Summer by the Lake

by Kay Gordon

  We had already decided who’d pair with who when we worked with Cabin Sixteen the night before and I stood across from one of their counselors when the whistle blew. We tossed the balloon back and forth easily at first, but each step back made it harder.

  I could run. I could shoot. I could jump. I could block. But I absolutely sucked at catching.

  It wasn’t until we were a little more than ten feet apart that I missed the balloon and it burst at my feet, soaking the socks inside my shoes. I groaned and glanced up at my partner.

  “Sorry.”

  She just smiled and shrugged slightly. “You lasted longer than we thought you would.”

  We stepped back and watched. The girls had four pairs left while the boys had six, including Drew and Jordan’s pairings.

  Jordan went out first when his partner completely missed the toss from around fifteen feet away. He groaned and stepped back to watch.

  Five minutes later, it was down to two pairs of each. Drew was still in the game at about twenty-five feet from his partner and the other male pairing went out just a moment later. I felt a moment of elation until Hannah’s partner fumbled the balloon she had just caught and it ended up bursting when it hit the ground.

  It was Thalia and her partner versus Drew and his. Both sets were nearing the thirty feet mark of distance and my heart leapt in my chest when Drew’s partner threw too short. My overachieving boyfriend wasn’t ready to go down without a fight, though, because he dove for the balloon and managed to catch it in his palms while on his stomach in the grass.

  Even though I’d been hoping for the out, I had to admit that I was impressed. And a little turned on. Classy.

  Thalia and her partner weren’t as lucky. When it came up too short, Thalia rushed towards the balloon but it grazed her finger tips before exploding on the grass. A loud cheer went up from the boys while the girls groaned sadly. We’d lost the camp challenge.

  Hannah and I stepped forward with the other counselors to shake hands and congratulate them. I offered my hand to Drew last and he pulled me in until he could brush his lips across mine.

  “You girls fought hard.”

  I sighed and squeezed his hand once before stepping back. “You guys did, too. That catch was pretty impressive.”

  He grinned and joined his boys while I did the same with my girls. We all walked back to the stage in the middle of the field and I tried my best to cheer them up.

  A table with cupcakes was set up near where the awards would be presented as we all sat down on the grass with one in our hand. Even Jenny had a special vegan cupcake that had been made just for her.

  We watched as Howard went through the winners and awarded them with their personal Camp Challenge trophies. I had three of my own already at home from different years my group had one the camp challenge while I’d been at Camp Holcomb. It would have been neat to earn one my first year as counselor but I decided I’d always exact my revenge the next summer.

  I paused at my thoughts. That had been the first time I’d entertained the idea of coming back again.

  Even though I love Camp Holcomb, I had never made coming back to be a counselor a priority. I blamed it on school and my heavy schedule but the truth was that I could have made it work if I wanted to. I wasn’t sure that I would even be standing in my current spot if I hadn’t made that promise to Kira. I might have just avoided coming back altogether.

  And now, I wanted to come back for as long as I could. As long as you were in college, you could come back until the summer after you graduated. That meant I could come back as a counselor at least one more time, possibly more if I decided to pursue my graduate degree. That thought made me smile.

  Cabins Seven and Eight were awarded their trophies and I elbowed my girls until they were applauding their success. I knew what they were thinking, though. Losing the camp challenge might have just cemented our loss for Cabin Wars, too. We were going to have a busy week ahead of us if we wanted a chance at winning.

  Everyone was quiet throughout dinner. The defeat plus the exhaustion was hitting them hard. Luckily we didn’t have an evening activity and the girls all asked if we could head to the treehouse. I wasn’t going to object, of course, so Hannah and I followed them out of the dining hall when we were done eating.

  I expected the boys to find and join us but they never did. I knew that Jordan and Drew were likely sparing our feelings and giving us a break from them. The high from them winning and the low from us losing definitely didn’t mix.

  After such a long day, I decided against running later that night. My body was exhausted and my pillow sounded amazing at that moment.

  We settled the girls into bed and I got comfortable in my own with my yarn and hook. I’d finished my other throw, which was folded at the foot of my bed, and I was working on a brand new one that was a rainbow of colors.

  Hannah and I didn’t speak while she wrote in her journal and I moved my yarn therapeutically. Words weren’t necessary and the silence was companionable. About twenty minutes passed when a soft knock at the side door had me snapping my head up.

  “Expecting anyone?” I asked Hannah, who shook her head. I put down my yarn and stood to answer the door. When I pulled it open, a smile hit my face almost instantly. “Drew.”

  He was wearing a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt, his hat backwards on top of his head and a smile on his face. “Hey, babe. I’ve been waiting but I take it you’re not running?”

  “Oh. No, I’m sorry.” I shook my head and felt guilty instantly. “Have you been waiting long?”

  “Nah. I’m totally okay with not running, too. I’m beat. Any chance we can talk for a second, though?”

  “Talk?” I raised my brows and he just flashed me another grin.

  “About our plans for our final day off next week. All good, I swear.”

  I nodded my head and beckoned him in. “Give me a second.”

