“Hi, best co-counselor ever,” Grant said, catching me outside at the normal time.
He was leaning against the porch railing like every other day, holding two travel mugs with extra cream in mine.
“You wouldn’t happen to know why some of my campers are currently blue, would you?”
I paused, mentally face-palming myself. “I want it noted that I cleaned up the most dangerous part,” I said continuing toward him.
“Heard one of your girls spent last night in the nurse’s office,” he said, handing me my coffee. “All things considered, I’d take blue humans over broken ones.”
Despite the guilt still nagging my conscience, Grant’s smile was contagious. Seeing him at the beginning of every day was comforting, a ritual that made the day seem more manageable.
“On a scale of one to ten, how Smurfish are they?” I said.
“Mm, a solid nine, but the Saran-Wrapped toilet seats were the real winner. That was a pain, considering most of them take a morning crap.”
Of course they wrapped the toilet seats. Brie was in charge.
“Loraine is totally going to catch wind of it and realize my cabin is the one responsible,” I said, cringing.
“I’ll just lie and say it was an innocent prank between my campers,” Grant said. “She trusts me. There’s no reason to suspect I’m lying.”
“Unless it’s to cover for me. She knows we like each other. It would make sense for you to lie for me.”
“Then I’ll take one for the team and make sure there’s a five-foot radius between us today,” he said, backing away. “She’ll think we’re arguing about something, and we’ll fly under the radar. Besides, I know how hard it is for you to keep your hands off me. The five-foot radius will help you control those urges.”
“Hey! Most of the time you start it.”
“Can you blame a guy?”
Grant closed the distance, a smile playing at his lips. Whether or not he was always the one to initiate affection, I had zero problem following through. Being around him was natural. Too natural for someone trying to stick to the rules.
“Kissing you is totally worth the lecture,” he said.
“You’re being a bad influence.”
“I never claimed to be a good one.”
He grabbed my hand, linking it with his.
“In other camp matters, what do you want to do about this prank war?” he said. “I like knowing you tried and failed to get revenge, but I don’t like knowing you were almost caught. Loraine won’t take it easy on you just because you’re her niece.”
“That’s the best reason to take it easy on me.”
“Except she has to file a report every time one of the campers gets hurt,” Grant said. “Then that report is sent to other people, then forwarded to more people. Eventually, a board who puts it with the rest of Camp Kenton’s documentation reviews it. It can be a big deal if the wrong person gets injured, or if anyone gets injured too bad.”
“You seem to know a lot about the inner workings of camp,” I said.
“Probably because I have connections to the people in charge of running said camp.”
I surveyed him as he walked toward the porch steps. “What connections?”
“None-ya business,” he said, taking them one-by-one. “So, not to change the topic, but are you and me still on for tonight? Or have you come up with some lame excuse for why you can’t and won’t go on a date with me?”
“Answer my question, then I’ll answer yours.”
“But talking about a potential date is funner than talking about camp. We live and breathe this every day. Don’t drag my boring outside life into the mix.”
“So it has to do with your outside life?” I said, quirking a brow.
“It has to do with my mom,” he said, landing on the dirt. “And that’s all the information you’re getting. You want more, you can get it on the date.”
“Um, you turned me down first,” I said, heading for the steps. “If I recall correctly, which I do ninety percent of the time, I hit on you and you rejected me. It would serve you right for me to dish some of that disappointment your direction.”
“You wouldn’t turn down Starbucks.”
“Starbucks? Who said Starbucks? That should’ve been your starting point,” I said.
He nudged me in my side, then grabbed my hand as we walked. “Just be at the counselor cabin by nine.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Grant.”
“It’s the only bargain, Alex.”
A quarter after eight, Kira poked her head through cabin two’s screen door. I pushed myself off my bed, sliding on a pair of sandals as she headed my way.
“Um, excuse me, but where do you think you’re headed with your hair all curled and your makeup looking like a YouTube tutorial done right?” Brie said, not even bothering to lift her head off her pillow. “And don’t bother telling me it isn’t somewhere exciting. You haven’t contoured since you got here. Trust me, I’ve been dying to help you.”
“I feel like that’s her way of complimenting you,” Kira said, meeting me in the middle of the cabin.
“It’s the closest she’ll get,” Jess said.
I grinned and shook my head, fumbling with the earrings Kira had lent me. I’d been around Grant for a while now, but mid-hair-curling my stomach had started to knot.
