Last Chance Summer - Shannon Klare Page 0,51
my brain for answers. Nothing came to mind.
“Clue me in a little bit more,” I said. “What were we doing with the baby oil and the tarp?”
“Seriously injuring,” Jess answered. She lowered her voice as Loraine walked by, waiting until she was out of earshot to speak again. “We never retaliated for them toilet papering our cabin, remember? Tonight is their hike to the lake. Their side of the cabin will be free.”
“It has to happen tonight,” Brie added. “We won’t get another shot at it.”
“What has to happen tonight?” Grant said, quirking an eyebrow as he stopped beside me. His hand rested on my shoulder, heating my sweaty skin.
“Game night,” Jess said on the fly. “Monopoly, Uno, maybe even a round of checkers.”
“Thrilling,” Grant said with a nod. He raked his free hand through his hair, tugging it messily away from his scalp.
“The perfect way to wind down,” I said, my insides melting at his staggering good looks.
“I mean, it isn’t as cool as a fishing trip,” Brie said.
“Our counselor didn’t get us approved for that,” Steff said.
“Um, I tried and was rejected,” I said, holding up a hand. “Loraine said it’s against camp policy to have any type of coed night trip. When it comes to hanging out with the boys, we’re limited to all-camp activities. Not my fault.”
“Forgot. Loraine is afraid of anyone sneaking off,” Brie said, rolling her eyes. “Like we can’t figure out a way to sneak out. Pft.”
“Don’t bring me into that conversation,” I said, cringing. “The less I know about how and when you sneak out the better.”
“Rectangular,” Brie said, stepping away.
Grant’s brow furrowed as he watched her leave. “I’m guessing that’s the one you had the issues with?”
“Yes,” I said, shaking my head. “But I’ve learned to accept her how she is and move on. There’s no reason fighting something I can’t fix.”
“Wow. Is this a new version of Alex I’m just now getting to see?” Grant said, attempting to put a hand to my forehead.
I batted him away, pointing at him instead. “I blame all that running you made me do. My brain isn’t getting enough oxygen. I’m not thinking clearly.”
“It’s basketball. You’re required to run.”
“You couldn’t have kept it on one side of the court longer than ten seconds?”
“It’s called a shot clock,” he said. “If I don’t shoot, there’s a penalty.”
“There is no clock,” I said. “There isn’t even a scoreboard.”
“There’s a clock in my head,” he said. He brushed a kiss to my lips, earning oohs and ahhs as his guys passed behind us.
“Shut up,” he said, waving them on. “You act like you’ve never seen PDA.”
“Not among the counselors,” Loraine said, closing the distance.
My cheeks heated as she surveyed Grant, then me, her glasses riding low on her nose. Her annoyed expression looked exactly like my mom’s.
“I get that Alex is new here, but Grant knows about our counselor rules and expectations,” she said, looking at us. “You’re the examples. Cut it out in public. Okay?”
“Sorry,” Grant said. “I wasn’t thinking about—”
“It happens,” she said, stopping him. “You’re teenagers. You spend a lot of time together. I don’t need the justification. I just need it not to happen in public, especially when your campers are around. PDA limitations are hard to enforce when the counselors won’t even abide by the rules. Okay?”
“I didn’t know,” I said. “Promise it won’t happen again.”
“Thanks.”
She patted me on the shoulder as she passed, leaving an awkward tension in her wake. I wasn’t aware of the no PDA rule, but now that I knew about it I could make sure any kissing was done in private. Grant aside, I was still here for a reason. Intentionally breaking a rule wouldn’t help me any. The last thing I needed was Loraine reporting my PDA to my parents.
Grant shifted uncomfortably, looking anywhere but at me.
“It’s fine,” I said, speaking first. “She didn’t seem super mad.”
“Yeah, yeah. I know,” he said. He raked his hand through his hair again, stepping backward. “I’ve seen her mad and that wasn’t it. Still, I don’t want to give her a reason to put either of us on her radar. I’ve got some ties to camp. The last thing I need is one of them getting wound up that I’m out here breaking the rules.”
“What ties?”
“Nothing,” he said, shaking his head. “The point is, I don’t want to get on Loraine’s bad side. She’s yelled at me before. I didn’t know someone’s face could get that red. It’s a