Camp Payback

by J. K. Rock

  “Great guy,” Javier gritted out between clenched teeth.

  I snorted, relieved he was talking to me, finally. On impulse, and because the kid behind me was poking my back, I blurted, “Do you want to watch the fireworks with me?”

  “What’s the hold up?” someone called down the line.

  “Get going,” another added.

  I stepped to the left and waited for his answer, my heart in my mouth.

  Javier’s eyes darted to Helena, then back to me. He gave me an apologetic look then placed triangles on the next camper’s tray. “I’ve got to work.”

  “I’ll help you clean up,” I said, trying to keep the pleading note out of my voice. My plan had to work. Not just for my summer of payback, but because I wanted to spend more time with Javier.

  Javier shook his head and dished more servings to the stream of kids flowing by him, his mouth set.

  Knowing it was useless to argue in front of others, I forced a smile and said, “I’ll be back.”

  My stomach did a little flip when the corners of his mouth quirked. “You don’t give up easy, do you?” His brown eyes flashed up to mine, then dropped once more.

  It was all the encouragement I needed.

  “Never.” I added an extra swivel to my non-existent hips as I headed to my table.

  Our chemistry was real, and we were overdue for a little experimenting. What better time to go for it than while magnesium and potassium (as my science-minded friend Lauren had once explained) exploded overhead in tonight’s big display?

  Once we were alone, I’d make him admit he was into me. I couldn’t stop thinking about the flower and his hand lingering over mine. Something held him back from showing his feelings. I knocked over a salt shaker as I brushed by Vijay’s table, pretty sure I knew what it was.

  Or who it was.

  Maybe my ex was to blame. Not that Javier looked like he’d shy away from a fight. The light silver scar that cut through his left eyebrow said he’d been in a few. No. Maybe he wasn’t sure how I felt. Once he knew I liked him, he’d open up. Want to be with me for real this summer.

  The fact that being together would help me pay back my parents would be the icing on the cake. I glanced at my tray as I set it on the table.

  Or the chocolate on the cinnamon triangles.

  ……………….

  “Alex?” Helena called while I wiped down the last of the tables and stretched my aching back. “Do you have someone to walk with down to the beach for the fireworks show?”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Javier’s stare and felt a flush of pleasure. He did like me.

  “I was hoping you might let Javier walk me.”

  “The big pots need to be scrubbed, and we need to prep for breakfast,” Javier protested, looking incredibly handsome in a white tee that hugged his lean frame and showed off his smooth, light bronze skin. He shoved his hands in the pockets of his low-slung jeans.

  The downward lines around Helena’s face deepened. “I did want Javier to see the fireworks…” Her voice trailed off, and she looked between us. “You did well today, Javier. Your mom would be proud.”

  Pink tinted Javier’s cheeks, and he smiled, the light-hearted expression transforming him from a smoldering hottie to a cute boy next door—the kind whose name you doodled on every notebook.

  “It was amazing,” I added. And it had been. The combination of spices with the dark corn wraps and grilled veggies had been inhaled by the campers. Leftovers were non-existent. “You’re a really talented cook.”

  If anything, Javier got redder. “Thanks,” he muttered, his eyes focusing on some spot behind my left shoulder. “But I’d better stay here.”

  Helena waved her sponge. “Javier, may I talk to you?”

  I lingered in the now-empty dining space, not wanting to leave him behind. He’d worked so hard and deserved the fireworks show—both the one Gollum planned and the one I’d been thinking about for days.

  Helena gestured my way and spoke animatedly. I wished I could hear what they said, but they were too far away. Darn. It looked like they were having some kind of disagreement…about me. Helena kept nodding until Javier stopped shaking his head, a slow smile finally softening the hard planes of his face.

  My heart skipped a beat when he headed my way, his long legs eating up the space between us, his expression both intense and anxious.

  His deep brown eyes searched mine. “I’ll walk you down to the beach so you won’t be alone, but then I’m heading right back. Okay?”

  “Oh,” I said to cover my disappointment. Didn’t he want to be with me? Had Helena ordered him to act as my escort? “Right.” If this was all the time I had with Javier, then I’d have to make the best of it. Besides, once we were alone, I’d do my best to convince him to stay.

