Summer Camp Love: A Bekah's Clean Romance Story (Bekah's Good Clean Romance Stories Book 1)

by Bekah Bancroft

  He leaned back further in the chair and raised his eyebrows, in an ironic expression.

  “Technically, I’m her boss.”

  He smiled at her, but his eyes looked tired.

  Lissa laughed, and grabbed his arm to try and make him feel better.

  “Well you sure know how to ‘handle’ your employees. You were kissing her the first time I met you.”

  He put up his hands in a mock defensive gesture.

  “Hey, she practically assaulted me. I did not instigate that.”

  She let go of his arm. He reached down and grabbed her hand, though. She let him, and they sat there in silence for a while in the reception area, holding hands.

  “You see, I’m just about the only guy here. Yeah, Charlie and Marco work here too. They live nearby and they’re here year round. They do maintenance and lawn work and stuff like that. But they’re older and married. So, I’m the only eligible bachelor. She gets bored and likes to play around. She did it last year, too.

  “But when school started, I never heard from her. She went back to the group she runs around with at college. Never returned any of my texts. I got the message and stopped trying.”

  “So she was just using you as her toy?”

  “Yeah, something like that.”

  “But that’s not right. And that’s mean, to not even speak to you until the next summer!”

  He shrugged.

  “She’s a mean girl, if you hadn’t noticed. Anyway, I came back to work here this summer, and I decided I didn’t want anything to do with her. She’s just not my type. She’s a ‘rich bitch,’ you know? I mean yeah she looks good on the outside, but inside she’s a horrible, self-centered person.

  “I pretty much told her we weren’t going to be an item this summer, that I was going to concentrate on work instead of fooling around. When you walked in that day, she had pretty much thrown herself at me, trying to make me change my mind.

  “She tried again later, after you left. But I kept saying no. I told her this summer is going to be different.

  “So, now you know one of the reasons she was so upset when she saw us kissing the other night. I won’t kiss her and be her toy, but I’m falling for you. And that burns her up.”

  Lissa felt like her heart jumped in her chest when she heard him say he was falling for her. She squeezed his hand a bit harder. But then thoughts of Raven intruded.

  “I just can’t believe she’s telling everybody I’m sleeping with you. Who does that? I’ve got a girl in my cabin, and her sister is in Raven’s cabin, and she’s always telling me these horrible things Raven says about me. Those girls are in middle school, and she’s spreading all these lies about me to them.”

  Josh nodded.

  “It’s a pretty crummy thing to do. Hey, just try to keep your head down for another few days and we’ll get a nice little break from her.”

  “I like the way you say, ‘we.’”

  He smiled again, then he leaned over and kissed her. This time they were not interrupted.

  Short-staffed

  The day went by fast. It was Lissa’s turn to take a group of girls on a nature hike, and they went up into the hills for about three hours. She showed them the different fauna and went into lecture mode, trying to follow the outline given by the guidebook she had read.

  By the time they got back to the campgrounds, everyone was a little tired from the long walk. Lissa hopped into her private shower and changed clothes before heading to lunch.

  Josh was already sitting down with his food. Raven was there too, on the opposite end of the table. She had a tray, but wasn’t eating. Instead, she was sitting with her arms crossed, glaring at Josh. He ignored her.

  Lissa sat down next to him. He looked up and smiled. Raven started staring daggers at her, too.

  About the time they finished eating, the thumpa thumpa thumpa from a helicopter filled the cafeteria. Several girls ran out the door to go watch it land on the helipad.

  Josh looked at Lissa and raised an eyebrow.

  “I wonder what that’s about? I better go check on it.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll take your tray to the window.”

  He hurried out the door. Lissa stood and gathered up both their trays. She glanced over at Raven, who still sat at the table with her arms crossed. But now instead of glaring at her, Raven had a smirk on her face. She stood up and slowly walked out the door.

  “I guess I’ll take your tray, too,” Lissa said after she was gone.

  After depositing the trays at the dishwasher’s window, Lissa followed everyone else out the door and walked down toward the helipad to find out what was going on.

  On the pad, its rotors slowly coming to a stop, stood a sleek executive helicopter. An older man in a business suit climbed out, and approached Josh. They shook hands.

  Raven walked up to the pad, and gave the man a big hug.

  “Hi, Daddy!”

  ~~~

  The older man walked down to the office with Josh and Raven. Once the helicopter’s blades stopped twirling, most of the campers disbursed, heading off to nature hikes or other activities planned for the afternoon.

  Lissa’s next hike she was scheduled to lead started at two that afternoon, so she didn’t have anyplace to be right away.

  She thought about heading back to her cabin, and started walking that way. Then curiosity got the best of her, and she turned around to go toward the office. She sneaked a peek through the window, and to her surprise she saw Josh standing in the reception area, looking worried. The door to his office was closed.

  He turned around when she walked in, and gave her a nervous smile. He nodded toward the door to his office.

  “She’s in there talking about us. You might not want to be here when they come out.”

  Lissa walked up to him and wrapped an arm around his middle, trying to comfort him. She brushed hair out of his worried eyes.

  The door to the office opened, and Mr. Harquart walked out, followed by Raven. Lissa pulled her arm down from around Josh.

  “That’s the one, Daddy. This tramp has had campers in her room, and has been spending lots of time alone with children here. We’ve been hearing some terrible rumors about her.”

  Mr. Harquart glared at Lissa. He looked like he was in his fifties. He had a tanned face showing signs of wrinkles and black hair that was starting to gray around the temples.

  “You’re fired. Get your things and go.”

  Lissa’s mouth dropped open. It was so sudden, and unfair. She didn’t know what to say. She just stood there, stunned.

  Raven made a little shooing motion with her hand.

  “Go on, slut. Go.”

  Lissa turned and rushed out the door, fighting back tears. She walked back to the Adventurers cabin and went through the door. Kylee and Victoria looked up from the table they were sharing in the common room.

  “Miss Lissa? Are you alright? What’s going on?”

  “I’ve been fired. Raven’s dad, he owns the place. She had him come in and fire me after Josh refused to.”

  The tears flowed freely now, she couldn’t stop them anymore.

  “What? That’s terrible! Is this because I was in your room last night?”

  The girls came around the table and hugged her, trying to maker her feel better.

  “It’s not just that, Victoria. It’s a bunch of things. I don’t want you thinking it was your fault. I was the one who let you into my room, and that was my decision.”

  Lissa gently broke away from their hugs. They traded cell phone numbers and promised to text each other and stay in touch.

  “I wish we could text you while we’re still here at camp.”

  “It’s okay, Alexis. I won’t lose your number, I promise.”

  Then she went to her room, and packed up her stuff.

