6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Ruby’s Truth: A t-shirt should never be able to double as a parachute.
Cole’s office was blissfully empty when I returned, and I was pretty pleased about missing another round of teasing from him. I put the uniform stack on one side of his desk and sat on the edge, pulling my phone out of my pocket in preparation to talk to one of my friends. But who to call first? Aryn because she’s sort of the most level-headed of the group, or Hailey because of her therapy skills and gentle touch, or Lizzie because she’s always good to giggle at my shenanigans, or Meredith because I could use a reminder of how to avoid weakness?
My gaze slide out the window as I debated. . . .wait, the window ? I stood up and stepped closer, wondering how many people might have been able to see me tearing my shirt to pieces and exposing my skin to the world. Good grief. I couldn’t imagine anything stranger than innocently walking past the director’s office window only to glance inside and see his sister arching back and tearing her shirt off her body while her face contorted with the effort. They’d have thought something on my insides was trying to escape, and the image cracked me up.
His window, thankfully, overlooked the forest rather than the front of the lodge where the meadow was, but I was betting there was a family of deer out there who had gotten quite a show. In fact, I could swear I saw something looking back at me from the meadow grasses up against the tree line. I leaned forward and squinted, and sure enough, the critter moved slightly, revealing a rotund porcupine looking back in my direction. Charmed, I smiled and waved as though it could actually communicate with me.
I puffed out a breath and slumped back down onto the desk, shaking my head. Leave it to me to not look for a window before changing my clothing, and then waving to a forest creature like it was a friend I’d seen across the way.
This was exactly the kind of story I’d be telling my friends over Mexican food if I was still in town, and my smile slipped as I pictured them summering without me. I shook off the thought. I couldn’t see them in person, but thanks to technology I could still connect. Seeing as I couldn’t decide which of my friends to call first, I settled for a group text.
Me: I’m sneaking WiFi right now. Hi everyone. I miss you already.
Aryn: RUBY!!! That shirt - work it girl!
Meredith: Hey, lady. How’s the forest so far?
Me: I woke up frozen to my pillow the first morning, and I think I made friends with a porcupine.
Aryn: Ha ha ha. Of course you did.
Lizzie: I swear, any time your brother is involved things go downhill fast.
Me: That would explain why I just busted myself out of a t-shirt with a pair of dull scissors and brute strength.
Meredith: The picture is making more sense.
Me: Don’t worry, Cole and his friend Nico walked in on me.
Hailey: No. No. No.
Lizzie: I am literally dead right now imagining this.
Me: I may have also traumatized some people or animals, because there was a window next to me.
Aryn: A window. Ha ha ha.
Meredith: What did Cole do?
Me: Called me The Hulk.
Lizzie: Did you Hulk smash him?
Me: It was threatened, yes.
Hailey: Who is Nico? Do we know him?
Me: Cole’s best friend since freshman year of high school.
Me: Oh, and my new roommate for the summer.
Aryn: Roommate??!!! Please tell me he’s cute!
Me: Objectively, yes .
Meredith: Objectively?
Me: Scientifically, and without bias, yes, he would be considered attractive.
Lizzie: How attractive?
Me: A solid nine. Everyone here is all ‘will you take this rose’ over him. I love it.
Lizzie: Another thing I would die to watch.
Me: It’s hilarious. He’s military through and through. Raised in the military with his dad, joined out of high school. Does not understand the giggling around him.
Aryn: So what did he do when he walked in on you Hulking your tee?
Me: He quickly turned away and called me ma’am.
Meredith: Why is that floating my boat?
Hailey: It sort of floats for me, too.
Lizzie: I’m going to have Jackson try it out on me.
Aryn: You’ve been there for two nights and you’ve already woken up in ice, torn your t-shirt, flashed some deer, and started your own reality TV show with this hot ex-military roommate of yours. Quick work, girl!
Me: I’ve decided to play matchmaker behind the scenes and make sure he leaves here with a girlfriend.
Lizzie: I miss you so much, Rubes.
Me: I wish you guys were here with me. We’d have so much fun.
Aryn: Send us pictures when you can and keep us posted.
Meredith: Tell us who Nico gives a rose to.
Lizzie: And sneak a picture of him, I need to see your definition of objectively handsome.
