by Kay Gordon
“Of course you do.” I gave him a patronizing look. “Maybe we don’t want to see you guys naked.”
His gaze dropped to my lips for a moment before moving back to my eyes. “Yeah, you do.” Drew pulled back when Jordan called his name and he stood to give me another grin. “Confer with your girl and let us know.”
I watched as he walked back to my table and lightly scoffed. I needed to talk to Hannah because we had to make sure the bet was good. And that we won.
Shortly after three in the afternoon, all ten of our girls had checked in so Hannah and I left the amphitheater to head to where the seventh through tenth grade girls were playing field games. Hannah turned her head to look at me before she inhaled a deep breath.
“Ready?”
I nodded and couldn’t contain the grin that stretched across my face. “Let’s do it.” I cupped my hands around my mouth and stepped forward.
“Cabin Fifteen! Come on over!”
We waited as ten teenage girls stopped what they were doing and ran towards us eagerly. They were all wearing nametags that matched the ones Hannah and I wore, which I knew would come in handy for the first day. Once all ten bodies were all crowded around us, Hannah spoke.
“Hey, ladies. In case you don’t remember, I’m Hannah and this is Shaylee.” She gestured towards me with a sweep of her hands. “We’re going to get to know each other really well over the next eight weeks but we wanted to do some icebreakers right now. So, if you’ll come on into the shade here, we’ll see if we can get through this uncomfortable stage, okay?”
Everyone chuckled as we followed Hannah to a shaded part of the grass and sat in a circle. Hannah nodded at me from the opposite end, basically telling me to start, and I clapped my hands once.
“I want everyone to state their name, where they’re from, and two fun facts about themselves, okay? I’ll start.” I touched one hand to my chest and smiled. “My name is Shaylee Butler and I am twenty-one-years-old. I am from Phoenix, Arizona and I’m getting ready to start my last year of college. My first fun fact is that I love to crochet and you’ll find me doing it often during our downtime. The second fun fact is that I was an extra in the movie Jerry McGuire when I was a kid. I actually got to meet Cuba Gooding, Jr. during one of his football scenes.”
I turned to look at the girl on my right and gave her an encouraging smile. She sucked in a deep breath and looked like she was going to pass out from nerves.
“My name is Cate Moorman and I’m from Franklin, Tennessee. A dolphin once bit me on the leg when I was on vacation in the Florida Keys and I still sleep with my teddy bear, Joe.”
Everyone chuckled and when I asked her to elaborate, she told us the story of how she came to get into the altercation with the dolphin. From there we met Emma, Nicole, Robbie, Lizzy, and Alexandra before it was Hannah’s turn.
“My name is Hannah Thompson and I am also twenty-one-years-old. I live in Gainesville, Florida and attend the University of Florida. I have a pet guinea pig at home named Winkle and during my senior year, I was obsessed with the camouflage print. Everything I wore had some sort of camo in it, including my graduation cap.”
I couldn’t help the snort that escaped my lips at her fact and everyone joined in as we laughed. Hannah just shrugged her shoulders and laughed, too.
“Hey- I grew out of it eventually but I totally rocked it.”
After Hannah, we heard from Jenny, Maria, September, and Thalia. Each girl gave us great facts and I did what I could to try to associate faces with names.
Once we were done with the icebreakers and the buzz of conversation had settled, I spoke up again.
“Hannah and I are responsible for you and all your actions. We can be the greatest counselors and friends you’ve ever had but you have to respect us in return. We expect you to keep your bunks clean, to adhere to our rules, and to represent us well. As long as you’re doing that, you’ll have a fantastic summer in return. Do you understand?”
All ten heads nodded immediately and I looked to Hannah.
