I groaned silently, ready to strike, but quickly counted to five in my head as I closed the refrigerator and turned to face him.

Trying the more diplomatic approach, I pasted a smile on my face. "Look, we obviously got off on the wrong foot, but maybe once we get to know each other we'll realize the other one isn't all that bad."

"Look beach bunny, I don't need to know you better to know how I feel about you," he said as he turned and walked away.

"What a dick," I muttered through gritted teeth, making sure no one was looking before flipping off his retreating back.

It was going to be a long six weeks.

Once the table was cleared off and the dishes were all washed and put in their proper places, Rick turned on some music while the guys grabbed a stack of board games and cards from a closet on the far side of the room.

"You ready for this?" Amy asked with sparkling eyes.

"For what?" I asked confused.

"Mad Dash Games," she declared.

"Mad Dash Games?" I asked, raising my eyebrow questioningly.

"We have three different games going on at the same time and each of us will play all the games at the same time. Rick sets the timer giving you five minutes at each station. Your goal is to progress in the game as far as you can before the timer goes off and you have move to the next station. Got it?" she asked.

"I think so," I said a little confused, but not wanting to admit it.

She gave me a quick one-armed squeeze. "Trust me, you'll love it," she promised.

An hour later, I had to agree with her. My side ached from laughing so hard as grumbles erupted throughout the room each time the buzzer went off. By the time it had gone off for the fourth time, I was groaning just as loud as everyone else. Just when you began to build momentum the buzzer would sound and you were forced to take over the spot of someone else. We played Mad Dash Games for more than an hour before Rick finally called out the winners of each station. Louse declared me worth keeping around when I dominated in the UNO category.

"Looks like Mason has been dethroned as the UNO king," Amy happily chortled, skipping to my side.

I couldn't help sending a smirk of satisfaction Mason's way.

Once the games were stowed away, we hung around talking, giving me the chance to get to know everyone a little better. With the exception of Mason, I really liked Rick’s staff. Louise proved to be just as colorful as Amy had described. It was cracking me up to watch her policing Amy, just waiting for her to slip and drop a swear word.

I took a peek at my watch to see it was eleven o’clock. No wonder I was starting to yawn so much. Today was a long day and I didn’t complain at all when Rick shooed everyone off to their cabins, declaring that we all had a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I threw a tired "good night" his way as Amy and I stumbled toward our cabin.

Chapter 3

I woke up the next morning with chattering teeth. “Mother of pearl, it’s flipping cold in here!” I griped, pulling my blanket up over my head so my breath could warm the space under my makeshift tent.

“LOL, I told you to borrow a pair of my pj’s,” Amy said, heading to the bathroom in a cute pair of polar fleece pajamas I would have traded my soul for at the moment.

“How was I supposed to know it would be BFC in here at night,” I said, leaving my bed only long enough to snatch one of the blankets off one of the bunk beds.

“BFC?” Amy asked, standing in the bathroom doorway.

“Bum Focking Cold!” I teased, pulling the blanket off my head to grin at her.

She laughed. “I swear we could be long-lost sisters. You sure you didn’t have a twin that was snatched at the hospital by some freak-o,” she joked, spreading toothpaste across her toothbrush.

“I wish,” I said, laughing at how morbid we sounded.

“Me too, chick-a-roo, me too,” she said, heading back into the bathroom to finish brushing her teeth.

“That’d be sweet,” I said, smiling as I finally got out of bed. I was relieved that Amy and I had hit it off. Sharing a cabin with someone I couldn’t tolerate would have been major suckage.

Still shivering, I hastily pulled on a pair of my new jeans and one of the long-sleeved flannel shirts I had been convinced the day before that I would never wear. I sighed with relief as the soft material instantly began to warm my chilled skin. I mentally kicked myself for not getting more shirts, who knew flannel would feel so freaking good.

“You 'bout ready, chica?” Amy asked, pulling on a hoodie over her own long-sleeved shirt.

“Just about. I need to brush my teeth and run a brush through this mess,” I said, indicating my bed head. “I’ll meet you at the mess hall," I added, gathering my hair together on the side before plaiting it into a braid.

“Right-o,” Amy said, blowing me a mock kiss as she strolled out of the cabin. I could already hear her chatting with another counselor before the door even swung closed. She was a crack-up. I was by no means quiet, but Amy even put me to shame. She would have fit in well with my crew back home. It was oddly comforting to be around someone like my friends. I liked the way she let it all hang out there. It was obvious with Amy that what you see is what you get.

Fifteen minutes later, I was on the narrow path leading to the mess hall, on my way to find Amy, when I saw Rick exit the building from a side door.

“How did you sleep?” he asked as a greeting.

“Like a popsicle,” I quipped, feeling a little more comfortable around him after the previous night’s activities.

“Yeah, it was colder than a witch’s ti...” he started to say. “I mean, it was a bit frigid last night,” he corrected, looking contrite.

“Rick, you don’t have to curb your language around me. Believe me, I’m no lightweight.”

“It’s all about manners. It’s been a while since I’ve had any kind of a real conversation with a girl. Usually, Louise deals with the girls, while I handle the guys. The language gap between guys and girls is pretty significant,” he said laughing.

“Ha, you must not know Amy as well as I thought,” I said giggling.

"You got me there, but she’s a different sort altogether," he said smiling at me. “So, your mom called last night at almost midnight,” he said, shifting gears as he pulled the door open for me.

“Oh?” I said, feeling guilty for not calling her. I had every intention to call her, but the crappy cell service didn’t improve anywhere in the camp. Short of climbing one of the tall trees, I had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I was in the place where cell phones go to die.

“She was making sure you got here all right. She sounded very sad,” he added.

“Aren’t you mad that she never told you?” I asked, lowering my voice as we sat at the same round table from the night before.

“I was stark raving pissed at first, but now I’m just grateful she finally did tell me. I don’t want the short time we have together to be ruined over anger. I want to get to know the person you are,” he said, rising from the table to head to the kitchen.

I sat back in my chair while I pondered his words.

“This isn’t a restaurant, sweetheart,” a condescending voice said behind me.

“What?” I asked, wondering what I had missed.

“We all work together here,” Mason said, looking at me with mild disgust. “It’s called teamwork,” he added, emphasizing the word. “No one’s going to wait on you.”

“Did I ask you to wait on me?” I asked, feeling my blood start to boil. “Do you order training manuals on how to be an asshole, or does it just come naturally?” I asked, pushing myself back from the table and stomping off to the kitchen.