Page 63 of Lady and the Camp
This was chatty Lucas. Like he acted with his friends. “Did you ever run? Like marathons?” He was bulkier than most runners, but still had a leanness to his physique.
“Never a marathon, but shorter races. I’ll run for exercise, but it isn’t my thing, competitively. That’s why I like the meet-up group. We try out lots of activities, but it’s usually not competition.”
I trailed a hand in the water, enjoying the cool sensation against my skin. “Did you do sports in high school? I could see you tearing up a football field.”
“Yeah. Wrestling, baseball.”
“And college?”
He waited a beat before answering. “Didn’t go to college.”
“Ah, sorry. Silly of me to assume.” His posture, which had been relaxed only a moment ago, turned rigid. I hit a sore spot.
His plan with Brycen had been to work at the camp for two years. Maybe he needed those two years specifically for the job he truly wanted. He mentioned Colorado—the dream. When the camp split, the plan went down in flames, and he was stuck. He’d stayed to run the camp because he had to, only he wasn’t doing any, or much, of the adventure trekking he’d been hired for.
“You have a dream job,” I stated.
“Huh?” He glanced at me across the short distance between our seats.
“The job you’re aiming for after putting in your time here. Your big plan, and the reason you don’t want the camp to succeed because then you’d care too much and never leave. Is that what’s in Colorado?”
He made a low sound in his throat. We were back to grunting. Maybe I shouldn’t press him on things he wasn’t interested in talking about. Clearly, I’d struck something important or he wouldn’t have clammed up. And if Lucas was miserable at camp, regardless of how much he pretended he wasn’t, perhaps he needed a nudge.
I was a pretty good with a nudge.
I could assume Lucas had deep, soul-searching conversations with someone else. His meet-up group buddies. Or maybe his cousins. But my instincts about people were pretty good—billionaire bro aside—and my gut told me he wasn’t. This guy was clammed up and pent up and needed a swift kick in the you-know-where to get his life moving forward.
“How about you?” he asked, before I could launch into a new line of questions.
“How about me what?”
“You’re working at a children’s summer camp when you don’t have experience with kids or camps. You’re a graduate from a good university and living in a cabin with a bunk bed and eating cafeteria sloppy joes. What’syourtwo-year plan?”
Harsh. This was harsh and uncalled for. “You know what? Go jump in the lake.”
His eyes turned sharp. “Too cold. And it’s dark.”
“Fine.I’lljump in the lake.” I stood and the boat swayed.
He stood with me. “Hudson. Don’t fling yourself in the water. Can you swim?”
“Sure can.” I kicked off my shoes.
“This isn’t a good idea.”
Before he could protest further, I slipped off my T-shirt to my sports bra. My shorts were staying on because honestly, I was not ready for a full undies reveal. I grabbed Lucas’ hand and pulled him to the boat’s edge.
“Hudson—”
I yanked him forward as far as I could, then let go, and jumped.
The cold hit like a shock. It really had been a good long while since I’d jumped into a lake and not a heated pool. The water felt good. Incredibly good. Cold and revitalizing.
A splash hit the water beside me. I grinned. Lucas followed me in. This was exactly what we both needed. I treaded water and drifted closer to the boat.
Suddenly, a force tugged at my foot. I went under. A split second of panic hit, before arms cinched my waist and pulled me to the surface again. I sputtered in Lucas’ face now inches from mine. “What—why did you do that?!”
He was close, so close, and still holding on to me. “Because you deserved it. Want me to dunk you again?”
