Every Summer Has A Story

Ch. 14 - Honesty and Honey Thighs

The rest of the week passed quickly as the team worked hard to get camp back into working order. Eve could clearly read the anxiety on Zayne's face as he frantically tried to re-work the staff training schedule, but he was running out of time before the first week of summer camp arrived. The pressure of responsibility was obviously weighing heavily on Zayne and everyone could feel it. It was certainly putting one hell of a strain on his friendship with Auden, putting Eve in a slightly awkward position between the estranged halves of the situationship. Actually, she and Zayne had been on great terms since becoming thunder buddies, but Auden was quite stung by being slighted and wanted Zayne to suffer from the loss of her presence. 

"Chicks before dicks," Eve would tell Zayne apologetically whenever turning down a seat at his table or an invitation to play Uno, never missing the flash of disappointment in his whisky eyes.

Just when Eve was at the end of her rope with Auden's little pity party, she was surprised to see a new man show up on her roster. Auden and soft-spoken Greyson had been spending their evening free time together for several consecutive nights, which did not escape Eve's notice. Honestly, she would've liked to spend more time with Auden during her first week at Camp Wabanaki, but she tried to understand. It was only staff training, after all, and Auden was finally reunited with her camp friends. She had a lot of catching up to do and they had the whole summer ahead of them to make memories.

Since their intense come to Jesus conversation at the creek, things with Maverick remained unchanged but amicable. Eve avoided the topic of Lennon whenever possible and refused to ask Maverick about his final decision. She didn't give any kind of timeline and they didn't make any promises. Thea was painfully wise to their attraction, though, because she made it her sole mission in life to keep the friends apart whenever possible. Eve barely tolerated it while Maverick chose to tread lightly when it came to Thea, but Eve was running out of patience. 

Thankfully, she was beginning to enjoy spending time with Nathanael and forming a new friendship with him. Nathanael was another lifer and boasted being a part of Camp Wabanaki since his own wee little camper days. It was awesome having someone else her age on staff, and it certainly didn't hurt that Nathanael had a dynamite personality, wicked taste for adventure, and a quick wit that matched her own.

Eve lounged back on her hands next to Nathanael the last weeknight of her first full week. The camp crew was slowly filing in and sprawling out on the thick red carpet in anticipation of the staff meeting, looking about as tired and dirty as she felt with the labor of the day etched into every aura. They were still missing a few staff, she noted, including Auden who wanted to take a quick shower before coming up to the lodge. Charlie and Averill, a gross fact that Eve tried to ignore, were also M.I.A. and Zayne had yet to make his appearance as well. She glanced down at Nathanael's watch which read five minutes to 10:30 PM and sighed heavily.

"I've never been so exhausted," she admitted, shaking back her hair.

Nathanael yanked on one of her long dark curls affectionately,

"Maybe stop turning tricks so late."

Eve wrinkled up her nose; she was still getting use to Nathanael's unique brand of humor.

"Gross."

He flashed her a bright smile and winked, a sight she was sure turned most girls to jelly. Nathanael was certainly handsome and always smelled panty-dropping-good, but their relationship was instantly platonic. She glanced up and caught Maverick frowning at them from across the circle, a fact that gave her a small sense of satisfaction. He wasn't too terribly thrilled about her new friend. She smiled slightly and patted the empty spot next to her, silently thanking God that Thea wasn't there yet to intervene. Maverick was instantly on his feet and trotting over, eyeing Nathanael coolly.