The setting sun reflected off the water of the lake as I sat on the dock. My eyes slowly scanned the water continuously, watching the campers swim and mess around. Coolness floods my back as a shadow momentarily interrupts the warmth of the setting sun. I glace up at my fellow counselor, Henry, he sits beside me and hands me my Hydroflask that he had just gone and filled up.
Smiling gratefully at him, I unscrew the lid and take a sip, "Thanks H, you're a real lifesaver." Henry smiles at my exclamation and simply nods his head in response and shifts his gaze to the lake, scanning the water. After screwing back on the lid of the sunshine yellow bottle, I place it on the dock beside me and return my eyes to the kids. The sun has almost entirely dipped behind the tree covered mountains surrounding us, causing goosebumps to erupt on my exposed arms.
His head falls to my arms as he chuckles, shifting closer to me and draping and arm over my back, "how is it that you get cold so quickly?" He questions me, as his head shifts back to the water.
The side of his body pressed against mine and his strong arm on my back already send waves of heat through my body as I resist the urge to sigh in comfort. Henry's touch is so perfectly warm and content felling, "I don't know, it's lucky you're around to be my personal heater."
He drops his arm off my back, shifting away from me. "Is that all I am to you? Your personal heater, looks like I have to find a different CIT to train, my current one is mean to me." He mocks hurt, staring right at me with a smirk on his lips. Rolling my eyes I scoot closer to him, already feeling the lack of heat, and pout looking right back into his eyes.
"You can't ditch me, you're too invested in my success I've been here for nearly a month, if you trained a new counselor they wouldn't be ready by next summer." I draw out still pouting at him.
It's crazy to think that I've been at San Isabelle Camp for nearly a month, sleeping in the uncomfortable bunks, hanging out with the campers, and spending time with the very cute boy beside me. I lucked out when I was assigned to be trained by Henry, he's sweet, has a real knack for kids, and is a great person to learn from, not to mention he is also super cute. Everyone else was paired with someone of the same gender, but they ran out of other people so Henry and I happened to get paired together.
His smirk fades into a smile as he slides back over to me, "okay, okay, okay, you can siphon heat off me," he slings his arm back around my shoulders and gently pulls me back to his side. This time I can't help but sigh in content of how warm he is.
As soon as I realize what just left my mouth a dusty shade of red heats my cheeks and my eyes widen in surprise that I actually did that. I have half a mind to just slide off the deck into the lake and drown of embarrassment, but instead I just mentally pray that Henry didn't hear my vocal expression of how content I am in his arms, "please god, I know that I'm not the best at going to church or even praying in general, but if you could do me this one favor I would believe in you forever."
But god must not exist, or just not care, since surely enough, about 5 seconds later a stomach dropping chuckle comes from Henry as he glances at my side profile. I refuse to look at the amusement that I'm sure is playing on his lips right now, choosing to pretend nothing has happened and hope he moves on.
Instead I'm met with Henry's spare hand attacking my stomach, tickling me until I lose it. I meet his eyes as my laughs echo around us. I've somehow managed to end up laying on the dock with both of his hands tickling me pink, or more accurately, red. He sits at my side, hovering over me with a certain look in his eyes, one that makes my sore stomach flutter.
Henry's hands fall, one resting on my stomach, the other moves to the opposite side of my face as his eyes shift from my eyes down to my lips and back up again. He leans forward, resting more of his weigh on the arm by my head. His head becomes a mere few inches from mine, and I'm sure he can feel my breathe on his face, as I do his. My laughter stops as I glance at his red lips and see his tongue snake around them, which reminds me that my lips are probably dry too. My tongue pokes out my parted lips and wets them as my eyes return to his.
With each passing second he seems to get closer and closer, and I can't help but wonder if this will get us fired. It's not that I don't want to kiss him, trust me, I do, but I don't want us to lose our jobs because of this. His lips are so close to mine, my eyes flutter shut and I feel the ever so delicate press of his lips to mine. He doesn't shift away as he continues to kiss me, leaning even closer, and I kiss him back.
