A Different Kind of Us

Chapter 4

And that's how Sutton found herself sitting with On-Delay for the ninety-minute bus ride.

"Are you looking forward to the retreat?" she asked as the shuttle pulled out of the parking lot.

He side-eyed her and inhaled a long breath. After a deep sigh that seemed to go on for a full minute, he muttered, "No," and that was the only word she got out of him for the duration of the ride.

The lodge was prettier than she had thought it would be. They all piled off the shuttle and into the lodge's reception area, which had a 30-foot-high ceiling with crossbeams, a stone fireplace, and a shag carpet with a bear's head at the foot of it (Sutton did not want to know whether or not that bear's head was real). Marta took care of checking in their team while they all milled about the reception area, making small chatter and assuring themselves that it was normal to spend a Friday night in rural Georgia with their colleagues.  

"Time to get the party started," Mikey P. said, pulling a flask out of his jacket.

"What the fuck, Mikey, put that away," Debbie said. "You're underage and Marta is right there."

Mikey tried to remain cool, but his cheeks reddened. "I was just trying to get a jump on everything."

"It's not a race, dude," Wyatt said.

Sutton sat on the arm of a leather chair, watching them, feeling suddenly exhausted. She wanted to be home in her old bed, watching Netflix with Wilson Phillips curled up next to her. Her eyes flicked across the reception area, to where Ada stood near the check-in desk, her eyes glued to her cell phone.

"Alright, Cynterans, we're all set!" Marta called, spinning around to face the room. "Can I get one person from each room to come grab a key? Then we'll meet for dinner in an hour."

Sutton let Debbie rush forward to grab the key tag. Ada had apparently reached the same decision. Debbie took the key from Marta and looked around for both of them, and Sutton pulled herself up from the chair, setting her jaw as she went to join them.

And then it was just the three of them, trudging along to their cabin. The pathways were all outside, filled with white and gray pebbles. Everywhere Sutton looked, her eyes met shades of green. They were surrounded by trees and wild grass and blooming summer flowers.

As they pushed on, carting their suitcases and bags behind them, Debbie listed all the things they could do that weekend. "And we can have an old-fashioned sleepover one of the nights," she half-yelled to them. "Maybe make some s'mores and sit up talking about guys!"

Sutton scoffed inwardly.

They reached their cabin, which sat in an isolated clearing by itself. They had to walk across a skinny wooden footbridge that crossed over a small pond in order to reach it. Sutton supposed most people would find the whole thing charming and rustic, but she felt impatient and cranky.

"This is so cute," Debbie gushed when they reached the cabin. "Way better than the room I had last year. That's part of the reason I wanted a three-bedroom, you know?"

"Smart thinking," Ada said flatly.

Debbie swung open the door to their cabin, and they all stood in the doorway for a moment, taking it in. Then Debbie strode forward into the space and left her suitcase standing in the middle of the floor.

"Way cute," she said, talking to herself. "Oooh--I want this bed. Do you guys care if I take this bed?"

It was on the end of the cabin, next to the window--which meant Sutton and Ada would have to take the two adjacent beds in the middle of the cabin. They would have to sleep mere feet away from each other.