by Tina Michele
Foam balls zinged and whizzed past Haven, and she leapt for them. Being as short as she was, it was difficult to leap high enough from the water to catch the ones that flew over her head. But that didn’t keep her from trying. Diego’s entire torso was out of the water standing flat-footed, so Haven used him as a human scaffold to catch the balls.
The game was heating up, with balls flying in from every direction. Wingman eyed her with an evil brow as he cocked back his arm for a direct shot at her. As he released the ball, she shrieked and ducked below the surface of the water. While he missed her face, she felt the ball skip over her head. She bounced back up, spun around, and lunged for the ball she knew was behind her. Someone else already had it. Before Haven could stop her momentum, her body slammed into them with an audible slap and splash. Two arms wrapped around her as her body conformed to the soft and smooth surface. Though tall and solid like Diego, this person was most definitely female. Haven’s face was mere inches from a most familiar chest, complete with triple set of freckles where the voluptuous curves of Willa’s breasts met. Haven’s body fought to melt into the embrace while her mind urged her to recoil. She raised her face to Willa, who stared down at her with an outward expression that mimicked her own inner feelings of surprise and desire.
As Willa stared into her eyes, Haven was very much aware of each inch of skin that connected with hers. Their warm thighs, breasts, and bellies pressed together beneath the water as Willa held Haven against her. Haven was holding her breath, hypnotized by Willa’s gaze and embrace. The splashing of water and the laughter of children faded into the background, and the one thing Haven could comprehend was the infinite depth of Willa’s eyes. A sharp sting struck her between her shoulder blades, and Haven pushed back against Willa’s chest and out of her arms. Her body was on fire, not from the burning of a hit from the ball, but from being held so close to Willa. She was certain the water temperature also played a role. She pushed herself to the farthest end of the pool before climbing out and heading for the locker room. She’d had enough for the day. Enough water, enough heat, and enough Willa.
Chapter Nine
The ride back to the ranch was near silent, and the hour of free time before dinner had most campers spread over every available soft surface. Those who couldn’t find a couch or chair in the main lodge opted for their bunk to catch a few minutes of rest. In spite of the relaxing soak in the hot springs, the day had been an exhausting one. If anything, it was the warm water that contributed to the need for a group nap.
Willa had opted for her bunk, slipping under the blankets as soon as she was out of her wet clothes. She’d spent eight hours in water and she just wanted a few minutes to be warm and dry. Willa fluffed the pillow just right, pulled the covers up to her chin, and closed her eyes. She should’ve expected the image that popped into her mind the instant her eyes were shut. It was Haven. Her pink lips were a breath away from her own and there was even less space between their bodies. When Willa heard the door to the cabin open and shut, she fought against opening her eyes. She could either spend an hour with her eyes closed reliving every arousing moment she was pressed against Haven, or she could do it with Corey asking a thousand questions. It was a crapshoot because she wasn’t particularly interested in either.
“Are you pretending to be asleep so you don’t have to discuss that interesting situation between you and Haven this afternoon?”
The voice was soft but also awkwardly close to Willa’s ear. This girl is unreal. She still didn’t open her eyes and hoped Corey would go away, but she knew damn well she wouldn’t. “Yes,” Willa said.
“Ha! Too bad.” Corey pulled back the blankets and crawled under them with Willa. “Holy crap, it’s so nice under here. I thought I’d never be warm again,” she said as she snuggled in.
Corey had a lot of traits and qualities, but boundaries and a sense personal space were not included in them. Corey rolled over and curled up against Willa’s back, making Willa the little spoon in their disproportionate cuddle session. “Comfy?” Willa asked once she had finished burrowing herself against her.
“Yes.”
“Good.” Willa closed her eyes hoping that Corey would do the same, but her hopes were short-lived.
“Soooo…”
Willa didn’t open her eyes when she grumbled her response. “So what?”
“You know what. I saw you and Haven all smooshed into each other like two suction cups stuck together.”
