“Little Minnow tonight. I know you don’t want to miss out.” She starts to walk away.
Of course I want to miss out. Right now I want to be pathetic and hide inside my cabin. Immerse all of me in camp and forget my outside life exists. But since I hate that I’m feeling that way, I’ll definitely be at the bar.
Sam and Kay-Kay have a beer within a minute of when we step inside, but I have to scope out the room first. See who’s here. Breathe in the familiar smell of stale beer, and worn-out old wooden building. The problem with being the oldest of the counselors is that Sam and Kay-Kay are my only two friends left.
And they’re awesome girls, and probably really good for me in some warped way, but those two don’t let anything go.
Jeff’s in the corner, talking to some very young looking blonde who’s half on his lap, and my stomach tightens up. I’m so glad I didn’t eat before coming. I stare for a moment too long and his eyes catch mine. Instead of looking away, or pretending he didn’t see like any actually nice guy would do, he gives me another frowning, apologetic smile that immediately turns me into an angry, ex-girlfriend.
I’m smarter than to give him the satisfaction of affecting me, so I smile slightly back and let my eyes wander away. If I was a drinking girl, tonight would definitely be a night to get hammered.
How can he be so cavalier about two years? Our moms had practically planned our whole wedding. And was it Jeff’s fault that he broke up with me?
Of course not.
The first words out of Mom’s mouth were, “What did you do? He’s such a perfect young man.”
“Whoa.” Kay-Kay grabs both my shoulders, forcing her face into my line of sight. “Chill. You can kill someone later. Like tomorrow. We start archery right away. Picture his face in the target, but please let’s not start the drama our first night here. I need you to drive me home.”
Her breath already smells like beer, but the girl is the perfect distraction. What she doesn’t realize is that I still sort of hurt too much to be angry. Or maybe I’m in shock. Or maybe it’s a random combination of things I don’t remember ever feeling that I never want to feel again.
“Now.” She turns me toward the bar. “Go check out that delicious piece of ass behind the bar, and I dare you to tell me you don’t feel it between your legs when he says hello.”
I blush a little, even though I should be used to Kay-Kay’s lack of filter.
I step up to the worn wooden bar and stop before sitting down.
“Hello?” Thick Irish accent. Dark brown eyes stare past me, or into me, or at me in a way that, yes… I feel pretty deeply. Deep enough that I cross my legs when I hop on the stool.
A curl of his brown hair hangs over his forehead, and I wonder what it would feel like to run my hands through a guy’s hair who actually had more than a business man’s tidy haircut. This is so not like me.
Tattoos line his arms to his hands, and now I’m staring at his lip ring. There’s a part of me that’s fascinated by it. What would it feel like to kiss?
“Can I get you something?” His eyes are still very intently on me, so much that I scoot back slightly.
Oh, shoot. He’s been waiting for me. It’s just that his delicious accent, and rockstar hotness is muddling my brain. “Can I get a sprite with some grenadine?”
His brows go up along with a corner of his mouth. Intensity gone.
They really need to start hiring geeks here because I can’t think straight with someone this hot looking over the counter at me.
“Sprite with cherry flavor?”
“Yes.” I’m an idiot, and really not in the mood for the run-around I so often get because I like a little kids’ drink. Not everybody drink, drinks. I used to tell everyone that Sarah Jessica Parker doesn’t drink, but no one knows who she is anymore, so it doesn’t seem to matter.
“That’s a Shirley Temple.” It’s so obvious that he’s holding in his laugh, and half of me wants to sink into the floor, the other half gets sorta pissed.
“Yes.” I rest my arms on the bar, no longer intimidated by his looks. For now. “But it would be great if we didn’t call it that.”
“Sure thing…” He tilts his head at me sideways, and lets his words trail off.
Oh. Right. He wants my name. “Jody.”
“Jody.” My name actually sounds very cool coming from him. His eyes hit me in the gut again. Definitely going to need to talk to the owner, Bill, about hiring zit-filled, Dungeons-and-Dragons-playing dudes who belong in their mother’s basements. I come here too often.