Me: Ha ha ha. Deal.
Lizzie: Love you, Rubes.
Me: Love you all.
I snapped a picture of the window and sent it to them, telling them that somewhere in that forest was a family of deer arriving at their first counseling session. They all sent back laughing emojis and I stood, tucking my phone in my pocket, with a smiling face of my own.
Today was camp arrival day, and I had a saggy bottom. As predicted. Cole’s clothes were too big, which meant the shorts were comfy, sure, but they were the aesthetic equivalent of wearing a garbage bag around my waist. The t-shirt hung lose to the top of my thighs, which was actually better than looking like I’d painted it on. I tried tucking it in, but then I ended up looking like I was storing plastic grocery bags around my middle.
Added to the clothing frustration was the fact that due to a morning filled with endless tasks, we’d had some bathroom juggling and I reminded myself to make the darn schedule.
“Hey,” I called to Cole from the small cabin bathroom after hearing someone leave out the back door and assuming it was Nico because he always left first, “can I get your opinion on this?”
I stepped out, shorts unbuttoned at the top while I shoved my hands down into them trying to tuck and smooth out the bunched-up shirt. I’d made it around to smoothing it over my bottom before I entered the kitchenette space and looked up. Oh.
“You’re not my brother,” I stated, yanking my hands out of my pants.
Nico munched on a granola bar, his black hair curling after his shower, looking much better wearing the same uniform I was currently wrestling with. Of course it would fit him perfectly and accentuated his positive attributes. Ugh, why did he have to be fake attractive? (You know, the type of attractive that comes with a stinger because the personality is a big letdown.) I was practically forced to stare at him. Respectfully.
“I’m not,” he replied.
Not what? Oh, right. My brother. I dragged my eyes away from his pecs and quickly buttoned my shorts as I said Mr. Darcy’s name three times in my head. I found the ritual soothing. Thinking of Darcy reminded me of happy times, which reminded me of my text conversation with my friends, and I looked up at Nico with a grin.
“Can I take your picture?” I asked.
He looked like he was having a hard time tracking, but after a short paused he frowned and said, “No.”
“Why?”
“Why would you want to? ”
“Because my friends want to see who my new roomie is.” I shrugged nonchalantly.
“Why?”
“Nico, girls want this level of detail. They don’t only want it verbally, they also want it with their eyeballs.” He didn’t respond out loud, but I knew he was going to turn me down. “To be totally transparent, if you say no I’ll probably sneak a picture of you later and send it to them.”
Confusion washed over his features. “Why are you telling me that?”
“If I’m honest up front then you can’t make accusations after the fact.”
He watched me with that year-long stare before asking. “Do people accuse you of things a lot?”
I shook my head. “Not really, because I always give them a heads-up.” There was a brief pause where he continued to look at me like a puzzle and I waited for him to speak. When he didn’t, I got back to my original task. “Right. You’ve been warned. Circling back, this uniform makes me look like a raisin,” I gestured to the olive-colored shorts, “wearing a parachute.” I gestured to the big white top while spinning in a circle. “Tell me I’m wrong.”
“Raisins aren’t green.”
“Nico, ugh.” I slapped my hand to my forehead. “I didn’t mean tell me I’m wrong about the coloring of raisins.” I rolled my eyes. He met my expression with an innocent look that looked a lot like the fake one I used on people. “Fine, raisins aren’t green. How about a shriveled green olive under a napkin, then?”
He reached for his water bottle and unscrewed the lid. “You’re not wrong.”
Honestly, he delivered it so sedately that it took me a second to realize he’d agreed with me. “Your agreement makes this worse somehow, so thanks,” I replied, amused.
“You said you wanted the truth.”
“Yep, and you gave it. This is a terrible look and I can’t go out in public this way. I’m a professional adult trying to make sure parents feel comfortable leaving their children in my care.”
“Maybe if you tried untucking the shirt?” he suggested, capping his water bottle and setting it back on the countertop.
I held his eyes, pursed my lips, and raised my eyebrows as I ever-so-slowly untucked the shirt. It was now wrinkled across the bottom and it flopped down my thighs. He tilted his head to the side a bit, his eyes watchful but not giving away anything, and I grimaced.
