Page 9 of The Summer Intern

“Do you want to know what I think?”

“Not really.”I stood and paced over to my bag, digging through it for an outfit to wear.

“I think you’re scared shitless and making excuses.”

“Oh, fuck off.I’m not scared, I can do this!I will do this!I’ll convince Matt to change his mind.This will be the best damn progressive music curriculum of any summer camp ever!”

“Uh-huh.”He turned a page in his book.

“I know you just manipulated me, but I need a shower too much to care!”I said, storming off into the tiny bathroom.How did a person as big as Matt shower in a shower this tiny?

I supposed, as the camp’s director, he might have had better accommodations.Which definitely did not make me picture Matt in his better accommodations.Or naked, in a shower.

Hell, lumberjack boy probably had a full bush and back hair.And a huge dick.

Ugh, why did my brain go to his dick size?I rooted through my toiletries kit and pulled out the cute little travel-sized soaps and shampoos I’d bought at my favorite Korean skincare store.That was one good reason to take the job — I had an expensive skincare routine to fund.I wedged myself into the tiny shower, then groaned in delight when deliciously hot water came out.

At least there was excellent water pressure.And someone had fitted a nice shower head onto the shower, maybe trying to make up for the tiny size.I stood under the water for a long while, just absorbing the heat and contemplating the life choices that had brought me to a tiny cabin in the woods.

As I brushed my teeth, my phone buzzed, and I lunged for it on the counter, finding a message from Matt there, telling me he’d take me for a tour of the camp in twenty.I groaned and got dressed in several layers of warm clothes, then glared at my brother as I slammed out of the cabin.Matt was standing outside, holding a bag of something.

“I don’t want the job.”

“Egg sandwiches?”he asked, pulling two paper-wrapped parcels out of the bag.“I got one for your brother.”

“You will not sway me with free food,” I said.“But thank you.And thanks for feeding Ollie.”

“Hey, if I need to feed your chauffeur to get him to keep driving you up here, so be it.”

“He will not be driving me up here because I will not be taking the job.”I knocked on the door and gave Oliver his sandwich.Oliver was delighted and waved at Matt.

“Want to join us?”Matt asked.

Oliver shook his head.“No, I think I’ll take a little walk myself.A peaceful, quiet walk.”

He slammed the door in our faces before I could ask him why he thought Matt and I wouldn’t be peaceful or quiet.

I turned to Matt.“I can’t work for your camp.It’s too far, and you need someone with more experience than me.And you said it yourself, you find me irritating.”

Matt handed me the sandwich.“You’d think you’d be accustomed to people finding you irritating by now.”There was a sparkle in his eyes that told me he was teasing me and made the blue color look even prettier.

“Shut up.”I glared at him as I unwrapped the sandwich, taking a big bite.“Oh my god, why is it so good?”

“Something about the mountain air,” Matt said with a shrug.He lifted a hand as if to pat my shoulder, then seemed to think the better of it and did an awkward wave thing instead.“Come on.Let’s walk this way.”

“There’s snow that way.”

He looked around at all the snow, and those irritating eyebrows shot up.“I promise, I’ll keep you safe from the yetis.”

“There are yetis?”I screamed before realizing he was joking.Obviously.“Ha ha ha, just playing along.”

He turned and motioned for me to follow, not acknowledging the whole screaming thing, though I was sure he was regretting his choice to have Sutton call me.

As he walked, he pointed out different things, clearly proud of his camp.We passed the camper dormitories and the smaller counselors’ cabins that sat in a ring behind the dorms, and he explained that counselors worked in pairs of two, each taking a cabin full of campers around for different activities, like hiking or mountain biking.

The thought of mountain biking hammered the nail in the coffin of this summer job.I mean, come on.

I would not look good in a helmet.

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