Wait (The Fast Series) (8 page)

While Cassie’s in the shower getting ready, I flip anxiously through the pages of a magazine I packed. At least whatever happens tonight I’ll get to know right away. Whether we’re speaking or not, I will make Cassie tell me the details when she gets in. Tonight will let me know if Tucker’s all talk or if he meant what he said about not going to the hut this summer.

Cassie emerges from the bathroom in her beat up shorts, a stained hoodie and damp hair in a messy bun. Geez, this girl is a train wreck.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” I turn my nose up showing I don’t approve.

Cassie looks down and zips her sweatshirt up. “Yeah, why?”

“You’re supposed to be seducing Tucker.”

“Yeah, but I’m not going to really do anything with him if he says yes. I’m just doing it to see if he was telling the truth to Brianne or not.”

I walk over to one of my drawers searching for the white shorts I packed. I find them and hand them over to Cassie. “Wear these.”

Cassie takes the shorts from me holding them in front of her hips. She’s thin, but considerably taller than me so the shorts will be much shorter on her. “Why do you want me to wear these?” She eyes me suspiciously.

“If you’re going to do it, you might as well do it right. Find out what kind of guy he really is. If he’s really just some horny loser, we can spread the word and maybe whoever the girl he’s interested in will find out and won’t get hurt.”

Cassie’s face softens. “Do you have a shirt I can wear too?”

I give her a tight black tank top and help her with that mop of hair. Clothes, hair, make-up, this is my specialty. When I’m finished with her, Cassie actually looks pretty, a little slutty, but that’s the point.

“You’re definitely not coming?” Cassie asks.

“No. I’m going to stay in. The kids are coming tomorrow and I want to get a good night’s sleep.” I give her a final once over and can see through the white shorts. You can’t wear a bold colored print underneath white. This girl knows nothing. Bold undies, white shorts, I mean this stuff is just basic fashion knowledge. “I can see your undies.”

“Should I?” Cassie says apprehensively looking down.

Oh, that’s right, Tucker’s weakness. Lovely. I nod my head. “Might as well.”

A minute later Cassie steps out from the bathroom and tosses her undies on the bed. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” She gnaws at her thumb nail.

“Make sure you tell him that you’re not wearing them.” My breath juts out in a tiny fearful stream. “Good Luck.”

“I’ll do my best. I think you’re right about finding out what kind of guy he is, just in case we need to warn anyone.” Cassie shakes her head acknowledging she comprehends the girl I’m worried about is me.

The door closes. All I can do now is wait.

This morning after breakfast Tucker took me bowling. The bowling alley was dated and even though no one had been able to smoke there in years the place wreaked of stale cigarette smoke. A country music station blared through the old speakers crackling with static and we each traded in one sneaker for filthy red and yellow shoes with green laces. Neither of us were good bowlers. I won the second game we played with a score of forty two. Best day ever despite all my precautions about him. Now I just prettied up my roommate to go seduce him, encouraging her to go commando in my favorite white shorts.
Yeah…so much for no drama this summer
.

Every noise causes me to jump. I run to the door twice to see if Cassie’s back yet. Hours go by and she never returns. It doesn’t look promising. What did I really expect? Sex wins every time. I should have known better than to get my hopes up. I can’t help it; I let a few tears slip out before falling asleep.

Cassie

I still can’t believe I’m doing this. I pick the shorts from my butt for about the millionth time and I haven’t even reached the lake yet. Without any undies on, they are a butt crack nightmare.

No clue how I’m actually going to pull this off. What do I say?
Hey Tucker want to go have sex?
Then if he says yes, be like,
no just kidding
. Please, oh please, let this guy turn me down.

“Hey.” I slow down, a bit taken off guard to be running into Tucker before even reaching the lake. He’s sitting all by himself. I suppose that should make this easier for me.

“Hey.” He tips his head down. “Feeling any better today?”

“I am. Thank you. Seriously, thank you for walking me back to my cabin last night. I was a mess.”

“No problem at all.”

Alright let’s start this. I try to look hot. One hand drops down to my hip and I bend one knee. “You should let me
really
thank you,” I say and I have a feeling the way my face looks doesn’t match the suggestive words I’m implying.

