The Lost Summer (7 page)

“What?” I asked, already laughing too.

“I'll tell you later,” she promised. “Also”—Winn lowered her voice and turned her back to Katie Bell and the rest of the table—“I just wanted to tell you we're going out to the range tonight.”

“Great! I'm there.”

“Okay, cool.” Winn stood. “Thanks,” she said, patting Katie Bell's shoulder. “You can have your seat back.” Winn leaned over and plucked a hunk of corn bread from Katie Bell's plate. “Mmmm.” She drew her mouth into a closed smile, shrugging her eyebrows, and headed back to her table.

“What was that about?” Katie Bell asked, watching Winn cross the crowded dining room.

I leaned in with my hand at her ear and whispered so low Katie Bell held her breath to hear me.

“Are you gonna go?” she asked.

“Yeah.” I nodded. Why wouldn't I, I wondered. Ransome would be there.

“You have to report back. Everything.”

“I did last time, didn't I?”

“Who's stacking, Helena?” a camper called down to me from the middle of the table.

I looked at Katie Bell. “I promise I'll tell you everything,” I said in a low voice. Then I looked at Pookie, who sat at the other end of the table. She shrugged. It was up to me.

“You are, Lindsay!” I replied enthusiastically. “Thanks!”

Lindsay groaned but dutifully obeyed as the other girls gladly passed their plates. No one escaped stacking.

No one except the counselors. Drunk on my power, I passed my plate to Lindsay and crunched on the last piece of ice stuck at the bottom of my cup.

Fred tapped on the cowbell above his table to call us to order. He would be announcing the lip synch, and the girls would soon be a tsunami of excitement, forming groups and picking songs. But I had other things to be excited about. The evening gathering I was concerned with was the one that would happen at the riflery range after Taps.

As we trooped after Evening Gathering from the Bowl to the Bath, Katie Bell was quiet. Katie Bell, Amanda, and Molly had won the lip synch with a rousing rendition of “It's in His Kiss,” but I could tell for Katie Bell the win was lost behind something else she was working over in her head like a worry bead.

We brushed our teeth in silence, surrounded by a swarm of campers splashing water and loudly singing the refrain. I had to spit over the head of a camper.

Cold and damp, we left the Bath and started slowly up the hill to the cabins. But Katie Bell stopped in the pool of light beneath the floodlight that lit the way for campers who had to pee in the middle of the night.

“Hey,” she said suddenly, turning to face me. Her hands were shoved deep in the pockets of her jeans. “Why wouldn't Winn say it in front of me?”

“Huh?”

“Why did Winn hide that from me—about the riflery range—at dinner?”

I knew, as well as Katie Bell, why Winn hadn't said it in front of her, why she had literally turned her back as she told me. Because Katie Bell was a camper, and I was a counselor. Because counselors hid those things from campers. Because they were afraid of getting in trouble.

“She probably just didn't want anyone to hear,” I said, brushing it off. “Don't worry about it.”

“I'm not
worried
about it,” Katie Bell said defensively. “I just think it's weird, that's all. It's kind of rude.” She dug her tennis shoe into the grass and swung her camping chair across her shoulder.

Suddenly Katie Bell's face turned hard, and there was an arm around my shoulder. It was Winn. Her hoodie was pulled over her blond hair, and the angle of the floodlight cast dark shadows on her face, giving her a sinister look, like the killer in one of Fred's scarier ghost stories.

“Hey,” she said cheerily, throwing back her hood and restoring her usually more angelic appearance. “Good job, Katie Bell. Y'all were hilarious. Never would have thought you could pull off drag.”

Katie Bell had played the song's love interest—a Brownie.

“Maybe you can teach drama next year?” Winn joked.

“Maybe,” Katie Bell replied humorlessly.

Winn's smile froze, her eyebrows raised quizzically at Katie Bell's shortness. “
O
-kay,” she said.

A couple of campers passed through the circle of light with their arms around each other's shoulders, laughing as they slogged up the hill. It was a stark contrast to the arctic chill currently emanating from Winn and Katie Bell.

“Anyway . . .” Winn continued, looking at me, “I'll see you later, Helena?”