It was stupid. He liked me. I liked him. Still, doing something relatively normal with a guy I was legit interested in was oddly uncomfortable. What if outside of camp, we didn’t have the same kind of chemistry? I mean, here we had to be around each other. Outside camp, we didn’t have to do anything.
“Hey,” Kira said, tilting her face into view.
I shook the thoughts, absentmindedly smoothing the front of my romper.
“You have a great time and make sure you give me all the deets later,” she said. “I’ll be here holding down the fort when you get back.”
“Thanks, Kira,” I said, nodding.
I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear and let out a long breath, slowly closing the distance between me and the door.
Outside, amid the quiet, most of the cabins were shut down for the night. Lights were off, the hum of the grasshoppers the only noise to disturb the silence. Dirt crunched beneath my feet, the distance between cabin two and the counselor cabin shrinking as my heart started to race.
Why would I get nervous now? When Grant and I were on great terms? Because every time you let someone in, you lose them.
Guilt simmered in my stomach, boiling harder as I found my way to the counselor cabin’s porch. That wasn’t true. It is true.
My arms wrapped around my stomach, any excitement for the date dying a slow and miserable death as my mind drifted further into memories of Mitch. Memories of Nikki.
“Quit thinking about it,” I whispered, skirting a glance around camp.
Grant would be here any minute, and I would have to find a way to force a smile before he realized something was wrong. I could hide my emotions from literally every human on earth, but I couldn’t do it if I didn’t have time to collect myself. I couldn’t do it if—
“Hey, beautiful.”
The words ignited heat in my veins, pulling my attention toward the faceless silhouette stalking toward me in the dark. Grant’s face became more visible the closer he came. His smile was brighter than before. Warm.
He was dressed in a plaid button-down shirt and khaki cargo shorts, his head devoid of his usual Texas Tech hat, leaving his overgrown hair poking out behind his ears. And he smelled good. Real good. Like vanilla and sandalwood and every other delicious aroma I couldn’t even think of at the moment.
With his hazel eyes on full display and a five-o’clock shadow gracing his chin, the planes of his face sucked every coherent thought from my brain. It wasn’t fair to look this good, not when I was trying to wage a war between why I should and shouldn’t let him in.
“You ready?” he said, twirling a pair of car keys in his hand.
“That depends. Are those the keys to Loraine’s truck?”
“Why? You want them to be?” he said. He flashed me another grin when I shook my head. “They’re the keys to Linc’s car. I’m borrowing it in exchange for covering his lifeguard shift for the next four days.”
“And what about your shift out at arts and crafts?” I said, quirking a brow. “Because I happen to know a particular co-counselor of yours who was assigned to cover the pavilion for the next few days, but would be more than happy to bribe a junior counselor into doing it for her.”
“Ah, I don’t know. Loraine has this thing about people switching shifts—”
I nudged him in the side and he laughed.
“Okay. Okay. You get Erica to cover your shift at the pavilion and I’ll happily have you fill in for me at A and C. We both know that’s where you want to be anyway.”
“Air-conditioning. Unlimited painting supplies. No arguments over who kicked a ball out of bounds or who fouled who. You can’t blame me.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it would give you some time to work on your basketball skills,” Grant said.
He grabbed my hand, linking his fingers with mine as we stepped off the porch. We were barely past the camp office when he stopped again, his body a wall of warmth as he turned and faced me.
“Hi, I’m Alex,” I said, grinning as I looked at him. “Who are you? How can I get your number?”
“Shh,” he said, putting a finger to my lips. “Your aunt is outside her RV and I’m trying real hard not to get us caught.”
“Why does it matter?” I said, peering around him. “Our shifts are covered.”
“They are,” he whispered, “but that doesn’t give us permission to leave camp. Nights off are usually spent in the counselor cabin, down at the lake, or somewhere near camp. If she realizes we don’t plan on staying here, she’ll flip.”
My pulse raced at the sight of Loraine. She was sipping from a cup, sitting quietly beneath her awning, while a TV sounded through the camper’s screen door. She was like the security guard outside the party, waiting to catch stragglers.
“Any ideas for how to get by her?” I said, looking at him again.
“Well, we could wait it out or we could take the other way through camp. That would involve the woods and possibly getting snake-bit, but I’m up for it if you are.”
“Danger on the first date?” I said. “Somebody knows the way to my heart.”