The Irishman bartender isn’t going to work for me.
Chapter Fourteen
I lie in bed and stare at the ceiling of my cabin.
Highlights of our first night.
Pulling Sam out from underneath the guy who last year single-handedly ruined the summer of three other camp counselors by passing on herpes, and singing at the top of our lungs, because there’s no other way to drive through the woods without being freaked out.
None of us will ever admit that, but we do it every time. Unspoken. Friends with unspoken rules are the best kind of friends.
I close my eyes and think about Jeff in the corner. Then the girl. Tan, like I’ll never be. Blonde. Nice thin arms, instead of my strong ones. I’m a runner, swimmer and biker. I’ve competed in triathalons since I can remember, and usually run before camp starts for the day, before the camper walk. Kay-Kay and Sam would give me no end of crap if they knew.
And the bartender. Liam, I learned. So generic to fall for the hot guy behind the bar. He has that urban feel—skinny jeans, black rock T-shirt, and he’s here. So strange. And those relationships never turn out well—the summer ones. Forget the fact that I could never go there. Which makes me think of Jeff, which makes me think of school. Ack.
I wonder if there’s any way to push off finishing college because I’m nowhere near ready to enter the real world. Not when I have zero idea what to do with my business degree when I don’t give a crap about business.
The girls are groaning over a two-mile walk and to make matters worse, I’m picking up the tail because Kay-Kay needs to be in a position where she bumps into Alex as often as possible. What the hell is she thinking? He’s twice her age.
Not that she’d let that stop her. And maybe I have to admit that part of me is jealous of her jumping in and going for what she wants because there’s no way I’ll do anything about Liam behind the bar. Too tattooed. Too smirky. Too…Irish. Okay. So, the Irish thing totally works in his favor. I’ve been there twice and didn’t want to leave both times.
A half-mile in, two girls are sure they’re going to collapse from exhaustion even though I know that if they were given a credit card at the entrance of the mall, they could probably go for five miles before crashing on a bench.
Part of bringing up the tail is taking girls back, so we turn around, and let the group continue on.
When I move past Irene’s office, I nearly run into Bill, the Little Minnow owner, and the guy who got me the job here my first year. He’s a good friend of my Uncle Tate, who understood my need to not be home during the summers—he understands the craziness of his sister who is my mom.
I’m pretty sure my parents are relieved because the older I get, the less patience I have. Mom and I are both all about organization, we just do it in opposite ways. It’s like having a neat freak live with someone who has OCD—you’d think they totally mesh, but they don’t. Not really.
Bill has the beer gut to match his job, and the biggest, friendliest smile anyone could own.
“Jody.” He squeezes me into him. “How’s my girl?”
I shrug. “Fine.”
He cocks a brow. “I saw that good-for-nothing Jeff last night.”
“Yeah. We split.” We. Ridiculous. I think Jeff decided I was too much for him to handle. He didn’t use that word because he knows better, but it’s the distinct impression I got when he mentioned that we were “going different directions”. I wasn�
��t aware we were going different directions. I was pretty sure we were moving toward matrimony and forever. But. We obviously weren’t. Or at least he wasn’t. I think Jeff and I would be happy. Actually, I thought we could be, but he’s handled all of this breakup stuff in such a juvenile way that I’m no longer sure.
“He’s an ass,” Bill says.
“He’s a good guy.” But even as the words come out, I start to wonder how true they are. Who dumps their girlfriend they claim to love for no real reason?
“Liam asked about you.” The beginnings of a grin twitch at the corners of his mouth.
“Liam?” My voice makes me sound like I don’t know exactly who he is. And that I maybe didn’t think about him as I fell asleep last night. And that I wasn’t planning on thinking about him as I fell asleep again tonight.
I know just by looking at him that Liam and I would definitely not get along, but I can’t remember having such a strong physical reaction to someone, and that’s a really happy way to fall asleep.
“You know, the one all the girls are drooling over this year?” He gives me a nudge.