She said this deliberately, with a wink in her voice, not knowing Katie Bell already knew what she was trying to say without saying it. I could feel Katie Bell bristle beside me.

“Yeah.” I made my voice as colorless and neutral as possible. “I'll meet y'all at the Mess after Taps,” I said quickly.

Winn nodded and jogged off to catch up with Lizbeth.

“I think I need a Tums,” Katie Bell said suddenly.

“Why?” I asked, confused.

“Must be the baked beans. I'm gonna run down to the Mansion.” It wasn't exactly a strange thing to do. A lot of us got heartburn from Rosie and Tee's cooking. Tums were handed out like after-dinner mints at the infirmary.

“Okay.” I shrugged. “Well, do you want me to come get you later? After . . .”

“Sure,” she answered. “Yeah. Come wake me up, definitely. Have fun.”

“All right. Feel better,” I said, but it was to the back of her sweatshirt. She had already turned to walk quickly to the Mansion.

“Shhhhhh!”

Six of us were creeping along the path that led from the riflery range to the lake and circled around to the swim dock. The rest of the counselors at the range had bailed. We tiptoed single file. All I could see was Winn's back shaking with the giggles in front of me.

“Shhhh,” Sarah whispered again, laughing even as she scolded us. “Sound carries over water!”

Winn turned to fake a serious face. In front of us, Buzz and another Brownie, Nate, led on. Behind me, Ransome accidentally stepped on the heel of my flip-flop.

“Sorry,” he whispered.

“It's okay,” I whispered back.

Finally, the trail opened onto the main path to the lake. Crouching low, we snuck across the clearing and down to the dock. The water stretched out peacefully before us.

Ransome had made good on his threat: we were going skinny-dipping.

“I can't believe we're doing this,” I murmured, watching nervously as everyone started to remove their shoes.

Ransome, standing beside me with a boot in his hand, paused. “Are you scared?” he asked. As far as I could tell, he wasn't teasing; he was serious. The concern was sweet.

And yes, I
was
scared. The thought of being naked in a big dark lake with the fish and snakes I was sure lived there . . . yeah, it kinda scared me. Wasn't this how
Jaws
started? But what freaked me out more was the thought of shucking my clothes and standing buck naked in front of Ransome and the other Brownies, even if for only a second.

My pulse quickened, the blood beating through my head and chest, as I realized Ransome would be naked too. Nothing between us but moonlight and water. Suddenly the idea that had seemed so carefree and fun at the riflery range was a lot more fraught with anxiety than I'd imagined.

Then again, wasn't this exactly the kind of scene I'd always fantasized about? A playful, quickly-turned-seductive moonlit moment with Ransome? It occurred to me maybe I should just count my blessings and strip— like ripping off a Band-Aid.

Ransome had dropped his pants to reveal a pair of blue-striped boxers, but he saw I hadn't moved an inch, had barely breathed. “You don't have to get in if you don't want to,” he reassured me. “We won't make fun of you—or we might, but it will pass.”

“No, I'm not scared,” I answered, even though that had been the question two minutes ago.

He smiled.

I realized everyone else around me was almost full monty. Slowly, I slipped off my flip-flops and pulled my shirt over my head, holding it in front of me for just a few more milliseconds of privacy.

“Geronimo!” Buzz took a running leap off the dock and landed in a perfect cannonball. The water sprayed up around him.

“Buzz!” Nate hissed. “You're gonna get us caught, dumbass. Be quiet!”

Buzz shook the water from his hair, like a golden retriever. Below the surface, his body was a pale, moving blur. I was relieved I couldn't make out more.

Suddenly, I startled as two more white streaks blurred past me. Winn and Sarah. They dropped into the water as straight as pencils to avoid a loud splash. When they emerged, they were gasping and laughing.

“Is it cold?” I asked.

“Um, yeah,” Winn confirmed, her teeth chattering.

As Nate turned to climb casually down the dock ladder, my eyes must have widened to the size of dinner plates. Full frontal, like it was nothing at all. I realized I was staring and quickly looked away.

No one but Ransome and me were on the dock now. The others in the water swam out toward the floating dock, all keeping a safe distance from each other. At one point, Buzz came toward Sarah as if he was going to dunk her, but I heard her splash and, laughing, threaten bodily harm if he got any closer.