Grant shifted, holding my hand tighter as he turned and headed the opposite direction. In the dark of night, Camp Kenton was a ghost town. The trees lining it even more so, their overbearing stature and impending darkness making my heart race as he entered them with me following behind.
“Why do I feel like we’re going the complete wrong direction?”
“Because your sense of direction sucks,” he said, laughing.
I squeezed his hand tighter but he continued walking, holding back low-slung tree limbs and dodging broken branches as we weaved a darkening path through the woods.
“This looks straight out of a horror movie,” I said. “Like something is about to swoop in and grab us.”
“We’re almost there,” he said. “But in the event this turns into The Blair Witch Project, I’m sacrificing you.”
“Aw thanks. That makes me feel all warm and cozy inside.”
Ahead, through a series of narrowing trees, the faint outline of a parking lot slowly started to appear. Grant continued toward it, maintaining his grip on my hand as the cars became more and more clear.
“Oh, ye of little faith,” he said as we exited the last of the trees, crossing the dirt toward the moonlit parking lot.
“Let me check myself for ticks. Then we’ll discuss how much faith I have in you,” I said, smiling as he stopped beside a black four-door SUV.
“I can help you check for ticks.”
“You wish.”
“I do.”
I grinned and slid into the passenger side. He closed the door behind me, hurrying around the hood to the driver’s side. Once he was in, he crammed the key in the ignition and looked at me.
“You ready for the best date of your life?” he said, pulling the car from the spot.
“You’re awfully sure of yourself, but I’ve had some pretty good dates. I mean, one guy did convince me to drive a car off into a lake.”
“Pft. That guy is an idiot and obviously wasn’t smart enough to keep you around.”
“He was something,” I said, focusing on a narrow dirt road winding through the trees. The exit was almost an exact replica of the main entrance, except more trees kept it hidden and it had a large cattle guard.
“You mean to tell me there’s another entrance to this place and no one bothered to mention it?” I said. “I could’ve already snuck out a million times.”
“Which is why the info is only reserved for privileged and experienced counselors like myself. Now that you know, you have to use it responsibly.”
“Like for secret dates with my co-counselor?” I said.
“Yep.”
Grant pulled the car through the gate. The dirt road blended with a long stretch of highway a few minutes later. Dimly lit, with little traffic, the two-lane country road had virtually no ending and no scenery but trees.
“So, what is this grand date plan of yours?” I said after a minute. “To get us lost in the woods, then apologize with Starbucks?”
“Would you like that?”
I tapped my fingers against my jaw, letting my attention linger on the window. “I think that depends on how late this Starbucks is open.”
“We’ll go there first,” he said, laughing. “You’ve been talking about it long enough I think you might rebel if I get us there after they’ve closed.”
“Or I’ll cry,” I said.
“I thought you said you don’t cry?”
“I’ll cry for that.”
He reached over and grabbed my hand, grinning as he steered us through the night. Deer scattered both sides of the road, a few threatening to make their way in front of us. Grant slowed for them, easing my nerves and getting us into Lufkin just after nine forty-five.
“We managed to get here with fifteen minutes to spare,” he said, slowing at a stoplight. “Let’s get the caffeine, then get to the real part of the date. I’m going to need a shot or two of espresso if we’re going to be even remotely successful locating anything.”
“Locating anything like…”
“Geocaches.”
I arched a brow as he merged onto the loop. “Is there a description that comes with that word, or should I already know what that means?”
“You’ve never been geocaching?” he said, gawking at me from across the console.
“Nope. I’ve done a lot of things, but that isn’t one of them.”
“Then we’re definitely going.” He pulled his phone from the console, handing it to me. “Find the app that says geocache. I saved some of the coordinates earlier.”
I took the phone from him, pausing at the picture on his phone screen. A selfie of what looked like a younger version of Grant and the same man from the photo in Grant’s cabin stared back at me. Same chestnut-colored hair. Same vivid hazel eyes. Same sharp facial features as the guy who sat across from me now.
“Is this you and your dad?” I said, scrolling through the apps.
“Yeah,” he said, slowing as he exited the loop. “I think I was twelve in that picture. Maybe eleven. Can’t remember exactly.”
“Y’all look alike.”
“Thanks. I hear that all the time.”
I found the geocache app and hit it with my thumb. “So, in the interest of getting to know you better, where are you from?” I said.
