I clenched my teeth. “Well that’s… not good.”
“Like I said, whatever you did. Fix it.” He patted me on the back and nodded to the ratty looking screen door that was halfway off its hinges. “We better hurry, wouldn’t want to make it worse.”
How could I make it better or worse if I didn’t even know what I did in the first place?
“THAT WAS RUDE,” Jen said.
I didn’t look up. I knew what was plastered all over her face. Disappointment. I felt it in my soul.
Four years.
I’d spent four years pouring my soul into drama, using it as my therapy, my muse. I ignored all the shit from high school. I honestly thought I was fine.
Completely fine.
And then suddenly she was there.
Wearing the same perfume, some sort of spicy candy scent that had my body involuntarily leaning in for more. And when I inhaled, the memories released right into the air.
With the hate.
With the rage that I thought I’d left on the punching bag. In the gym.
Then she just had to make it worse and smile.
Pretend not to know me.
Hell, maybe she just didn’t recognize me.
I imagined this scenario a hundred times, a thousand times. She’d throw herself at me like every single woman had for the last three years, and then I’d confess who I was while giving her the best orgasm of her life, take her clothes, and leave her to wonder why they always say to be nice to everyone because, hey you never know, maybe the school nerd who mows lawns for a living turns out to be a ten instead of a four.
I ran my hands through my hair and put my baseball hat back on. “She can handle it, trust me, Jen,” was all I said as I grabbed the stack of folders in front of me.
Jen sighed and handed me a green Red Bull and then shook her strawberry blonde hair. “I’m just saying you’re the director this year, you’re the example, the guy we all look to, your staff needs you to be focused, kind, logical, not an emotional train wreck who sees a pretty girl and loses his mind.”
I smirked and then bit down on my lip. “She’s not pretty.”
“Are you drunk?”
“No.”
“On a bender?”
I slapped her hand away. “I wish.”
She scrunched up her nose, her freckles were a dominant and adorable part of her face. I’d always thought of her as more of a sister than anything. We’d worked together at the same camp for the past three years and now that it was almost over with, I almost felt sad that I wouldn’t see her anymore.
Or the rest of my crew.
It was just an unfortunate accident that Darius couldn’t return this year. And since I didn’t do the hiring…
Well here we are!
Damn cruel universe.
“Look, I’m fine. I didn’t get much sleep last night.” I shrugged her off. “The sooner we start the staff meeting the sooner we can get set up for the opening campfire.”
“Yeah.” She glanced around the room. “Those millennials look positively thrilled.”
I counted at least a hundred phones.
“Grab the bucket.” I crossed my arms.
She side-eyed me. “So soon?”
“They look ready to start humping their own cell phones, so yeah, we’re gonna take away technology this soon. They’ll get them back every Saturday for two hours.”
“Harsh. I like it.” Jen winked and grabbed one of the black buckets labeled Hell.
“Listen up!” I yelled over the room. “We have a very strict no-technology policy.” The door swung open revealing Brax and Ray. “And that includes staff. In case of an emergency, find a staff member and we’ll get a call out on a landline. You’re not here to tweet, or post an Insta story, and if I see any Facebook status updates with you doing a peace sign over your bunk partners missing eyebrow there will be hell to pay. We don’t have a lot of rules, but the ones we do have are iron clad. Break one,” I eyed Ray, “and you’re gone.”
Her nostrils flared.
I tried to ignore the way her body had changed.
When we had both gone our separate ways, she had been tall, a bit lanky, and hadn’t quite filled out.
Now she looked like a woman.
Curves in all the right places.
The perfect sun-kissed skin.
And full lips that I remembered wanting to taste the first day I met her.
I quickly looked away. “You’ll get your phones back every Saturday for two hours. Let’s have ’em.”
Groans and cursing followed as Jen passed around the bucket. I was used to complaining, if they didn’t complain or wish death on my head, I’d be worried.
Jen stopped in front of Ray.
I waited for the spoiled princess to defy me, to look me in the eye and jut her chin out. Instead, she gritted her teeth and dropped her phone in the bucket with a light clunk then stared down at her shoes.
In what world did a camp counselor show up in spiky heels that could impale multiple humans at once?
I rolled my eyes as Jen kept passing the bucket. When the last cell phone was confiscated, I rubbed my hands together. “Our welcome barbecue starts in two hours. Get settled in your bunks.” I walked to the center of the room. “Oh, also there’s this thing called nature.” Kids snickered. “Trees. Grass.” I grinned as most the angry expressions left their faces. “And I know this one is really shocking, but there’s, like, this thing called… talking to another human, you know, face to face. We adults like to call it a conversation. Try to have at least one without shitting yourself and you win a prize!”
“A prize?” some random person shouted. “What kind of prize?”
“Oh, we feed you.” I grinned. “At the BBQ. Show up and isolate yourself, and we’ll see how long you last without a hot dog.”
“I’m a burger guy!” He shouted then stepped forward. I shook my head as Jackson, another staff member did a little dance and then winked over at Ray. “But I’ll try to make new friends. I can be very friendly.”
“Wasn’t talking about you.” I rolled my eyes. “All right guys, two hours. If you need help, find a staff member with a black shirt. Dismissed.”
