Through my tears, I poured out my soul to Sara. I had so much built up inside me that I had to get it all out. How Avery seduced me emotionally the first day of camp. How we had breakfast by the waterfall, and how we had sex during the Masquerade Ball. I told her how fantastic the sex was and how caring, passionate, and kind he was. How he fulfilled one of my fantasies and he took me up against the wall. The way he took me in the shower, and the delicious time in the bedroom. I told her how we made love to the most perfect song. How I saw so much caring and compassion in one man’s eyes that it took my breath away. Just like the song was speaking to my soul, I knew then I could never let him go.
It hurt too much to relive all of my emotions that night. Then I told her what happened during bungee jumping. And later how Pierce took me to confess my love to Avery and how it devastated me to find him with Caitlyn. Then to find out how Caitlyn blamed me for all the pranks she pulled on me and said it was all my doing. I told Sara everything that led up to this point. She sat with her mouth opened, stunned as I spoke. It felt good to get it all off my chest, not to hide it from her anymore.
“Oh, Aria. I didn’t realize. If he doesn’t want you then he’s a fool,” Sara bellowed. I loved that Sara supported me. She always had my back. I frowned, knowing she was right. “Look, we go back to Ohio next week. You’ll be back in school and you’ll soon forget everything.”
“I don’t think I can,” I said. “How can I forget all of this? I love it here,” I said, as the tears fell again. Sara’s eyes bored into me. It was what she always did when she was trying to read me.
“You love him don’t you?” Sara inquired. I didn’t respond. She sighed heavily. “Look, Colt has been coming here since the camp opened. He said he’s never seen Avery like this. He’s never taken interest in anyone. Work was all he knew. All he’s ever done.”
I let her words sink in then looked at her. More tears fell from my eyes and I quickly wiped them away. She studied me.
“What am I going to do with you?”
I shrugged, “Want to know something else?” I asked. She looked at me curiously. “I got my belly button pierced.”
She gasped. “When?”
“After the fight,” I frowned.
“Let me see,” she said pulling up my shirt. Her fingers traced the shimmery sapphire blue butterfly bead and she smiled at me. “Whore,” she teased. We both giggled. It was what I had said to her when she got hers pierced right after she met Colt.
“I know,” I chided.
“Aria,” Caitlyn said. I bristled at the sound of her voice as she walked up to us.
“What do you want, Caitlyn?” I replied, stagnantly not bothering to look up from the bench.
“You to back off from Avery, that’s what,” she said.
“What are you talking about?”
I saw Sara get up and walk a few feet to her horse and start grooming the same side I just finished. I knew it was only to be within striking distance if this got ugly between us.
“I see the way you look at him. He would never give you the time of day. So, just stop embarrassing yourself,” Caitlyn snapped.
I finally looked at her. She was wearing tan breeches; black riding boots, a navy blue short sleeved riding jersey, and her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, everything about her wardrobe screamed money.
“Funny. I was just thinking the same thing about you.” I’m pretty sure I heard her growl as she took a step closer. I didn’t know what really happened between her and Avery and truthfully, I didn’t want to know, but a part of me knew that if he still wanted her then she wouldn’t be here now.
“You better watch it,” she hissed then went on. “Look, Bambi, I hate to break it to you but a man like Avery would easily get bored with a girl like you. Look at you,” she said, scouring me with her eyes from head to toe. “Fantasies don’t come true for people like you. You could never be the woman Avery wants.” She stalked around the barn like a tiger about to eat its prey. But I didn’t care.
“Get over yourself. Gold digging dried up a long time ago. Maybe you should try a paint-by-numbers class or something that wouldn’t interfere with all that silicone.”
She stomped her foot. “Little girl, I’m warning you. Back the fuck off of Avery.”
I laughed at her absurdity. She stepped closer. She was taller than me, but I was pretty sure I could take her if we fought, and my stubbornness overrode my common sense as I stepped closer to her. I had a lot of fuel in the fire.
