Till Summer Do Us Part(81)

I catch her gulp out of the corner of my eye as she looks straight ahead, avoiding me at all costs.

“Well then, maybe tonight will call for a redo. If you’re in a comfortable place with your communication, then maybe it’s time to reestablish that intimate relationship as well.”

“You know,” I say, gripping Scottie’s shoulder. “I truly think we might be ready.”





“I feel so much better,” Scottie says as she comes out of the bathroom, fully dressed and her hair wet from the shower. “There’s something about sleeping outside that just makes you feel gross.”

“Well, you didn’t look gross to me,” I say as I lean back on the bed.

“Thank you.” She scrunches her hair with her towel and says, “Can I ask you something?”

“Always,” I answer.

“Were you telling the truth in the four-wheeler? Did I really touch you?”

My eyes meet hers. “Yeah, Pips, you did. That’s why it seemed like I had fire in my goddamn pants, because if I didn’t get out of there quick enough, you would have been touching a lot more if I had my way.”

“Oh.” Her teeth drag over her lower lip. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”

“Hey, it’s fine. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it, because I did. Sure, it was surprising, but also, can’t deny a beautiful woman caressing me the way you did.”

“Well, I had no idea. I wouldn’t intentionally do that.”

“Seriously, Scottie, it’s fine. Nothing you need to worry about. Okay?”

“Okay,” she says and then hangs up her towel. She takes a seat on the bed next to me and asks, “What do you think he’s going to have us do today?”

“No idea,” I answer. “But are we on the path to good now? Like, no more fighting? We’re supposed to be showing that our marriage has a shot now, right?”

“Right,” she says. “I think the tent was the perfect turning point for us. Now that we’ve had that moment and we’ve aired out our differences, we can move on with the rest of camp and show Sanders that he really is a magician when it comes to saving marriages. He can feel great about himself, he can tell Ellison that we’re the miracle couple, Ellison will like me more, which in return will be great for when I want to move on to another job, and then all will be right in the world.”

“Exactly, and I can always look back at the time that I went to a marriage summer camp with a woman I didn’t know.”

“Put it in your experience journal.”

“Don’t have one, but I might make one now.”

“Good.” She smiles at me. “Okay, shall we head on over to the main building?”

“I think we shall.” I stand and then hold out my hand to her. “Happy couples hold hands.”

“You’re right. They do.” She takes my hand, and together, we head out of the cabin and down the path toward the main building.

It’s a beautiful summer day with a light breeze, making the humidity not that horrible. And the wind kicking off the lake is always an added bonus; it’s like nature’s air-conditioning.

We head into the covered area where all the furniture has been moved, and there are single chairs in various parts of the space.

“What is this?” Scottie asks. “Musical chairs?”

“Imagine that,” I say just as Chad and his wife walk up.

“Heard you got the tent,” he says through clenched teeth.

This guy. Jesus.

“Yeah, we did,” I say with a smile. “And fuck, was it amazing. Shame you didn’t get to experience it.”

He rolls his eyes. “Well, I’m not here putting on a show like you.” Then he directs his wife to the other side of the building, far away from us.

When I feel Scottie grow tense next to me, I say, “Don’t worry about him.”

“He knows,” she whispers. “He has to.”

“He doesn’t. He probably has erectile dysfunction and is taking it out on us.”

But she doesn’t laugh, instead she worries her lip.

“I don’t know,” Scottie says. “He’s the one who initially tried to catch me in a lie, and I think he might have gotten in trouble with HR from it. I feel like he’s trying to sniff something out because I know he’s not a fan of mine, and I’m not a fan of his.”

“I can see why.” And then I whisper, “Seriously, just keep cool, we have nothing to worry about.”

Now Brad walks by us, looking semi-guilty. “Umm, thanks for the handcuffs,” he mutters. “I, uh, I was the one who got tied up.”

“And…?” I ask.

He just nods, a light smirk playing on his lips as he heads toward Chad.

Ah, I see that he’s pledging his allegiance, but there was a slight desperation behind his eyes that made me think he wants to switch teams. I’ll just have to let him know that we’ll welcome him and his wife with open arms.

Next, Duncan and his husband walk by. Duncan stops in front of us and places his hand on my shoulder. He gives it a few pats but then keeps walking. He doesn’t need to say much more than that. I get it.

Everyone besides Chad seems well rested, happy…like they’re ready to move on to the newest task and forget about the night around the fire.