Camp Payback (13 page)

We raced behind the administration building toward the mess hall and into the garden. I knew my way in the dark, weaving through the plants and fruit trees to a tool shed.

I even knew at what point the door would creak, so I only opened it a little way. Enough for us to slip inside. Hide.

Alex was in my arms in a nanosecond. Her arms tight around my waist. Her head buried against my shoulder and her nose tucked into my chest. Her breath came fast but silent, her heart pounding like crazy. As for the rest of her pressed tight to me…

Not thinking about it.

Not thinking about it.

But if I had? She felt good.

Alex’s lips brushed against my cheek, and my mouth went dry. I held myself rigid, wanting to crush her against me but knowing if I crossed that line, I might not find my way back. I stepped back, but her body followed mine in the dark, her lips nibbling my jaw. I groaned, my control slipping out of my grasp, especially when her lips found mine.

Adrenaline rushed through me, and my pulse sped. My hands spanned her back, and I gave in with a moan, deepening our kiss. My mouth captured hers in a frenzy to make the most of this forbidden moment. When she stood on tiptoe, I parted her lips and slid my tongue along hers, tasting her grape bubblegum flavor. Her heart fluttered against my chest, and I held her tight, the feel of her soft body driving my senses wild.

My lips traced her cheeks, kissed each of her closed eyelids, wandered to her earlobe where the caress made her shiver. I inhaled the scent of her shampoo, something fresh and tropical, and buried my hands in her long hair. I tugged her head back so I could kiss her neck, my mouth lingering at her leaping pulse.

An arc of light swept across the tool shed floor, startling us apart. We moved deeper into the shadows, and I peered around the window frame. A flashlight swung in searching half-circles, but the sweep moved away from us and toward the van.

“He’s leaving.”

“That was close.” She peered up at me with wide eyes, her chest rising and falling, her breath as labored as mine.

“Too close.” I raked a hand through my hair. “What were we thinking?”

“We weren’t,” Alex sighed.

Unable to resist, I slid a finger along her soft cheek. “You should stay away from me.”

Any hope of scaring her off with that comment faded when she grinned, her teeth flashing white in a shaft of moonlight.

“Why would I?” She stared me down. “I wanted a fun summer. And I can’t have that if you’re not in it.”

“But I can’t be part of it. Not really. We’d have to sneak around, hide. You deserve to have a boyfriend you’re proud of, not someone like me.” I had nothing long-term or permanent to offer her when my life was so unstable.

“What if I don’t care about that?”

“I do.” I shook my head, the air in the cramped tool shed suddenly suffocating. “I’m trying to do the right thing.”

“Great,” she sighed. “Another person protecting me from my ‘bad choices.’” Alex made air quotes with her hands. Her voice sounded as bitter as I sometimes felt. “Well, maybe I’d like to call the shots in my life for a change.” She flicked a clump of dirt off a broken tiller blade lying on the tool bench. “Get in trouble if I want. Have the summer I want to have. How about that?”

“How about thinking about the big picture? Beyond the summer. Who you want to be. What you want your life to be like. Or maybe you’re just looking for a good time.”

She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.

Hurt by her silence, I went on. “And for that matter, with a camp full of guys, why kiss me? If you’re looking for someone to get in trouble with, look somewhere else.” Anger simmered inside me, but I knew I’d never let it surface. Not with Alex. Not with any girl. “My life isn’t a game, so stop treating me like it is.” I untwined her hands from my neck and brushed past her. “Do you
want
me to get booted out of camp? Or are you so determined to piss off your family that you don’t care who you bring down with you? What if that TV network, BLISS, had been following us instead of Gollum?”

Shoving out the door, I tromped north toward the boys’ cabins for about ten steps before she caught up. Jogging in front of me, she stopped short so that I almost ran into her.

“For your information, Mr. Expert-on-My-Life, I couldn’t care less about my parents’ stupid pilot. I’m already cast as the villain, so you can skip the lecture.” She poked a skinny finger into my shoulder. “As for you?” She narrowed her eyes. “Try and remember it wasn’t me who came looking for you tonight.”

She had a point there. I dragged in a deep breath to clear my head.