Tucker scratches the whiskers on his cheek and grins at me. “How would you like to
really
thank me?”

“Maybe, um, I don’t know.” I have no clue how to finish this sentence. I twist my shoulders in a flirty way. I think it’s flirty?

“Is your bunk mate coming out tonight?” he asks, not seeming interested in my sexy flirts.

“Nope. I’m all by myself.” I pull down on the shorts riding up my butt with both hands. “Sorry, I’m not wearing a thing under these shorts.” I almost laugh as I say it.

“Oh yeah.” Tucker actually does laugh. “I imagine that’s a bit uncomfortable from the way you’re tugging on them.”

Okay, this is so stupid, I can’t take this anymore. I need to finish this charade up, find out his answer and move on. “So you want to go to the hut with me for some crazy hot sex?” I ask real fast and tap my foot nervously.

Tucker is still laughing. A little harder now. He stands up and walks closer to me. “I appreciate the offer, but no thanks. But you can do me a favor.” He shakes his head and lets out a little snort. “Next time you see all the girls, you tell them that I will not be going to the hut this summer, or any other summers for that matter. I got my eye on someone special. Make sure all the girls know, starting with your little roommate.” He nods his head down then walks off in the direction of the guys’ cabins, not the lake.

Phew
. That’s over with and he turned me down. Thank God. Good news for Tessa, I suppose.

Unlike the last two nights at the lake there’s not too many people hanging out once I get down there. I guess that’s because the kids are coming in the morning and everyone wants a good night sleep.

Sawyer is standing next to a small fire talking with Mark and Courtney. I walk over and give one big hello to all three of them.

“What are you wearing? Damn girl, those shorts are insane.” Sawyer instantly pulls me into his side. His hand runs down over the backside of the short white shorts. “Cassie,” he groans. “Do not even tell me you got nothing on underneath these things.”

Courtney puts her arms around Mark’s waist and giggles at us. Mark clenches his jaw looking down at my shorts, shakes his head and looks away. Why on earth would Sawyer announce something like that so loudly in front of others?

Sawyer swoops me off my feet and tosses me over his shoulder exposing most of my bare ass towards Mark and Courtney. My hands fly up to try and cover it but it’s an awkward position and I can’t exactly reach. Sawyer gives my butt a hard smack. “I think I’m taking this girl for a walk into the woods.” He gives my butt a second smack.

Courtney starts laughing even louder. “Geez, Sawyer. That’s Mark’s sister. You think he wants to see this shit?”

Sawyer places me back down on my feet and faces Mark. “Aw hell, I don’t know what I was thinking. I keep forgetting she’s your sister.”

“No, it’s fine with me. You guys go wherever. I think if the cabin’s empty me and Courtney might have to go take advantage of that.” Mark pulls Courtney in and gives her a mouth devouring kiss right in front of me. Watching this kiss is even worse than watching as he kissed Tessa. Courtney slides her hands up Mark’s back pushing her body in close to his. As much as it sucks to watch, I can’t look away. Mark pulls back from Courtney for a brief second and our eyes connect. The blue eyes looking in my direction are so empty and unreadable. The strong connection we built over the last year seems lost. This isn’t supposed to happen. We’re friends. I kept it that way on purpose so this wouldn’t happen.

“Come here you,” Sawyer growls, sweeping me back off the ground into the same position as before. “Have fun you guys, don’t do anything we wouldn’t do,” he yells over to the two attached again in a lip lock as he carries me over his shoulder through the trees.

Once we reach a clearing Sawyer stops. His hand reaches right for the front button of my shorts. As Sawyer’s lips meet mine and his hands touch me, I can’t stop thinking about Mark. I pretend I don’t even know why.

Tessa

“Tessa, are you asleep?” Cassie nudges me awake.

I open my eyes slowly and sit up. The light in our room is on. Cassie stands in front of me completely disheveled.

“Sorry to wake you up. I want to tell you what happened.” The back of the white shorts are covered in dirt and her hair has a few leaves sticking out of it. “Tucker said no. I asked him if he wanted to go to the hut, I told him about the no undies, I really played it up. He was not biting. He gave me the same speech about being interested in someone and not going to the hut anymore. It was a little weird. I think he might have been on to the fact that it was some kind of test. But still I offered him sex and he said no and he did say there was someone special.”

