seven
Jamie
Cometocamp,theysaid. It’ll be relaxing, they said.
I stretched my fingers along the back of my neck as I paced the adorable cabin that didn’t match my insufferable mood. I wanted a distraction. I wanted my cell phone. But Ren had taken it when he caught me going over emails behind the mess hall after dinner last night.
Was it breaking and entering if I knew the code to his cabin?
“You okay?” Ren caught me outside his door and invited me inside. His cabin resembled mine but had a view of the campfire across the lake.
“Yeah, fine.” I sighed, sounding closer tothere’s a thorn piercing my sidethan theI’m calm, cool, and collectedI was going for.
“You look like you’re still shook after, you know.” He made a wild throwing gesture, imitating my first throw.
You’d throw like shit too if you just saw your high school ex, the one you never could forget.
Autumn had stayed away after my ax-in-the-lake incident. Professional and cool, she’d walked back and forth, offering tips, and we’d continued taking turns throwing at the targets. It’d seemed like she imagined my head at the center. I’d kept looking, trying to catch her eye for the rest of the session, but she’d clearly had no intention of continuing our conversation.
“Nah, it’s not that.” I should have known better than to give him anything.
“Is it the ax-wielding Valkyrie then? Don’t worry, she scares me too.” He noticed me tense up and jumped to conclusions like he always did. “Or is it that you have history with said Valkyrie?”
Usually, when he jumped to conclusions, he was right.
I let out a puff of air and decided to get right to the point. “We dated in high school.”
“You and the lumberjack went to school together? In suburban Seattle?”
“The romance capital of the world.”
“What was high school James like? Don’t worry if you were the weird kid who preferred to hang out with the teacher and the quiet kids playingThe Oregon Trailgame during lunch. Wait, don’t answer that.” He ran his hand through his auburn hair. “It doesn’t matter who you were in high school. Now you’re this super-ambitious lawyer with a huge promotion in the bag. You’re handsome, objectively speaking. You mostly have a sense of humor.”
I shoved him good-naturedly and grinned.
“You looked like you still have chemistry.” Ren gave me a knowing grin. “Does that mean James Davis is going to relive his glory days? Maybe hook up?”
I cringed at the thought. We meant more than that. She meant more than that. “No, it’s not like that. You saw how she almost decapitated me at the lake.”
“Ah, I feel that,” he commiserated. Glad he’d understood and asked. It felt good to talk about the tsunami I was in after seeing her all these years later.
Autumn looked amazing.I’d caught a glimpse of her last night, but up close, she was truly beautiful. I wanted to explore every part of her, from blonde bangs to her sun-kissed skin. She had these wildflower tattoos I’d never seen before. They playfully climbed her thigh, leading to… I didn’t know what, but I wanted to find out.
And those were thoughts I shouldn’t be having. My sex-starved brain went directly to undressing her, and I tried to feel bad about it, but I just didn’t. I wanted to see where else she had tattoos, if maybe she had a sunflower somewhere. I wanted to memorize them, preferably with my tongue.
Not the point.
I had to get my mind off her. Her stunning smile, the sound of her laughter for everyone but me. The haunted look in her eyes when we’d talked, her voice filled with indignation. On the surface, she was a wronged woman, but underneath, there was this added layer: hurt.
I’d hurt her back then. The memory of our phone call was still etched in my mind. But witnessing it in person was a whole new experience. Seeing her in her element, the way she carried herself, it was like looking at a different person. The sight of her stirred up a mix of emotions within me. Should I act cool? Should I address it? I’d never anticipated seeing her again, especially not here as a camp counselor. It was all so unexpected, a shock in its own right.
Last night, as I tossed and turned, I’d had the luxury of time to come to terms with our impending reunion. But she had only found out that I was here an hour ago, leaving her no time to process. Naturally, her initial reaction was a blend of shock andanger, and I couldn’t blame her for that. I’d had time to think. She hadn’t. And I deserved her anger.
The image of her last night on the stage in the mess hall and playing two truths and a lie around the campfire, sharing her secret shame, brought a smile to my lips. The memory of her fear of bunnies was amusing. Who was afraid of bunnies, anyway? And who would have the courage to admit that in front of a room of strangers?
Here, she seemed so much more liberated than I had ever seen her before. In high school, she’d been the intense bookworm, the one who only emerged once you pulled her out of her shell, and boy, had that taken time. She’d always been striving for the highest peak, leaving little room for personal enjoyment, especially before we started dating. She’d constantly tried to please her Ivy-educated parents, an impossible task. But now, confidently throwing axes, she was a different person entirely. She looked carefree and adventurous. It was evident I didn’t know her anymore, and a part of me questioned if I ever truly did.
I pushed those thoughts away, but they kept circling like vultures overhead. For Autumn, for our past, for the chance I never took.
