I suppress the urge to argue that he was definitely trying to kiss me, because the sooner we move on from this the better, but I can’t ignore the opportunity to be petty. “Sorry, my mistake. You’re a great friend, Clay.”
The face he pulls when I say the word friend could be used to scare off crows in a field. “Sure thing,” he mutters, spinning with his box and hightailing it out of the pantry.
I take my time heading toward the campfire area, not wanting to bump into my great friend Clay on the walk, and when I reach everyone, the kids are all sipping hot chocolate and looking exhausted, winding down from their day of partying.
“Why do you look so pleased with yourself?” Emilia asks as I take a seat in the camp chair between her and Xander. Russ is chatting to Maya on the other side of the fire, so it feels safe to share.
“Clay tried to kiss me in the pantry and when I stopped him, he told me he wasn’t trying to kiss me.”
Xander’s laughter is louder than the campers combined and he slaps a hand over his mouth as all the kids begin to look at him. “Sorry,” he scoffs. “What did you say?”
“I told him he’s a great friend.” That sets Xander off again and I have to wait for him to stop. “I wasn’t misinterpreting, I swear. He was right up close with his eyes closed, leaning in. And he’d just invited me to Cabo.”
“How lucky are you,” Emilia snickers. “You love Cabo.”
“I told him my passport is expired.”
The kids are all too worn out to want anything, so the rest of the evening is spent with Xander and Emilia laughing, mainly at my expense. By the time the kids are going to bed and we’re heading back to our cabin for an early night, I think Emilia and Xander have talked about every silly thing I’ve ever done.
It’s weird hearing those stories now and how a little effort and the right setting can make you feel like a different person. I’m not saying I’ll never do anything irresponsible again, but being at Honey Acres makes me feel at home. Being disconnected from my phone most of the time keeps me present and I have so much to feel thankful for. It’s more difficult to remember that when I’m reminded of the things I don’t have every time my dad lets me down.
Emilia heads into the bathroom to clean up and I change into an oversized t-shirt. I think I imagine the knocking at first, until it happens again, followed by the sound of whining. As smart as Fish is, she can’t knock on doors, so I’m not surprised to find Russ at the bottom of the porch steps with her when I open the door. Illuminated by the light, I watch as his eyes rake me up and down, setting every inch of my exposed skin on fire.
I should stay in the doorway.
There’s no reason for me to walk out to him. I can see and hear him perfectly fine from the safety of my cabin. But, of course, I move to stand right in front of him. There’s glitter on the bow of his top lip; I fight to keep my hands by my side. “Hello.”
“Hi. I wanted to check you were okay.” My eyebrow quirks. “Xander.”
That little gossip.
He’s as bad as Leon.
“I’m okay. It’s no big deal.” He nods, shuffling on the spot. I can’t imagine Xander reported that I needed checking on, since I wasn’t upset. “Why are you really here, Russ?”
His hand rubs the back of his neck, something I haven’t seen him do in a while.
You, sir, are nervous.
“I don’t know, Rory.” He sighs and his hand reaches out to move my hair from my face. “I wanted to see you.”
I lean in toward him, the faint smell of sandalwood and vanilla hanging in the air. I watch the flicker of uncertainty cross his face before he takes a step closer to me. My voice lowers. “Are you jealous?”
“Of course, I am.” He says it so candidly that it catches me a little off guard. “I sort of want to punch him and I don’t understand why.”
It takes every scrap of self-control to not throw myself at him. I’d love to push this, wind him up, see what he does. But jealousy is only fun when you can do something about it. “You don’t need to be jealous and you don’t need to punch him. Mainly because that’s silly, but also because you need this job, remember.”
“I do need this job.” He nods once, then twice like he’s having a debate in his head I can’t hear and, on the third nod, he takes a step away from the porch. “Do you want to go on a hike tomorrow?”
“I have to work.”