  But first, I had the whole walk to find out more about him.

  “So…Kovalev.” I started at the top of my list of questions. I only had about a million where he was concerned. “Is that Eastern European?”

  “Russian.”

  “Do you have any brothers and sisters?” I asked once we plunged outside. The warm black night wrapped around us like velvet. In the humid air, the electric hum of cicadas trilled, and bushes rustled ahead when Javier’s flashlight shone their way. The nighttime scurrying gave me chills.

  But walking next to Javier? That gave me goosebumps.

  “No siblings,” he answered finally. “My mom never married after my dad was deported.”

  I slid my dress strap up my shoulder and caught his quick glance before he turned his eyes away. My heartbeat quickened. I remembered what Gollum had said about Javier being in foster care. “Oh. Sorry to hear that.”

  “It’s fine,” he said gruffly. “I never knew him anyway. Besides, my mom’s great.”

  Did he mean his foster mom? I didn’t want to be nosy. But then again, I was interested.

  “Do you think she’ll visit on Parents’ Weekend? I’d love to meet her.”

  Voices from the beach drifted our way.

  “No.” His curt tone cut me. Why did he object to that? Were my questions annoying him? Was I? We’d gotten off to a bad start, but I thought we had a bond now after the garden. He’d given me a flower. A purple one, damn it.

  My blood warmed. I was over people telling me I wasn’t good enough. Even my Secret Camp (not-an-)Angel felt that way if the “gift” was any indication.

  “What’s wrong with that?” I demanded. “Why wouldn’t you want your mom to meet me?” We stepped onto the beach near the kids sitting with their cabins or in couples, the counselors clustered near the tree line.

  “Because she’s a convict,” called Vijay from the shadows to my right. “Didn’t your new boy toy tell you? They locked her up and threw away the key.”

  My mouth dropped open, and I looked from a grinning Vijay to a tense, furious Javier. His face was so fierce I felt a pulse of fear…for Vijay. Would Javier look that angry if the accusation wasn’t true?

  And suddenly everything clicked. Gollum’s comments about Javier, his work in the kitchen, and his relationship with Helena. She must be taking care of him while his mom was in prison.

  Sympathy welled for this close-mouthed boy, who must feel as suffocated by his world as I did in mine. We were so different, yet the same where it mattered.

  “I’m leaving.” Javier turned, but I held his arm a second longer, hating for him to go like this. Stupid, idiotic Vijay. I could kill him. Maybe I would.

  Vijay sauntered toward us, kicking up sand as he stopped.

  “What’s the matter?” Vijay taunted. “Gonna go home and cry to mommy? Oh, wait. You don’t have a home…or a mommy.”

  Javier’s arm flexed beneath my touch, so rigid it felt like stone.

  “Knock it off, Vijay,” one of his cabin mates, Julian, spoke up. He came over and put a hand on his friend’s arm but was shaken loose.

  “This is between me and Little Orphan Annie over here,” Vijay sneered,
just quiet enough so the counselors wouldn’t overhear.

  My head swiveled between an eerily still Javier and a restless, jittery Vijay. While my ex had more muscle, there was something in the coiled intensity of Javier’s body language that, deep down, made me feel like Vijay wouldn’t stand a chance. Javier could give him the pounding he deserved and, man, did I want that. But even more, I didn’t want Javier to get kicked out of camp.

  He might have to hold back, but I sure as hell didn’t have to. I noticed some of the counselors had joined Gollum down by the shore, while others pointed to the sky. None were looking our way.

  The first round of fireworks whistled as they rose, followed by a loud popping that captured everyone’s attention. Everyone except the three of us, and possibly Julian, who still hovered nearby.

  “Shut it, Vijay.” My blood boiled at his stupid smirk. My hand rose, ready to smack it off his face. “You make me sick. Acting like Mr. Bad Ass around people who aren’t allowed to fight back. Yeah, that’s super awesome of you.”

  Vijay’s face darkened. “You’re one to talk, you uptight little—”

  “Enough.” Javier’s steely voice made the tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise. His unwavering eyes held Vijay’s. “Not another word about Alex. Ever.”

