Page 12 of Some Kind of Forever
“We met yesterday at the diner,” I confess, smiling at both of them.
“Wait!” Ashlie gasps dramatically. “This is ‘Tip Jar Guy,’ isn’t it? Shaggy hair, tall, blue eyes a mile deep…”
With a grimace on her face, Kayla rubs the furrow between her eyebrows. I don’t know if she’s flustered or irritated or both,but either way, this is entertaining. She shoots a threatening glare at Ashlie, who’s none the wiser as she grabs a plate.
“A mile, huh? That’s pretty deep, for eyes.” I turn my attention back to the enchanting green ones. “You told your friend about me?” Raising my eyebrows, canary-eating grin plastered on my face, I wait for her answer.
“I didn’t tell her aboutyou. I don’t even know you. I just told her about a thing that happened at work.”
“And the thing was me…?” my voice trails as I waggle my eyebrows playfully. That earns an eye roll from her. Oh, she’s definitely flustered, and I have to admit, it’s fun watching her squirm. She gets cuter the more ruffled she is, like she isn’t used to being put on the spot like this. “Well,Kayla, I guess today really is my lucky day.”I wink,and she heaves a long sigh, pursing her lips before turning back to the lunch spread.
We’ve just finished eating when Claire leads us through a few icebreakers. Claire, Kayla, and a man-bun-wearing guy named Samson have worked at Camp Bender before, while Sami, her twin brother Kyle, and I are new this year. Ashlie, of course, is just here for certification.
“The goal this summer is for the campers to create lasting memories and bond with each other,” Claire says. “There’s no better way for us to encourage that than to do the same things ourselves. During training, this week and next, I encourage all of you to get to know each other, make friends, and create bonds. We want the campers to feel like we’re all one big happy family. Let’s go around the circle and share two interesting facts about yourself.”
Since I’m sitting on an end chair, everyone turns toward me, waiting for me to start. I stand, giving a little wave. “I’m Chase, I work in tech, and I’ve been told I have blue eyes a mile deep.” Ashlie snorts next to me, and I get a peek at Kayla. She’s two chairs over, shaking her head and biting her cheeks to keep from laughing.
“I’m Ashlie, I work at the museum, and I think all y’all areweirdos for camping out in the woods for weeks on end.” That earns a laugh from the group before all eyes turn to Kayla. A smile spreads across my face as I watch, waiting to learn anything about her.
“I’m Kayla, I was born and raised here, and I work at Patti’s Place.”
Damn. Nothing new.Everyone else turns their attention to the next in line, but my eyes linger on Kayla. She fiddles with her thumb while Samson introduces himself, and must feel my eyes on her because she looks my way. Just as quickly, she slides her eyes back down to her thumb. My mind is stuck on this mystery girl who appears to be a completely closed book. The more I encounter her, the more I want to read the first page. I’ll even settle for the blurb on the back cover if she’ll let me.
CHAPTER SEVEN
KAYLA
Iwalk into the conference room early at the youth center and almost walk right back out. The room is empty except for Chase, leaning back in a chair with his outstretched legs crossed at the ankles. He laughs at something on his phone, and I dig my fingernails into my palm to keep my thoughts from drifting toward how good he looks with that light blue polo stretched across his shoulders. It’s only Thursday, but he is everywhere, all the time, making it hard for me to forget he exists. He has infiltrated the diner, camp training, and even the gas station. Bender’s a small town, but I never realized how small until now. Sure, he’s cute and funny, and probablywouldbe my type if I had time for any of that. But Idon’thave time, and won’t have time, which makes the intensity in his eyes whenever he looks at me that much more annoying.
I’m about to step backward through the doorway when he sees me. “Oh, hey,Kayla.” He smirks, sitting up in his chair. Even the way he says my name is intense. “No Ashlie today?”
“Nope, she’s back to work at the museum.” I’m trying to think of some excuse to leave, but my brain has decided to quit on me—and betray me, apparently, seeing as it’s telling my feet to move closer to Chase and farther from the hallway.
“That’s right, she did mention something about that. I guess it’s just you and me then…” He looks right in my eyes during the last part and smiles, and my stupid knees wobble.
In my distraction, my toe catches on the carpet in front of his chair. I lurch forward and reach out to catch myself just as he stands up to catch me. His hands wrap around my upper arms as I land against him, my palms flat on his chest.
We freeze.
Slowly, his thumbs stroke my upper arms, and I know he can feel my goosebumps rising. He smells good—woodsy and fresh—and the impulse I had to run in the opposite direction has flipped, urging me to lean in closer to him.
“You okay?” he asks, smiling down at me. I manage to nod, looking down and dropping my hands from his chest. With his thumbs still caressing my arms, I mistakenly glance into his eyes again, and I’m trapped. I can’t look away, and he’s already proven he won’t look away first. He licks his bottom lip, smiles wider, and asks, “You already falling for me?”
And that little bit of charm is all it takes for me to snap out of the trance I stumbled into, allowing me to take a step away. I laugh, attempting to shake the nerves from my body by shaking my head. “Not yet,” I say before thinking. My mouth falls open, and he chuckles.
“Not yet, huh? So there’s a chance…” He tips his head, a glint of amusement flickering in his eyes.
“I meant, not likely. Not ever.”
“But yousaid,‘not yet,’ which means?—”
“Hey, guys!” Claire calls from across the room. I’ve never been so happy to see the camp director in my life. I drop my bag on a seat, leaving an empty chair between me and Chase, and scurry over to talk to Claire.
“Need any help?” I ask, almost jumping with enthusiasm. I glance over my shoulder, and by some small miracle, Chase has stayed put. Sami and Kyle, the twins, stroll in as Claire places astack of notebooks in one of my arms and a bag of pens in my hand to pass out to the group.
By the time I make it back to the seats, Sami has posted up next to Chase, talking a mile a minute. Her long black ponytail sways back and forth down her back as her short legs swing under her chair. Emphasizing whatever she’s talking about, her hands swirl in the air while Chase smiles and nods. Sami’s a cheerleader at Oregon Central and has the energy to prove it. She’s friendly, charismatic, and I don’t think she has a mean bone in her body. Kyle sits on the opposite end of the semicircle, thumbs plucking away on his phone. They have the same face but couldn’t be more different. He’s tall with a buzz cut, and a lot gruffer than his sister—sarcastic and stoic.
“Hey, Kyle!” I hand him a notebook and pen. He looks up from his phone, tips his chin in greeting, and tucks the notebook on his lap without a word.