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” I swiped a hand over my eyes. “You’re the only… friend I’ve made here, and I guess I wanted to see you. Hear how things went during the filming.” There. The truth. Or part of it. I’d never see Alex as only a friend. Especially after that kiss.

“Friends, huh?” She gave me a skeptical look, then laughed. “Right. Well, maybe we should just start over.” She held out her hand. “Hi. I’m Alex Martineau. And you are?”

I couldn’t help but laugh back and take her hand, my dark mood lifting. “Javier Kovalev. Nice to meet you.”

Alex nudged me with her shoulder as we walked toward the cabins. “Good. At least that’s a start. And the movie was amazing.” She seemed to forget all about our argument. I admired that about her—how she could get mad and then let it go. “Best day ever.”

Was it possible to envy a movie? I wished I’d been the one to make her that happy.

“I’m going to the
Mine Forever
set next weekend.”

She went still. “What?”

“I guess they had trouble with their catering company. They called the camp to see if we could spare any people or kitchen equipment.” I’d be cooking for a crowd even bigger than Camp Juniper Point.

“You’re kidding.” She took a step closer but stopped herself before she put her hands on me.

I swallowed hard, missing the feel and the scent of her hair when we’d kissed. Just friends, I reminded myself.

“I’m 100 percent serious. It’s Parents’ Weekend anyhow, so it’s not like I’ll have anything to do here.” Most of the kids left the campus to do stuff with their families, so Helena could handle the mess hall alone.

“You’re cooking for the
Mine Forever
cast and crew?” She paced in front of me, biting her lip and frowning.

“They only want the best.” I grinned. I was looking forward to it. “Helena thought it would be good for me to get away from camp for a couple of days.”

I didn’t mention that Helena probably wanted me to take a break from seeing Alex, too.

Alex quit pacing. Gave me a level stare.

“You
have
to take me with you.”

Alex

“Ouch! Are you trying to hit every bump from here to the film set on purpose?” Although my tongue stung from the last teeth-jarring lurch, riding in the camp van beside Javier felt awesome. In his fitted forest-green polo shirt and khaki shorts, he was handsomer than ever. Better yet, he was all mine…for the day at least. And I intended to make the most of it. This was supposed to be the best summer ever. Payback. Riding with Javier made me feel like that was possible.

His large hands rested on the wheel, his chocolate eyes sliding my way, one side of his mouth lifting. “We just got on the main road and you’re already complaining? This is going to be a long day.”

“Speak for yourself.” I crossed my arms and leaned my cheek against the warm window glass, grateful Helena had let him drive. He was seventeen, after all, and he had his license. Best of all, that meant no chaperone for the whole day.

Even though I was officially spending Saturday helping Javier cater the movie set, I planned to peek in on the filming, too. I’d thought of little else since my last trip there—that and the feel of Javier’s strong arms around me in the tool shed.

“So how long before you ditch me for the big screen?” Javier’s biceps flexed as he down-shifted, the early morning sun making his bronze skin glow. Saliva flooded my mouth.
Down girl
.

“Sick of me already?” I swatted his thigh, the downy hairs tickling my palm. He jerked away as though my touch was fire.

“Knock it off, Alex.” His voice sounded lower than ever, its huskiness sparking the jittery feeling I got whenever he was near. And in the close confines of the van, we were as alone as camp would ever allow. “We’re friends, remember? You know we can’t flirt.”

“Hey, those are your rules. Not mine.” I tickled his earlobe until he chuckled and swatted me away. “Besides, this may be the only alone time we get today.”

“Don’t remind me.” Javier cranked down his window, and the fresh, pine-scented air doused us like a cold shower. “How much longer is this ride?”

“Come on, you love it. Why else would you have invited me?” How awesome that I got to go with him. It had to mean he like liked me.

“Because you begged when Helena asked for volunteers.” He punched on the radio, and a classic rock song rumbled out of the speakers. His head bobbed along with the bass, rattling the doors, a deep dimple popping in his cheek.

“Details, details.” I flicked a gnat away from my shoulder, hoping the gesture would draw his attention off the road and back on to me. Where it belonged. “We were destined to have this day together.”

His fingers walked up the side of my arm and stopped to lightly chuck my chin before returning to the wheel. “You’re like that gnat—always buzzing around.”

