by Naomi Niles
But before I got the chance to do so, the door swung open and Danica unwittingly stepped outside.
“Oh,” she gasped as she bumped into me. “Sorry; I wasn't expecting you to be here.” The blush filling her cheeks caused me to warm up to her all over again. She was just so irresistibly adorable. “I was just coming to wait for you, in case you couldn't find it.”
“Yeah, no, I found it okay. I just got here.”
Oh God, this was so awkward. Not a good start at all.
“So, shall we?” She indicated for us to walk, and I laughed thankfully. Hopefully, if we were doing something, it wouldn’t allow things to get strained again.
“...and this is where the raft building material is.” As Danica spoke, I felt my heart melt. There was just no way that I couldn't become increasingly enamoured with her. She was fun loving, confident, and more down to Earth than anyone I’d ever met before.
When I thought back over all of my friends, and my exes, I struggled to think of anyone I connected with as much as I did this girl, and we barely knew anything about each other. Sure, I got on well with my best friend James, but I didn’t always feel like he understood me. Not in the way that I felt Danica could. I knew I was being crazy because I’d only just met the girl, but I couldn't help the way I felt.
“I just can’t wait to get started,” I grinned happily back at her. “It’s gonna be so much fun.”
“Oh, it’s not all fun.” She looked cheeky, which had me intrigued.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Well, it’s going to get very competitive,” she continued as we moved. “Our teams are going to be competing in activities all the time. There will be a record kept, and at the end of the week, the winning captain...” she trailed off sneakily.
“What? Will I be getting a prize?” She laughed loudly at my bold statement–a musical sound that made me feel really happy.
“I will be getting... Okay,” she finally admitted. “You get nothing. Just bragging rights. But just to let you know that during all the times I came here, I never, ever lost.”
She was trying to rile me up, and I loved that. I much preferred girls who had a bit of banter about them, rather than the ones that just fell at my feet. It made things interesting; it kept me wanting more.
“Is that right?” I joked, grabbing her and pulling her closer to me. I slung my arm over her shoulder, noticing butterflies popping up in my stomach as she slipped in under my arm. I leant in closer to her, hoping that she could feel my breath on her cheek. I wanted to excite her, to drive her a little wild. I got the impression that she liked me back, but I wanted to be absolutely sure before I did anything silly. “Well, I’m afraid to tell you that I’ve been sent here purely to break that winning streak because I never lose.”
“You’re far too confident for my liking,” she teased playfully, not moving away from me. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you down a peg or two.”
Then, she grabbed hold of my hand and dragged me along to an archery field. As I ran behind her, watching her ass swing as she moved, I realised just how much I liked this girl. She was perfect: gorgeous, sweet, and apparently even more athletic than I was. Although, I doubted that much. No one had managed to outdo me at sports just yet.
“Is this your speciality?” I asked. “Do you think your team is going to beat me here?”
“Speciality, no.” She pulled a bow and arrow out from the nearby shed. “And my team? No. I’m going to beat you right now, to show you just how wrong you really are.”
I laughed loudly, crossing my arms over my chest. “Okay, that sounds good. Shall I go first, or do you want the honour?”
She handed me the equipment, confidence spread across her cheeks. “Newbies first, that’s always the rule.” I winked at her, grabbing things confidently from her. Any nerves I’d been feeling before washed away as I stepped forward. Sports were my speciality, and I was glad of the opportunity to show off in front of Danica. I wanted her to be impressed.
I drew the bow backwards, focusing solely on the target. I centered myself, breathing deeply, slightly adjusting my stance. The air was still and silent, as if it was waiting for me. I prepared myself, then let go.
“Eight,” Danica called. A good score, but not good enough. I repeated my action, this time hitting nine. I needed to get a ten or I was screwed. A nine was brilliant, but I needed the ten. I pulled back, and carefully let go, praying that I was going to get the bull’s eye.
“Ooh, so close,” she teased. “Another nine.”
I was angry at myself, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I forced my expression to remain smooth as I stepped back and allowed her to take the lead.
She hit the ten right away, without even taking too long to do so. “Lucky shot,” I teased, secretly gulping down some worry, watching her line up for the second shot. Ten again. I hung my head in shame. With the final arrow, she only hit a nine, but it was too late: my pride had already been mortally wounded.
“Okay,” I smiled weakly. “You’ve proved that you’re better than me at archery, but that doesn’t mean your team will beat mine.”
“I know.” She shrugged her shoulders casually. “Our teams will be working together to beat the other counsellors’ groups.”
“What?” I exclaimed loudly. “You let me believe that we were going to be competing!”
“I know,” she laughed, rubbing my arm in a comforting gesture. “It’s fun to wind you up.”
While that new information swirled around in my mind, Danica let me know that she was up for some more fun. “Do you want to see the climbing walls? Maybe have a whirl?”
I nodded happily, excited to have another chance to show off. I knew for a fact I could climb well.
By the time we were kitted up in all of the safety gear and ready to climb, I realised that it was almost time for our date to end. “The kids will be here soon,” I glanced at my watch. “We better be quick about this.”
