Camp just got better. I wasn’t so sure before, but now I’m pretty sure this place is going to be amazing.
Tucker. The name alone is awesome. Broad-shouldered, confident and burly, and he’s from Jersey! How did I not notice when I first met him how cute he was? No, wait, he’s way more than cute. When I start using words like burly, words like cute aren’t appropriate anymore. He’s dressed to perfection starting with that bright orange polo shirt. You have to look at him. He wants you to look at him. It’s like he owns the place. The way he’s talking, I’m dying. He tips his chin up after every few sentences. No idea why, he just does it. My eyes follow and my head nods up with him every time he does it. I’m in heaven soaking in that thick heavy voice of his. I keep asking him question after question just to keep him talking.
He has two sisters, a dog, it’s his second year at this camp, he’s nineteen almost twenty and we’re going to the same school. He’s going into his sophomore year and still hasn’t committed to a major.
I look over and notice Mark’s not standing with us anymore. I guess once it was obvious he was being left out of the conversation he took off. Oops, it wasn’t intentional. Hope Cassie doesn’t get mad I blew off her brother.
“So why does a Jersey boy go to a Pennsylvania school?” I move over on the big rock making room in case Tucker wants to sit next to me.
“’Cause that’s where all the pretty girls go.” Chin tip, smile. “Evidently.”
He’s flirting with me. Yippee! I try to remain cool while my stomach throws a little party.
“I’m not pretty,” I shake my head tugging on a blonde curl. Pathetic. He gave me a compliment and now I’m fishing for another one. What am I twelve years old?
A faint grin crosses his lips, his eyes sweep down over me carefully, but he says nothing.
The voices by the lake start quieting down. Tucker smacks and scratches his muscular arm. Just watching him scratch makes me itch, even though the excessive amount of bug spray I applied is keeping my skin well protected.
“Vinny is probably going over the rules.” Tucker nods in the direction of the lake.
“More rules? Didn’t we get enough of those before? How strict is this place?” I groan.
“No, not rules like that. These are different rules, hook-up rules. This place is gonna get a little crazy, it always does. You just gotta watch out for Julie, she’s a big prude.”
Big prude. Wonderful. My nickname in high school. I start to fidget and don’t know what to do with my arms, they land crumpled in my lap. “I didn’t know there were ‘hook up rules’ here.”
Tucker sits down on the rock next to me, he smells like the beach. Like suntan lotion, an expensive brand, one that smells like coconuts. It goes well with his whole beach look. Dirty blonde tousled hair, light hazel eyes and pink sun kissed skin speckled with brown freckles.
“They call it rules, but it’s just games,” he assures me.
I’m able to breathe easier. Nice, easy, coconut breaths. “Well, can you tell me a rule, so I have an idea of what you mean?” My butt’s getting sore from sitting on the rock, but I don’t want to move away from him.
Tucker drops his head back looking up at the night sky and clucks his tongue against the roof of his mouth. They must be bad if he’s taking this long to answer. This is not good, I’ve only been kissed and barely. These rules are most likely going to clash with my rules.
“One of the rules is everyone has to kiss someone on the first night,” he finally says with extra thickness accentuating the word kiss.
“Oh.” A kiss I can handle, especially if it’s from him. The more I think about it the more my skin heats up at the possibility of getting kissed by this burly Jersey boy sitting next to me. “That’s not a bad rule.”
“Good, then I guess it’s safe to tell you that one’s mandatory.”
“What if no one wants to kiss me?” I say and then swallow.
His sexy voice lowers to a throaty whisper. “I think someone wants to kiss you very bad.”
I pull my lower lip in to moisten it. The way he said it was the sexiest way imaginable. Oh my God, please kiss me. My heart speeds up at the possibility of a romance.
“There you are!” Cassie hollers limping up the path being supported by her brother. “You missed everything. This place is so much fun. They have rules, but don’t worry I’ll fill you in on everything when we get back to the room.” She ignores the fact that I’m sitting with someone and in the middle of a conversation, talking to me as if Tucker isn’t right next to me.