“Like a fly to honey.” I laid my head on his broad shoulder, loving the feel of his worn tee over hard, shifting muscles.

For a second, it felt like he leaned his cheek against the top of my head, but another bump sent me sliding away.

“You did that on purpose.”

“Maybe it was destiny.” Laughter filled his voice.

I waved back at a couple of roadside vegetable stand owners, then glanced at his smirking profile. But so what? I was glad for the day of freedom. This wasn’t just freedom from my parents and
Wholesome Home
. Today was freedom from everything. I’d even ignored a letter I got postmarked from Honduras. So not ready to deal with whatever my parents had sent.

I curled my legs beneath me, the vinyl seat sticky and summer-slick while the folded envelope shifted against my thigh pocket. “Whatever. How much longer until we get there?”

“Seriously?” His grin was open, wide, and ungodly hot.

I blinked up at him, loving the way he’d lost his battle not to have fun around me. I never made anyone laugh at home. Usually it was all disapproving glances and lectures.

“I kind of need to pee.”

A long breath made his chest rise and fall. “And you didn’t take care of that before we left?”

“Maybe if you hadn’t rushed me—”

“Fine. We can stop in Waynesville. I was planning to anyway to take my mom’s weekend call.” He held up a cell phone. “Helena’s number is on her approved list at the jail.”

“Then you’d better speed it up. I think my grandfather could have lapped us on his walker.”

“Don’t make me pull this van over, missy,” Javier growled, his fingers tapping on the steering wheel to another classic tune, the streaming sunshine spinning his profile into gold.

Goosebumps rose on my arms. “Say that again!”

He shot me a surprised look. “Don’t make me pull this van over?”

“No—missy. It helps me get in character in case they need an extra. Don’t forget, I’m just a poor mining girl from a hundred years ago.”

“There’s nothing poor about you, Alex.”

I shuffled my scuffed shoes. “What makes you say that? I don’t have anything nice.”

“At least your family’s together. If you get in a fight, you go to your room or something. If I get in a fight, I get kicked out of the house and I’m onto a new family, new school, new rules.” He shook his head.

“So what’s the deal with your family? Why is your mom in jail?”

Javier’s lips turned down, and suddenly I wished I’d kept things light.

“Sorry. You don’t have to talk about it.” This time when I placed my hand on his knee, he didn’t shy away. One-story houses began to appear between the thinning trees, an occasional business flashing by.

After a long moment of silence, his hand slipped down to hold mine. It felt warm and clammy at once.

“Bad checks. She couldn’t keep up with daycare, babysitting, and all her other bills on a waitress’s salary. Eventually she wrote some checks she thought would clear but didn’t and they took her away. After a few times, it’s a big deal.” Javier cleared his throat and was quiet for a while before he spoke again. “She’d been fixing up our apartment in September when they arrested her this last time. It would have been my first time out of foster care in a while.”

“That sucks.” It seemed so inadequate, but it pretty much summed everything up. How weird that all Javier wanted was to have a home and all I wanted was to get out of mine. “So do you guys ever see each other?”

“Yeah.” Javier hit the brakes when a couple of bike-riding kids wove in and out of our lane. “I visit, and she calls every Saturday morning.”

“You must miss her.” It was hard to imagine since I couldn’t wait to get away from my family, but Javier’s voice sounded so wistful it made me wish I had that kind of bond with my mom, too.

“Yeah. But we’ll be together when she’s paroled. I hope.” My heart ached for him. It sounded like he loved her so much. “I’ve got to maintain good behavior and keep my nose clean at camp since Helena really went out on a limb to have me here. If Gollum tells my caseworker I haven’t caused any trouble, I’ll be able to be with my mom at the end of the summer. Although, technically, I’m not allowed to move in with her until she finds a job and a place for us.”

“Maybe that won’t take very long. She has waitressing experience.” I gripped my seatbelt as a weird idea struck. Mom. One of her good works was helping to rehabilitate women coming out of rehab, abusive homes, or jail. Could she help Javier’s mom when she got out?

“Yeah, but she’s also got a felony charge she has to report on every job application. It’s not easy for ex-cons to get jobs.” Javier blinked up at the ceiling, then back down at the road. “Basically, I’m the reason her life sucks.”