Lighting the Flames (25 page)

“
I
must know. Please. I would have so much fun this summer on the golf
course.
”

“
I
will tell you all that you need to know
—
in a secret location
to be named later,
”
Jeremy said, shaking Glenn
’
s
hand.

“
And
you
’
re invited for a round of golf, whenever
you
’
d like.
”

Gen shook her head, pressing her smile into as flat
an expression as possible. Jeremy invited for a round with the
executive director. His dad would never believe it.

“
Okay, now that everyone has their handmade, limited-edition
Winter Camp shirt
—
thanks to Genevieve
—
it
’
s time to announce
the winning team.
”
Scott held his arms up again to get
everyone
’
s attention, but it wasn
’
t as effective. With
the shirts plus the additional platters of cookies, brownies, and
fruit that were being put out on the tables behind them, it took
more than a few minutes for the room to be quiet enough for Gen and
Jeremy to speak.

They needed those
minutes, though, because when she pulled the notebook from
Jeremy
’
s hand, she saw that he hadn
’
t finished tallying
the score. Gen pulled him behind the woodpile so they could talk
without being overheard.

“
Jeremy, what were you doing?
”

“
I
got distracted.
”
His ears began to turn red. Gen huffed out an annoyed
sigh.

“
Give me my phone.
”

“
Here
’
s the score sheet. I think I added it
right.
”
He handed her a folded, very crumpled piece of notebook
paper.

“
You
think I can add that column in my head? I need the calculator. Hand
it over.
”
She smacked him lightly on the chest with the back of her
hand. He passed her phone over and looked at the screen as she
unlocked it.

“
You
didn
’
t even open the calculator, dude. Seriously. What were you
doing?
”

“
Sorry
—
distracted. I told you.
”
He pointed at the
numbers on the lower right side of the paper.
“
I already added the
columns earlier. That
’
s the total as of this
afternoon.
”

“
So
we add the plaque scores, which are here,
”
Gen said, tapping on
her phone.
“
And the cheer scores
—
which
I
’
m
assuming Scott gave you?
”

Jeremy nodded, passing her a smaller sheet of paper,
and Gen added the figures, then double-checked them.

“
Guys? You ready? You need us to hang out here all
night?
”
Scott had run out of stalling tactics.

Genevieve looked up at Jeremy.

“
Ready?
”
His smile was contagious.

“
Ready.
”

“
Let
’
s do this.
”
As Gen slid her phone into her pocket, Jeremy
lifted both arms and stepped out from behind the woodpile,
hollering,
“
This is
epic,
people
!
”

The campers responded
as they always did, echoing his posture and yelling the word
epic
so loudly some of the parents covered their
ears.

“
No
one will miss that,
”
Gen said below the noise.

“
Yeah, they will.
”

“
You
’
re right. I will.
”
He froze, then looked at her. She
didn
’
t know if her expression communicated how she felt in that
moment, a strange mix of excited and tired and sad that made her
breath uneven. She was curious and more than a little turned on by
the idea of staying with him in the staff cabin alone, but wary of
the knowledge that this was probably the end of their time together
at Meira. Her face must have shown some of what she felt, because
he frowned. But then he gave her a look with such heat that she
felt it like she felt his attention, so scorching she might need
sunscreen.

She turned away and
said to the crowd,
“
Who wants to know the winner?
”

After calling for a tabletop drumroll and receiving
some percussion assistance from Corey and his sisters, who tapped
their cutting boards with pairs of wooden spoons, Gen held up her
hands.

“
The
winner of the first
—
and I hope annual
—
Meira Winter Camp
color war is: the white team!
”

Mayhem erupted, with cheers and screaming and high
fives underscored by the good-natured though disappointed applause
from the blue team. Gen hugged some of the campers from both teams
and received handshakes and thanks from the parents. The noise
subsided as the group slowly moved to gather around all the
chocolate and fruit and eat as much of it as possible.

Jeremy sat down in
front of a platter and built a stack of brownies, laughing as some
of his former campers dared him to eat a world-record number of
brownies. Gen made her way over to him, knowing
he
’
d
saved her a space at the table by his side.

“
Well done, you two.
”
Gen was climbing over the bench when
Scott
’
s voice made her look up.

“
Thanks.
”
Jeremy grinned around a large bite of
chocolate.