A long slew of curse words run through my head at my roommate’s timing. I squint down at the nasty scrape on Cassie’s leg. “What happened?”
“Oh, I fell, then I was kissed,” she gushes. “Oh wait, I have to tell you about a rule right now. Everyone has to kiss someone on the first night.”
I feel myself blush. As soon as she leaves, I’m pretty sure Tucker will take care of that.
“Come here,” Cassie instructs me in a bossy tone.
Not a fan of the bossiness but I do need an excuse to rub the soreness from my butt. I jump off the rock rubbing my hand over the back pocket of my shorts as I walk over.
“Mark hasn’t kissed anyone either.” She lets go of her brother and hobbles a step back. “Okay you two go ahead.”
“What?” I step back horrified and glance nervously in Tucker’s direction. “I’m not kissing Mark.”
“You have to. Besides you said he was gorgeous before.” Cassie gives her brother a little shove in my direction.
I’m too stunned to speak.
Mark smiles at me. “She won’t shut up until we kiss. She is telling the truth, everyone is supposed to kiss someone tonight.”
I’m fully aware and had been just about to kiss someone. But before I can say anything Mark pulls me in and kisses me. Not a little kiss, a huge open mouth, tongue thrusting, face touching, body dipping kiss. My fists are balled up pressing into his chest trying to beat him off of me but it does nothing to shorten the long kiss.
When he finally releases me, I stumble backwards, ready to scream. The only noise that comes out is a high pitched hum. Too angry to look at Mark and too embarrassed to face Tucker, I storm off, away from all of them. That bossy bitch and her tongue plunging brother just ruined my whole night.
Anger pulsates through me as I stomp my way back up to the cabin. This night was so much fun until they came over. I could have spent the whole night talking with Tucker. So easy and enjoyable hearing him tell me stories about his family and his cute dog. I’m sure the kiss would’ve been pretty flipping great too. I’ve never had a really great kiss before and something tells me if Cassie didn’t come over I would have. Grrr, I am not happy.
I reach the cabin long before my pimp roommate shuffles up to the door with the kissing bandit in tow. They spend a few minutes arguing at the door before Cassie drags her leg across the wooden floor.
“We need to talk.” The sweet voice I normally use is no more as I march angrily across the room to meet her.
“Don’t be a big bitch right now because I’m not in the mood.” Cassie looks away from me and huffs.
“Well get in the mood because I am about to be the biggest bitch you ever met.” I may be trying to let go of my bitch past, but hell no am I going to let Cassie think she can call all the shots this summer. “Don’t you ever tell someone to kiss me again!”
“What? It was a kiss. Don’t act like you didn’t want it ’cause you certainly seemed to enjoy it. I thought you guys were going to do it right in front of me. You wanted him the second you saw him. You’re probably some big whore who plans on being with half the guys here this summer, starting with Mark.”
There can’t be any air left in the room, because I think I just sucked it all in with my enormous gasp. I can’t believe it. We’re going to fight, an actual fist fight. The cops are going to come and so is the ambulance, one of us is about to go down.
“Are you on crack?
Don’t you ever call me a whore. You know nothing about me. And for your information, I wanted nothing to do with that stupid kiss. I was perfectly fine getting a kiss on my own.”
“From who? Fat orange shirt guy?” Cassie spits at me.
My next gasp is just as long and loud as the first one. Then I lunge for her.
My fists are full of stringy brown, cheap product hair. I pull down until Cassie shrieks. She swipes at my face with one of her sharp dirty fingernails scratching my cheek. I pull down harder yanking her head back viciously.
“Fine that’s how you want to fight.” Cassie reaches both hands up and grabs onto my curly locks. The girl is freakishly strong and my eyes instantly fill from the pain. This is low, but I stick my foot out and kick Cassie’s torn up leg. The scream she lets loose is ear splitting.
“You horrible bitch!” Cassie howls making a fist.
I went too far. I’m shitting a brick. This girl is going to kick my ass. The door to our cabin flies open. In the nick of time, two hands pull me away from Cassie and carry me out the door.
