I don’t know what made me hurry down that morning—intuition or the need to check on her to make sure the other girls hadn’t broken her and sent her running home—but I was suddenly relieved that she wouldn’t be alone. I sidled up next to her and sunk to the floor, grinning.
“Hey there, brown eyed girl.”
“Roman! Hi!” Her cheeks flushed a dark shade of red as she smiled back. Something stirred in the pit of my stomach with the sight of her blushing. Back then I didn’t completely understand the feeling of being turned on unless my dick was hard.
“What are you doing here so early?” she asked.
Not wanting to make her think I felt sorry for her, I lied. “I had to meet with the camp director.”
One of her brows quirked teasingly. “In trouble already?”
“Nah, she just had a question about something that happened last year.”
“I had fun watching you last night. Your voice…you can really sing. And perform too.” The blush in her cheeks glowed even brighter as her eyes flickered down to her feet for a moment. “Are you in musicals or something?”
“Are you kidding me? I’d rather scoop my eyes out with a spoon.” That’s probably exactly what my father would do to me, anyway.
“Being up on a stage sounds less painful,” she replied with a little laugh.
For a second I laughed too, even though I was having a hard time breathing normally when those big eyes fell back on me. “What about you? Did your parents move you to California so you’d be closer to Hollywood?”
“My mom and dad both grew up in California, so they never left,” she mumbled, looking down again.
I was bummed out thinking I had made her sad for whatever reason, so I nudged her with my elbow. “I have an idea. Today’s a free day—we don’t have to be anywhere until sound off tonight. They must figure most of us have jet lag or something. I could give you a tour of the campgrounds…I mean, if you want.”
Her big eyes flickered up to meet mine, filled with hesitation. “Don’t you want to hang out with your friends?”
“Yeah. That’s why I’m asking you,” I teased, nudging her again. “We can be friends, right?”
Her lips sunk into her mouth as she thought for a minute. For a second I was worried she thought I was being a jerk. Then she released her lips and shrugged. “I don’t think the other kids will think it’s cool.”
“Why? Because you’re a girl?”
“Because everyone knows I’m here on a scholarship.”
“Screw everyone. I don’t really care how you got here. I’ll bet you could out-sing any of the girls who are only here because their parents have too much money and don’t want to have to deal with them for the summer.”
“Is that why you’re here?” she asked in a soft voice. “Your parents didn’t want you around?”
I shrugged like it didn’t bother me. “Doesn’t matter. Trust me, a few weeks from now you won’t want to leave. And I’m willing to bet by the end of summer, you’ll win the final round at sound offs.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You haven’t heard me sing yet.”
“Yeah, but sometimes I just know these things. What do you think? Winner gets to pick loser’s punishment.” I held my hand out for her to shake. “It just can’t be anything gross or illegal.”
She glanced down at my hand with a curled lip. “Are guys and girls separate? If they aren’t, that means I have to beat you too.”
“I see your point. That’s almost impossible.” Grinning, I rubbed at my jaw. “Hmmm…I’ll bet that in the final round, it’ll be down to just me and you, regardless of who wins. What do you say to that?”
She stuck her hand out, giggling. “You better be prepared to lose this bet.”
I brought a hand up to my mouth and spit in my palm. Though I’d never actually done it before, I was trying to make her laugh. And it worked.
“Ewww!” she giggled, sliding away from me. “I’m not touching your saliva!”
“Why not?” I teased, inching closer. “Afraid of cooties?”
With the taunt she straightened her shoulders and pressed her pouty lips into a hard line. “Fine.” She took my hand, pulling a face when she felt my spit. “Ick. Boys are so gross.”
“Like girls aren’t?” Holding her hand tighter, I scrambled to my feet. “Let’s steal some food from the kitchen and start that tour. I don’t feel like waiting around.”
When I pulled her up next to me, she stumbled and fell into my arms. Although we were both laughing and couldn’t get away from each other fast enough, I couldn’t make my throat swallow and my heart was suddenly pounding so hard that everything else went silent.