”

  “It was just a prize. You won the prize.”

  “You know Avery, that’s the thing. You’re not being honest with yourself. You remember what you said to me the first day I arrived?” I didn’t wait for his answer. “You said don’t think, just feel. You should really follow your own advice.”

  The rope jarred and came to a sudden halt. Pierce cursed. “It’s jammed guys. Give me a minute,” Pierce called out. I heaved a sigh and tried to diffuse the situation. What more could I do. I was being held in his arms and held against him by straps with no place to go.

  I looked at Avery. Here we were, hanging upside down, and between the adrenaline and my frustration, I could feel my brain falter.

  “Don’t you think you’re being too hard on yourself? You push people away in your life that are good for you and you don’t even see it. And you say I think too much. Everyone has been hurt one way or another in the past. You learn from your mistakes. That’s life. You can’t run away from your past forever. I have heard the stories about how badly you got hurt in the past, but that’s no reason to treat every woman you’ve met after that like a piece of shit. Get over it already!”

  Avery’s eyes widened then traced back and forth from my eyes to my mouth as he took in my words. “You really care about me don’t you?”

  “Hah. Don’t you dare turn this around on me, Jameson. This is about you. I’ve made a fool out of myself twice now. It’s your turn.”

  “I got it,” Pierce called out over the edge of the bridge. The rope began to pull us back up again.

  Avery studied me. “Just tell me one thing. What do you see in me that has you so intrigued?” he asked in a rough voice.

  “Oh, no you don’t. No more. I’m done opening my heart to you. All you do is rip it apart. I don’t want to be a part of your stupid games anymore.”

  “Fair enough.” He lowered his voice. “Just so you know, I didn’t know I was playing a game. I’m just…”

  “Sorry about that guys. Almost there,” Pierce called to us. I didn’t really register what Pierce had said. I was too busy seething.