Page 7
Chapter seven
WTF at Camp
I kind of felt bad walking away without helping.
I wasn’t normally that guy.
But.
Fuck him and Danny for shoving me into his space.
I didn’t like it.
If I stayed to help, I was liable to do or say something none of us would like.
I walked past the main office building.
It was long, with six posts across the front, supporting an awning over the walkway.
It had a metal roof and was clean and inviting, though nothing fancy.
I cut across some grass and saw a sign for swimming and a boat ramp, so I headed that way.
The path split between a couple of buildings.
Well, one was more of a covered area, and the other was bathrooms and maybe a storehouse.
Farther down, I could easily see the swimming area next to the boat ramp.
Four steps led to a big drop-off, and along the side, cement walls shaped the area.
I sat on a nearby bench that overlooked the water and took off my socks and boots.
I sat, letting my feet hang over the edge.
They barely reached the cold water.
It wasn’t terribly deep, maybe waist-high.
A few kids splashed around, and some folks were putting kayaks in the water at the ramp.
The sun beat down on me, high overhead, and made me consider going in the water.
Sweat beaded on my forehead.
After another few minutes of sitting there, I thought fuck it and pulled my shirt off, tossing it by my shoes before jumping off the side into the cold, cold water.
It was so refreshing.
I dipped my head under, then popped back up and shook like a dog.
The kids near me laughed, and I smiled back at them.
It was extremely hard to be mad at anything.
It was beautiful and full of life here.
“Hey, Sky!” Danny came down to the water.
He slid his flip-flops off and stuck his feet in like I had earlier.
“I’ve been looking for you.”
I bet.
“Why? So, you can foist me on some other asshole?” Guess it wasn’t impossible to be mad after all.
Yep, still pissed.
“Hey, man. You’re not being fair. And you ditched out, leaving everyone else to set up. That’s not like you.”
“It’s not like me to be here at all, Danny. I mean, for real. This is not my thing.” I stood on the rocky ground in the cool water, airing my issues to the public.
Great.
“You’ve had to twist my arm this entire time. You knew how I felt, and yet you didn’t find out who I could share with until we got here. It’s almost like you knew it would be him .”
“I didn’t. Maybe I assumed, but I didn’t know . But you need to relax and open up. This is not the worst situation in the world. And Crow is not as much of an asshole as you think he is.”
I made a raspberry and went under the water.
I didn’t think Danny actually knew Crow very well.
When I came back up, shaking my head again, Danny was standing there staring at me.
“What?”
“I think it’s you being the asshole now.”
One of the kids near us giggled, probably at his cursing.
And maybe he was right.
“Watch your language, man.” I nodded toward the youngsters.
We may have booked up most of the campground, but not all of it.
“Yeah, sorry, kids.” He waved but they pretty much ignored him.
Danny snorted.
“So, I’m going to go finish setting up and hang out with Levi. You do whatever you want.” He flicked his hand and turned his back, walking away, clearly peeved.
“Okay, already,” I huffed.
“Wait up, Dan.” I guessed this was going to be one of life’s suck-it-up moments.
Especially when I struggled to get back out of the water.
That first ledge was a bitch.
I pulled myself up though, and grabbed my shirt, pulling it on, the material sticking to my skin.
I slid my feet into my boots without tying them and tucked my socks in my back pocket.
“You going to stop acting like a jerk?” He crossed his arms over his chest and glared at me.
Brat!
“You going to stop setting me up?” This time, I slung my arm around his shoulders.
I wasn’t as mad anymore.
At least, not at him.
Danny made a growly noise that sounded a lot like a baby bear.
He’d never pull off a grizzly.
“Butt-hole.”
“You’re entirely too cute. It’s hard to stay mad at you.”
“Yeah, I know.” He kissed my cheek, and we walked back toward our campsites.