Willa laughed. “Where do you come up with this crap?”
“I dunno. So tell me, how’d it feel? And before you say ‘how did what feel,’ you know damn well what I’m talking about. The suction cupping.” Corey made slurping noises as she formed her hand into a claw and latched onto Willa’s shoulder.
It must have been her relaxed state or the innocence of their snuggling, but Willa felt strangely at ease with talking to Corey about it at that moment, like sisters having a heart-to-heart about their teenage drama. She didn’t turn to face Corey. She might be feeling sisterly, but that was outside of Willa’s comfort zone. “It was weird but familiar.” She remembered how their bodies had somehow fit together just as they always had. “I didn’t want to let her go, and she wasn’t exactly in a hurry to pull away.”
“Yeah. I noticed that much. Did she say anything? Did you?”
“No, neither of us said a word. I don’t even think I had a single thought in my head except for—”
“Sex?”
“No. Well…” Willa thought about it and answered again. “No.” It wasn’t the sex that she’d thought about in those moments. It was something less physical. “I felt like a part of me that I’d been missing sort of, I don’t know, snapped back into place. Like two pieces of broken pottery or a torn photo.”
Corey adjusted her pillow and wrapped her feet into the blankets. “I once read about this thing called a twin flame, and how each of us has that one person in the universe who we are connected to for all eternity. Maybe she is yours.”
“Now you sound like her. Haven always had these crazy ideas of destiny and fate, true love and overcoming obstacles to live happily ever after. Although we do seem to have a history of losing and finding each other. This is like the third time we’ve somehow managed to find our way back in the each other’s lives.”
“Wait, what? Three times this has happened, and you don’t think that’s a little more than coincidence?” Corey grabbed Willa’s arm and rolled her back toward her. “Seriously?”
Willa cursed at herself. This was what she didn’t want to get into. Some fun banter about an awkward, half-naked encounter was one thing; this subject was something different. “I’d prefer if we didn’t—”
“Come on. It’s obvious you don’t talk about this with anyone, but maybe you should. It beats doing it in front of fifteen people during a campfire.”
“I can safely say that this topic would never come up with anyone. Except you, it seems.”
“You talk. I’ll listen. How did you guys meet?”
Willa smiled at the image of an old class photo that popped into her head. Willa stood in the back with the taller students. She had a wide gap-toothed grin, sporting her stringy long blond hair and wearing a Care Bear shirt. In the front row was Haven in her Strawberry Shortcake tee, teal corduroy pants, and suede Velcro sneakers. “We met in kindergarten, nearly twenty-five years ago.”
Willa couldn’t help but smile at the memories she had shared with Haven growing up. It had been countless years since she had thought about their childhood together, and it warmed her heart. At least it did until Willa recalled the moment she watched Haven’s face in the back window of her parents’ car as they pulled away. Willa’s father got a new job in Texas and it was the first time she had lost her best friend. The first time she felt heartbreak.
The second time happened after her family had returned to Florida and they found themselves in the same beginning band class. It hadn’t taken long for their friendship to re-blossom
. They were inseparable once again, until Willa was forced to change schools after some stupid district rezoning. Thankfully, their parents had been friends, but she could recall the disappointment she felt when she realized how different they were becoming. Willa was having curious feelings of attraction to Haven, while Haven was busy chasing every boy that crossed her path. When Haven finally picked one, Willa learned about a whole other type of heartache when Haven discovered the excitement of the catch and release game. Willa never could sit by and watch with hurt and jealousy as Haven toyed with everyone but her.
But when Willa began the story of when they finally reconnected during high school, her whole body hummed with joy. It was the best years of her life, of their life, together. They had spent their lives getting to know everything there was to know about each other, and slowly they learned that their feelings went beyond mere friendship. They were in love. Willa’s heart had never felt such fullness as it had during those ten years together. They conquered fear, discrimination, and even cancer to be with each other. Cold sadness and guilt replaced the warmth of happiness in her veins. She had learned that the worst heartache of all was when you failed someone you love. It was a pain she still carried with her.