The chiming of the meal bell reminds me of where we are, and what we are supposed to be doing as I sit up quickly, and smack my head against his, crashing our foreheads together in the process. My eyes spring open, "sorry, sorry, sorry." I say as I glance at his red cheeks, and eyes that are locked to mine, I know that my face has to be red already, so I tear my eyes away and watch the campers swim in.
When I get the guts to look back at Henry I notice he is already standing, and offering his hand to me. He pulls me up once I take it, looking over my head at the lake, then bringing his gaze down to my eyes, "I'm the one who should be sorry, that wasn't very professional of me. Can we forget about this whole thing?" He drops my hand and reached down to grab his water bottle and camp issued counselor backpack.
I follow his actions, doing the same feeling my heart rip out of my chest as I subconsciously trace my finger over my bottom lip. "Yeah, that sounds good." I reply to him, turning towards our campers who are lined up by the mess hall, and walking heading their way, counting them as I step. I can feel his gaze on me, but I can't turn around, I know I would break down if I did. That's what happens when I get my hopes up.
🌟
It has been a few days since the dock kissing incident, and I just want to scream. We've both been kind of avoiding each other, well as much as you can when you are assigned to be together almost all hours of the day. And on top of that some of the campers and Clare, my friend and fellow CIT have been questioning me about how close they saw us on the dock.
"Come on, Delilah, you have to tell me. I see the way you guys look at each other. And I really saw the way he looked at you before he kissed you." Claire questions me for the thousandth time as we bring up the rear of the hike to a waterfall. Of course Henry ditched me to hang out with his friends and lead the way at the front of the group. Not that I'm complaining, I'm sick of the awkward silence between us.
"There really is nothing to say, Clare, when the bell rung he apologized for kissing me then said we should forget it ever happened. And what's even worse is he apologized for being unprofessional. He must really regret kissing me."
She rolls her eyes, and glances at he with an unreadable expression, "I swear, you are so dense on this topic it's as if your brain is a rock. He is probably just nervous, like you are. But was he a good kisser?"
I giggle, looking ahead at the steep terian ahead of me, trying to think of a way to not sound completely love struck. "I don't know C, we barely kissed for more than a few seconds, so it was kind of hard to tell."
She laughs along with me, as we climb the rock stairs leading up to the most tricky part of the trail, the rock facing that we have to climb across. I hate this part, my stomach always drops when I look over the edge and see how far the drop is to down below. It really makes me glad I'm not a full counselor yet, their job is to stand along the facing and make sure campers don't fall.
The pace of the group slowed considerably as I watched Henry and two other counselors climb the rock and get in position, Clare and I walked to the front of the group and helped another CIT push kids up.
The group was slowly diminishing, and the pit of dread in my stomach grew with every camper who made their way across, knowing my turn was coming soon.
Once all the campers had made their way across without incident, I let Clare and the other counselor in training, Nikki, go ahead of me, reassuring them that I could scale the rock to the ledge by myself. I stepped in the foot holes and pulled myself up alone, not daring to look down as I walked past the first counselor, Henry, who then followed behind me. The second and third counselors, Ethan and Ben, then turned and made their way across, walking much more confidently than I felt.
I was actually pretty proud of myself for not looking over the edge yet, but just as I had the thought I involuntarily glanced down, and the pit of my stomach went down with it. My left foot caught on a raised part of the rock because I was too busy worrying about falling to actually prevent myself from falling. If even possible, my stomach dropped even further as I stumbled towards the edge, I heard a scream that sounded like it came from my own lips. My left ankle twisted in a recess as I attempted to catch myself, but it was no use, any second now I would be plunging to my death. I guess I've had a pretty good life, I feel a little too young to die, but at least I had my first kiss. For a while I was worried about dying without knowing what it's like to kiss a boy.