“What makes you think he’d want you anyway? I mean look at you. Let’s see, fake hair. Fake teeth. Fake boobs. Fake tan. What more could a guy ask for?”
“Why, you little bitch,” she said, pulling back her fist.
“Is there a problem here, ladies?” his magnetic voice rang out through the barn walkway.
I cringed when I heard his voice. Caitlyn could have spun on a dime the way she dropped her hand and smiled pleasantly to him. Oh, she was good.
“Hi, baby. Aria and I were just having a difference of opinion on riding saddles is all. Weren’t we?” She widened that bleach white smile of hers and I suddenly imagined her teeth all knocked out and I laughed at her. She was ridiculous.
I motioned for the horse to follow me into its stall and I closed the door. I slammed the brush into the wooden crate for cleaning and turned toward the exit.
“Avery, did you come here to go riding? I’m free right now, I could go with you,” her voice was like nails on a chalkboard.
All I could think about was getting away before I lost my temper on her. I was halfway down toward the exit when I heard Avery blow her off and run after me. I picked up the pace and ducked out the side door.
“Aria, wait!” Avery bellowed.
I didn’t stop. I just wanted to get away from him. My body was shaking with anger. Avery put his hand on my arm and I recoiled it. “What?”
“I heard what Caitlyn said. I could never want a woman like that,” he said.
“That’s not what it looked like on your front porch that night,” I seethed.
“I got very drunk on whiskey that night and yes, I fucked her,” he huffed. “Look, I’m sorry. That wasn’t one of my proudest moments. I got back from the party that night hammered. I was trying to drown out the thoughts of those guys all over you at the party when Caitlyn was waiting for me there on my front porch. She offered herself to me and I just went with it. I needed a good cum to clear my head.”
I blinked up at him as the harsh reality of it all set in. That sounded really familiar.
“Like I care about your sex life. Why are you here anyway?” I said, crossing my arms.
He raised his brow at me. “My Kitten has claws. You seem to have a lot of pent up anger.”
“I am not your Kitten!” I stuttered. “And I only act this way around you!” I dropped my arms to my sides with my fist clenched. I shook my head and took a slow deep breath, trying to calm down. “Don’t do that. Don’t act like you care about me when you don’t,” I seethed, stepping closer.
He grabbed both my arms and closed the gap between us. “I care about you. Christ, Aria, why can’t you see that?” he said in a husky low voice. I ignored the way his voice vibrated through me and struck me down deep.
“Because you have a really lousy way of showing it. Why can’t you open up to me? Tell me what you’re thinking. Tell me now, Avery, because I’m losing my mind over all of this!” My voice echoed off the barn beside us.
His eyes fell away and he brought his hand up and rubbed the back of his neck. “I can’t...”
I held up my hand cutting him off. “You’re exhausting. Here I’ll save you the trouble and this time I’ll walk away.”
I jogged up the path farthest away from him. I knew this was his camp. I knew I couldn’t leave here for five more days, but damn if I had to be within ten feet of him. He crushed me and I let myself get crushed. I was such a fool. I ran up the beaten path toward my cabin. I fell hard into my bed and
threw the pillow up over my face. I screamed into it. God, Avery’s head games made me so mad.
DAY THIRTY-EIGHT:
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
LADIES’ CHOICE KEY PARTY
It was the night before the camp Olympics, and only four more days until I could get away from Avery Jameson for good. And once I’ve gone from here, I am never coming back.
I stepped through the doorway of the Main Lodge to the Ladies’ Choice Key Party. Every girl got a key when she entered the ballroom tonight. When she saw a guy she wanted to sleep with, she was to give him her key and then they would meet up later in the room that the key unlocked.
Each of the bedrooms had a theme but you wouldn’t know the theme until you unlocked the door. It might be Western, Moroccan, Hawaiian, Chican or a Doctor’s Office. Avery kept it unpredictable. The idea was that you didn’t know until you unlocked the door and got in there.