* * *
As soon as they returned to the ranch, the campers headed off on their own until dinner. The volunteers headed to the kitchen to start preparing it. Haven chose to set out the dinnerware and took the first opportunity to get out of the lodge when Diego asked for help gathering wood for the evening’s fire.
Haven grabbed the log cart from the side of the lodge and pulled it along the gravel walk behind him. The large stockpile of wood was kept near the western pasture fence past the hot tub, fire circle, and the old homestead which was nothing more than a leaning stone chimney. Its distance from pretty much everything made it a well-known hiding place for volunteers. Haven liked to use the space to sneak away and stargaze, since the wood formed a makeshift wall that defended against both wind and any light from the lodge and cabins. Diego used it as his place to sneak away for a hit or two from a joint he carried in the recycled Altoids tin that he kept in his pocket.
Pot was very much legal in Colorado with or without cancer, so you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who lived there who didn’t partake. Haven was still new to the rules and always got that feeling she was breaking the law even though she wasn’t. Diego found a comfort from so many of cancer’s side effects from marijuana. It increased his appetite, counteracted nausea from chemo, and reduced his anxiety. And while Haven rarely, if ever, smoked, she was a big proponent of the drug and its benefits for people with life-threatening disease.
The two of them sat on the ground behind the wall of wood. Diego took a few hits from his joint, and Haven fidgeted with a few blades of grass near her feet. They sat in silence for several minutes. Haven was enjoying the quiet time away from the group and the constant chattering of people, but she was having a harder time escaping from her own mind, which was just as busy.
“Is it weird seeing her after all this time?” Diego asked.
Haven plucked the grass from the ground. “I don’t know if it’s weird seeing her. The weird part is how…I don’t know how to explain it.”
“How normal it is?”
“Yeah. Maybe? It’s just that so many things seem so familiar. Instinctual. I think it was harder to learn how to adjust to life without her than it’s been to have her just show up here.”
“Well, I don’t know about that. I mean, I didn’t know you then, but you most definitely aren’t yourself this week.”
“What do you mean? I’m doing everything I normally do. Nothing’s different.”
Diego packed up his goods into the tin and lay back in the soft grass. “Okay. If you say so.” He slipped his sunglasses down over his eyes and clasped his hands behind his head. It was clear that he had no intention of pressing the issue.
“I do. I haven’t changed a thing.” She hadn’t. She was still the group photographer. Granted she tried to get out of it, but that was nothing. She helped in the kitchen, except for this time, and the night before when Wendy made her put down the knife. “Ugh. Whatever.” It was just a few things, but there could’ve been a hundred reasons for them.
“Mmkay.”
“What?” Haven screeched and threw a tuft of grass at him that caught in the breeze and blew back into her lap.
He turned his head toward her, and while she couldn’t see his eyes, Haven noticed his raised eyebrow. “Boofing rocks, rescuing guests, kissing Wendy, and slinking off to help me haul wood.”
“I needed to…she was…Wendy…I hate you.”
“Me? I didn’t do it. You’re the one going above and beyond for, what exactly?”
“I don’t know. It didn’t start out that way. I just wanted to show her that I was fine. No, better than fine. Better than I was. It sort of just got out of hand. When I saw the way she looked at me. She seemed surprised, maybe even impressed, and I may have let it go to my head.”
“So you wanted to make her jealous by kissing Wendy and impress her with your prowess on the water. Okay. How’s that working out?” He pushed himself up off the ground and stood.
“It’s not, I suppose. I mean, I don’t even know what I’m trying to accomplish with all this nonsense. As awful as it sounds, I want to make her jealous, I guess.”
“Eh, I don’t think it’s jealousy you want. I’ve seen the way you look at each other when neither of you know it.”