Jackson had the most incredible ability to swagger across a room, really it was an art form. And he did just that, all the way to Ray.
I clenched my fists. Partially out of anger that he would waste any breath on her, and well, another part that I completely denied and would deny until the day I died.
Was jealous.
“Jackson,” I barked the minute he opened his mouth. “We need to get you a shirt.”
“What about Ray?” Brax just had to ask.
“Yeah what about Ray?” Jackson grinned.
Bastard.
“Both of you, follow me.” I crooked my fingers and marched toward the back room. I grabbed Jackson a large and then grinned menacingly as I grabbed Ray a large as well. “Here you go, your new uniforms for the day.”
“Um, do they have any smalls or mediums?” Ray asked in a quiet voice. “It’s totally fine if…” She gulped. Damn it she needed to stop being so pretty and annoying all at once.
I shrugged and crossed my arms. “This is all we have. We can’t cater specifically to everyone’s tastes. Next, you’ll be asking for a track suit or a Starbucks run every morning. It’s camping, not glamping, not spring break. We’re here to make the best damn productions we can. Hopefully, the kids walk away knowing how to navigate the industry. We don’t have time to play dress up.”
Her face fell and then lit up. “No problem. Like I said, just a question.”
Jackson let out a low whistle. “And on that note, Marlo, you need a cold beer? A shot of whiskey? Something to bring that blood pressure down?”
I jerked away from him. “I’m fine.”
“Marlo?” Ray repeated. “Marlo?”
She looked horrified.
“Surprise,” I whispered hoarsely as our eyes locked.
She didn’t look away
.
I didn’t either.
I would win this war one way or another.
And then she did the strangest thing, she lowered her head in defeat turned around and walked out of the room, rubbing her cheek as if she had a tear.
But I knew the truth.
Princesses rarely cry.
It’s the paupers that drown in tears.
That drown in hope.
She cried out of not getting her own way.
Guys like me? Cry out of devastation.
I ADJUSTED MY black Staff shirt as best I could and finally just gave up and tied the bottom part of the material in a little knot so that it fit bitter.
“Looks nice.” Jackson crossed his bulky arms over his chest and winked at me like we were sharing some secret between us. I narrowed my eyes and then turned around. I knew guys like that. I’d known them all my life. He oozed narcissism like a whore sweating in a church pew.
I wanted no part of that.
I had no room for repeat relationships where I’m told I’m lucky that a guy like that’s with a girl who doesn’t wear a double D.
God, my ex was a douche.
“Listen up!” Marlo blew a whistle loud enough to cause a ringing to hit my ears. I winced and waited.
At least Jackson wasn’t talking to me anymore. Though he was still smirking like our conversation wasn’t done. He had short buzzed hair and probably one brain cell that was so lonely it talked to itself at night.
I smiled to myself.
Bad timing.
Since that was when Marlon set his eyes on me.
I still couldn’t believe he was the same guy who used to mow my lawn. The same guy one of my boyfriends from high school used to shove in the lockers. That guy had been so lanky he’d actually fit on multiple occasions and needed the principal to rescue him.
It was never funny.
Guys like that survived high school.
While girls like me thrived.
Though I’d hated every fake minute of it, it had been so important to me to find acceptance, an identity outside the life my parents gave me, the fake love they tried to shower me with.
So my friends had been my love.
It caused me to turn a blind eye to all the injustice to guys like Marlo. I wasn’t that same person. Didn’t matter though. He clearly still wanted to poison me as much as ever.
His eyes locked on mine as he started talking. “Staff hours are eight to eight. The main lodge is available for you guys to use to relax, gossip about the little shits that refuse to listen to your wisdom, and to party with all the confiscated alcohol we’re about to take. Get high on your own watch and remember you guys are here for one reason and one reason only. I know I don’t have to remind you why this is one of the best camps in the US. But I’m going to do it anyway. We’ve been around for twenty years, and in twenty years, we’ve had some of the biggest names in Hollywood grace our halls. You may be coaching the next Chris Pratt, so try to be patient. This is a place to make connections and it also looks incredible on your resumes. I know a lot of you are drama majors hoping to hit it big in an industry that crushes dreams almost as much as it crushes pills — try to use this as a learning experience. Network with one another.” His gaze left mine. “This is your official Welcome to Summer Heat, Camp to the Stars.” He handed a stack of papers to the girl standing next to him. “Memorize your itinerary for the week. We have seven days to decide on a show, make sure to put in your votes by Friday, we’ll announce at the Saturday campfire. Your schedules will shift throughout the next two months, if you prove yourself in one area, then you may get upgraded to coach another. We’ve tried to place you in your specialties.” His grin was more of a leer when he looked me over. Damn it, why did he have to suddenly look like Alexander Skaarsgard and Brad Pitt’s long-lost love child. I blinked a few times like I was trying to take in the inches of muscle packed around his body. The sharp jawline, the veins running down his forearms.
“You should probably stop staring,” Jackson said out of the corner of his mouth.
I jumped a foot. “What? No, I wasn’t—”
“He can sense attraction, he smells it in the air like a shark during shark week who’s been given a speck of blood.” He grinned.