“So,” she started as she held up the schedule in her hands. “These will be posted in our cabin but we have daily schedules that are the same from week to week. During our rest period after lunch, you need to be in the cabin for the full hour. We have the opportunity to do what we want on Sundays but as a cabin so we’ll be voting on activities throughout the day. Make sure you’re visiting the dining hall during meal times because if you miss a meal, you will have to wait until the next one. Fruit, small snacks, and beverages are available at all times in the dining hall, but anything big is only prepared three times a day. Because you’re older, you will have more liberties and freedoms than the younger campers but do not abuse them.”
I nodded in agreement when Hannah stopped. “It sounds strict but it’s going to be so much fun, guys. I was a camper here from the time I was eight until I turned sixteen. I loved it and I know you will, too. I’m sure the returning campers know what I’m talking about.” I cleared my throat and lowered my voice. “Now, let’s talk about Cabin Wars.”
I explained Cabin Wars to the group. Most of the girls had attended the year before and knew how it worked but they all still paid close attention, especially when I talked about the pranks. The thought of having the boys wait on us hand and foot peaked their interest and I knew that we had a competitive group among us. The girls who had been in Cabin Fourteen last year, the eighth grade cabin, had lost to the male counterparts and they were out for revenge.
Once Cabin Wars was explained and questions were answered, we joined the mass of campers to take the annual panoramic photo. After that was done, we led the group back to the cabin and let them pick where they were going to sleep. We went over the different functions in the space and left them all to start unpacking their stuff and personalizing their areas.
“What do we want the bet to be if we win?” Hannah asked as we sat off to the side observing the girls. I turned my head to look at her and shrugged my shoulders.
“Not jumping into the lake naked. That’s pretty cliché.” I wrinkled my nose and stared at her for a moment. “What if we propose that the guys wear a pair of our underwear for a whole day? We could order a couple of ridiculous thongs to give them when we win.”
Hannah’s eyes lit up and she nodded quickly. “That’s perfect. Like a hot pink, satin g-string.”
“Exactly. Can you imagine?” An image of Drew wearing nothing but that hot pink pair of underwear crossed my mind and I hurried to push it down. I liked looking at him but I wasn’t going to entertain those fantasies. Even if he and Christy weren’t glued together, getting involved with Drew would be a bad idea. There was something about him that I just couldn’t figure out.
Chapter Seven
It became obvious quickly that we had an amazing group of campers. It didn’t take any of us long to acclimate to one another and I loved learning more about each girl as time went on. They were full of teenage angst that I would certainly be sick of by the time the summer was over but it felt good to be able to give them advice on their petty problems.
They were also a ton of fun to do activities with. We didn’t spend all day with our girls as we manned different stations but most of our time was spent with them. The more we were together, the more comfortable they became with us, and I was sad when our first week came to an end so quickly.
We led them down to the weekly bonfire on Saturday night after dinner and our cabin of girls immediately sat with the Cabin Seven boys. They had formed friendships with them after everything they’d done together that week.
Hannah and I walked to where Jordan and Drew were helping set up the snack table and Jordan’s eyes lit up when he caught sight of my friend. The attraction between the two of them was obviously mutual and I knew that we’d be spending our first night off the following week with Jordan in some way.
“Did you survive your first week okay, ladies?” Drew asked as he leaned against the table wit
h his arms crossed over his chest. I nodded and offered him a smirk as I stopped in front of him.
“You guys are lucky points don’t start tallying until tomorrow. Seems our girls are quite the athletes and wiped the floor with your boys during soccer yesterday.”
Drew chuckled before leaning in so our faces were a few inches apart. Again. “We’re just lulling you into a false sense of security.”
I couldn’t help the laugh that fell from my lips and Hannah linked her arm through mine in support.
“We’ll see, won’t we?”
“It’s going to be fun,” Jordan said as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his shorts. “We’ve decided on our wager. Have you picked?”
I glanced at Hannah and we both grinned before I nodded my head. “We have. You propose yours first.”
“If we win,” Drew said slowly, letting his eyes run down my body purposely, alerting me that ours was going to involve nudity. “You ladies will give us lap dances in the comfort of our cabin in those bikinis you were wearing our first week.”
