I found my group waiting inside the recreation center. This was where the camp dances, organized sports, and skit nights would also take place. Chairs were set up in a circle, so I chose one and sat down. Soon nearly all the seats were filled by campers from my family group. I felt like my luck was improving when I saw Luke glide past me and take a seat across from me. Suddenly, I wasn’t missing Lauren anymore. If she’d been in the group, I’m sure he would have liked her first.
Luke made a slight wave to me and mouthed, “Hi.”
I mouthed back, “Hi,” and waved, too. Luke seemed satisfied, judging by the grin he tried to hide.
The chair next to me bumped mine as someone sat down. “Hello,” a voice spoke.
I was surprised to see Aaron. “Hi, again,” I said in a pleasant tone but wished it were Luke sitting there instead.
Caroline sat down, then a male counselor sat beside her. I hadn’t expected Caroline would also be my family group leader. I was going to see a lot of her this summer, so I hoped my good first impressions of her were correct.
“Okay, let’s get going everyone,” someone said, bringing the chatter that had been going on to a close. “I’m Blake, and this is Caroline. We’re your family group leaders this summer.”
Blake looked to be about the same age as Caroline, and I figured he’d be popular with the girls. He had short dirty-blond hair that looked like he took the time to fix, because every piece was in place. He was tan. And he had very toned legs and large biceps, making me guess he was athletic. His tone and direct speech made him sound confident. He reminded me of our high school quarterback—he knew he was hot and had his way with the girls. I felt relief again that both family group leaders were good ones, considering I’d have to spend many weeks with them.
During the meeting, more than anything, I wished phones were allowed at camp so I could send a discreet text to Lauren. I wanted to tell her Luke was in my group and that Aaron also showed up.
“So, let’s get started,” Blake continued. “We have a little social game to play so we can get to know each other. Please pull a candy out when the bag gets to you, but don’t eat it,” he instructed.
A bag filled with colored candy pieces was passed my way. I reached in and pulled out a blue one. Blake held up a color-coded chart. Each color candy had a different question attached to it. For blue, the question was: If you were on a deserted island for a year, what one item would you take with you?
When it was Aaron’s turn, he stumbled over the words while trying to read his question. I leaned into him and whispered it to him, trying not to be obvious I was helping. He mumbled but managed a passable answer—his cat. At least no one made fun of him.
My turn was next. Clearing my throat and picking inadvertently at my cuticles, I said, “I’m Dahlia. If I were on a deserted island, I’d take my best friend with me.” I felt self-conscious with Luke watching, so I wanted my turn over. I looked to the person on my right to show I was done sharing.
When I glanced over at Luke, he smiled at me and slyly pointed to himself—a gesture that made my heart pound hard as if it were trying to force its way out of my chest. Would I prefer a deserted island with Lauren, with the remote chance a hot guy could wash up on shore and choose her over me? Or would I prefer Luke and having two hot guys vie for my attention? Hmm… Maybe I would take Luke instead.
When family group ended, we had a quick campfire where we sang silly songs, then could get ready for bed. I met Lauren by the bathrooms so we could shower.
“Anyone interesting in your group?” she asked.
“Luke is—the one you saw me talking to at dinner.”
“Well, that’ll make up for me not being in it. Who are your leaders?”
“Caroline and Blake.”
“You got Blake, too?”
I noted envy in her tone. “Yes, why?”
“So unfair… Dahlia, don’t you remember him from last summer? Everyone here had a crush on him. You’re so lucky.”
I didn’t remember Blake at all. Maybe she had him confused with a different counselor.
“I got stuck with Dirk,” she added.
Yuck. That was unlucky for her. Dirk was the male counselor who drove us crazy last year. He was at least in his late forties and didn’t fit in socially. The problem was that he didn’t realize he didn’t fit in and thought he was popular. He acted like he was a gift to the girls around camp, giving plentiful unwanted hugs.
“I’ll grab you for breakfast,” Lauren said after we’d finished showering and were headed toward our cabins. We hugged good night.
