Wildfire (Maple Hills, #2)(54)
It doesn’t take me long to spot him considering how hard he is to miss, but I’m still surprised. “You stealing teddy bears now, Callaghan?”
Russ looks up from his position bent over Jasmine’s bunk, bedsheet in hand. “Yeah.” He points toward a laundry bag behind him. “I particularly like the ones that smell like death.”
“I don’t know how one little girl can cause so much destruction. Thank you, you didn’t have to remake her bed. I could have done it.”
“Your hands are full. Emilia couldn’t tell us what had happened without gagging, so I thought it was better to investigate.”
I grab the washbag and another pair of pajamas from the drawer under Jasmine’s bed and get back to her quickly. She has the same queasy look as earlier, but the color is returning to her cheeks a little. She climbs down and changes into fresh pajamas; I brush and braid her hair while she brushes her teeth.
There’s a knock on the bathroom door and when I answer, Russ is on the other side of it with Jasmine’s water bottle. “She’s probably dehydrated.”
Why are you so freaking cute? “You’re right, thanks.”
“The bed is done and I’ll take the bear to the laundry room. Do either of you need anything else?” I shake my head. “Alright, I’ll get out of your way then.”
“Thank you.”
I watch him walk away before closing the door, turning back to Jasmine and handing her the water bottle. She frowns. “You’re acting weird.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are. You’re being shy. You’re never shy, you always talk and talk.” For a kid who just barfed everywhere, she’s surprisingly astute. “Leon said Russ is your boyfriend.”
I ignore the immediate panic and instead concentrate on wiping the glitter from her face, because apparently even a shower wasn’t getting rid of it. “Leon is wrong.”
“Leon says you two look at each other all day and you always stand next to each other.”
Leon is getting pushed into some mud tomorrow. “We’re friends. I’m friends with all the counselors. If you stand next to Leon does that make him your boyfriend? No.”
“Leon said you’d deny it.”
What the hell is this face paint made of? “I think maybe Leon needs to spend less time gossiping and more time playing with his friends.”
“He knows everything about everyone. He told us Mona’s big sister is in the Raccoons and cried because she has a crush on Russ.”
The rainbow finally begins to rub off and freedom from this conversation is so close I can taste it. Leon’s dad owns an intrusive paparazzi-driven tabloid, which I have sadly been featured in, so it does not surprise me that Leon doesn’t know how to mind his own business.
I sigh, suddenly feeling guilty for all the years I terrorized Jenna. “Mona’s big sister is fourteen and is far too young for any of the counselors. She should crush on someone her own age.”
“Are you jealous? You sound jealous.”
Give me strength. “Adults don’t get jealous of children, sweetie. But I’m assuming all these questions mean you’re feeling well enough to be more than six feet from the toilet. I think it’s time to get you back into bed. You still wanna call your mom?”
“No, it’s okay.”
Jasmine climbs into her now-clean bed as Jenna walks into the room. “Hey, honey.”
“Hey,” I respond.
“Not you,” she grumbles at me, crouching down beside the bed. “I heard you’re not feeling great.”
Jasmine gives Jenna a recap on how she’s feeling, kindly complimenting my hair holding skills, and Jenna nods along until Jasmine is done, eventually declaring she’s going to stay with her and will check on her regularly, but to get some sleep.
Jenna mouths, “you’re welcome.” as I leave.
The party is still going when I head outside, the unmistakable sound of karaoke in full swing, but I know I smell disgusting so opt to head back to my cabin for a shower. I’ve been to Pride events every year since Emilia came out to me when we were fifteen and this is the first one I’ve ever had to leave to get rid of the smell of sick.
As much as I want to climb into bed, I head back toward the evening activity to help out my team with our kids. I’m halfway there when Clay shouts me from the other side of the path. “How’s Jas?”
“She’s fine, just too much candy and excitement.”
He sticks his hands into his shorts pockets and nods his head in the direction of the main building. “Can you help me find the marshmallows? We’ve run out of the gelatin-free ones.”
I fight the urge to sigh, because it isn’t him, it’s me and my desire to sit in front of the fire with a dog or three, surrounded by graham crackers. But if he doesn’t find them, I won’t be eating, so I nod and cross the grass to join him.
“How’re you enjoying camp? I can’t believe we’re halfway already.” I smile up at him and his attempt at small talk, which he catches immediately. “That was a boring question. Sorry, I never get a chance to talk to you on your own.”
I’ve been actively avoiding any one-on-one time with Clay since our nightshift together because I’m not interested in him at all, not even as a friend at this point. I’m not totally clueless; I know he was just trying to nail me. Normally I’d have been drawn to the attention, but his lingering gazes make me feel uncomfortable. I think spending time with people who want to spend time with me because they like my company is helping. Clay looks at me like he’s undressing me. Russ looks at me like I’m telling him the world’s most interesting story.