Once we’re a safe distance away from the cabin Mark sets me down. “I had a feeling that might not go so well in there,” he says.
CHAPTER THREE
Tessa
Mark leads me all the way down to his cabin so I can “calm down.” So far I am anything but calm.
“You’re mad I kissed you?” Mark asks.
“Yes. Of course I am. What the heck was that?”
“I apologize. Cassie, um.” His hands clench into fists at his side. “It’s complicated. I think she needed to see me kiss someone. She kept flaunting the way she made out with someone in my face the whole night and I didn’t want her thinking of me as this poor misfit who can’t get a girl. Trust me, I can get plenty. I kissed two other girls before I kissed you tonight.”
“Ew, yuck. So, I have a ton of disgusting germs in my mouth. Bleh.” I stick my tongue out scraping it clean with my teeth. His kiss just went from gross to revolting. “Why would you care if your sister kisses someone?”
“Again, I’m very sorry.”
There’s a knock on the cabin door and then it squeaks open slowly. “You in here with a girl man? Just say the word and I’ll be back later.”
“No come in,” Mark yells out to whoever it is.
“Sure I’m not interrupting?”
“No, you’re good. Sawyer this is Tessa.” Mark introduces us.
He was the guy who arrived late to the meeting, dark hair, dark skin, light eyes. I look over at Mark and then back at Sawyer. They’re almost identical, except I guess Mark is a little bit better looking.
“I had no idea Cassie was your sister when I kissed her,” Sawyer says taking out his cell phone out and holding it up. “The service here sucks. Do you get reception in your cabin by any chance?” he asks turning towards me.
My nose curls up, this is who Cassie kissed? She’s a sick freak. Sawyer’s practically a dead ringer for her brother. “No, we don’t have service either.”
“Hey, my sister can kiss whoever she wants.” Mark gives a delayed answer.
“Yeah, but you can’t,” I burst out. “First she tells you who to kiss, then has the nerve to get mad at me about it. I have no idea what I’m going to do about my living arrangements this summer. There is no way I can spend two months in the same cabin with that psycho.”
“She was mad at you?” Mark questions, both interested and amused.
“Yeah, she said we practically did it in front of her.”
Mark laughs at my answer, but there’s nothing funny about it. Why am I even here? Shouldn’t he have grabbed his sister instead of me?
“I thought you were the one mad at her,” Mark says.
“I was. I still am. You guys ruined my night. I was happy where I was, until you guys came over and screwed everything up.”
Mark rubs his hand over his face. “Shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t even think. I’ll explain what happened to Tucker tomorrow.”
“You’ve done enough. I can talk to Tucker myself.”
“Tucker?” Sawyer sits up, back in the conversation. “Don’t worry friend, you saved this little girl. That guy’s a dog. Last year we called him king of the hut.”
My stomach drops. “What’s the hut?” I’m afraid to know.
“It’s a magical place where boys become men, and girls become women.” Sawyer stands up delivering it like a sonnet. “A place where…”
“Stop,” Mark interrupts, raising his eyebrows at Sawyer. “Tucker seems like a nice guy. I talked to him before.”
Nooooo. Not again. How did I miss the signs? He’s the same as Josh. That’s probably why I spent half the night hanging on him, waiting to be kissed. Dammit. At least I found out right away.
“Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean the guy is nice and you know what, maybe I’m wrong.” Sawyer bobs his head back and forth, searching, pausing, looking for a new topic. “Hey - these cabins smell funny right? Like musty or something.”
Mark takes a big sniff. “Yeah, we’ll have to open a window up or get some spray. How does your cabin smell, Tessa?”
Are all guys this stupid? The two look-alikes sit on their beds continuing to take intermittent sniffs, like watching them sniff is going to make me forget what was just said about Tucker.
“I don’t know I haven’t exactly spent a lot of time there. In fact I’m going back there now.” I look around their sloppy room filled with half un-packed bags. “Do you guys have a flashlight I can use?”
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to go back? You can stay here with me and Sawyer tonight and work it out with her in the morning. I know how she can get when she’s mad about something.”