So, not nudity but close enough. I raised my eyebrows before speaking again. “Traditional rules of lap dances say that there isn’t any touching permitted by the recipient. Can we assume that these are the same rules?”
“Of course,” Drew replied with a nod. “No touching, just looking. Two songs and we’ll even let you ladies pick them.”
Hannah and I looked over at each other. We weren’t planning on losing but even if we did, it wasn’t too terrible. The thought of being almost naked and in Drew’s lap caused a flurry of emotions to run through my body. Shyness, irritation, anticipation, and most annoyingly… arousal. Damn him.
I gave her a small nod and Hannah grinned before looking back at the guys. “We accept but it can only be repaid after the campers have left on the last Sunday.”
“Deal.” Jordan looked like a kid in a candy store and I knew he was picturing Hannah half-naked in his lap. I was pretty certain he’d have her completely naked and in his lap well before that point, though.
“When we win,” I drawled with a taunting smile. “You boys will be forced to wear a pair of our underwear from morning bell to lights out. We pick what pair and we reserve the right to confirm they’re in place multiple times throughout the day.”
“And it has to be on the last Saturday of camp, forcing you to wear them through activities and the final bonfire,” Hannah interjected and I nodded in agreement.
“Seriously?” Drew looked surprised and I just smirked at him without replying. Hannah and I watched as the guys exchanged a look and Jordan finally focused his attention back on us.
“Okay. We accept with one condition. Even though you won’t win, you need to order a larger pair of the intended underwear to have on hand so it fits around our waists.”
“But feel free to wear it first,” Drew added on with a grin, causing me to roll my eyes.
“Deal.”
All four of us shook on it just as Howard called attention to end of week fire. He praised the campers for having such a great week and reiterated a lot of rules that seemed to be forgotten or toed more often than others.
The four of us stood in the back silently during the announcements and then split up once the sing-a-longs began to assist campers with their snacks. The younger cabins needed the most help assembling s’mores and it was about twenty minutes later before Hannah and I could stuff our faces with our own gooey goodness.
“You should ask Jordan out,” I told my friend as we stood at the back, licking melted marshmallows off of our fingers. Her eyes flickered to where Jordan was helping a younger camper and then met mine.
“I don’t know. What if he rejects me? That’s seven more weeks of humiliation I’d have to deal with in the meantime.”
I rolled my eyes and cracked open a bottle of water. “He won’t reject you, Han. The chemistry between to the two of you is so thick that it’s practically combustible.”
“Yeah?” She reached out to steal my water from me. “So is yours and Drew’s but that doesn’t mean you two are going to do anything about it, are you?”
I cringed slightly and took my bottle back once she’d drained half of it. “Comparing two people who have chemistry and actually like each other to two people who have chemistry and live to make each other miserable isn’t really hard evidence.”
“There’s a fine line between love and hate, Shay.” She arched her brows, daring me to say more, and I was really thankful when Howard chose that time to dismiss the campers.
We counted all ten of our girls and led them back to the cabin so everyone could shower the smoke off of them. I hung out in the main area of the cabin while Hannah showered, too, and spent my time chatting with the girls.
All of our campers were at an awkward time in their lives. Since they would be starting ninth grade at the end of the summer, most of them were heading to the high school for the first time and would be at the bottom of the food chain. They were at a point where they were no longer kids but not quite adults. Hormones ran rampant, curiosity emanated from each of them, and I had spent the past week fielding questions about young adulthood. It wasn’t until that night that someone brought up sex.
“How old were you when you lost your virginity, Shaylee?”
I had been sitting on the floor playing Uno with Maria and Robbie when September had asked. I looked up from my cards and raised my eyebrows. “What makes you think I’m not still a virgin?”
Some of the girls laughed while a couple of them rolled their eyes. It was Robbie who answered, though.
“You’re not a virgin. Come on.”