  ~~~

  Lissa walked past the office, heading toward the parking lot and her car. Just as she walked by the entrance, the door opened and Josh, Mr. Harquart, and R
aven walked out. She caught the tail end of their conversation.

  “I’m really disappointed in you, Josh.”

  “Frankly, sir, I’m even more disappointed in you. These are baseless allegations, and you’re leaving the camp short-staffed for the rest of the season.”

  “We’ll find somebody to fill her spot. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in business, Josh, it’s that everybody is replaceable.”

  “Well that’s fine, sir. You can replace me, too!”

  The older man showed a look of surprise on his face at that statement. About then, the three of them noticed Lissa. Raven made her shooing motion again.

  “Bye. Hope your old car starts.”

  Lissa shifted the travel bag on her shoulder and headed out into the parking lot. Josh ran after her.

  “Hey, listen. You know that burger joint on the right in the first town headed back?”

  “Yeah. The one with an outdoor patio?”

  “That’s the one. When you get there, stop and order a soda or something. I’ll be along in a little bit.”

  “Okay.”

  They smiled at each other then, and he pulled her close. He gave her a long, luscious kiss. She could feel Raven and her dad staring at them, but she didn’t care. He felt so good.

  “Wait for me!”

  A Look Ahead

  At the burger place, she sat out on the patio and ordered an ice cream sundae to treat herself after the emotional rollercoaster Raven had put her on. She took out her phone and found she had excellent reception in the little town. She decided to go ahead and put Alexis’ and Victoria’s numbers in her contacts.

  About twenty minutes later, true to his word, Josh drove up in his pickup truck. He waved at her as he slammed the door and bounded up the steps to join her on the patio.

  He sat down at the little table across from her and leaned back, his hands clasped behind his head.

  “Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?”

  She blushed, and looked away.

  “No. I don’t think you’ve ever said anything about my looks.”

  “Well, you are. You are incredibly beautiful.”

  “Well, thank you. But unfortunately, right now I’m beautifully unemployed.”

  Josh let out a big sigh, and nodded in acknowledgment. The waitress came out and asked if he wanted anything. He ordered an iced tea.

  When she walked back inside to get him the drink, Josh said, “You’re not alone in that regard. I resigned.”

  Lissa raised her eyebrows. But then she remembered something Josh had said to Raven’s dad about replacing him, too.

  “I’m so sorry, Josh. I didn’t mean to cost you your job.”

  “Nah, you didn’t cost me anything. It was a resignation in protest, for the way he let Raven dictate things. You were definitely not treated right.”

  She could hardly believe somebody would stick up for her like that.

  He sacrificed his job on account of me, she thought. Nobody had ever done anything like that for her before.

  “Josh, I’m touched. That’s the sweetest thing anybody’s ever done for me. But, your job . . . I feel so bad you lost it.”

  “Ah, don’t worry about it.”

  The waitress came back, carrying his tea. He thanked her and took a sip.

  “I’ve lost jobs before. It’s just a summer job anyway. I’ll head back to College Station and pick up something else until school starts.”

  Lissa dropped the spoon for her sundae in surprise.

  “College Station? Are you an Aggie?”

  He smiled, that gorgeous smile of his that lit up his face.

  “Yeah, I go to A and M. Why?”

  “I’m going to A and M, too! I got accepted last year. I’ve always wanted to go there, ever since I was a little girl! I’m moving in August!”

  “That’s great, Lissa. I’m starting my junior year in the fall. I can show you around town and everything!”

  They chatted for another hour, talking about themselves, their families, their futures. Finally, he checked the time on his phone, and paid the bill that the waitress had brought. He left her a nice tip since they took up the table for so long.

  “Hey, Bryan-College Station is about four and half, maybe five hours away. If we leave now, we can still make it before dark. You want to get an early start on seeing the town? There’s not much there, really. It’s more about who you know and the people you meet than the sights, anyway.”

  She smiled. He looked really enthusiastic about the idea, and she longed to spend a lot more time with him.

  “Sure. I’ve got nowhere else to be the next few weeks. I’d love to spend them with you.”

  He smiled back, and they walked out into the parking lot holding hands. At her car, he held her tight and gave her one last long kiss.

  When they broke for air, she said, “It’s going to be a great fall.”

  He nodded.

  “The rest of the summer is looking good, too.”

  The End

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