It was toward the end of my shift, as I was heading to the time clock, that I was given something to work with. It was Blane, who stood in line with me and talked.
"We're all going down to Milstead River for the blackout zipline this weekend. We need a few more bodies to handle catch and release. You and Swayze busy?"
I considered the invite. Ziplining over an ice-cold river in the middle of the night? We'd done it every summer. It was a terrifying rush that we all had fun with.
"We've already started clearing out the campsite for the afterparty. Wouldn't be a party without you two."
"You just need help." I snickered. The ziplines we had, if no one caught you, you'd fly back or get stuck.
You didn’t want to get stuck in the middle.
"Aw. come on, are you still moping because of Domino? Maybe if you two weren't watching her all the time like creeps, she'd be into you. She's coming to the party..."
I studied him. "Weren't you supposed to..."
Blane shrugged. "Yeah, but Marisol had another meeting and called it off. I knew she would, which is why I agreed in thefirst place. She paid us a hundred dollars for that little bonfire meeting. It was quick cash. She's just a little jealous. So, are you coming?"
I considered the invite as we moved closer to the time clock, and after we swiped our cards, I nodded.
"Sounds like fun."
Rule 23 - Domino
Be cautious of what’s hiding in the dark.
"Almost there!" Chitra said brightly. This last week, Ruth, Grace, Beth, and Chitra had absorbed me into their friend group and it had been a blast at work. While they were all ride operators or lifeguards, in Ruth's case, they couldn't move out of their zones much, but during their breaks or back at camp, I'd been invited every night to hang out with them. We watched movies on the beach, hung out by the campfires, and played dumb girl games. I'd never really done any of that stuff before, and it was kind of fun.
Everyone but Mattias, including myself, was struggling with the hike. When it was pointed out that we all were on our feet at work all day, he laughed.
"Well, one day, if your daddy can be as rich as mine was, he can die and leave you millions and millions of dollars so that all you have to do is sit at a desk and make sure the family business doesn't get sued." Mattias brushed his long, perfectly wavy hair back and flashed the group a smile. Mitchell swatted his boyfriend and called him a prick, while everyone else added other curse words to Mitchell's.
"See, that's why I like you." Grace fell back, looping her arm through mine. "You're not like them. I would have never known you were their sister if I hadn't been told."
"Same here," Marisol said from behind us. I wasn't entirely sure why she came to things like this. She still lived at home but she came to camp nearly every night to drink, smoke, and hang out with everyone, despite acting sour the whole time.
I looked down, and the familiar guilt of how my lineage fell over me like a weighted blanket. I stopped talking and focused on stretching my limits, moving up in the pack to be further from my sister.Georgie trotted along beside me, eager to be leaving camp.
Finally, we made it to the campsite and collapsed and tossed our things down.
"Who's sharing what tents?" Andrew asked. He and Blane had gone ahead to prepare the zipline and get wood for the fire tonight.
Ruth answered him for us."The girls are all staying in one. I don't know what you guys are doing."
"Oh, come on, there's room for more in there." Blane gave her a suggestive look, and she shook her head.
"Not a chance. It's a five-person tent and there are five of us. Oh wait..." She counted, and her face fell. I looked around and slowly we all began to count and realize that there were six women.
"We've got room for another," Koi's voice boomed from the trees, and we all turned to watch him and Swayze seemingly return to the site with logs piled in their arms.
"There we go. I guess, just pick a lady for the night and—" Blane laughed.
"Oh, I have someone in mind." Swayze's gaze swung to me, and I looked away quickly. "What do you think, Koi? We’ll even take in Georgie."
The tension was high as we all stared around the area. The idea of sharing a tent with those two made my heart go a little faster.
Ruth threw up her hands. "Worst case, I'll boot myself out of the tent. Let's put up the tents while there's still light and then go back and party!" She let out a howl at the end, and everyone joined in. We unpacked, and within the hour, everyone but Blane and Koi were on the other side of the river. Mitchell put on music, Andrew pulled out various bottles of liquor and beer, and everyone was having a good time. Everyone but me.
I was very much aware and on edge with Swayze and Koi having joined the party.