“Oh trust me, I’m always quick.” The competitive tone was there all over again, which sparked desire inside of me. This girl was something else.
“Come on, then.”
We moved up the wall rapidly, but Danica was true to her word and beat me with ease. I wasn't sure how much of that was due to my distraction–I couldn't stop looking at her–and how much of it was because she was genuinely better than me, but I no longer cared. I liked this girl too much to allow my mood to sour. At the top of the wall, I turned to offer her my congratulations. “Well done, Danica,” I smiled. “You’ve proven that you’re better than me in every way. I bow down to you, master.” She laughed at my mock bowing. “You know, I’m happy to have you as a partner,” I announced, turning my tone more serious. “You really are great. I don’t think our team is going to have any issues in the competition.”
“You’re right,” she agreed, smiling widely at me. “No one else stands a chance.”
I was sad for our date to be over, but glad to move onto the next stage of our day. I couldn't wait to inspire the children, to make their summer great, and being able to do that with someone as awesome as Danica made it all the more exciting.
“Come on,” she said as she finally started to slide down the wall–an action which I imitated. “Let’s get ready to go and meet our new, ass-kicking team.”
“Let’s.”
Chapter 3
Danica–Tuesday
The rest of the morning went past in a bit of a boring haze, to be honest.
The children needed to be registered and sorted out into their specific cabins and groups, so apart from writing down names and sending them off in the right direction, there wasn't a lot for me and the rest of the camp counsellors to do. It was the owner giving the initial health and safety lectures, so we were left a little like lose ends–just waiting for the real fun to begin.
I glanced down at the list of names, just for something to do, which made me start wondering what my group was going to be like.
; Marcie Jackson.
Charlotte Hall.
Vicky Baker.
Rebecca Shaw.
Jasmine Bennet.
Holly Price.
I didn’t recognise any of them, not even the family names, but that didn’t matter. They were going to be the best damn group ever; I would make sure of that! Just as I was plotting the ways that I intended to motivate my girls, to get them through the races and challenges in the best way possible, my eyes scanned across the camp and accidently landed on Rhett.
Or maybe I was attracted to him like a magnet. Either way, we were staring at one another.
He shot me a smile, one that sent my insides coursing with excitement. I just couldn't believe my luck, I’d been determined to have some fun here, but I’d never expected to meet someone quite like Rhett. He was a dream come true!
And, the way he was looking at me suggested he might just feel the same way.
Just as I was about to go over to him to have a little chat while the children unpacked, the owner of Camp Woodtree yelled out, grabbing all of our attention.
“Right, guys, everyone is set up now. The children are ready to begin.” This filled me with an intense excitement. I couldn't wait for camp to properly begin. I loved the buzz of the activities. “And for those of you who haven’t memorised the itinerary yet, today is water themed. The children will be experiencing water rafting, snorkelling–or swimming for the children who aren’t as confident–and a bit of diving.”
I wanted to jump up and down with excitement; water day was always my favorite when I was younger, and I couldn't wait to experience it as a counsellor. “And at the end of the day, we will have our famous water obstacle course.”
I glanced over to Rhett, who was grinning as brightly as me. He wiggled his eyebrows up and down, then gave a disapproving look to the other counsellors standing around us, demonstrating his confidence in our ability to win. I nodded back, agreeing with him, before we were finally sent on our separate ways to meet our teams.
My girls were all living in the Bear cabins, near to me in case they had any issues, so it was easy to find their rooms. As I stepped into their cabin, I was filled with déjà vu. I remembered my own time in a similar place, surrounded by girls I didn’t know. I recalled the anticipation, the nerves, the crazy over-the-top excitement, and I felt like I could see it in all of their eyes, too.
“Hi, everyone,” I smiled brightly, realising that it was my duty to break the ice. “My name is Danica; can you please tell me your names.”
They glanced around shyly at one another, before starting to speak. Marcie, Charlotte, Vicky, Rebecca, Jasmine, Holly. Luckily, they were all very different looks wise, so I wouldn’t have any trouble telling them apart.
I instantly felt a soft spot for Holly–the small, hunched-over redhead who looked absolutely petrified. She was clearly a shy and quiet girl who didn’t do too well in social situations. I would have her feeling better about herself by the end of the week–that was what camp was for, after all! From my memory, the shy ones always ended up the loudest in the end.
“Okay, well, I’m really glad to have you all here, and I’m grateful that you’re my team.” They all looked a little uncertain about that, so I quickly continued, no wanting to give them enough time to start doubting themselves. “I don’t know how much you know about Camp Woodtree, but we’re a sports and activity based camp. At the end of each day, we compete in whatever we’ve been doing.”
I smiled brightly at them all, but they didn’t seem quite ready to return that enthusiasm. “And, we will be teamed up with a group of boys...”
There it was: I had their attention. Their eyes sparkled with excitement, and I could sense a hush around the room. They finally had something to bond over, and that made me smile. Once they had a connection, something to gossip about into the early hours of the morning, the teamwork and the winning would follow.
And to be honest, however competitive I was, it was far more important for these girls to have a good time. As long as they had fun, I would be able to leave there a happy woman.