My cheeks flush, and I just hope that the heat’s hiding my embarrassment better than I think it is. I really hate this about myself. Every emotion crosses my face. And there are times when that’s a good thing—like when I want someone to know I’m pissed. And then there are times like this—when I’d rather no one know that I’m one of many who thinks the Irish guy looks pretty insanely incredibly gorgeous. Even if he’s not my type.
“Oh.” Which almost makes me laugh, because that was a whole lot of thinking to come up with one stupid word.
“He’s my nephew. My sister’s son. Had a rough year last year and wanted to do something else for a while.” His gruff voice is completely filled with kindness and maybe a little bit of pity, making me wonder what Liam’s story is.
“Oh.” I’m apparently incapable of actually speaking.
“Well, I’ve got to head back. Make sure we have enough of the cheap stuff to last for the rest of the week.” He winks. “And I stocked up on that cherry-flavored stuff you like.”
“Thanks.”
Liam. Right in this moment I wish I were Kay-Kay or Sam so that next time we ended up the Little Minnow, I could do something with the way I feel about him. Even if it didn’t go anywhere, it might be nice to not be afraid. And I am definitely curious as to what brought that guy from Ireland to backwoods Wisconsin.
Chapter Fifteen
The heat has officially taken over. We’re all going to be in the water today.
“Okay.” I shout, my hands on my hips, in front of a line full of girls. “If I can pull your suit off by tugging a string, turn around, go back to your bunk, and change. I don’t want an eyeful.” We have Kay-Kay for that. I don’t think she owns anything I’d call a swimsuit. My bras and panties cover more than her suits.
And Sam… Just because her body is perfect, doesn’t mean we always need to see it. Even I stare at her, and I don’t swing that way. She doesn’t do “lakes” and is in a lounge chair with a whistle to help her look official in her silver bikini.
A few groans and at least a fourth of the girls turn in their miniature swimsuits to head back to their bunks.
At twenty-one I can’t imagine wearing something like that. How are these girls so sure of themselves so young? It kills me. I thought I was going a little crazy today wearing a blue sporty two-piece with boy shorts, but I still feel completely exposed.
“For the rest of you. This is free swim. It’s too hot for me to care about any lessons.” I wave at them dismissively, knowing I just made their day.
Squeals are followed by splashes, and total chaos. As much as I love the structured activities, I remember this being one of my favorite parts about going to the camp I grew up at.
“Jody?”
Holy Irish lilt. I cannot do this right now. In a bathing suit.
I rub my hand over my face once like it’ll somehow hide my reddening cheeks and spin around on the dock, feeling completely exposed.
He pauses and his eyes widen slowly as they float down my body. He’s not obnoxious about it, but he’s not hiding the way he looks at me either. I snatch my towel and tie it quickly around my waist before walking up the dock.
“I’m on lifeguard duty right now.” Pathetic. This is what I come up with? The whistle around my neck was probably a dead giveaway.
“I see.” The smile on his face strips another layer from me, and I’m suddenly itching to get away.
“What are you doing out here?” I fold my hands, only now I do look like I’m fourteen and trying to hide—well, not the fourteen-year olds here who are openly gawking at the hottie in skinny jeans and chucks on the dock. I drop my arms from my waist, but there are no pockets in a towel, and I still don’t know what to do.
Guys don’t do this to me…
“Bill fixed a wooden jewelry box of Irene’s. I offered to drop it off.” He shrugs, which is such a relaxed gesture, but his eyes don’t waver from mine. It’s way more intensity than I’m used to. Or maybe I was just settled into Jeff.
“Oh.”
“Glad I ran into you, though. Maybe you could take me swimming sometime without all the little helpers.” He winks.
I swear my body half explodes with this bit of information until reality sets in. He has to be messing with me. I could pick out more than half the counselors here as better matched to his hotness. I’m stuck in cute territory, which is fine, but he definitely needs more than cute.
“Yeah. Huh. Well, I’m at work now. I’m sure I’ll see you around.” I want to walk away, but can’t bring myself to do it.