I stood taking in the gold and silver key decorations. Giant golden and silver keys hung from the ceiling and lined the walls. Combined with those keys, were giant gears and cogs representing the locks that turned and moved showing whatever secrets were being unlocked.
With each party, Avery seemed to outdo himself each time with grander and larger themes. But as I stood in the ballroom looking around taking in the massive display, the words of my psychology professor echoed in my head. He used to say that keys are important entities in our lives, and most of us never give them a second thought. Keys are powerful commodities that symbolize the opening of one part of our life’s journey and the closing of another. They represent the knowledge, mystery, and curiosity of that journey. Always, there is a door to be unlocked.
When you think about it, unlocking a door can bring you knowledge. But it also can expose your secrets and this place was full of them. The knowledge of what lies inside can lead you to new experiences and a completely new way of life, or it can awaken your fears and force you to retreat from that life. The mystery of it comes from unlocking those closed doors and seeing what’s inside. You might be unlocking something inside your heart or unlocking desires that can breathe new life into your journey. Who knows what adventures wait for you when you unlock something that is hidden. Those new adventures might be more than you could have ever imagined.
But there is a certain empowerment that comes from being curious enough to turn the key in the first place. When the door opens, when you’re strong enough, and brave enough, to step through not knowing what you’ll find waiting for you on the other side. Without the curiosity to turn the key in the first place, we wouldn’t be able to step into that new way of life. Or find our way to happiness, or whatever lives beyond those locked doors. But it all starts by the turning of a key. I bet all those people wandering around this ballroom never gave any of that much thought and I bet most of them didn’t care. But I cared.
Camp Jameson was the key that unlocked my sexuality and for that I was forever grateful. I was a much different person now than when I arrived a few short weeks ago and, good or bad, this new person was here to stay. Of course, Avery unlocked my heart, and even though I am suffering on the inside, I know that someday I will be a better person for it. At least I learned to quit falling for every guy I sleep with. I was pretty sure that revelation had cost me a relationship with Ethan, because I was sure he wanted to be my boyfriend until I slept with his brother Wren. So now, I was in the friend zone with both of them. It was just another chance at love ruined. Maybe someday, I’ll get it right but until then, I might as well find someone to fuck.
As I continued my search for that special someone, I made my way around the ballroom looking for Sara, who was supposed to be meeting me at any moment. As I pushed my way through the crowd, that sad echo of a once beautiful child interrupted my daydreaming with her sour puss.
“Looks like you didn’t get the guy after all,” Caitlyn sneered. Her voice was like stepping on a rusty nail in your bare feet.
“Your point, Catface?” I said harshly, not making eye contact with the annoying troll. I still hadn’t spotted Sara yet.
“Rumor has it, Avery has a girlfriend. Like I told you he would when he got bored and moved on,” Caitlyn smirked.
I figured Caitlyn started that rumor herself, but she was wrong. The whole camp knew Avery was a player, except for me, and that he would never have a girlfriend. He didn’t need one. This camp was his personal procurement center. The women came here to him.
“Caitlyn, Travis needs you,” Sara trilled. “There’s a leaky window in Kit Kat cabin that needs silicone to seal it. Why don’t you run along and help him out with that,” Sara said, molding her hands around each breast and giving them a little wiggle. “I would help him, but mine are real,” she said, in mock disappointment.
Caitlyn huffed, then spun on her heel and headed toward the bar. I was thankful for Sara rescuing me. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.
My eyes scanned the room. Avery was nowhere to be found tonight. He must be getting ready for the Olympics tomorrow. There were decorations and bleachers going up all over the camp. I actually passed a medal ceremony stand on my way here tonight. The whole place was transforming, into what… I don’t know.
Sara and I were in tight fitting sequined mini dresses. Hers was gold. Mine was a silver, short, sparkling mini with a sweetheart neckline and glimmering teardrop-shaped sequins. It favored my rhinestone silver strappy heels that Sara had bought me. Gold and silver seemed to be the color scheme tonight. Most of the women passing by had on something similar and the guys, as always, wore black. I walked with Sara across the hall toward Pierce. He was leaning against a support beam near the bar with his arms crossed, watching us from across the room with interest.