“How’s that?” Haven’s need to know surprised her. Diego began loading the cart with logs, and Haven got up to help.
“Like you’re both waiting for that one moment to bring you together against your will and force you to acknowledge the other’s existence.”
“Oh, gimme a break. We’ve already established that I’m doing the exact opposite of that.”
“Right, it’s called building the romantic tension, Haven.”
“That is not what I’m doing. There may be tension, but it’s far from romantic. She broke my heart, Diego. She destroyed me. There’s no coming back from that.”
“It seems you came back from that just fine. People make mistakes. Rash, emotional, confusing mistakes even with the purest of intentions. As clichéd as it sounds, there’s always two sides.”
There wasn’t any explanation on the planet that could make Haven forgive Willa for what she had done. Haven swung a heavy trunk onto the cart with a heave, and her knuckles rasped against the bark of another before it was slammed between the two logs. “Shit!” She pulled back her hand and saw the grated skin along the length of each one of her fingers. The blood started to rise to the freshly skinned surface, and she was nauseated by the sight. “Fuck me,” she said, covering the injury with her other hand.
“Lemme see,” Diego demanded as he grabbed her arm and pulled it toward him.
“Ow. No, no, no.” Her knees were beginning to shake beneath her as she fought to pull her hand back.
“Stop it.” She relented and let him look at the damage. “Damn, girl. We need to get you to Shannon and get the bark out of this.”
She glanced at her bloody, mangled fingers and felt the cool sweat bead on her forehead. He tugged at the hem of her shirt and wrapped it up and over her injured hand. “I’m fine. I can go myself.”
“No. Let’s go.” He put his arm around her and led her back to the lodge.
Her hand throbbed with each pound of her heart. She prayed that it wasn’t broken. Haven could feel the sting of the open wounds with the slightest movement of her knuckles. She was already dreading the searing pain of whatever it was going to take to clean it out, and the thought had her knees shaking again. “Stupid. So fucking stupid.”
“It was an accident.”
They were nearly to the lodge when Haven heard the dinner bell, and the campers began making their way across the lawn toward them. As luck would have it, one of them was Willa, and as soon as their eyes met Haven could see the concern in the
m. “Hurry. Let’s go,” Haven said as her pace grew quicker. She beat the group into the house and made a beeline for the office. “Tell Shannon I’m in here,” she told Diego before closing the door behind her. There was no need to get everyone worked up over her or make a big scene about what she’d done. Haven sat in the chair and began to unwrap her hand when the door opened. She quickly recovered it before looking up at the train of people who followed Shannon into the room. “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” she said when Diego, Wendy, Mama Lu, and Shannon gathered around her. “It’s fine.”
“Really?” Shannon gestured toward the bloody shirt Haven was clutching to her belly.
When Shannon reached out for her injured hand, Haven looked up at Wendy. She couldn’t look at it. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as it felt, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at it without getting light-headed. As if reading it in her eyes, Wendy knelt at Haven’s side and drew her attention away from what was going to happen next. She grimaced and sucked air through her teeth as Shannon peeled the fabric from her wounds. A chorus of gasps and groans confirmed that it looked as bad as it felt. She felt the blood wash from her face, and cold sweat slithered down the backs of her thighs as the light danced in the room.
“Look at me, sweetie,” Wendy said.
Haven stared at Wendy, focusing on her comforting gaze. “It’s bad, huh?” The voices around her were muffled by the swishing of blood pumping through her ears. When she heard Shannon say that they needed to clean it out, Haven’s stomach jolted.
Shannon and Wendy led her to the adjoining bathroom and sat her on the toilet with her hand draped over into the sink. Wendy stroked Haven’s hair, which always did wonders for her in stressful situations. When Shannon turned on the faucet, Haven flinched.
Mama Lu stood in the doorway with a worried look. Diego leaned into the room, grabbed a towel from the rack, and handed it to Haven. “When you scream, scream into this.”