“So, shall we go and meet the boys then?” They all nodded enthusiastically, even Holly. “It’s water sports today, so I’ll give you a moment to get yourselves organized.”
As I waited outside for the girls to get dressed, I could hear them squealing with excitement. They seemed like really good girls and a whole lot of fun.
“Everyone ready?” I asked, as they all stalked out in their wetsuits, clearly keen to get started. Then they followed behind me, almost acting like my shadows while they figured out what was to come next.
“Well hello there, girls!” Rhett cried over to us, revealing his own group. “It’s nice to meet you all.” We stood facing one another, introducing our teams.
“Here’s Marcie, Charlotte, Vicky, Rebecca, Jasmine, and Holly.” I indicated to them all in turn.
“And my team are Ben, Ricky, Gary, Mark, Timmy, and Frank.” The excitement fizzing between them was contagious. “Right, let’s get in the water–we’re swimming or snorkelling first, the choice is yours. You can even try a bit of diving if you like.”
As the teams got into the water and began splashing about, Rhett came to stand far too close to me all over again. The heat and chemistry was radiating off of him, making it difficult for me to concentrate.
“So,” he leant closer to me, practically whispering into my ear, causing goosebumps to pop up all over my skin. “Do you think we should be running a more regimented training session, getting them to the top of their ability?”
I couldn't help but laugh at that. “This is supposed to be fun, you know? It’s not training for the Olympics or anything.”
“I’m perfectly aware of that, but we need to win, as well,” he replied, very seriously. “We need to be the team to beat.”
“We will be,” I nodded confidently. “Look at them.”
As we both looked onto our teams, playing about and enjoying themselves, we realised just how able they all were. We were lucky to have kids that we could just leave to mess about. They wouldn’t need any training from us; they were going to get through this just fine.
“Danica,” Marcie squealed excitedly, popping up above the water, quickly removing her snorkelling gear. “This is amazing!”
“That’s awesome. I’m so glad that you’re enjoying it.” I was pleased that she felt close to me already. I hadn’t expected that. I could already feel a bond between all of us, one I hoped would continue.
“So, what’s the strategy for the race then?” Rhett asked, dragging my attention back to him. “Or are we just going to wing it?”
“Well, I think we’re all right with the swimming relay race,” I indicated towards the water once more. “Although I have noticed that Ben is your strongest swimmer, and Rebecca is mine–so maybe we should place them last. They can be our sprinters.”
“Wow,” he sounded gobsmacked by my revelation. “You’re observant. I hadn’t even realised that, but I can see that you’re right. It’s a good job that we’re on the same team because otherwise, I’d actually have something to worry about!”
***
Once we’d spent the afternoon on the boats, devising a plan for winning that race, too, it was time. Both my and Rhett’s team felt fully prepared to take on everyone else, and I was actually feeling a little nervous that we wouldn’t be able to live up to all of our expectations. We hadn’t even seen the others yet–only from a distance–so we had no idea of their abilities. I just prayed that we weren’t setting ourselves up for a fall.
“Okay, guys,” Rhett hushed as we all stood in a hugging circle. “Now, we all know exactly what we’re doing, and as long as we stick to that plan, we will crush everyone else.”
As he motivated the children, I flickered my eyes over all of their faces, drinking in their seriousness. Rhett was really inspiring them, which tugged at my heartstrings even more. Despite his fairly laid back attitude, he seemed to have a charisma th
at was difficult to resist. “Now, come on.” He put his hand in the middle of the circle, and we all imitated the action. “Go Team Belion!”
“Erm...” We all looked at one another really confused. “Rhett, what the hell is Belion?” I felt compelled to ask.
“It’s a combination of bear and lion. I don’t know, it sounded better in my head.”
After we’d all finished laughing, we repeated the same action, this time all shouting, “Belion!” as we flung our hands in the air. I just knew that this silly word would become our thing while we were here, a little inside joke just for us, and I was glad. What better way to solidify our friendships?
Rhett and I took the stands to watch the races, while our kids positioned themselves where they needed to be. I felt a little tremble make its way through my body as we waited, and I wasn't sure how much of that was nerves and how much of it was because of Rhett’s arm that was lightly touching mine. I was acutely aware of every single inch of him, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was feeling the same way.
He didn’t seem as reactant as me, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything.
And then the starting gun rang out and the activity began.
We cheered louder than everyone else as the teams competed, practically screaming as they raced across the water, and thankfully, our strategy was perfect because although we only just scraped the swimming race, we annihilated the other teams in the boat race. Our girls and boys kicked ass–it was actually amazing to watch.
“Oh my God!” I screamed as they crossed over the finish line, and Rhett threw his arms around me in excitement. “They won,” I yelled into his chest. “They did it! First place.”
It was only when he held onto me for a few seconds too long that I realised my heart was no longer racing just because of excitement. Now, it was because of Rhett and his close proximity to me.
I pulled back quickly, suddenly worried that everyone else was staring at us, noticing exactly what was happening between us, but of course, they weren’t. To everyone else, it was only a hug; plus, they were all involved in their own business.