“Oh shit,” is all Russ manages to say as he reaches for something to cover me up. When really, he should be more concerned about the huge erection pressing against his boxers.
The door handle is still in Jenna’s hand, which makes it easier for her to immediately close it again. There’s so much to consider as my mind rushes between panic and confusion.
“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Russ chants as he scrambles for our clothes. “It’s going to be okay. Don’t panic.”
“I’m not panicking,” I reassure him, pulling my shorts up my legs.
“I was talking to myself.”
His hands are shaking as he tries to put his sneakers back on and I navigate him to sit on the bed. I should be in more of a rush, so far I’ve only managed to get my shorts back on, but Jenna can stew in her anger outside if it means I get to soothe Russ.
I know he hates getting in trouble because of his dad and this situation is the one he was trying to avoid since day one. Considering I’m the one who was having a meltdown five minutes ago, it seems all that was required to snap me out of it is for Russ to be looking at me like the world’s ending.
“It isn’t really bad. We’re consenting adults, there are no kids in our care right now and we had already had sex before we got to camp, which Jenna knows.”
“Russ, listen to me. The very worst-case scenario is we leave a few weeks early. Hand in hand. Nothing happens, we don’t even need to tell anyone, we can hide out anywhere in the world. Doing something wrong does not make you a fuck up. Your dad is a liar; you aren’t anything he says you are.”
It feels funny being the one handing out dad advice, but it’s what makes Russ so important to me. We’re both a little bit broken, both trying to be a bit better and both just desperately searching for someone to want them for who they are.
“Why is she here?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Stressing over that is a problem for when I’m fully dressed.
Jenna is crouched on the porch fussing over Fish when we finally emerge from the cabin. She doesn’t say anything as she stands, brushing the dog hair from her pants. It’s like a standoff of who will go first and I’m about to shoot, but Jenna beats me to it.
“Your parents are here,” she says.
Russ and I look at each other confused. He clears his throats. “Whose parents?”
Jenna folds her arms and boy does she look pissed. “Both of you. Your dad is here, Russ, and so is your mom, Aurora. They’re both waiting in reception.”
Confused doesn’t even cover how I’m feeling right now as the three of us walk in silence toward our parents. The color has drained from Russ’s face and I wish I could comfort him, but I don’t feel like making things with Jenna worse.
Mom is already outside the building when we get there. I don’t get a look at Russ’s dad. Jenna and Russ continue and I feel like I’m being pulled between them.
“Russ!” I shout, causing him to stop and turn around.
Running up to him, I wrap my arms around his torso, squeezing tight. “If he’s horrible even for a second, walk away. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back.”
He kisses the top of my head and says nothing. He carries on after Jenna and I turn to my mom.
“Are we going to talk about why you’re here unannounced?”
Mom hates the outdoors and she’s dressed like she’s going on a shopping trip in St. Tropez, not whatever it is she plans to do here.
“It’s Visiting Day. I thought we could go for a walk,” she says casually.
I’m immediately suspicious. “You came all the way here from Malibu unannounced because you want to go for a walk with me?”
“That’s what I said, Aurora.”
What’s the worst that could happen? “Okay then.”
Our choice of walking route is limited because Mom decided to wear Louboutin pumps instead of sneakers, so I take her down to the lake where she can walk barefoot in the sand. Mom makes small talk with me for the first twenty-five minutes and I’m growing more tired and frustrated. My mom is not a ramble in the woods mom; she’s a let’s go buy you your first Birkin mom. Minute thirty passes and my suspicion and confusion have reached their max capacity. I stop at two deck chairs that have been left out and sit down.
“I need to know why you’re here because you pretending to like walking is stressing me out.”
“I love walking on the beach. It’s one of my favorite things,” she says defensively.