He turned her down. Two people offered him sex and he turned them both down. I can’t help but smile.

“I’m sorry about your shorts.” Cassie looks down at the ruined white cotton. “I’ll pay you back. They may not have worked on Tucker, but they certainly did on Sawyer. Not that I went to the hut or had sex or anything, but we still had fun.”

“Don’t worry about the shorts, it’s fine.” I could care less about the shorts. “Cassie where was Tucker when you asked him?”

“By that big rock, where you guys were the first night,” she says walking into the bathroom.

I hoped she would say that. This was the best news, exactly what I hoped for. Still too early to let my guard down, but at least I can be a little hopeful.

Cassie comes back wearing an old t-shirt and cut-off sweats. She flicks off the light, turns the fan on letting it oscillate and climbs into her bed.

“Sharing your fan tonight?” My mood is better and I can’t resist saying it.

Cassie laughs. The tension between us has lifted. Good timing, with the campers arriving tomorrow, we can’t be fighting.

“Tessa, I’m sorry, I don’t hate you and I’m sorry I called you a whore. I know you’re not.”

“It was the first night, it was a weird night. I’m over it.”
As long as she never does it again
.

“This summer, I want to have fun and be a little crazy. This thing with Sawyer, it’s just a fling, a good time. I hope you don’t judge me.”

“I don’t judge you. You can do whatever you want.”

“I mean everyone else here is doing whatever the hell
he
wants, why shouldn’t I?”

He? Who did she mean? That was strange. I don’t say anything and Cassie continues talking into the darkness.

“Mark and Courtney went to the hut. She stayed in his cabin last night too. Tonight he kissed her right in front of me and then took her back to his cabin again. She’s probably still there right now. I don’t care though. He can do whatever he wants. It’s not like I’m with him.”

“Your brother?” This is turning into such a creepy conversation. There’s something really weird between Cassie and Mark. Why is she talking like this?

“Huh? My brother, yes, I meant it like of course I’m not with him, he’s my brother.” She laughs it off.

Cassie goes quiet and I am freaked out. Do they have some twisted incestuous relationship? It was a strange comment to make. I think I need to keep an eye on Cassie just in case. This potentially could be a very bad situation.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Cassie

Everything about the weekdays is different at camp. It’s a whole new look and feel once the place is bustling with screaming kids scattered all over the grounds in assorted activities. The days are packed and zoom by leaving everyone exhausted.

Tessa and I spent the week up to our eyeballs in moody twelve-year-old girls. The last night there the girls were up half the night whispering and giggling. We had to take turns quieting them down. As the buses full of campers drive away on Friday evening we smack hands and cheer.

The clouds that loomed all day roll in and it starts to pour before we even make it back to our cabin. Two at a time we race up the stairs, drenched by the time we reach the door.

“This sucks.” I’m freezing. I dry my wet hair with a towel and change my shirt. “We bust our asses all week and now we can’t even go out tonight.”

“Maybe it will stop,” Tessa says, followed by a big clap of thunder. “Or maybe not,” she jumps away from the door and slams it shut.

The rain will ruin the whole weekend. Even if it stops, everything will be wet and no one will go out. “If we have to wait another whole week to have fun this is going to suck.”

“Whatever. I’m going to take a shower.” Tessa grabs her caddy and walks into the bathroom. I know she’ll be in there at least an hour.

I’m already bored and start wondering what everyone else is doing. I haven’t gone this long without talking to Mark since I met him. How had his first week of camp been? Is he alone tonight? The rain beats down on the roof harder, and I can hear more thunder rolling in the distance. It’s going to be a bad storm. I kneel on Tessa’s bed and look out the front window. It’s too dark to see anything.

At least tonight I can sleep and tomorrow I can wake up early and get all my errands done. Laundry is piled up, and Tessa offered to take me to the store. I’m low on snacks and new magazines are most definitely needed. We’ve been reading and re-reading the same ones Tessa packed all week. I also want to see if they have Tessa’s passion fruit shampoo and conditioner. I’m obsessed with it and figure it’s time to buy my own.