“All right. Cheers.” His eyes linger on mine for a moment longer before he turns around.
I watch his ass.
I am not an ass-watching girl, but his definitely deserves watching. I need to figure out what nights he has off so I know I can go to the bar without feeling inept.
The girls and I are heading to the Minnow again tonight, and I have no idea how I feel about it—especially since I didn’t check Liam’s schedule. I did spend more time than I should have getting ready, but for what, really? I don’t have it in me to flirt with Liam whether he means it or not. And probably dressing up puts me in an even better position to make an ass out of myself.
“Hey, Jo Jo,” Jeff says as soon as I step outside my cabin.
I freeze, suddenly angry that he feels like he can just walk over here and be friendly. Why is he here? “Don’t call me that.”
He sighs, shifting his weight, but this is a Jeff fidget thing, so I’m thinking he’s nervous. “Come on. Are we really going to do this?”
Instead of giving him the argument he’s so obviously after, I turn and continue toward Sam’s cabin.
He grabs my arm, warm and familiar, forcing me to wait. I don’t want him to touch me, but also don’t want him to stop. I hate this. Why couldn’t he just disappear after breaking up with me? Seeing him all the time is throwing me, and I hate to be thrown.
Jeff’s eyes are safe. His hair is safe. His job is safe. Everything about him is comfort and all the things that I know, that I’m used to. Things I don’t need to be afraid of. But maybe I want to be afraid.
“My parents are swinging through town on their way to Alberta and want to have dinner with us.” He doesn’t have to ask, because I know what he wants from me.
I choke, and then cough. “Wait. With us?”
He suddenly won’t meet my eyes. “They don’t know we split.”
I step back. I’ve been dealing with parental backlash for two weeks. I’m half amazed our parents haven’t spoken about it yet. “We didn’t split. You split.”
He sighs and flips the phone over in his hand. This is classic Jeff—fidget when the conversation turns to something uncomfortable.
When he doesn’t say anything else, it’s like a rejection all over again. No comfort of “we’re still good friends,” or “I didn’t want to hurt anyone,�
� or “we were both moving on,” even though I wasn’t. Silence.
I’m done here. I can’t look at him. There’s too much history. Too much us.
“Jo, wait!” He jogs to catch up. “Please. One dinner. That’s all.”
“And when did you plan on telling them?” I cross my arms, feeling stronger than I have since he told me we should break it off. A little bit back to my normal self—less thrown.
“I…” He shrugs. “I don’t know.”
I know right now I’ll do the stupid dinner, but there’s this small sadistic part of me that wants to make him sweat. “Let me know when it is, and maybe I’ll come.”
His whole body relaxes in relief. Why hasn’t he told them?
“Thanks, Jody. Really. I owe you one.” He nods with this look of sincerity that I’m not sure I buy before turning and jogging off.
I take a few deep breaths trying to push all the Jeff-tension away when Kay-Kay leaps on my back and knocks it out of me.
Sam and I are at the Minnow alone—Kay-Kay bailed on us, which means she’s definitely after Alex. Nothing keeps her from this place.
“No bullshit, Jo. He’s already looked at you twice. If you don’t take advantage of this pretty ideal situation, I might be tempted to kick your ass.”
I just nod, having no idea what to make of anything she’s just said.
Sam’s pocket buzzes. She pulls out her phone. “Oh, hell…” Her body slumps. “It’s my brother. I gotta talk to him.”
And now I’m alone.
Liam gave me an odd smile when I came in, but I don’t know if he’s being polite and noticing me, or if he’s offended that I didn’t chat with him more the other day. If I wasn’t dying of thirst, nothing could drag me to the bar—not even Sam’s threat to kick my ass.
After basically agreeing to have dinner with Jeff’s parents, I’m feeling on edge. Like I know something’s up, but don’t know what it is. And Kay-Kay’s out seducing an older man, and I’m weirded out by the way I feel around a guy I don’t know, even though the wide wooden bar is between us.
10 Weeks Page 6
