BELONGS TO ME

Chapter 24

Camila

Morning comes quickly and early, as it always does out here. Late fall or not, the sun beams against the mesh of tents, demanding my eyes open to appreciate the space around me.

"Thank god Harry is smart and only put out half the beer last night." Hailee yawns, flicking on the generator.

"You mean thankfully he learned from experience to hide alcohol or be ready for a sober night two?" I laugh, arranging a few logs into the dead firepit.

"That is exactly what I mean."

Hailee gets the coffee going while I take an empty Corona box over to the pile of brush, scooping some up and tossing it over the logs to help kickstart it.

"Smart."

I look up and over my shoulder, smiling at Lauren. "Hey."

"Hey." She grins, looking around and coming back with the long-wicked lighter.

She crouches beside me, but hands it over, and I glide it beneath the brush, between the logs.

"Camp a lot, huh?" She watches.

"Four or five times a year, yeah. More if you count all the times we put up a tent on the sand at the beach house," I share. "It was always funny when we'd head to the mountains because my dad would have me help him collect wood or climb the ladder to hang the towel line while Carl would be cracking eggs for my mom or helping her peel potatoes." I pause, chuckling as I look at Lauren. "Now that I think about it, they were probably afraid I'd somehow burn the forest down if I helped with the cooking."

Pushing to her feet, she tugs me with her. "Good thing you're learning your way around a stove then, huh?"

"Fantastic thing." I go for the dramatics, fluttering my lashes.

Lauren shakes her head with a grin, and heads for Hailee. "Can I help?"

"You can." She pushes her a few feet left, dropping a couple of Ziploc bags of already cut potatoes in front of her. "Toss them in some oil and—"

"Season them?" Lauren cuts her off.

Hailee smiles, digging the creamer out of the ice chest. "I forgot. Harry is boning my bestie."

"Hailee!" I laugh, and while Lauren's doesn't reach my ears, her shoulders shake slightly, giving her away.

"Sorry, I meant dreaming of boning my bestie. Better?"

"Oh my god." I cover my face.

"I bet that's exactly what you'll say."

This time, Lauren's head falls back with her laugh and all I can do is flip her off when she turns my way. The only reason I don't cuss her out is because she's bringing me a Styrofoam cup of steaming coffee.

"Asshole," I whisper.

"Love you, too." She does not whisper.

A tent's zipper opening sounds around us and a few stragglers tumble out with wild hair and sleepy eyes, the smell of hot coffee likely the only reason they didn't roll back over.

"Lauren," a  tall girl steps up, snagging a water from one of the ice chests. "You a jack-of-all-trades, or what?"

"She is, Georgina," Hailee calls her by what must be her name. "The C isn't only for captain. It's for capable cook and considerable c—"

"Hailee!" I warn and then large arms are around me.

I look up to find Harry.

He kisses my hair and finishes Hailee's sentence like the shithead he is. "Cock."