The arms of someone shoot out and wrap around my waist as I'm picked up off my feel and practically slammed into the rock facing along with a warm body who seems to be breathing as fast as I'm thinking. I didn't realize when, but somewhere along the god awful journey that just took place I had closed my eyes, but now that my foot had returned to somewhat stable ground I opened them panicked-stricken. I am meet with all of the group's eyes widely fixed on me, and I just want to dissolve into nothingness, anything to get their eyes off me.
The very tight grip of who-knows-who slowly releases until they are only mildly squeezing me. "God, Lila, you scared me to death. You okay?" The deeper than usual voice of Henry makes me realize who just rescued me, and whose arms are still wrapped firmly around my waist.
The eyes of the group stare into mine as the further questioning by Henry fades into radio static, and I feel so, so dizzy. My eyes flutter closed and I feel myself lean into him, my mind leaving the conscious world.
🌟
My eyes flutter open to reveal a worried looking Henry pressing something cold to my forehead. No one else seems to be around and my back is against a smooth rock not far from the cliff edge. Looking around I blink a few times and shift around a little trying to get comfortable. "Hey, you're fine, try not to move too much. You twisted your ankle pretty bad and I don't want to make it worse." I glance down to see my shoe removed from the ankle I caught in the rock, it already looks rather swollen, but who knows how long I have been out for. Now that I am focused on it I notice the sharp pain emitting from the ankle and the cold compress numbing some of the pain.
"I thought you were avoiding me."
He furrows his eyebrows, "just because I made things rather uncomfortable and was trying to spare you it again doesn't mean I'm going to let you fall off a cliff."
"Oh. Well, thanks for saving me."
"No problem, I could tell you had psyched yourself out, so I was right behind you in case something happened, and what do you know, it did happen."
My eyes return to him as I watch him reach up and tuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear, he returns his stare to my eyes as he busies himself with fixing the cold compress on my head.
"You really scared me there, especially when you fainted, I thought you had hit your head or something." He dryly laughs, "I kind of freaked out, Ben and Ethan had to remind me of the procedures, and once I got a grip on myself they continued with the kids."
Stifling a yawn I question, "So that is where they are now?"
Henry nods, "And we need to stay here until the swelling goes down, which should happen by the time they return. Then I'll help you down the mountain. You'll probably need a brace and some pain meds, but you should be fine."
"Do you happen to have any of those illusive pain meds on you currently?" I sigh, "Cause that would be nice."
He chuckles, picks up his backpack then sits a few inches from me, "Let me see what I have, is the pain really bad."
"I don't know, I think I'm still kind of in shock." I glance down at his shoulder, it looks so inviting right now, and hey, I can just say that I wasn't thinking straight. So I shift and end up using his warm shoulder as the perfect pillow. His woodsy, minty smell fills my nose as I close my eyes, sort of mumbling, "I thought I was going to die, and even though I didn't, all those eyes on me and your arms wrapped around me, it was all too much to handle."
"Hey, don't think too much about it, I'm sure it was scary, but you're safe now." His shoulder moves slightly up and down as he rummages through his pack, and then stops, "I found some ibuprofen, here is two and your water bottle." Opening my eyes I take the pills and the water, swallowing them in one gulp, then lowering my water bottle only for Henry's hand to raise it back to my lips, "You should drink some more water, you've had a traumatic day." I roll my eyes but comply, taking a few more sips.
I feel kind of giddy at how sweet he is being, saving me, staying with me while everyone else goes swimming by the waterfall, letting me use him as a pillow. "Hey Henry," I murmur.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for being so kind to me, I would have probably died if not for you."
His free hand reaches over and gently grabs my right hand as he proceeds to play with my fingers, my stomach flutters at the thought of holding his hand. "You've already thanked me, and you don't have to thank me. Even if I hated you I would have done it, now get some rest."
"So you don't hate me?"
"I don't even understand how you could ask that, Lila, of course not. Now, close your eyes and get some sleep. I'll wake you when it's time to head down the mountain."
🌟
I carefully sweep the hair of one of the campers out of the way as I zip her dress up the rest of the way. Tonight is the end of summer dance, one of the things that Henry hasn't stopped talking about for almost a week straight, that and policing everything I do with my ankle.