“Why do you randomly want to know?” he asked.
“Thought it might be a good idea, given that this is a date and that’s usually what people do.”
“Boring people.”
“So, Dallas?” I said. “One of those places in the Panhandle? You have an accent, so you have to be a born and bred Texan. I’m assuming somewhere in the backwoods.”
“Um, you’re the Cajun,” Grant said, grinning. “And to answer your question, I currently live in Lubbock. I just finished my freshman year at Tech.”
“What are you studying?”
“Sports management,” he said. “Cliffs Notes: I’d eventually like to do some kind of sports-analyst job for ESPN. If it falls through, I’ll probably aim for a sports-agent position or something along those lines.”
“Sounds fun.”
“For now,” he said, shrugging. “But who knows? If my mom had it her way, I’d still be in Austin. She always saw me as getting into something more politically driven. Basketball analytics are the furthest thing from her idea of an interesting conversation topic.”
“What about your dad? Who does he side with?”
“My dad died when I was thirteen. Hit by a drunk driver. But, if he was still around, I think he’d want me to do what makes me happy.”
Nausea flooded my stomach, my fingers becoming increasingly heavy as I lifted a steely gaze. For as much as I could’ve curled into a tiny ball and shriveled into nothing, it was a good thing he was paying attention to pulling into Starbucks and wasn’t focused on me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I didn’t—”
“Because we hadn’t talked about it,” Grant said. “But that’s part of why we’re on a date. You get to know me. I get to know you. That’s how this works.”
“Right.” I returned my attention to the phone, my hands growing clammy as I pretended to focus on the locations Grant had marked under his favorites. Why hadn’t he said anything?
“But that doesn’t mean you have to get all awkward,” he said, slowing in the drive-through. “Please don’t get awkward.”
“I’m not getting awkward,” I said.
“I’ve been around you enough to read you,” Grant said. He shifted, pulling his wallet from his back pocket. “I’ve just learned it’s easier to get it out of the way. Before you go on thinking he’s alive.”
“I get it,” I said, making a concerted effort to stare at the screen. “You don’t have to explain.”
Except I was single-handedly responsible for someone dying in a drinking and driving–related accident.
My arms shook and anxiety snaked its way up my spine as any appetite I’d had quickly disappeared. Any emotions I’d had were replaced by guilt and remorse, and the carnal urge to flee the situation. I needed to get out of here. I had to.
“What do you want to drink?” Grant said.
“Um, water.”
He arched a brow, his hands becoming stock-still on the steering-wheel. “You want a water? After all those lively conversations about your love for Starbucks and their amazing iced coconut milk caramel macchiato?”
He let out a long sigh, staring at the menu again. “I have officially killed this date.”
“You didn’t,” I said.
“Look me in the eye and say that again.”
I lifted my gaze from the phone, meeting his unreadable expression. I was lying. He knew it. What was the point in pretending it wasn’t true?
“You might be a master of sarcasm, but you’re a terrible liar,” he said, shaking his head.
“Yeah? Well, most people aren’t as good at reading me as you seem to be.”
The frown on his face and disappointment in his slumped shoulders tugged at my heartstrings. He couldn’t know how one simple truth about his life would affect me, how it pulled memories of that night with Nikki to the forefront and flooded my mind with guilt.
I should’ve taken the keys, but I was too worried about getting caught by my dad to do the right thing. This was the consequence. It would always be the consequence.
“You haven’t ruined the date,” I said, lying to us both. “I just … I know someone who died in kind of the same way and it just caught me off guard. It’s easier to ignore those emotions.”
“Welcome to Starbucks. What can I get you?” someone asked through the speaker.
Grant immediately shifted his attention to the menu, and I sat back in my chair heaving heavy breaths as he ordered my very specific coffee and a plain café Americano with an extra shot for him.
I’d dodged a bullet, but the sinking feeling in my gut told me I couldn’t avoid the conversation forever. Somehow, someway, he’d find out about my involvement in Nikki’s wreck. When and if he did, he’d never see me the same.
A few minutes later, amid an unexpected and unwanted tension, Grant pulled the car into a vacant Hobby Lobby parking lot. He stared out the window for a moment, silent.
“You can be totally honest with me and not hurt my feelings,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “Do you want me to take you back to camp and chalk this date up to an epic failure on my part?”
“This date isn’t an epic failure, and if I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be,” I said, looking at him.