Back in the cabin, I climbed up to my bunk and adjusted my sleeping bag. As I settled down for sleep, I smiled knowing I’d see Luke again tomorrow.
Chapter Two
The next day, I was seated in the circle waiting for family group to begin. To my delight, Luke was sitting on my right side and Aaron on my left. They simultaneously tried to talk to me. Part of me wanted to be kind to Aaron, but the selfish part of me wanted to give Luke all my attention. Somehow, I managed to accommodate both.
Luke nudged my side, causing my breath to quicken. “Is this your first year here?”
I looked at him and smiled before answering. “No, I was here last summer, too.” I tried not to stare too long. But his eyes never left my face, so I didn’t want to look away.
“I was here last summer,” Aaron chimed in.
We both looked over at him. He was grinning while staring off, not really connecting with us.
Luke looked away from Aaron and back at me. Our eyes locked. “I was, too. I don’t remember you, though. Were you here the entire time?”
Aaron answered before I could, “No. My mom wouldn’t let me stay the entire summer.”
It was hard not to laugh when Aaron acted like this. Luke was staring at Aaron to see if he was done speaking. Then he shifted his eyes back to me. We smiled.
To answer Luke’s question, I responded, “I only attended June’s session last year. What about you?” I noted how he licked his pouty red lips before speaking, making me wonder if he’d be a good kisser.
“I came for July’s session. That must be why.”
Aaron suddenly got up and wandered the room. We both watched him for a minute to see if he planned to say anything from across the room.
I was about to ask Luke a question, but Caroline and Blake interrupted the chatter, took their seats, and started the discussion. They allowed Aaron to walk around, choosing not to insist he sit. I hoped to hear what his story was when the time was right to ask someone about him.
Group ended about two hours later. Luke and I got up and headed toward the door together.
“Dahlia…”
I turned back to see who had called my name. Blake was motioning for me to come over. Glancing back at Luke, I shrugged and raised my eyebrows in complete puzzlement at what Blake wanted.
“I’ll just wait for you outside,” Luke said.
Slowly, I walked over to Blake to see what he wanted. When I reached him, he placed both his hands on my shoulders and leaned into my face. The way he approached me made it seem serious.
“I just wanted to thank you for being patient with Aaron. He can be a handful. But he seems to like to sit next to you. Anyway, thanks.”
Then catching me off guard, he pulled me into a tight hug and ran his hands down my back. Lauren would go nuts if she saw this since Blake was hot. Now, thinking about this weird twist of events, I wished she had. Eventually, Blake let go of me, leaving me nothing else to do but exit the rec center.
I had to mask my excitement when I saw Luke had waited for me. It was like that moment when my name was called for being the winner of the fifth-grade spelling bee—that feeling of a great achievement and everyone in the audience just witnessed it. The applause was all for me.
“Is everything okay?” Luke asked as we started to walk toward the lunch line.
I nodded. “Yeah. He just wanted to thank me for being nice to Aaron
.”
When we reached the lunch line, suddenly I was worried. At any moment Lauren would show up, and I’d have to introduce Luke to her. It would be rude not to after all. Luke definitely would find her attractive, and anything we’d started to build might be shattered. Mentally, I needed to prepare myself for the possibility.
We managed to get into the dining hall right away, being the rec hall was the next building over. After getting our trays of food and finding an empty table, Luke said, “Let’s play a game.”
“A game?”
“Uh-huh. I’m going to ask you a question.”
“Oh.”
“You’ll answer first. Then I’ll answer. And whoever has the longest answer is the winner.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by longest answer. Couldn’t he keep talking to make his answer longer than mine?
“All right. What does the winner win?”
“If you win, then you get whatever you want. What would you like from me? Better make it good.” He smiled.
Whoa, what? “Um.” I had to think quickly. Don’t stare at his lips. Concentrate. “Okay. I thought of something. How about you have to sit by me for dinner tonight?”
“Hmm.”