  Applause broke out after another flower of fire exploded above the lake, and I could have joined them. Javier was standing up for me. Or with me. For once, I wasn’t fighting alone. A round of fireworks went off in my chest.

  I glared at Vijay. “Don’t you ever call me a prude again.” I jabbed him in the chest. “I just have better taste than to hook up with a loser like you.”

  Vijay and Javier lunged, but before they collided, a bunch of the Wander Inn guys jumped Vijay and dragged him back to the shadowed edge of the forest. Javier stumbled, his unchecked momentum carrying him to the sandy ground. He knelt on the beach, his chest heaving, hands opening and closing in tight fists.

  “Sorry about that, guys,” Julian apologized, extending a hand to help Javier up.

  “Just keep him the hell away from Alex.” Javier released a pent-up breath. “Or he’s leaving camp in an ambulance.”

  “So will you, Javier.” Julian put a hand on Javier’s shoulder. “Don’t leave camp over something like this. It’s not worth it.”

  Javier shrugged, his tense face starting to relax.

  But I was still fuming. “And tell Vijay if he bothers Javier again—” I threw an arm around Javier’s slim waist. “—I’m going to show his text messages to Gollum. He’ll know what I’m talking about.”

  “Um. Okay. That’s cool.” Julian waved and stepped back. “Later.”

  “You didn’t have to do that,” Javier’s low voice murmured in my ear once Julian melted back in the shadows. I had to strain to hear him over the crowd. “I was handling it.”

  “I already got you in trouble once. I wasn’t going to let that happen again. In fact, if you want to go back to the mess hall, I understand. I attract problems you don’t need.”

  My shoulders slumped. I may have won the fight, but I’d lost my chance with Javier. I’d practically clawed Vijay’s eyes out instead of acting girly and squealing for help. Those were the kinds of girls who got purple flowers. Me—I was the one people ran from. Now it was Javier’s turn.

  Javier’s mouth quirked. “I’ll decide what I need.” He put a firm hand against my back and led me to a secluded spot. “You attract more than problems.”

  I looked up into his large brown eyes, loving the red and green fireworks reflecting in their depths. “What else do I attract?” I breathed as we climbed a little higher up the hill, farther away from the campers.

  His white teeth flashed in a devilish smile that got my pulse tapping.

  “Me.”

  Alex

  My heart backflipped.

  Or at least, something in my chest lifted and lightened. At the same time, I was struck speechless, unable to think up a comeback for his sweet words. Usually, I don’t know when to shut up, but with Javier, I felt tongue-tied. It seemed like saying anything would only shatter this beautiful moment.

  “Here.” Javier gestured toward the gnarled roots of a tree perched on a low cliff overlooking the lake. We were just far enough away from the rest of the group to give us more privacy. “Let’s have a seat up there. Gollum won’t see us. I hope.”

  I hesitated. It was the same place Vijay and I kissed for the first time. But then, as a parachute of red and indigo light popped over our heads in a gorgeous burst of color, I decided I didn’t want to waste a second of this time being stupid about the past. I was enjoying the now with a boy who’d just admitted he liked me.

  Sitting beside him on the exposed tree roots, I reached for his hand and rested mine on top of his.

  “I’m sorry about your mom.”

  His jaw flexed as another flash of fireworks cast shadows on his face. “She’s going to be out in another forty-five days. She’ll be all right.”

  I’d meant I was sorry for him, but it seemed sweet he was more worried about her.

  “Still…Vijay is an idiot to announce it to the world.”

  I wanted to know what she’d done to wind up in jail but couldn’t bring myself to ask.

  “Pretty much.” He stared down at my hand over his while the scent of smoke drifted toward us. “When I’m done here, I’ll go upstate to pick her up, and we’ll try to start over. I can get out of foster care for good once she’s got a job and settled. Then I’ll be able to help her adjust to normal life again.”

  “I’ll bet she feels lucky to have you.” With a twinge of guilt, I couldn’t help but picture myself if my mom or dad got carted off to jail. I’d feel bad for them—my mom, at least—but I wouldn’t miss them. Not even a little.