  “I’ll wait out here.” He stepped back and gestured behind him. “Take your time. Night, Hannah.”

  She returned the sentiment and I moved back into the room to grab a sweatshirt. Once I had it on, along with my sandals, I moved to the door. Pausing at the last second, I spun around and grabbed the finished grey, white, and blue blanket I’d been working on the week before.

  Drew was leaning against the cabin with his hands stuffed into the pocket of his shorts. He smiled the second he saw me and offered me one of those hands. I laced my fingers with his and we walked to the front of the cabin so we could sit on the porch steps.

  “So, it’s our last day off here but I wanted to see if you’d be okay if we did something just you and me.” He paused and brushed a piece of my hair away from my face. “If you want to spend time with Hannah, I’ll understand, though.”

  I shook my head and leaned in so my cheek was resting on his shoulder. “I think she and Jordan want some alone time and I wouldn’t be opposed to our own, either.”

  “Okay, good. Then I propose you let me plan everything. I want this time to be different and I have a pretty neat idea.”

  “Yeah?” I sat up and grinned at him. “Like what?”

  He shook his head and placed a kiss on the tip of my nose. “It’s a surprise.”

  “Ugh,” I groaned with a frown. “I hate surprises.”

  Drew laughed and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “Get over it, Shay.”

  His blue eyes were dark and the moonlight reflected in them, making me feel like we were the only two people in the world. Despite the fact that I’d touched this man in the most intimate way, butterflies fluttered in my stomach just being in his presence. Awareness settled in every part of my body and I just needed to touch him, to connect with him.

  As if he could hear my thoughts, Drew leaned in and pressed his lips to mine softly. A calmness settled over me as we molded together effortlessly and when his tongue touched the seam of my lips, I opened without hesitation.

  He tasted li
ke perfection. That was the only way to explain it. He had a uniqueness to him that overloaded my senses and I hoped I never got tired of it. His hold tightened on my shoulders and his free hand dropped to my bare knee, where he squeezed lightly.

  We kissed for seconds or maybe hours before we pulled back, both of us breathing heavier. Drew’s eyes stared into mine intensely, like he wanted to say something. My heart beat a bit quicker as I wondered if he felt it, too. There was so much love flowing between us that I was sure it couldn’t be one-sided.

  A door slamming to a nearby cabin startled us both, causing me to jump slightly. The connection was broken, the moment gone, but Drew still smiled and leaned in to place one more soft kiss against my mouth.

  “Go get some rest, Shaylee. You worked your ass off today.”

  We both stood, our fingers entwined again like they couldn’t help it, and he walked me the twenty feet back to my door.

  “Oh,” I said, realizing I still had the crocheted throw tucked under my arm. “I made this a week or so ago and I thought maybe you’d like it.”

  I offered it to him but instead of taking it, Drew just stared at the blanket. A myriad of emotions flashed across his face- Confusion, wonder, happiness, awe, and some I couldn’t place. Slowly, he reached out and took the soft throw from me.

  “You made this? For me?”

  I shrugged my shoulders, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. “It’s not a big deal, Drew.”

  “It is a big deal, Shaylee.” He suddenly pulled me to him, crushing my body against his chest. “No one has ever made me anything like this before. I love it. Thank you.”

  I love you.

  I wanted to say the words but didn’t. I held him closer instead, inhaling the scent of Drew before tipping my face up to receive another kiss. “You’re welcome. Now,” I said, stepping away from him. “Get out of here so I can go to bed.”

  “Okay.” He grinned at me as I opened the side door. “Goodnight, sweetheart.”

  I smiled at him for a moment before heading inside. “Night, Drew.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  “Okay. We’re not going into town and we’re not staying in the bunks. Where are we going?”

  Four days had passed since the camp challenge and we were finally getting our night off together. Drew had been very tight-lipped about what he had planned for us. He’d only told me what to pack and that we weren’t going into town.

  His eyes met mine the second I came out the side door of the cabin and a grin lit up his face. “Did you pack what I asked?”

  “Yeah.” I held up my backpack that had a change of clothes and warm pajamas. “I’m kind of sad that you told me to bring pajamas, though.”

  “That makes two of us,” he replied with a chuckle, taking my bag from my grip. He didn’t have a backpack with him and it only amplified my curiosity. “Ready?”

  God, he was handsome. He was wearing a pair of jeans rather than the shorts he’d had on earlier and a Camp Holcomb hoodie fit his chest perfectly. He had that hat on and his blue eyes were twinkling mischievously.

  “Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”

  Drew chuckled and pressed a sweet kiss to my lips. “It’s our last week here and the hotel has been fun, but I want to do something special with you.”

  “You sure know how to make a girl swoon, Moore.” I tangled my fingers with his and dropped my head to his shoulder as we walked through the dark campus.

  “As long as that girl is you, Shay.”

  It wasn’t until we started deviating away from the shuttle area and to the woods that I broke our comfortable silence.

  “We’re not leaving camp at all?”

  He shook his head and stopped us next to one of the camp’s ATV quads. “Nope.”