Heat flooded my cheeks.
“Don’t worry my lips are sealed, but let’s just say if you did nail him, you’d be the first to get through that rough exterior. He doesn’t do girlfriends, he does one-night stands.”
“You two must have that in common.” I smiled sweetly at him then looked away.
He chuckled to himself. “Is that interest I hear in your voice?”
“Never.” I rolled my eyes as Marlo kept talking about schedules and then Jackson handed me mine and whistled. I stared down at my name crossed out then scribbled in next to choreography and singing.
I felt myself pale.
I had severe stage fright when it came to singing.
And I’d barely passed my last dance class because I nearly fell off the stage. I had taken lessons because I wanted to be a triple threat, but acting was my jam — drama, not dancing, not music.
“That sucks,” Jackson peered over my shoulder with a knowing grin. “He’s fired at least four choreographers, and that was within the first week of camp. Good luck, you’re going to need it.” He smiled as if he knew something I didn’t. Panic swept through my body.
“Great,” I grumbled.
And then a warm arm was placed around me. I looked up into Jackson’s green eyes and tried to be unaffected by his presence, but he was just like Marlo. It was like he sensed the chase and became more attractive by the second because of it. “I can coach you, you know. It’s my specialty, voice of an angel right here, not to mention moves that would make you—”
I cupped my hand over his mouth and shook my head stern. “I’m going to ignore your obvious sexual innuendos for your own sake. I don’t want a boyfriend. I don’t want a one-night stand, and I sure as hell don’t want you to coach me. I’m offering friendship because I’m severely lacking in that department right now. Take it or leave it.”
His lips tickled my palm as he grinned against my hand.
I pulled it away, eyebrow arching. “Well?”
He held out his hand and widened his grin. “I’m a really good friend.”
“Oh, I bet,” I said sarcastically, taking his hand in mine.
“Ray,” Marlon called from the front. “If you’re done flirting I’d like to get back to the bathroom schedule and mess hall.”
Flames licked at my face. “I wasn’t…” I sighed. “Sorry, Marlo.”
He just shook his head and kept talking about the mess hall and the bathrooms and how we needed to stick to our schedule otherwise things didn’t work. Who died and made him director? The guy had a serious stick stuck up his ass.
Finally, he was done.
I’d heard about half of what he said.
“Dismissed.” He nodded to us. Suddenly exhausted, I turned on my heel and started walking toward the door.
“Ray.” It was Marlo. Damn it.
My steps faltered as I gulped and turned around. People shuffled out of the lodge, leaving us alone.
Marlo walked purposefully toward me. His ice blue eyes never left my face. And then suddenly he was in front of me. Every hard inch of him.
I tried to calm my erratic heartbeat.
The tension in the air could be tasted. It swirled around us as this tangible thing just like his anger. I felt waves of it hit me in the face, dance between us and around us, bringing my body closer.
I sucked in a breath when he leaned down like he was going to kiss me. My lips parted greedily trying to pull in the air between us, hoping it had pieces of him on it.
“You don’t belong here,” was what he said in a lethal tone. “Three strikes. I’m not afraid to fire people. And you and I both know you probably need this job more than anyone.”
I flinched. “I’m sorry, what’s that sup
posed to mean?”
His grin was evil as he held up his cell phone. “Shopping for an agent?”
“How’d you know that?” I hissed quietly. “Nobody knows that.”
“First off, most of the staff members are.” He shrugged. “Second, I heard you turned down Elliot Meyers, and he’s trying to blacklist you.”
My stomach dropped to my knees. “You don’t know shit.”
“I know he’s one of the best, and he thinks you’re a spoiled brat… he’s not far off the mark is he?” Marlo shrugged and then lowered his gaze to my shoes. “I’d try harder if I were you…”
“Why do you hate me so much?” I asked in a pleading voice.
His eyebrows shot up. “If you really have to ask yourself that question than you’re dumber than I thought. Must suck to lose all the power, hmm Ray?”
“The only power I ever had was the power you willingly gave, Marlo.”
His eyes narrowed.
“Then again…” I reached up and caressed his cheek it held a bit of a five o’clock shadow. “That was just one night, right? One stupid drunken night?”
“You promised.” He grabbed my wrist, his teeth clenched.
“Well, you just threatened me.” We were chest to chest. “It goes both ways, Marlo…” I dragged out his name. I knew I was being a bitch, bringing up the past. Bringing up what was probably one of my favorite mistakes.
Finding myself in his room.
Finding myself in his arms.
Finding my mouth on his.
Skin against skin.
Tongue swirling around tongue.
It had been the best kiss of my life.
We’d both been wasted.
And I’d ignored him the next day.
“Hey! Ray!” Marlo ran toward me down the hall. He was wearing a baseball cap and looked so happy that I wanted to reach out and hug him. He’d been so sweet to me the night before, he’d taken his time, he’d kissed every inch of my body, he’d made me feel alive for the first time I could remember. And if I was being honest.
Loved.
He’d loved me, treasured me the only way a man with that much passion could.
I opened my mouth to say hi but was interrupted by Chels.
Summer Heat Page 2