“She could be,” Jenny replied in my defense. “And there wouldn’t be anything wrong with that.”
“Exactly.” I flashed Jenny a smile before playing a red three. I tried to remember back to whether or not these questions were posed to my counselors when I was a camper. “I’m not sure that this is a conversation we should be having. I will tell you that I feel like fourteen and fifteen is far too young, guys. Don’t feel like you need to rush it.”
Hannah had joined us somewhere during my speech and she nodded her head in agreement. “Listen to Shay’s wise words, ladies.”
I helped clean up the game we’d been playing and the two of us stood back while the girls got into bed. As soon as they were ready, we turned off the lights and headed into our room. I blew out a breath as soon as the door was closed.
“That was awkward as hell.”
Hannah laughed and grabbed the journal she wrote in every night while I changed into my running clothes. “You handled it better than I would have.”
“They’re like sharks,” I grumbled, tying my hair up into a ponytail. “I don’t think they will give up now that they’ve smelled blood.”
I waved to Hannah and stepped out of the cabin. The night air was cool and muggy, something I was still adjusting to. I figured that I’d be used to running in the humidity just in time to head back home to the dry desert heat.
Drew hadn’t joined me since he’d run next to me the weekend before but I hadn’t figured that he would. A couple of nights before, however, my eyes had caught his as I ran by the staff lounge one night. He had just smiled and kept his gaze trained on me until I passed by him.
My lap around the lake was made solo and the only person I saw was a security guard that I knew was named Paul. He waved to me as I ran by and I returned it with a smile. It wasn’t until I made it to the Holcomb’s house that I saw anyone else.
Two figures were down by the lake’s edge, lying on the sand. The way their bodies were entwined, they were either having a heavy make-out session or doing even more. I didn’t bother to stop and find out and they were both so lost in their own activity that they didn’t hear me running on the path.
I had gone about fifteen feet past them when I heard a throaty, female moan. It was followed by a “Yes. God, don’t stop!”
My steps
faltered when I realized that the person calling out in pleasure was Christy. I caught myself when I tripped over my own feet and forced my legs to keep moving. I didn’t want to hear anything else that Christy and Drew might be doing.
The fact that my stomach hurt at the thought of the two of them together on the beach pissed me off. I did not like Drew. I did not want to feel any way towards Drew Moore other than indifference. So what if he was messing around with Christy by the lake? That was their prerogative. I would not be jealous.
I wouldn’t.
Forcing my mind to leave those thoughts behind, I started singing the lyrics to an Ed Sheeran song under my breath. Trying to concentrate on the words without music and keep my breathing under control did the trick. Before I knew it, I was back at the camp and dropping down to a walk to cool down.
I was almost to my cabin when I heard someone call my name. I stopped and turned my head towards the voice, squinting in the darkness to try and see the person coming towards me. To my surprise, it was Drew.
He was coming from the direction of the boy’s cabins, not the lake, and he looked completely composed. If he had been on the other side of the lake, he would have had to run a lot faster than me to be in the position he was now. The man in front of me had obviously not been running.
The realization that Drew wasn’t rolling around in the sand with Christy made my slowing heart pick back up. I mentally chastised myself and kept a neutral expression on my face.
“What’s up? Are you stalking me?”
He chuckled with a slight nod before holding out a clipboard for me to take. “Kind of. Hannah told me you went for a run. Here are the Cabin Wars tally sheets. This is your first summer keeping track of points, right?”
“Yeah.” I nodded and forced my eyes from his so I could look at the paper in front of me. “What happens if our point sheet doesn’t match yours?”
“We’ll reconcile them at the end of each week with one alternate from the male side and one from the female. Mike and Joanne will be out tally keepers this year. Just write down what you achieved throughout the week and we’ll meet with the other two on Sundays to have point values assigned. Pranks can earn anywhere from one to five points depending on cleverness and people affected. Our tally keepers will help us assign values to them.”