“Yeah, stay with us.” Sawyer grins.
Yeah, sure, I’ll spend the night with two guys I just met. It’s official, they’re both idiots. “No thank you. I’m not letting Cassie keep me out of my room. I want to take a shower, finish making up my bed and go to sleep. Do you have a flashlight or not?”
Mark grabs a flashlight from a duffle bag on the floor. “I’ll walk you back. I want to make sure there isn’t a repeat of before. You guys had enough scratching and hair pulling for one night”
Sawyer perks up. “What happened before? Girl fight? Maybe I’ll come with you.”
“No you won’t.” I don’t want Sawyer tagging along, I don’t even want Mark to come either, but it’s his sister, I guess there’s no choice in the matter.
Mark and I follow the trail of light back up the steep hill to my cabin in silence.
I’m so disappointed about Tucker. It figures.
Cassie
First thing I do is dig through my suitcase and pull out the first aid kit I packed. My mom was right when she said I would need it. Didn’t think I would the very first night. I squeeze the ice pack until I feel a snap and the cold emerges. The icepack works at numbing my throbbing leg. With any luck it will scab over by the morning, not that it won’t still hurt.
The lighting in here sucks and the empty beds are creeping me out. I don’t like being in here all alone and what is that smell? Mold? A dead animal? This place absolutely stinks. The beds are old, the mattresses are stained, and the bathroom is covered in mildew. It’s atrocious, considering what parents spend to send their kids here for a week.
Limping my way around the bed I make it up with the black and white checkered sheets I brought from home. The sheets fit weird. Pulling them into place is really a two person job. I need help, but obviously that isn’t happening. There’s only one outlet on the wall right in between the two counselor’s beds. I jam the plug to the old pedestal fan I bought from home in the socket and push the button down so it won’t oscillate. No way am I sharing my cool air with Tessa. I position it so it will blow breezes on me only and settle back into bed pressing the ice pack back on my raw scraped leg.
The empty bed across from me pisses me off. Nice freaking roommate I’m stuck with. Tessa kissed Mark and then ran off with him. What I
witnessed was not what I had in mind when I made the simple suggestion of a small kiss.
It took him a year to try and kiss me and what, two whole seconds to kiss Tessa. It was such a long kiss, the way he held onto her, his mouth taking control over hers. Tessa practically melted in his arms. Was that the way he would have kissed me?
My kiss with Sawyer hadn’t been long. It was rather short. Next time it would be longer. Sawyer would grab me in, tilt me back and kiss me deep like Mark had kissed Tessa. All fierce and heated. I breathe a loud frustrated puff of air out my nose thinking more about their kiss than my own. That bitch.
Speaking of, the doorknob jiggles and the door squeaks open. Oh, and terrific, she isn’t alone. Her new boyfriend’s with her.
Tessa ignores me walking right over to her stuff and starts rifling through her bags. She pulls out a purple plastic caddy and starts loading it up with toiletries.
“Why are you here?” I snip at Mark, flipping the ice pack over for a new burst of cool.
“I want to make sure you guys talk and work it out,” he says. “Tessa, come here for a minute and you guys can get this over with.”
Tessa walks over, her trendy little shower caddy in hand. She bats her baby blues up at Mark and doesn’t say anything.
“Cassie, why you don’t go first?” he suggests.
Mark has chosen a side and clearly, it isn’t mine. This is how it’s going to be up here? No problem, I can handle it. Mark can do his thing and I’ll do mine.
“Tessa, I just want you to know I hate you.” There I went first, happy Mark?
“I hate you too.” Tessa’s reply is quick.
“We’ll never be friends,” I continue.
“Fine with me.”
“I will only speak to you when necessary.”
“Sounds perfect.” Tessa swings her caddy stomping off to the bathroom and tries slamming the heavy warped door. Three tries of soft thumping she gives up on the powerful slam she’s going for.
Mark bites back a grin, pissing me off even more.
“Did you enjoy the little show?” God, I’m ready to explode. “I want you to know I despise that girl. I hate her with a passion.”
Wait (The Fast Series) Page 3
