“Thanks,” I say.
“That’s what we do for each other,” he says.
“Okay,” Connie says. “Next up … Brad, how about you?”
“Aw, come on, I barely tried this one,” Brad says.
“Exactly,” Connie says. “Up you go.”
I take my place spotting and Brad gets up, trying to find his balance. He looks down at his feet and takes a step, almost falling, but is caught by a few of the other campers.
“Look ahead,” I say. “To the end of the wire.”
Brad raises his head and takes another step, walking carefully across the wire. He stumbles a few more times, but never falls completely off when people catch him. When he gets to the end, he looks very relieved. We all applaud again.
“It’s harder for those of us who are taller,” Connie tells him. “Find that center of gravity.” Brad nods. “And nice advice, Del.”
“Thanks,” I say, and I put my hands out to spot the next person.
“Jane, you’re up next.”
So I screwed up the tire … but Hudson still likes me, and now maybe Connie does, too? Maybe this plan isn’t just going to work, it’s going to earn me respect. Maybe all these jocks are going to become my friends. Wouldn’t that be a laugh?
TWELVE
After the outdoors elective, we have instructional pool time, where we’re tested on our swimming and put into classes—sadly, I’m not with Hudson. And then it’s lunch. Hudson and I walk in together—not holding hands, but closer than two friends would walk—and I spot George and Ashleigh right away and head toward them.
“Babe, you don’t want to sit with everyone from the obstacle course?” Hudson asks.
“They had auditions today,” I tell him. “I want to know how they went.”
“Okay, sounds important,” he says, especially when Brad walks by us, heading right for George. He laughs. “I swear, Brad doesn’t get crushes often, but when he does, it’s like he doesn’t know what to do with himself. He goes total puppy dog.”
“That’s cute, though,” I say, watching Brad sit next to George. George grins at him.
“I guess we’re going kind of puppy dog with each other, too,” Hudson says. He takes my hand, and I grin as I sit down across from George and next to Ashleigh.
“So?” I ask. “How’d they go?”
“I sang ‘Let Me Be Your Star,’ from the fictional musical Bombshell from the hit TV show Smash, and I knocked it out of the park,” George says.
“He really did,” Ashleigh says. “People applauded.”
“I’m worried he’s going to get Rose after all,” Paz says, from the other side of Ashleigh. That’s interesting, them sitting so close. Paz is cool, she’s a friend, but first the bunk over George and now sitting with us … I look at them, then look at George, who shrugs slightly.
“I just want Kim,” George says. “But I don’t know how well I did at the dancing. And she is a dance role.”
Hudson leans into me. “Dance role?” he asks.
“A character with a lot of dancing,” I say. “I mean, most roles dance some, but Kim has a dance solo in one song and usually dances in other parts …”
“You know the musical?” he asks.
“Darling, it’s a classic,” George interjects. “There’s a movie, mostly the same aside from the stupid thing with the turtle. Netflix it when you get home.”
“Um, okay,” Hudson says, looking at me confused.
“It’s a good movie,” I tell him, but without too much enthusiasm, remembering that musicals aren’t his thing.
“Sure.” He narrows his eyes at me, but I can’t tell what it means.
“I bet you’re a great dancer,” Brad says to George.
“I know how to use my body,” George says, batting his eyelashes. Then he frowns. “But that’s not the same thing. I screwed up some of the steps.”
“Hey,” I say. “Don’t go over it in your head. It’s done. And you said yourself you sang great. Mark knows what you can do.”
“Yeah,” George says, nodding. “Thank you, darling. I feel better.”
“How about you?” I ask Ashleigh.
“They put in some new lights. Mark showed all the techies some design schemes, and it looks fun this year. I think I’ll probably be the ASM on the lights again. We’ll see.”
“You always run an amazing lighting set,” Paz says.
Ashleigh turns to me, away from Paz, so Paz can’t see. She widens her eyes. I smile and nod. She frowns, anxious.
“So, I feel like you guys are old friends,” Hudson says to me. “Not like you’re a new kid.”
Everyone is silent for a moment.
“Ah,” I say. “Well …” I can feel my brain spinning through lies, trying to figure out the best way to distract him from this idea. Do I just kiss him? That works in movies. I’d like that.
“We are,” George says before I can try my plan. “We met online. I told him about this camp.”
“Oh,” Hudson says. “In one of those, like, coming out support groups?”
“Yeah,” I say, grateful to George for being as good an improv-er as I am. “George has really helped me.”
“Well, I’m glad.” Hudson grins, then goes to fist-bump George. “Good mentoring, dude.”
George looks at his fist suspiciously, then pats it like a wet dog.
“I’m a delight, darling,” George says.
The platters of food start passing around and we each take heaps of the pasta with canned tomato sauce and powdered cheese and eat hungrily. After my workout this morning, I’m starving. As we eat, we break off into little couple pairs—Brad and George flirt, though George keeps him at arm’s length. Paz talks to Ashleigh, who seems horrified anyone would want to talk to her. And Hudson talks to me. About the obstacle course, mainly, about how to get through the tire dive—it’s about your knees, apparently—and the Peanut Butter Pit—which is about your knees, too, but also about trying to grab the rope earlier than you think you’ll need to. I nod and tell him how the obstacle course was for me, and the whole time, our thighs are pressing together and he’s smiling at me, and this is everything I’ve wanted every summer to be for the past four years.
After lunch, he gives me a kiss on the cheek before heading off to archery and I go to A&C. I stand there, outside the dining hall, just smiling as he walks away, not even staring at his ass, just feeling where he kissed me. Then remembering how he kissed me last night. Then wanting to kiss him like that again.
“Darling, you look like a deer in the headlights,” George says, walking past me toward the A&C cabin. I follow him.
“Seriously,” Ashleigh says. “You’re getting everything you want, you’re practically boyfriends already. Stop acting so surprised he’s into you. You made yourself into his ideal.”
“I’ve always been his ideal,” I say, following them. “Just … now he’ll notice, because I ran the obstacle course this morning. Same Randy, new hobbies.”