“The parachute has now been released from the pack and is taking over the olive.” I slapped my hands on my hips. “It’s a disaster. I can’t represent the camp looking like a slob.”
His mouth shifted a few times as though he were about to say something and then thought better of it. Frankly, I was proud of myself for waiting rather than jumping in with another comment of some sort. Silence wasn’t my forte.
“Did you say the original shorts you had were a good fit?” he asked at last.
“If by good you mean they’re snug but I can sort of breathe, yes.”
He tucked his hands into his pockets. “I think I’m a size smaller than Cole. If you want to put on your shorts and wear my second shirt until we can figure this out, that might work.”
I huffed. “Are you serious?”
He frowned, his eyes finding mine again, confused. “Yes.”
“With those shoulders?” I scoffed, gesturing at his physique. “Please. There’s no way you’re wearing a smaller size than Cole.”
An unreadable expression chased over his face before he shrugged. “I . . .” He blinked and moved on to the less confusing topic. “Cole is a big guy.”
I paused in thought, raking my gaze over him. “Well, I’m pretty curvy, so maybe it will even out.” I put a palm on each of my hips and then held my arms straight out in front of me. Closing one eye I measured my hip width against Nico’s shoulders from a distance. Hmm. “Fine. Bring me your shirt.”
He moved away from me as though he couldn’t do it quickly enough, and I followed, moving into my side of the bunk area. We both pulled open drawers and retrieved clothing, and then met very awkwardly at the foot of his bunk where he handed me a shirt, obviously careful to avoid touching me as the exchange happened.
“You’d better be crossing your everything, Crawford,” I muttered as I brushed past him and in to the small bathroom, “because this has to work.”
I changed into my original shorts, which were still snug but were for sure the better option. Then I pulled Nico’s shirt over my head and adjusted a bit until it was in place. How did it already smell like laundry detergent? Did people actually wash their clothes before wearing them the first time? When would he possibly have had the time? It was still at least a size bigger than I would wear, but it definitely worked better than Cole’s.
I stepped out of the bathroom and found him waiting. It struck me that he wasn’t being the worst. I was a little stumped by the fact that he was sticking around and hadn’t darted out of here when I’d gone into the bathroom to change. It was nice of him.
I dropped a playful curtsy and smiled his way, shoving my wayward hair behind my ears. I hadn’t braided it up today, choosing instead to comb it out until it shown and hung in silky locks down my back.
“Thank you. This is better.” I spun around. “Don’t you think?”
He simply nodded. “We should probably get moving.”
I snagged my day pack off the table as he tugged open the back door of our cabin and shifted aside to let me through first. It was a nice gesture and I offered him a small smile of appreciation as I moved past him.
We made our way down the steps and onto the gravel path, falling into step together. I smoothed my palm over the borrowed shirt, and looked at him. While it was roomy on me, the same size was a much closer fit on him. I thought about Gina and Kristy and how big their eyes were going to be, and about how I really needed to get a picture of him for my besties back home. These thoughts made me giggle and when he glanced my way I said something I knew would get under his skin.
“The women of camp want to know how often you work out.”
“They . . .what?” he asked, immediately looking straight ahead again as his lips formed a tight line.
“Yeah. They’ve noticed your muscles and are curious.”
“That can’t be true.”
“Why?”
“No one is paying attention to me.”
“First off, of course people are paying attention to you. You’re the silent assistant to Cole’s happy sunshine director. You’re mysterious. Second, don’t you notice things about people the first time you meet them?” I asked. He, once again, didn’t bother to reply. “Look, some people notice smiles, or hair color, or eyes. You happen to have forearms for days, and the ladies have noticed.” I laughed. He increased his pace. I matched it. “Don’t worry about it. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll drop it.”
“Please do. ”
“I really should be thanking you, actually.” I grinned when he looked my way again. “I was worried I’d be lonely this summer, but living with you is making me a popular girl around camp. I’m going to have a lot of new best friends ASAP.”
He stopped walking, and I did too, watching as he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, his chin dipping toward his chest like he just could not at that moment and had to recenter himself. He opened his eyes again, so dark I could hardly make out the pupil, and his lips parted, but still no sound. I let it go, offering up a tiny wave and thanking him for the shirt as I left him standing there on the gravel path.
That had been kind of fun.