  “For almost eighteen years, I’ve done nothing but hold her back, so I’m not sure she feels lucky.” He glanced my way, a half-smile kicking up one cheek. “You remind me of her in some ways.”

  “Really?” Maybe some girls wouldn’t want to be compared to a guy’s mom. But he obviously cared about his, so it was kind of cool.

  A thunderous boom made the kids on the beach squeal. I edged closer to Javier. He didn’t make a move to touch me, even though he had a perfect opportunity. Now that I knew he was attracted to me, why did he hold back?

  “You’re brave and strong. And you don’t take crap from anybody.”

  I laughed, but a pinch of worry twisted my gut. “Strong… as in I come on too strong? My personality is too strong? I’ve heard those before, believe me.”

  “No.” His answer was firm, and all of the sudden he squeezed my hand. Tight. “You stand up for yourself even when it’s not easy. And you stick up for other people, too.”

  Once again, Javier left me at a loss for words. I had to swallow a ball of emotions welling up in my throat because no one ever saw me like that. Definitely not my family. Maybe some of my camp friends used to, although this year they were all too busy worshipping Yasmine.

  The troubled boy beside me—in spite of his secrets and his determination to stay away from me—made me feel more special than anyone I’d ever met.

  “I don’t feel very brave or strong.” I tucked my hair behind my ear as a breeze blew off the water. “When I get like that, I just want to lash out. Hurt the person hurting me. You know?” My heel kicked into the cold sand behind the tree roots, some dirt crumbling loose and falling toward the beach.

  My whole life was kind of like that—the ground shifting and falling away from my feet until I had nothing to stand on. I was in my last year of camp, and I’d have a strict new high school to navigate in the fall—probably one where all the girls knew how to say “Yes, ma’am” in twenty different languages.

  “Yeah.” He nodded. “I get it.”

  “According to my dad, that’s not brave. That’s a total lack of control. It’s given my parents a ton of blog material, believe me.” Frustration gnawed at the back of my neck. “My temper gets en
tire chapters in their books. And it’s gotten me in more trouble than you can imagine at school. When someone gives you a reputation, it has a way of sticking.”

  “Actually, I can kind of imagine.” He tipped his head up as a huge canopy of fireworks filled the sky over the lake. “That’s how my life is, too. There’s this file on me that every new foster family reads, and they judge me based on what other people write. No one cares about my side of the story.”

  “Me either. Not until you.” Our eyes caught and held, our breaths synchronizing. I scooted even closer to Javier, hoping he’d let me be near him.

  “Alex?”

  Something in his voice—the seriousness of it—stopped me before I put my head on his shoulder. I didn’t want to make more trouble for him.

  “Yeah?”

  “That first day of camp, when you kissed me?”

  My stomach tightened. I wished I could take that moment back. I hadn’t realized what serious consequences there might be for him. Actually, I hadn’t thought about him at all. I’d been totally selfish.

  “You did it to get back at that kid? Vijay?”

  So embarrassing. “Kind of. But that’s another case where I got a little carried away. He sent me a text about—” I stopped myself, unwilling to share the things Vijay had said about me. “Well, he made me feel kind of low about myself, so I wanted to show him…”

  “That someone else liked you.”

  “I didn’t think it through,” I admitted. It was weird to think my father had written volumes about me being self-absorbed, and I just felt angry. Javier never accused me of anything, but seeing how I’d gotten him in trouble made me regret what I’d done. “I just—”

  “That kid would get under anyone’s skin.”

  “He didn’t used to be such a jerk.” Right? I didn’t have that bad of judgment. “But after we broke up, things turned…ugly. He sent me some gross texts that got me in major trouble with my dad.”

  “I’m not surprised your dad was pissed. I hope your father raised hell with the kid’s parents.”

  My heart warmed. How cool that Javier would think of something like that.

  “Uh, no. Since it wasn’t public, he didn’t have to blog about it. Our family is up for this TV show, and he doesn’t want anything getting out that makes us look less than wholesome. Instead, he punished me and reminded me I’m nothing like my perfect brother—”