“I brought up my dead dad in the Starbucks parking lot. I think that ranks up there with most horrible dates in the history of dating.”
“You get brownie points for coffee,” I said, forcing a sympathetic smile. “But, real talk, if you’re wanting normal Alex, I need to focus on these geocaches and less on the serious stuff. I can’t process it on my end, okay?”
“Are you at camp to process it?”
“I’m at camp to get away,” I said. I handed him back his phone. “So help me do that. Tell me what a geocache is and walk me through how to find it.”
“You really want to know?”
“I really do.”
Despite my completely unnerved stomach, I grabbed the coffee he ordered me and forced myself to take a sip. The liquid was sweet on my tongue, the extra caramel drizzle counteracting the bitterness of the cold brew.
“All right,” he said, showing me the screen. “First things first, a geocache is a tiny little capsule people hide in random places.”
“Like buried treasure?”
“Like pointless trinkets they happen to have on hand,” he said. “There’s supposed to be one in this parking lot called the Magic 8 Ball. It’s described as a small tub with a Magic 8 Ball key chain in it, but we have to find the tub.”
“Ideas on where to look?”
“I have a map,” he said, flashing me the screen. “Well, the coordinates anyway, and a clue that makes zero sense.”
I nodded, unbuckling my seat belt as he turned off the car and pulled the key from the ignition. On the feeder road, a handful of cars passed slowly. Goose bumps spread across my arms, the breeze chilling my skin more than the eeriness of being here after close.
“Something about this feels like we’re breaking the law,” I said, the parking lot crunching beneath my sandals.
“I would never take you on a date and expect you to break the law,” Grant said, grinning at me as he extended his hand. “I’m pretty sure that would be a one-way ticket to pissing off your dad, and an even bigger way to piss off my mom. The governor’s kid is supposed to be a law-abiding picture of perfection, not some recently redeemed delinquent who went and got himself arrested again.”
I paused, pulling him back when he decided to continue walking. “I’m sorry. Did you say your mom is the governor?”
“Yes. And before you ask, no I can’t get you out of a speeding ticket.”
I studied him for a moment, quiet building between us.
“What?” he said, shifting his weight. “Were you really wanting me to get you out of a speeding ticket?”
“My dad’s a cop. I don’t need help getting out of them,” I said. “I’m just wondering why you haven’t said anything about your mom. That’s a pretty important job to just leave out of a conversation.”
“We haven’t had a conversation where I needed to mention it.”
His fingers brushed my cheek, the touch of his skin lighting my nerves. A guy with a family name to uphold was the furthest thing from what I needed to be around. For that matter, I was the furthest thing from what he needed too.
“You’re being awkward again,” he said. “And you’re going to have to talk to me because I can’t read your mind. What’s going on in there?”
“A million different things, including but not limited to how I’m probably the bad influence in this relationship.”
“Um, I’m the bad influence,” he said. “I snuck us out tonight, remember?”
“Risking your pro-counselor status for a date with a girl you barely even know,” I said. “Let’s be real for a second. Okay? What would your mom say if she knew you were geocaching in Lufkin with me, when you were supposed to be monitoring a group of campers?”
“She’d applaud me for catching such an amazing girl,” Grant said.
“I’m being serious.”
“Fine. She’d probably ask me what I traded to get the night off, then she’d commend me for my expert negotiating skills. Why? What would your dad say?”
“How irresponsible it is that I willingly snuck out of camp when I’m supposed to be here fixing myself,” I said.
“You’re fine the way you are.”
“You don’t know me,” I said.
“I know you well enough.” Grant tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, kissing me lightly. “And I happen to like the girl you are,” he muttered against my lips. “Bad decisions and everything.”
“What happens when these bad decisions get both of us in trouble?” I said, pulling pulled his lip between my teeth.
“I don’t know. Maybe we won’t have to find out.”
He kissed me again, his body shielding us from the rest of the world as he backed me against the car. His hands, strong and calloused, cradled my face while his mouth slanted over mine and kissed me with an intensity that could’ve melted me into the metal.
My body was on fire, my hands sliding up his shoulder blades while the intoxicating smell of his body wash wound its way through my senses. Every piece of attraction I couldn’t show at camp was free for the taking. Whoever he was, or whoever he wasn’t, didn’t matter. He was Grant. I was Alex.
In that moment, that’s all that mattered.