“I don’t even bring them up with you, Mandy.” I sighed. Damn, she was getting more and more persistent. She wasn’t getting it. “I can only be in charge of my own feelings. I can’t change theirs.” Thousands of dollars in therapy had taught me that. “And I agreed to work at Camp Starlight.”
“Okay,” she acquiesced. “Maybe we’ll be able to come by.”
Something told me that wouldn’t be happening, but I didn’t say it. I may have been lonely, but there was no chance in hell I was going back to my supposed home. Not if I had to see them.
The warmthfrom sunlight blaring through my window was my natural alarm clock. I listened as the breeze from the mountain trees carried songs of birds and rustling leaves through my window, and took a breath of fresh air.
Today was a great day to decimate my foe.
The entire camp met on the beach near the dock, prepared to swim in a relay race that was bound to be interesting. We divided into pod teams, intending to have five members in total. Fortunately, I had one pod member opting out, leaving a space on the team for me. Just like any of the competitions, there were always some people who wouldn’t want to participate, and we weren’t about to force anyone to do so. If we had too many people, a counselor would stand to the side and root for their team to pull out a win. If more competitors were needed, we’d just have someone go twice.
Jack and I stood on the edge of the dock, bumping elbows as we stared at the buoy, which was approximately sixty yards away. He was probably thinking the same thing as me: one small push and he’d be in the water. The sadistic side of me imagined him floundering before disappearing beneath the surface, small bubbles rising to the top of the water. Was this my new happy place?
Man, he turned me into a monster.
“Two enter the ring,” Emerson said beside us in a dramatic tone. “The grumpy handyman versus the sunshine social media queen. Only one will walk away with their dignity. The other will leave Camp Starlight in shame, never to return again.”
Emerson must have been proud of herself because we both turned to find her smirking in her blue polka dot bikini.
“Hilarious,” Jack deadpanned.
“You two look like you’re trying to blast that buoy out of the water using just your eyes. You might be taking this too seriously,” she went on, unfazed by our annoyance.
I wanted to say she’d be taking it seriously, too, if she were even on the scoreboard, but I didn’t.
Jack spoke out of the corner of his mouth as Emerson retreated to her team. “I’d rather just blast you out of the water.”
“You aresomature, Jack. Really. A genuine adult.” I sounded like a seven-year-old.
He waved me off and headed down the dock. “Okay, team Corvus, huddle up.”
Huddle up? What was he, a high school football coach? Was he compensating after his poor performance at flag football?
I couldn’t hold back my grin. I loved this week’s group of campers. I had a newly married couple from Rhode Island, Hannah and Amy, and a best friend duo named Jen and Lexa, both of whose abilities to spin pottery made me question my decision to teach the class myself. Then there was Emily, the Pilates instructor with an eight-pack. I only knew this because she was rightfully proud to show anyone who questioned it. And Jen kept questioning it.
I walked to my group and gave them a speech worth remembering. “Let me just start this off by saying, there are no winners or losers here.”
Jen arched her brow. “For real? How seriously are we taking this?”
“Doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we give this our all. We can and we will prove that we are competitors in this race. So let’s focus up.” Shit, was I going too far this time? I had to tone it down. “We jump off the dock at the whistle, then swim to the buoy and back. The second someone touches that dock, the next person needs to be in the water. Do we have anyone with respiratory issues? Delayed recognition of touch, if that’s a thing? No one? Good, then we can go hard.”
My teammates had mixed looks of excitement and confusion. It didn’t exactly bode well.
“Who’s going first?” Lexa asked, her excitement palpable.
“You can if you like. Then Jen, Emily, and Amy will go. And I’ll end the relay. Hannah will be cheering us on from the sidelines.”
“Go, sports.” Hannah threw her arms in the air cheerleader-style, ending in jazz hands. It wasn’t exactly sarcastic, but it wasn’t not sarcastic either.
“Hell yes,” Amy said.
Lexa tied her hair back and stood at the edge of the dock, waiting diligently for the whistle to blow.
“Okay, I know we’re on the outskirts of this dock, so it might seem daunting to get to the buoy.” We couldn’t have gotten a center space. No, not like Jack. Mr. I’m Above Cheating.
“I’m not worried, Coach.” She stretched her arms above her head.
I turned to find Jack glaring beside our group. “That’s what I like to hear.”