  The ATV had a cooler already strapped to the rack on the back, along with Drew’s backpack. He added mine to the pile and made sure they were secure before grabbing one of the helmets. Without a word, he placed it on my head and buckled the strap before doing the same with his after tucking his cap into his back pocket. He grinned at me once they were good.

  “Ready?”

  I nodded and climbed on after him, wrapping my arms around his middle and holding him tighter than I needed to. His chest vibrated when he chuckled and he placed one of his hands over mine. After a moment, he let go of me and turned the key to start the ignition, lighting up the area in front of us when the headlights turned on.

  “Hold on, babe.”

  And with that, we took off.

  We didn’t go far, a half mile at the very most, but Drew drove slowly through the dark trees and stopped after about ten minutes. I stretched my neck when we stopped so I could see around him and gasped at the sight before us.

  A tent had been set up in the clearing and a small fire pit had been erected in front of it, surrounded by a couple of camp chairs. I was suddenly very happy I’d used the bathroom right before we left.

  “We’re camping?”

  Drew nodded and swung his leg over the ATV until he was on the ground. He unsnapped his helmet and pulled it off, quickly divesting me of mine immediately after.

  “Without fake rain or fake bears. Is this okay?”

  I climbed off of the ATV and launched myself into his arms. “This is perfect, Drew. Seriously.”

  His hold was tight and his lips were soft when we kissed, the familiarity of both actions causing my body to respond. The spark of passion I felt for Drew never seemed to dull and the butterflies in my stomach were fluttering like crazy.

  “God, Shay,” he groaned, pulling his head back slightly. “You’re perfect and I need to step back or else I’m going to take you on the seat of this quad.”

  A shiver ran up my spine at the thought. “And that’s a bad thing?”

  He chuckled and shook his head before placing one more kiss on my lips. “Not at all but let me at least get a fire going so we have some light.”

  “Fine, fine.”

  I helped him get the backpacks and cooler unstrapped from the ATV and he kept the headlights turned on while he went to where a small pile of kindling had already been placed in the fire pit. He pulled a lighter from his pocket and had a fire going within thirty seconds.

  “Did you do all of this?”

  In beams from the ATV lights, I could see a slight flush color his cheeks. “Howard and I drove up after dinner to set up. I can fake a lot of this stuff but my L.A. really shows during moments like this.”

  I laughed and shook my head as I pulled the key from the quad and turned off the lights. When I walked back over to Drew, he had turned on a couple of battery-powered lanterns and placed our backpacks inside the tent.

  “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to the metal box that was opposite where the tent was. Drew held up the cooler and glanced around us.

  “A bear box for the food.”

  I stepped closer to Drew on reflex and he laughed softly. “Just a precaution, babe.”

  He tugged me towards one of the camp chairs and took the one next to it once I sat down. The warmth from the fire was a perfect addition to the slight chill in the air. He reached into the cooler and rummaged around in it for a moment.

  “Aha.” He handed me an unopened bag of marshmallows with a child-like grin on his face. “What do you say?”

  “Have you met me?” I took the marshmallow from him and picked up one of the roasting sticks he’s brought. We both got our treats situated and into the fire and I dropped my head to his shoulder while they roasted. After a few minutes of silence, I sucked in a deep breath. “Drew?”

  “Yeah, Shay?”

  I kept my eyes focused on the flickering orange flames in front of us as I worked up the courage to voice my question. “What happens after next week?”

  “Well.” He pulled his burning marshmallow out of the fire and leaned forward to blow out the flames, dislodging my head as he did. Once he had the situation under contr
ol, he turned so he was looking at me. The firelight reflected in his eyes and his face was serious. “It’s only a five hour drive between L.A. and Phoenix, sweetheart.”

  “Yeah?” I suppressed the grin that wanted to break free. “That doesn’t sound like a bad drive.”

  “Nope.” Drew did grin and it lit up his handsome face. He leaned forward to kiss the tip of my nose. “It’s a drive I’d be willing to make often.”

  A breath caught in my throat and I pulled my stick from the fire, keeping my eyes locked on his. “What are you saying, Drew?”

  “I’m saying that I don’t want this to be a summer fling. I know that they say long distance relationships never work but I want ours to work. I want us to work.” He reached up and cupped my cheek gently. “I love you, Shaylee.”

  Despite the fire already blazing in front of us, a feeling settled over me that felt like a warm blanket. From my head to my toes, contentment and happiness filled me completely. How had this man inserted himself so firmly in my heart in such a short time?

  “I love you, too, Drew. So much.”

  Sticks and marshmallows were forgotten as we came together again. My arms wreathed around his neck and his came around my back while our lips met powerfully. The force of our actions knocked one of the chairs off-balance, though, and I let out a small squeal when we canted sideways. Drew’s hand came up to protect my head from the impact when we crashed to the ground.

  Neither of us spoke for a moment. We laid in the dirt by to the pit as the fire crackled next to us, my body next to Drew’s. After about thirty seconds, a giggle slipped past my lips and his arms tightened around me as his chest shook with laughter.

  “At least we didn’t land in the fire,” I said in between giggles and Drew’s laughter only intensified. It took us a moment to untangle our limbs and get back to our feet.