When we’re far enough away from the basketball court that the kids’ cheers are just a quiet hum, Russ pulls me off the path and pushes me against a tree. My heart rate instantly spikes, excitement growing as he presses into me, caging me in with his arms. I know everyone is at the basketball court, but this is bold, especially for him.
“If I knew you wanted to take me against a tree, I’d have fallen down so much earlier.”
“Take you? No,” he echoes. “I need your undivided attention while I talk to you about hockey pucks.”
Chapter Thirty
AURORA
What’s the word for when you find yourself exactly where you’re supposed to be?
I feel at peace with myself and my life for the first time and there’s nothing that can derail that. Today is finally Visiting Day. A lot leave site for the day and only come back for the evening barbeque and games; some families don’t visit at all.
I hated Visiting Day when I was a camper. Some years my parents didn’t come because Elsa wanted to visit our grandparents, so they’d take the childfree opportunity to take a vacation and try and save their unsavable marriage. Other years only Mom came. The worst year was when Mom, Dad and Elsa came and they made me so miserable, Jenna gave me an extra bowl of ice cream when they all left.
All our kids are expected to be taken off site today, meaning we’ve all got the easiest day ahead. Emilia forgot about the camera Poppy bought her to document the summer and has, therefore, documented nothing and today is our do-over day.
“Do you think we need outfit changes as well?” Emilia asks as I throw different hair options into a purse with my cellphone, headphones and a paperback about a princess and her hot bodyguard.
“I love you and I love Pops, but I am not stripping behind a tree for either of you. It’s a uniform and it has a bear on it; why would we ever want to wear anything else?”
I’m not saying I’m an expert at candid shots, but I am. We set up camp at a picnic bench not far from our cabin and I give Emilia my best work, changing my hairstyle so the photos look like different days. It’s when I’m pretending to laugh at Xander, whose back is, thankfully, to the camera, that we realize this isn’t going to be easy.
The dogs are more photogenic than the guys, which is no exaggeration.
“Russ, stop grimacing,” Emilia yells at him. She stomps over showing me the camera and he honestly looks like he’s sitting on a wasp’s nest.
“You’re too pretty to be this bad at being photographed,” I say, flicking through the pictures. I hand the camera back to Emilia and ask her to go back to where she was so I can try something.
“And what about me?” Xander asks, picking Salmon up to cuddle.
“Put the dog down!” we all say at the same time, which is met with a grunt and an eyeroll.
“You’re pretty, Xan,” Russ says, flinching as I try to force his face into a more relaxed position with my hands. “What are you doing?”
“I’m relaxing you.”
“This is not relaxing, Aurora.”
Looking around, I check there isn’t anyone hanging around near us before leaning in and kissing Russ. I wasn’t expecting him to respond so enthusiastically but his hand grabs the back of my neck, keeping me in place.
Xander loudly heaves, which is when Russ lets me go. “It’s kinda selfish for you guys to do that when I haven’t had sex for two months. Just saying.”
I wish I could bottle the way I feel after Russ kisses me. I reluctantly drag my eyes from Russ to scowl at our friend. “You saw Clay naked, surely that counts for something?”
“You two are disgusting,” Emilia says as she approaches us, handing over her camera again. “I miss my girlfriend.”
I lean over so Russ can see them as well, starting with his grimace ones, clicking all the way through our kiss to the ones from a few seconds ago. I never understood the saying heart skips a beat until right now, looking at how Russ looks at me when I’m not looking at him.
Russ kisses my shoulder and goosebumps travel down my arm. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers.
This is what being wanted and valued feels like.
This is the feeling I want forever.
Emilia is taking pictures of the guys throwing a football, something they both protested about, but much to the delight of the dogs. Emilia snapped that there was no way for her to combine basketball and hockey into a sport she could photograph and to get over it.
I’m flicking through my book when my cellphone starts vibrating in my purse. I don’t know where the noise is coming from at first; I brought it out as a photo prop and I’ve kind of forgotten it exists after so many weeks hardly touching it.