Snow on the Beach - S.CONKLIN

08

"So?" Steven raises an eyebrow. "Who's it gonna be?" He looks over at Taylor and at the same moment I feel an arm draping around my neck. The tanned hand gives Jeremiah away, I don't even have to glance up to know that it's him.
"Nols' gonna do it, right?"
I glare at him, shaking my head. "I think I'm gonna let Taylor have this one, I don't want to flash anyone." I say, subtly stepping aside from my cousin's grip, I know what he's trying to do and I'm not going to let him win. Jere's eyes widen at me, silently telling me that he's only trying to help but I don't need it. I don't want to force things with Steven when he clearly has eyes only for one girl here, and it's not me. But again, last night... it couldn't be all in my head. Could it? Either way, getting rejected is not a step in my plan to glue my life back together. I should focus on saving the house instead of daydreaming about his big and dark eyes, his... No. Stop thinking about him.

"All right, let's do this. Me versus you." Steven squints his eyes at Taylor and she lock her hips to the side, her hand resting on her waist, an unimpressed expression on her face.
"You ready to have your ass kicked?" She cocks her head. Steven goes to the wall, trying to climb it when an employee interrupts, yelling at him. Everyone seems surprised to see the curly hair employee and I soon realize why. They know him.
"Cam?" Belly scoffs in disbelief.
"Cam Cameron?" Jeremiah adds and the employee turns to him, chuckling with the harness still in his hand. "No way! Wait. Are we in trouble?"
"Oh. I mean, officially, there's no horseplay on or around the rock wall but unofficially, it's the most exciting thing to happen all day." He says with the brightest smile, his teeth on full display and I can't help my lips to curl too. Belly approaches Cam and we all eavesdrop to the short conversation they have, it's not like we have something better to do instead. We are all impatiently waiting for Cam to gives us the go to start our game of Catch the Flag.

"Nols! I forgot you haven't met Cam yet." Belly turns around, pointing her index in my direction. "Um, Nols, this is Cam Cameron." I wave at him, my cheeks warming up slightly. Why am I nervous? "Cam Cameron, this is Noelle, Conrad and Jeremiah's cousin." He smiles my way and I nod before looking away, nibbling my bottom lip with my teeth. While turning my head, I catch glimpses of Steven's eyes, already looking my way and that makes my cheeks go even brighter, redder, hotter. I can't blame it on the heat at this point, my face is fully flustered. 
"Okay, well, it was great catching up with you, seeing you again." Steven interrupts, taking the harness from Cam's hands. "But we have some unfinished business." He says, pointing at Taylor who excitedly jumps on her feet at the sound of her name. Cam gives her a second harness and they both suit up to climb the wall. Belly and I cheer for Taylor, encouraging her as Jeremiah and Conrad do the same for Steven. The tension right now is just pure and sweet rivalry, we all want the win.

"First one to catch the flag wins." Cam recalls us the rules, like it wasn't literally the name of the game but I still find myself listening. "And... go!"
We are all looking up as both Taylor and Steven start climbing, cheering loudly but still way more calm than when we were in the Laser Tag room. I'm glad I decided to not play this round, I would have definitely flash my underwear to the rest of them.
"Let's go Taylor, you've got this." I say, clapping my hands together. She's fast and precise, her every moves are clearly calculated but Steven is always one step ahead of her, taking the lead with his height. Three steps forward and he catches the flag. Belly and I share a look, groaning at loosing again.
"That's too easy!" Steven yells from the top of the wall while Taylor slowly let herself fall from it, defeated but she's less competitive than the rest of us so she's still smiling.
"Shut. Up." I sigh to Steven who keeps saying how the challenge was too easy. He's annoyingly hyping himself like he's his biggest fan and the boys keep feeding his ego by acclaiming his win.
"I was so close, babe." Taylor groans, pinching the bridge of her nose, clearly annoyed.
"It's okay, don't worry about it." Belly comforts her, gently rubbing her shoulder. "I love being the underdog, it fuels me."
"So where to next?" Cam asks Belly as Conrad steps toward us, cockily chewing his gum.
"It's their call." She replies, jerking her chin toward my eldest cousin.
"I don't know about you, Belly, but I think it's time to... shoot your shot." Conrad whispers the name of the game to add an even more dramatic tension between our two teams. Belly smirks, this is her game. She loves it and she's good at it, and nothing charges her more than the opportunity of beating Conrad's ass in anything. We start moving outside, my knees are killing me right now but I push through the pain and try my best to follow them. I'm at the very back, maybe a few meters from the group when I spot Cam Cameron turning around, waiting for me. His hands hidden in his pants' pockets, he smiles at me.