I button up my own dress, a long dress with a small floral print that looks nice on me and is pretty comfortable. I put on my regular minimal makeup and glance around the bathrooms, making sure no one else needs help. Even though the campers are 10 years old they still need help sometimes and tend to not ask for it.
Once everyone was ready I escorted them to the main hall, they were all talking so much from excitement, and practically buzzing when we walked in.
The main hall was completely decked out with decorations, streamers, fun colored lights and even the head counselor as the DJ. I smile at how the girls all ran to the dance floor and were so excited to experience some traditional fun dancing with their friends to their favorite songs.
I hung out around the outskirts of the dance floor, talking to Clare about our plans for next summer when her eyes look over my shoulder and she smirks, "I'm gonna go harass Ethan to give me the keys to my cabin that he stole earlier."
I shake my head in amusement, watching her stalk of towards the tall, blonde boy. Then I spin around to be met with who I expected to see, Henry, currently frowning and looking at my ankle.
"You aren't supposed to be spinning on your ankle, it still needs time to heal," he says walking up to me and making me feel guilty from the concerned expression on his face.
"H," I whine, "What did I say about commenting on my every movement, I'll be fine, okay?"
He holds his hands up in mock surrender, "hey, I practically carried you down the side of the mountain, I think I deserve some say in your ankle's recovery. Plus," he says as he takes a step towards me and places both his hands on my waist, "It means I get an excuse to not show you my awful dancing."
I raise an eyebrow, "then what were you so excited about this dance for? To not dance?"
He leans in towards me an whispers in my ear, "We don't have to be here, it is technically a night off, so I wanted to show you something since the razor will be free." He steps back and offers me his hand, "Come on," I take it, and he gently pulls me towards the door, "You need to change and I need to gather up the necessary provisions."
I follow him outside, but groan after he mentions changing, "Henry! Do you understand how many buttons this dress has, it took me so long to put on, and now you want me to take it off."
"I know princess, you look lovely, but you won't be very warm or comfortable in it," he replies, walking as slow as he likes me to on my ankle. Huh, princess, that's a new nickname, normally I wouldn't like it much, but there's something about the way he says it that makes me want to melt.
Once we reach the cabin and are greeted by the much warmer air inside I turn my back towards him, "Well you can at least help me with it, I can't unbutton these by myself."
He hums in reply as he brushes my hair out of the way, I can't help but shiver as his hands brush the skin on my neck. Either he doesn't notice or he doesn't say anything because he just continues on. The lower his hands dip along my back the more my stomach flutters, once he reaches the buttons just a few centimeters up from my bum he stops. His warm hands trace up my bare skin to my neck, leaving me with goosebumps. "There" He says, so close to my ear, his voice sounds much deeper than normal.
I feel the heat from his body leave as he walks away towards his bunk, and I walk to mine and dig through my clothes for something warm and comfortable. I glance over at Henry to see what he is wearing only to see he is already looking at me in a way that makes my stomach flip. He doesn't break eye contact as he says in an amused manor, "No bra?"
I feel myself blush so much as I turn back to my bag, pulling out some sweatpants and a comfy bra. I couldn't find a sweatshirt so I'll just have to steal one of Henry's. Making sure to not flash him I pull on the sweatpants under my dress then work on unbuttoning it on my bum. I can still feel his eyes burning into me as I carefully slip on my bra under my unbuttoned dress, looking into his eyes the entire time. Once my clothes are on I slip off my dress and put it back in my bag, turning back towards him.
"Where's your shirt? It's too cold outside for you to dress like that." He questions.
I pout, knowing he will give me what I want if I just play it up, "Can I borrow one of your sweatshirts? I can't find mine."
He chuckles then tosses one to me, it's my favorite one of his because of how soft and comfy it is. "You ready to go now?"
I nod in reply, slipping the soft fabric over my head and puling my arms through the sleeves.
He slips the straps of a different backpack than usual over his shoulder and heads towards the door. I follow closely behind him, as we leave the cabin and head towards the razor 4 by 4 parked close to the cabin. In the back truck bed there are heaps of blankets and pillows, making me wonder what we are doing.