“No good?” Darn. I’d been presumptuous.
“No. I’d already planned to. Can’t you think of something else you might want from me?”
OMG. Are you really hinting at what I think you are? The feeling of riding a roller coaster began in my stomach.
“How about a dance this Friday night?” I chose a safe answer—in case I was wrong. It wasn’t too forward to ask for a dance.
“Okay. If your answer is longer, then I’ll dance with you.”
“And what if yours is?” What was he going to request?
Luke smiled, lowered his voice, and said, “I get to kiss you.”
Are you serious? When I looked to see if he was, he nodded. Cameron didn’t even try to kiss me until we’d been together a few weeks. Luke was assertive, but I liked this.
I nodded and smiled to show I was okay with it. “So, what’s the question?” I already wanted his answer to be longer—much longer.
“Here’s the question. How long was your last relationship?”
Crap. My answer was long. I knew it by heart because I went over every month of it in my head looking for answers to why Cameron ended our relationship.
I sighed and said, “Eight months.”
Luke smiled. “Well, Dahlia, I owe you a dance.”
“Oh, okay. But what was your answer?”
“Two months.” He smiled.
Luke’s answer bothered me now, and I wished we hadn’t played. His answer could mean one of two things. One, he wasn’t being honest so he could get out of kissing me. Or two, he didn’t like her enough or she didn’t like him enough to continue the relationship. Two months was nothing.
The director interrupted us to make an announcement.
“What activity are you doing this afternoon?” Luke whispered.
“Volleyball,” I whispered back, realizing Lauren had never shown up. That was odd.
Luke nodded before turning his attention to the front of the room.
Next, we were called up to draw a name out for our “secret pal” for June. We would do things for the chosen person, like make crafts, buy candy from the snack shack, and write poems—anything we wanted to do. My secret pal last year sent a cute guy to rub my back for me. Maybe I’d do that for my secret pal.
Our table was next to draw out a name, so I scooted myself off the bench. As I did this, my hand brushed against someone else’s hand. I felt this strange sense of familiarity. When I glanced to see who it was, I recognized the long surfer hair, but I missed his face again. Lauren then grabbed my hand to lead me to the front of the room. She’d found me.
My folded slip of paper revealed I got someone named Logan Bergin. Never heard of him, but I bet he’d like it if I sent Lauren to rub his back.
***
Lauren and I went to play sand volleyball during free time in the afternoon. She’d only ever played for fun and wasn’t very good, whereas I played competitively for our private high school’s team. I wasn’t as tall as the other girls on the team, but I was still good. There would be a tournament this session, so I figured I’d sign up for it.
For another activity, we agreed we’d go swimming later in the week. Lauren certainly wanted the guys to see her in a bikini. Of course, then everybody would see just how little my boobs were in comparison when I was in my bikini lying beside her.
One event I was looking forward to was the first dance, this Friday night. Luke now owed me a dance. The point of having a dance so soon was to help homesick or socially awkward campers meet others early on. Often those who came to camp with someone would sneak off during the dance to make out. Usually, they didn’t get caught.
Anyway, for now, I was focused on the volleyball game. As we were milling around waiting for more players to show, I wondered where Luke was. Hopefully, he hadn’t forgotten me.
“There you are.”
I looked over and realized, to my relief, Luke had found me. And unfortunately, now I had to introduce Lauren.
I took in a deep, apprehensive breath and said, “Luke, this is my best friend, Lauren.”
“Hi,” she said.
“Hey.” Luke nodded at her before moving into position for the game. I couldn’t believe it. He’d shown zero interest in her. He didn’t even try to shake her hand. This was so great.
As things would have it, Luke was a decent volleyball player. In fact, he was a little too competitive and cursed whenever he missed the ball. At least he hadn’t gotten upset with me because I was nervous and not playing my best.
By the time we’d finished volleyball it was late afternoon. At that point, the all-camp group game was held. This was the counselor hunt. All the campers had to wait on the basketball court while the counselors had thirty minutes to hide. We had till dinner to find them all.
