Page 39 of It Starts With Summer

“Hey, you guys alright?”I asked, frowning.Ben had opened up so much this summer, it was a little disappointing to see him back buried in a book.

“Why wouldn’t we be all right?”Sutton’s voice was terse and irritated, and he didn’t look up from his eggs.Ben simply shrugged, turning a page in his book without acknowledging my question.I widened my eyes at Ravi, and he stared at them, obviously confused, then turned to me.

“I sometimes miss subtle signals, but those guys aren’t being subtle,” Ravi whispered.“What the hell?”

“I’ll talk to Ben and find out what was going on.”I was a little worried for my friend — Ben was usually so happy at camp.And since no one was looking at us, I slipped my hand under the table and grabbed Ravi’s.His lips tilted up just the slightest bit as he turned his hand and wove his fingers through mine.It felt silly, but sweet to hold his hand in secret.I would never admit it to anyone, but I loved it.

We gobbled down our food and got away from the toxic cloud of grumpiness surrounding Ben and Sutton as fast as we could, leading our campers down to the archery range.The morning activities flew by in a whirlwind of laughter and energy.Maybe giving the campers an extra fifteen minutes of sleep while we fooled around was worth it.Ravi stood back as I showed the kids how to use their bows, then we sat side-by-side on a bench as we watched them practice, standing up to help them when they needed it.I crept my fingers across the bench and brushed them against his.

“No aiming the arrows anywhere but at the targets,” I shouted, startling a laugh out of Ravi.I glanced at him and winked.“Can’t have another incident on my record.”

“You have an incident on your record?”he asked, wide-eyed.“And I was about to ask you to show me how to hold the bow properly.”

“The incident had nothing to do with my skill for holding the bow!”I protested, laughing.“Maybe one day I’ll share the story with you.Come on, let me give you a lesson.”

“You’re going to do that thing people do in movies where they stand way too close and pretend it’s just for teaching, aren’t you?”he asked.

“Of course.”

“Good.”He gave me a firm nod and stood up.“Teach away.I expect to have Robin Hood-level accuracy by the end of this.It’s just physics, right?”

“Yep, pretty much,” I said, standing and giving him a wrist protector, then showing him how to hold the bow.As suggested, I moved in close, pressing my body against his in an unnecessary way as I positioned his arms.“Now, aim like this.”I was enjoying manipulating his body position.

“Could I play dumb and get you to manhandle me more?”Ravi nudged me with his elbow as he took aim.“Like this?”

I stepped back, clapping my hands to draw the attention of the campers.“Okay, guys, cheer Ravi on as he takes his first shot!”

“Like, ever?”One of the campers asked.

Ravi narrowed his eyes at me.“The audience is not helpful!”

The campers all laughed at his antics as he adjusted his aim a few more times, trying to convince them not to look, and let the arrow fly.It went about ten feet, sticking into a clump of grass.

“More velocity.”Ravi picked up another arrow as the lunch bell rang.He stared at me, wide-eyed in panic.“I can’t leave it at that!”

“Okay, I’ll take the kids to lunch.You keep practicing,” I said.“And clean up when you’re done.The afternoon activity starts at 2, and we’re in the craft cabin.”I rummaged around in my pocket for a protein bar and handed it to him, knowing how hangry he got when he skipped lunch.

He beamed at me.“This is why I love you.You get me.”And he didn’t seem to realize what he’d said as he turned back towards the range and took another shot.I froze for a moment, just staring at Ravi, my heart pounding.

Surely he didn’t mean it like it sounded, right?

I shook off the warm, fuzzy feeling left behind by Ravi’s words and left him to his bow and arrow, leading the campers down to the lodge.I didn’t feel too hungry, so I grabbed an apple and told the kids to finish their food and not to get into too much trouble in the free time before afternoon activity before leaving for a walk down to the lake.

Ben was sitting at the end of the dock when I got there, reading his book, and I bit into my apple as I walked to the end and plopped down beside him.He didn’t look up.

“Hey, man,” I said, bumping his shoulder.“Everything okay?”

Ben looked up, his eyes betraying a hint of unease.He sighed and finally put his book down.“Sutton is so awkward.How did you handle him?”

I laughed.“Sutton?He’s one of the most popular guys in school.He’s not awkward.”

“He is if you turn him down,” Ben said.

“Holy shit.Sutton hit on you?”I shoved Ben’s shoulder.“That asshole.”

“Yeah,” Ben said.“And he knows we’re friends.Why would he do that?”

“Well, I don’t blame him.You’re pretty damn sexy.”

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