We climb into the ATV and buckle the complex seat belts, and soon the engine roars to life. I love riding in this thing, it's so fast and fun to drive on the trails, but only counselors are allowed to drive it.
About ten minutes after we left Henry slows down and turns onto a path I've never seen before. We ride down the road for a minute until we reach this large, open space that isn't surrounded by many trees. The vehicle stops and Henry unbuckles while I attempt to, something about my seat belt seems stuck and I groan in frustration when it fails to release. Suddenly Henry's hands appear from behind me as he works to release the belts from around me. After a few seconds he gets them unbuckled. I look up at him as I climb out, furrowing my eyebrows, "How was that so easy for you?"
He grabs my waist as I climb down from the vehicle since the doors don't open, and makes sure I don't put too much pressure on my ankle. "Lots and lots of practice, plus, my fingers are more muscular than yours," he jokes.
"Where are we?" I question choosing to ignore his silly statement from before.
He grabs an armload of blankets and pillows from the back then begins to walk out into the middle of the open area, I follow behind at a close pace. "Only the best place to look at the stars for miles around, there's hardly any light pollution and less trees that block the view. I though we could look at the stars and talk."
I smile at the sky, looking up at how bright it is simply from the stars, "That sounds lovely, it's crazy that I've been here for the whole summer and haven't once thought about whats always above our heads."
"I figured you should see if before you go back to the big city." He answers, sounding less happy than a few moments before.
"I'll miss this place, there is some kid of magic here, it's in the people you meet and the adventures that are right outside your doorstep."
He puts the pile of bedding down then walks over to where I am, wrapping his arms around my waist. I wrap my arms around his chest too, and bury my head in the crook of his neck. He takes a deep breath, "Promise you'll come back next year?"
I nod my head in it's place. "I promise, and we can still talk on the phone and text. We just have to remember to exchange numbers.
"I know, it just won't be the same." Henry says, sounding glum, "At least you won't get annoyed about me harassing you to be gentle on your ankle."
I laugh sadly, then pause, remembering our brief kiss on the docks over a month ago. "Henry?"
"Mmm hum?" He questions back with his head tucked along my neck.
"Did you mean it when you kissed me that day on the docks? I know you apologized, but I've always wondered."
He hesitates, pulling back from my neck and holding me at arms length. "You know that you're gorgeous, and any person would be stupid not to think so." He tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear before continuing. "I got caught up on how beautiful you looked when I was tickling you and I kissed you because I wanted to. I didn't really have any feelings behind it, but when you kissed me back I didn't know what to do, so I avoided you for a while. But when you almost fell off the cliff I was so scared at the thought of losing you it made me realize how much I really needed you. That's why I kept harassing you to be gentle on your injury, I was so protective of you it scared me. If a fellow counselor even looked at you in a lustful way I wanted to pull you into my arms and glare at them until they left you alone. But now summer is almost over and I have all these feelings that I don't know what to do about. I'm scared I'm going to lose you in a whole different way than before. Sure death is horrific, but knowing that you are out in the world living your life, and that it doesn't include me, well that's heart wrenching." He pauses, takes a breath, then continues, "So to answer your question, I didn't mean it then, but I mean it now, and if it is all right with you I'd like to try kissing you again. As long as you promise you have me in your life."
I didn't waste my breath answering, I just took one big step and connected our lips together. He kissed back almost instantly and dropped his hands around my waist, proceeding to cup my face with both his hands.
I gently run my fingers through his hair at the base of his neck, pulling him closer, if that's even possible. His lips are surprisingly soft for that amount of time his spends outdoors.
One of his hands ends up back on my waist, as he pulls my whole body flush against his, I smile into the kiss as we break away for air. We are both breathing heavy, foreheads pressed together as he continues to hold me close.
"I've wanted to do that for such a long time," he whispers to me, sending shivers up my spine.
I can't break the smile on my lips as I gaze back at him, "me too."