The whole thing seemed a little boring until Luke joined Lauren and me to do the hunt. Hanging out with Luke and doing some counselor chasing together now sounded appealing. Counselor hunt it is.
We searched together until Luke told me to come with him, and we kind of ditched Lauren. I knew she wouldn’t care, though. She’d run off on me plenty of times for the sake of a guy.
Luke and I had worked our way up a tree-covered hill and were coming back down by the far edge of camp near the director’s cabin. I began looking inside a row of garbage cans while Luke checked up in the trees.
I’d just lifted another lid off a garbage can when I spotted Aaron. He was seated at a picnic table looking down and rubbing his eyes as if he were crying.
My eyes moved to look at the person seated beside Aaron. He brushed his long brown hair back, then glanced over and caught me staring. Without attempting to control myself, I sucked in an audible breath. It was sort of like that moment when you think you’ve bumped into someone you know and are surprised to see them. But I didn’t know him—only his fingers had met mine before this moment—so I had no reason to react this way.
This guy, who I kept brushing hands with in the dining hall, this time was facing me. I was staring at probably the best-looking guy I’d ever seen outside of a movie. Even at this distance I could see his piercing blue eyes—they were the perfect shade of blue.
I still held the garbage can lid in my outstretched hand as I conspicuously stared. I was oblivious as the counselor who’d been hiding inside jumped out and loudly knocked the can over.
Surprised, I looked over to see Luke chasing down the counselor and tackling her. I dropped the lid, and it made a startling noise, causing me to jump. When I looked back at the good-looking guy seated with Aaron, they were already up and walking away from the table.
“We found and tagged one counselor. Let’s head back,” Luke suggested as he walked over to me.
But I barely heard him. I was more interested in the guy
who was talking to Aaron.
Chapter Three
Lauren had come to my cabin to fix my hair and makeup before the dance. Large spirals twirled away from my face and all the way down my back.
Since this was the informal dance, we wore casual clothes. I had on burgundy Lululemon leggings and classic gray short UGG boots. My mom had paid for half of my boots, and my allowance paid for the rest. Lauren’s black pair were a birthday present. The next pair would probably be entirely on me to pay for, so I’d need to take good care of these. At least my mom had been willing to pay for my three pairs of Lululemon leggings, because they were expensive, too. Our private school had a dress code, so no one could wear the leggings. But all the girls wore them outside of school. For Christmas, “Santa” had given me a lot of gift cards. I’d used those to purchase a fitted white Lululemon warm-up jacket. Tonight, I was also wearing that.
Neither of us were much into makeup and didn’t wear a lot, so I was surprised Lauren had brought a lot with her to camp. When I looked at my reflection in the mirror, I was amazed to see this heavier makeup application made me look older and almost glamorous. I liked how my lips looked with burgundy lipstick. She’d done a good job.
“Are things moving as quickly as you’d like with Luke?” Lauren asked me when we were about to leave the cabin.
“Sure. I like him.” I realized my tone didn’t show much enthusiasm.
“You like him? That’s it?” She gave me a baffled look, so I shrugged. “Well, I think he’s hot. Much better looking than Cameron.”
“I agree. He’s good-looking.” I smiled at her to show we were of the same mind.
“I figured you’d be trying to hook up with him.”
“Yeah, right. We’ll just run off behind some trees and do it. All night.” I rolled my eyes at her.
Lauren had a lot of experience in that department, so she probably thought I should have a random hookup.
She hastily put away the makeup without looking at me. “Whatever,” she muttered.
I didn’t want to explain to Lauren something had slightly changed for me since the counselor hunt. Before that point, I really wanted Luke’s attention. He was friendly and outgoing. I thought it was a nice gesture when he’d waited for me after my shower and walked me to my cabin last night. And he’d passed the Lauren test by still liking me instead of her.
Edge of Eighteen: A Slow Burn Summer Camp Love Story Page 2