“Your family really gets into this,” he says with a frown.
“You don’t want to play?”
“No, I do. I just wish Kaitlyn was here. She’d love this.”
“Next year we will bring her, and until then, we could set something up like this at the Boys and Girls club,” I say and he nods, like he too is aware that there won’t be a next year for us.
“This would be a fun activity for the kids at the club,” he says, cementing the fact that yeah, there will be no next year.
But I’m not going to think about that or worry about it. Right now, we’re playing a role to get Brad off my back, and having fun with each other while we do it. Mom holds up a white flag as we all stand at the end of our tube.
“Ready, set go,” she says, and I drop to my knees to go first. I hurry through the tunnel, feeling like a kid again and when I jump from the other side, I realize I’m the last one out. For a brief second I brace myself, then realize it’s Callan I’m with and he’s not about to get me in private and belittle me. It’s just a game, for God’s sake. I actually feel sorry for the girl with Brad, even if she looked at me like she wanted to hurl me from the deck. I wave for Callan to go. He makes it through much quicker than I do. I’m pretty good on the bars, so I finish them quickly, but my sister is still ahead of me. So is everyone else.
“I have no equal,” Amanda yells, and I’m laughing so hard by the time Callan finishes the bars and we reach the marshmallow launcher, I can barely read the instructions.
“Here, let me,” Callan says. “Okay we have a cup, a pair of scissors and a balloon.” He scratches his head. “How do we make a marshmallow launcher with this?”
I stare at the supplies for a few seconds, my mind racing. “Oh, I’ve got it.” I do numerous craft activities with the kids at school and the club so this one I can figure out pretty easily. I cut the cup and the balloon. Then I knot the balloon and tug the rubber around the cup until it’s snug.
“Oh, that’s cool,” Callan says. “Smart girl.”
I beam at the compliment. Silly, I know but he makes me feel so good about myself, and I’m honestly having a blast with him, and he doesn’t really seem to care if we win or not. I like that. “Now I need to shoot three into this bucket, which you have to put on your head,” I say.
“Let’s do it the other way around. It will be harder for you because of my height.” All around me cheers and laughter ring out as the couple and kids try to beat everyone else at getting their marshmallows into the bucket. I hold mine on my head and stand behind the line marked in the grass. I lean forward a bit to make it a bit easier for Callan.
“Cheater,” Amanda calls out. “Gemma is leaning, Mom.”
“Oh my God, do you have to tell Mom everything?” I say, with a laugh.
I stand to my full height, and Callan launches the first marshmallow, hitting me right in the eyeball.
“Ow,” I say, and put my hand over my face.
He laughs. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t sound like you’re sorry.” I shoot back and playfully give him the stink eye with my one good eye.
He tries to hide a chuckle. “No, really I am.”
“Oh, you’re one of those are you.”
He tries again and it bounces off my nose. Working hard to hide a laugh he says, “One of what?”
“You know those weird people who laugh when someone hurts themselves.”
“I am not that person,” he says, and launches another marshmallow. This time it goes into the bucket. “Got it,” he says and cheers.
“Don’t cheer yet. Amanda and David are on the move. He’s nailing that hacky sack.”
“We’ll catch up there. I’m good at it too.”
He launches a couple more marshmallows and he finally gets them all in. We drop everything and I give David a little nudge as we pass, knocking the sack off his knee.
“Cheaters,” he calls out.
“You have to start again,” Mom says. “You have to get twenty in a row.”
“You are so dead to me,” Amanda calls out as Callan gets the sack into motion. I count them off, and he nearly fumbles at fifteen.
“Go, Callan!” I squeal and jump up and down, but something about me distracts him and he loses his concentration.
“Go David,” Amanda says, and I pick the sack back up and hand it to Callan.
He puts his hand around my wrist and tugs me to him. Our bodies collide and his mouth goes to my ear. “You probably shouldn’t jump up and down like that, Gemma.”
“What, what did I do?” I ask, as his gaze drops to my cleavage.
“Oh,” I say and chuckle, but I seriously love seeing him playful like this, and I also love the way he admires my body. “No jumping, got it,” I say, and he tosses me a grin full of promise when I step back. My stupid heart does a little dance in my chest whenever I’m the sole focus of his attention. God, I really love being with him. I turn, and when I catch Brad’s eye, I don’t miss the way he is staring at us as his girlfriend tackles the hacky sack challenge. I work to ignore him, as well as the uneasy sensations sliding down my back. Callan starts count again.
“Later, losers,” Amanda yells and disappears into the trees, with David in search of their next item. I run back to get a marshmallow and toss it at her. She dodges it and laughs.
“You’re going to pay for that,” I say.
“No, you are when you have to take us out to dinner. I’ll probably be in the mood for a big-ass lobster.”
“Twenty,” Callan finally calls out, and we look over our list to figure out the scavenger items we need to find. We dart into the trees, and I nearly trip on a stump.
Callan grabs me before I go down and pulls me against him. A moan catches in my throat as my back presses to his chest and he slides his hands around my stomach.
“Got you,” he says into my ear, and my pulse leaps. “You know,” he teases, “if we hang back a bit, we can make out behind that tree over there.” I glance at the big tree trunk.
“I’ve never made out in the woods before,” I say.
“Time to fix that,” he says and scoops me up. He hurries to the big tree, sets me on my feet and presses against me. His lips instantly find mine and I squirm against him when his cock presses against my stomach. How the hell can he be aroused again after this morning? I almost laugh at that. I’m one to talk. My panties are getting wetter by the second. He kisses me passionately, like nothing else in the world exists but the two of us, and I melt into him, lose myself in his mouth and his touches.
He breaks the kiss, and my half-lidded eyes open when he puts his finger to his mouth to quiet me. I mouth the word, “What?” and listen for sound. A second ago I couldn’t hear anything other than the moans in my throat. Before he can answer, I hear it too. Footsteps close to us. “Squirrel,” I whisper, and I don’t know why, but that makes him laugh, hysterically.
He backs up and bends over, laughing so hard, I can’t help but laugh along with him. As he laughs, it’s like the world lightens for him. His shoulders are less tense, his body more relaxed than I’d ever seen it, even after sex. I’m so glad he came with me this weekend. It’s been good for both of us.