“
Jeremy, I know summer is impossible, but next winter, if we
do this again and you want to come back, I will do everything I can
to help you get time off,
”
Scott said.
“
Even improve the cell
service at camp.
”

“
Oh,
no, don
’
t do that.
”
Jeremy looked horrified.
“
That
’
s one of the best parts of camp.
”

Scott laughed, then
looked at Jeremy with an expression Gen hadn
’
t seen before.
“
I mean
that. You are always welcome and needed here, any time you can join
us.
”

Jeremy swallowed and
nodded, and Gen suspected he wasn
’
t able to speak. She
opened her mouth to say something, to cover the silence, but Scott
interrupted.
“
One more thing, both of you.
”

He looked around to
make sure no one was listening, and he sounded terribly serious.
Gen put her hand on Jeremy
’
s
shoulder.

“
I
know you
’
re both staying in the head staff cabin, by the fireplace.
No, um
…
you know the rules.
”

Gen stared at Scott,
mouth open in shock, a blush spreading across her face like fire on
dry kindling. She didn
’
t want to move her
hand away from Jeremy, but she cursed herself for touching him in
the first place.

“
Dude,
”
Jeremy said, voice low.
“
Not
necessary.
”

“
Yes, dude. Necessary.
”
Scott lowered his chin to look at
Jeremy, then at Gen. He was using his
you are in so much trouble
voice, perfected after many summers running a camp
full of kids between the ages of seven and sixteen and staff
between the ages of eighteen and horny. She would bet the red on
her face extended over her scalp and probably down both
arms.

Without another word, Scott moved away to talk to
parents who were waiting for a moment with him.

“
I
cannot believe he just said that,
”
Gen muttered as she climbed over the
bench and took a seat.

“
I
can. It
’
s his job.
”

“
But
—”

“
Don
’
t worry about it. It
’
s cool. Or cold,
even.
”

He smiled at her, but
his cheeks above his beard were just as red. At least she
wasn
’
t alone in being embarrassed.

Jeremy pulled yet
another brownie off the platter, then slid it closer so she could
reach it.
“
We did it,
”
he said.

“
Yup.
”

“
And
was it?
”

“
Epic?
”

“
Yup.
”

“
Yes, Jeremy, it was epic.
”

“
You
so didn
’
t say that right.
”

Gen laughed and shook
her head.
“
Embarrassing warnings aside, I think Scott seems a little
more relaxed.
”

Jeremy nodded, then
bent his head closer to her ear. Her heartbeat sped up, and she
forced herself not to move away, or closer.
“
I heard him talking
to Nadine earlier. Summer
’
s on, and
she
’
s in, plus all her kids are hired, too.
”

Relief felt like the warmest summer day inside
her.

“
So,
right now, everything
’
s good.
”
Jeremy took another bite of brownie
and put his arm around her. She leaned into the solid warmth of his
body and ate her cookie.

Chapter Eight

Saturday, December
20, 2014
—
29 Kislev 5775

They walked up to the
cabin together, Jeremy following Gen this time, and when they got
there, it was colder than she
’
d expected. Jeremy
got to work building a mammoth fire, and then picked up the cot
mattresses that were leaning against the couch.

“
I
have this all figured out.
”
He laid the mattresses down end to
end, the long side of each facing the fire. Gen got her sleeping
bags and pillow from her room, which was indeed much colder than
the living room, while Jeremy unrolled his. Then he spread a layer
of blankets over each one, folding them at the bottom of each
bed.

They brushed their
teeth in a silence that wasn
’
t oppressive but
seemed dense with possibility and unspoken words. Then, mattresses
tucked as close to the fire as safely possible, Jeremy and Gen
zipped themselves into their sleeping bags, each one facing the
hearth. The room was entirely lit by the blaze, and it was so
bright Gen couldn
’
t look directly at it. So she looked at
Jeremy.

“
I
feel like I
’
m sleeping in a condom. I hate sleeping
bags,
”
Jeremy groused in a whisper.

“
Well, they
both
protect you from
…
something. In this case, cold air and ass
splinters
.
”

“
They still suck.
”

“
Yes, they do.
”

They were quiet for a minute, the only sound Jeremy
punching his pillow and Gen shifting her position, the nylon of her
sleeping bag rubbing against the vinyl camp mattress with a long
hissing sound.

“
And
we sound like
snakes. I
’
m telling you. Sleeping bags are the
worst.
”