“Taking care of the trash, Sara?” Pierce asked.
“Always,” Sara answered.
He grinned mischievously. “I have to be dreaming. The two hottest ladies in the ballroom, are standing in front of me. What do I owe the pleasure?”
“I’m saving the best for last.” Sara slipped her key in Pierce’s hand and winked. I was shocked at Sara’s forthrightness and Pierce smiled wide as he looked to me with hope in his eyes. I shook my head lightly and looked away. I was saving mine for now.
“How are you, Aria?” he asked.
I shrugged, not wanting to answer. I kept my eyes on the high priced flooring, trying to distract myself with something other than looking at him. Except for his eyes and blonde highlights, Pierce was a younger version of Avery and it was difficult for me to be so close to him like this.
“That bad, huh?” he inquired.
I put on my best smile and looked at him. “Have fun you two,” I said, taking a few steps toward the bar but making sure that it was the opposite side that Caitlyn occupied.
“She’s miserable,” Sara muttered. I tried to ignore the fact that they were talking about me like I wasn’t three feet away.
“You can see me standing right over here can’t you?” I asked sarcastically as they ignored me.
“So is Avery. I tried everything I could.” I heard Pierce say as they walked away toward a room. Was Avery really suffering like I was? If so, why the hell wouldn’t he tell me how he feels? Ugh. All I wanted to do tonight was get drunk.
A while later, I’m not sure exactly how long, but I was on my fifth or maybe sixth…oh god who knows…wheeee… my head was spinning…. Jameson and Diet Coke. I looked up to see a smiling Sara bouncing on the balls of her feet.
“Done already?” I said, surprised and trying not to slur.
“Yep, and guess what?”
I quirked my eyebrow at her, Well at least I think I did, I wasn’t sure it came across the way I wanted it to; the alcohol was limiting my muscle movement.
She snickered at me. “You’re wasted. Happy you’ve succeeded?”
“Yep. I fought hard and won this round,” I chirped.
Kim handed me an energy drink and a tall ice water. I frowned at Sara.
“You’re such a
buzzkill,” I whined.
“Down them, and hurry,” she urged. “We have something to do.”
“What evs,” I said.
Sara and I snuck out of the Main Lodge in our mini dresses and stilettos and we made our way toward the Pinky Princess Spa Cabin. Sara reached down behind a bush and pulled out her camp backpack and slung it over her shoulder. I followed her to the back of the salon to a single glass door and she knelt down and started to pick the lock. My eyes scanned the perimeter sluggishly. Too much alcohol tends to slow your reflexes.
“Did you know that Caitlyn goes spray tanning every Thursday morning?” she said casually like we were leisurely getting a manicure or just hanging out in a coffee shop gossiping like two old ladies would. I knew that bitch spray tanned. She always passed it off as natural outside tanning. She was so phony.
Sara stopped what she was doing to wait for my reply.
“No,” I said, shrugging my shoulders at her. Sara went back to picking the lock.
“Did you know she has the first appointment of the day? Yep, every Thursday at 9am,” she added concentrating on the lock. “And she always uses bed number three because that’s the only spray tanner. The other two are regular UV beds.
“Okay,” I said, crossing my arms and looking around to make sure no one was able to see what we were doing. “How do you know this and what’s your point?”
“You’ll see,” she said. She strolled up to the computer and the screen popped awake. She scrolled through and tilted the screen for me to see that she was right. Caitlyn was the first appointment of the day tomorrow. I nodded. “Booth 3,” Sara added.
Sara stepped down the small maintenance hall to the back of booth three and lowered her backpack to the floor. She rummaged through it and pulled out a large wrench that looked like something a plumber would use and set it beside her feet on the floor. Then she pulled out a Phillips screwdriver and started unscrewing the screws to some kind of access panel.
“Did I ever tell you that my cousin Ronnie was a plumber?” she asked in that casual tone again.
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