“What are you doing?” I ask.
“Sorry to frighten you,” he calls out. There’s something funny about his voice.
“Are you working here this summer?” I ask. He’s clearly not one of the counselors.
“Yeah, just popping in to grab some supper.”
He’s average height with blue eyes. His swept-back blond hair is damp, and so are the sandals he’s wearing, which leave a trail across the hardwood floor. But what my glance can’t avoid is that he’s not wearing a shirt underneath his unzipped jacket. There’s a gold chain dangling at his chest, beneath two tattoos.
“Um.” I shake my head and look back at his face. “But you’re not a counselor?”
“No, I work down on ——。” He points to the window behind him and continues preparing his plate. I can’t remember the layout of the campgrounds well enough to have any idea where he gestured toward, and I couldn’t hear the word he said.
“What?” I ask, tilting my head.
“What?” he repeats, looking mildly offended, but I can’t tell why. “What’s it to you?”
“Well, I didn’t hear you . . .” I say, startled by his slight change in demeanor. “You know, ’cause we’re at a Deaf camp.”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t think you were. I’ve never met a deaf person before.” He leans against the counter and takes a bite of his sandwich. “You should say ‘pardon,’ by the way.”
“Pardon?”
“Precisely. Instead of ‘what.’ It’s less aggressive, but then again, you are American.”
“Right . . .” I smile, amused by his playful banter despite the cultural misunderstanding. But I can’t hear him well enough to discern his accent. “And clearly you are not? What brings you here?”
“The Camp American program. I’m from England. The plan’s to work at Gray Wolf and then travel around the States once the job is done.”
“Interesting.” I didn’t know that program was a thing. It honestly feels like something out of a movie—bringing a cute British guy to the Midwest. “So what exactly is your job?”
“Lifeguard.” He puts his food down on the table I just cleaned, then pulls two chairs over from the stack along the wall.
Is one of those for me? I wouldn’t mind hanging out and getting to know the lifeguard, but I should go find the counselors. “I wish I could stay, but I’ve got to get back,” I say, gesturing to the spare chair.
“It’s actually for my partner.” He looks toward the side door as a second lifeguard walks in, stuffing a notebook into his back pocket and eyeing the food. “Ben! Hey, mate, took you forever. I already grabbed the best-looking pieces.”
My face flushes red. I’m embarrassed that I assumed the chair was for me. “Right, there’s two of you!” I say, picking up my backpack and taking a step back.
“Sorry, I can grab a seat for you if you want,” the lifeguard says to me, glancing back at Ben.
“No, really, that’s okay,” I say, heading out. “I’ll see you around.”
And I will—at the lake, or the pool, or maybe even after-hours. I don’t even know his name, but I can definitely tell this would be Kelsey’s choice for a summer romance.
He calls after me, so I turn around. “Did you say something to me?”
“Yeah.” He gives a patient smile. “I wanted to say I’m ——。”
“What was that?” I lean forward, then smirk. “Pardon me?”
He chuckles and—oh gosh, was that a wink? “No worries,” he says louder. “I’ll turn up the volume. Just saying that I’m Oliver.”
“Thank you.” I blush again, grabbing my backpack straps with both hands. “I’m Lilah.”
“Glad to meet you, Lilah.”
There are communication barriers for me with both ASL and English. At least I’m more familiar with navigating the spoken ones. “And hey,” I say. “If you’re looking for something to do, we’re all gonna be at the lake later.” I nod to Ben as he takes a seat. “Both of you, of course.”
“You are?” Oliver, looking a little alarmed, glances over to Ben to see if he knew about the plan. Oh, I guess lifeguards have to be at the lake whenever anyone is there. Ben just shrugs, and Oliver turns back to me. “All right. We’ll see you there, Lilah.”
“Right, bye!” I wave and dash out of the dining hall, amused at how easily disconcerted a British accent could make me. Seriously, a hot British lifeguard? Kelsey and Riley will be so jealous. I can’t wait to text them later. There’s so much about returning to Gray Wolf that I wasn’t expecting.
Chapter Six
Back at the cabin, Bobby, Simone, and Mackenzie are lounging around, checking their phones after a long day. I’d assumed Isaac and his friends would be here, but I guess I never asked to clarify where they’d be hanging out before lake time. So I flop onto my bed and do some scrolling through social media.
Sure enough, as soon as it gets dark, Simone and Bobby get up. She walks over to my bunk and asks, “Want a ride? We’re gonna commandeer the golf cart.”
“Definitely.” There’s only one cart, and Gary’s usually the one who drives it. I climb down from my bunk, staring at Isaac’s things. Because Isaac’s going to be sleeping a few feet away from me tonight. How’d I almost forget about that?
“I’ll give you a hint about this camp tradition,” Simone tells Mackenzie and me. “Put on your swimsuits.”
I was already planning on changing, since Isaac had given me a heads-up about the lake, but Mackenzie looks shocked.
“What is it?” she asks.
“Hurry up and get ready. Don’t worry, I won’t look,” Bobby jokes, unfolding his cane and navigating out the door.
Mackenzie and I change quickly and meet them outside the cabin a few minutes later.
“Night swimming?” Mackenzie asks. “Is it safe?”
“It’s fine, we do it every year,” Bobby says. “Worry more about me driving us there.”
Simone and I laugh but share an incredulous glance as Mackenzie hurries to the wheel. Bobby and Simone jump on the back, so I take the passenger seat.
Our cart whizzes full speed, bumping along the gravel path and dodging holes that appear in the small headlight radius, all the way to the lake on the outskirts of the campgrounds.
“Don’t go down to the beach,” Simone instructs, leaning forward over the back to point ahead. “Pull over on there.”
“About time!” Ethan shouts. He’s waiting in the middle of the tall bridge that connects the other half of the campgrounds from across the lake with Isaac, Natasha, and Jaden.
It’s growing dark, but there’s no need to be quiet. These are our campgrounds, and we can be as loud as we want. There’s a misconception that a gathering of deaf people is silent, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. At camp, we crank the volume on everything to the max.
“Are you ready?” Ethan asks, still shouting. “We’re jumping off this bridge!”