I was down to my underwear and bra, and saying a silent prayer that I hadn't worn my granny panties that day. Ransome stood in his boxers watching the others from the dock. He looked at me, and my cheeks burned. I wanted to shield myself with my hands, cover my doughnut, obscure my love handles from the world. He didn't seem to notice. Gratefully, he was looking me in the eyes.

“You first,” I said, hoping to sound like a confident sex kitten instead of a squeaky, aquaphobic prude.

Ransome laughed. “Okay. But you're following me. . . .”

I nodded. Ransome stood at the edge of the dock, directly in front of me to spare me a crotch shot, and dropped his boxers around his ankles. I almost laughed out loud. His butt looked like two little white apples in the moonlight. I had a weird impulse—where I wasn't sure I could control the urge to grab it.

Quickly, he climbed down the ladder and was soon paddling in front of the dock. He looked up at me. “Your turn.”

“Fine. But you have to turn around.”

“That's no fun.” I could see the crooked tooth in his grin.

I crossed my arms over my chest, suppressing a smile, and raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, okay.” He paddled around so that he was looking out across the lake.

The others were preoccupied watching nude Nate try to climb onto the floating dock without scratching anything valuable. In a hurry, I stripped out of my underwear and bra, dropping them on the dock in a pile with my other clothes, and slid into the water noiselessly.

It was so cold it almost knocked the wind out of me. I shivered as the hairs on my legs stood at attention. So much for shaving.

“Boo,” I said, swimming up behind Ransome.

He turned, treading water. “It's not so bad, see?” he said in breaths clipped by the freezing water.

“No, it's not,” I agreed. The water rushed around my legs and stomach and arms as I kicked. I was acutely aware of just how close—and how naked—Ransome was in the water.

We looked at each other for a few seconds, both of us pawing at the water, until I laughed uncomfortably, not knowing what other reaction to have.

Ransome slapped at the water, sending a spray into my face. “What are you laughing at?” he asked.

“Nothing!” I answered honestly.

He splashed me again. I spluttered. “Stop!” I laughed and splashed back.

We were circling around each other in a splashing fight, which was as playful as it could be considering we had to be quiet, when I heard Winn's and Sarah's voices. They had swum back closer to the dock now.

“Who is that?” Winn asked urgently.

“What are they doing?” Sarah asked at the same time.

Winn gasped, and suddenly they were both swimming frantically for the dock. Terrified, I turned to see what—or who—they were looking at, but all I could make out were a few dark figures moving around the dock.

Then it hit me like a brick. It was other Brownies, and they were taking our clothes!

I raced behind Winn and Sarah to the ladder, but by the time we got there it was too late. Our clothes were gone.

A furious Winn spun in the water to glare at the three offenders still in the lake. Nate, Buzz, and Ransome were all laughing.

“You assholes!” Winn hissed. She wanted to scream, but she knew if she did, Fred or the campers would hear us.

“You stole our clothes?” Sarah asked, stating the obvious.

I continued to tread water and look dumbly between the guys and the girls, unsure of what to do.
Shit
, I thought. They'd made the first strike. Shit. We were naked, at least fifty yards from our cabins, and we had no clothes. Shit. I hoped, at least, the boys had had the chivalry to leave our shoes.

Buzz was still cracking up. “Ha-ha. Suckas!”

“You
do
know this is not the beginning of some porny lesbian-camp fantasy, right, Buzz?” Winn asked.

“It can if you want it to be,” he said lasciviously.

Sarah muttered a disgusted “Ugh,” and the three of us huddled as close as we could in a circle without touching each other.

“All right,” Winn said, trying to maintain calm. “Here's what we're gonna do. I'm gonna take one of their shirts and run up to my cabin and get us some towels. . . . Shit! I can't believe we fell for this!”

Internally, I heaved a huge sigh of relief that I wouldn't be running bare-assed back to the cabins, dripping like a pale, wet joke.

Winn shot the boys one more withering glare before climbing from the lake and grabbing the closest shirt she could find, which happened to be Ransome's. She pulled the flannel shirt over her head. It hung just below her butt. I was glad, but in a weird way, slighty jealous.