Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
BASH
After chapel time and dinner, everyone gathers around the bonfire to make s’mores for dessert. As Romilly plops down next to Logan, across the fire from me, her words from earlier echo in my head.
She’s starting to trust me.
I’m a little convinced I imagined the whole thing. Hearing her say that felt better than winning my debut match.
Logan claps his hands together to get our attention.
“It’s time for bonfire wins. In case you’re new here, I’ll explain what that is so you know it’s not as scary as it sounds.
” A few chuckles come from the teens around the fire.
“Bonfire wins are just a time where we can share a prayer God has answered recently, or a way He has been working in your life, lately.”
At first, no one says anything, but Angelina pipes up. “My mom was sick recently with Pneumonia and my whole family has been praying for her. She’s finally doing a lot better.”
Applause rings around the fire.
A boy in my group named Greg smiles. “I got my driver’s license last month. And believe me…I prayed for it. A lot.”
We don’t stop until all the kids have gone.
A few of them bring up prayers that haven’t been answered yet, and we all bow our heads to pray for their requests.
I can’t deny the sense of community and kinship present around the bonfire.
I’ve always thought of church as a building full of judgment.
But Harvest Valley has proven me wrong in the past, and it’s doing it again right now.
This is warm and comforting, and it’s not even taking place inside a building.
When we’re finished praying for the kids, I offer one of my own, silently.
Lord, is this the kind of church you want for me? Are you trying to show me what I could belong to if I stay?
Because, I have to admit, Harvest Valley feels less like a building and more like a family than it did when I arrived.
The sun has fully set by the time Hayden passes out the marshmallows, graham crackers, and bars of chocolate. Sticks with marshmallows speared onto the ends find their way to the fire, and the flames turn everyone’s faces orange and gold.
Romilly makes her way over to me. She hands me a foam cup of hot cider before sitting beside me with her own. The log we’re sharing is small enough that our knees touch, and I’m painfully aware of it.
When I look at her, I notice her staring at my forearms before blushing and glancing away. And then a little shiver races through her, so I take off my jacket and wrap it around her shoulders.
Vi smirks at us. “How romantic.”
“Stop it,” says Romilly with wide eyes.
But Vi only smiles.
Taylor makes her way over and rubs her hands together. “Me and the other girls are about to play truth or dare. Romilly, you and Bash should join us.”
Romilly winces. “Truth or dare? Really?”
Taylor nods. “Yep. Come on.”
Romilly shakes her head. “No, sorry.”
Taylor turns her gaze upon me next.
“Absolutely not.”
But Heidi skips over to us, clapping her hands. “Romilly and Bash, you’re not getting out of it. You have to play!”
The two of us try to protest, but it’s no use. Logan rubs his hands together with a wide grin on his lips. “Come on, guys. Don’t be cowards.”
“You’re just as bad as them,” Romilly tells him.
“Yes, but you already knew that.”
Romilly sighs. “We’re counselors. It’s really not appropriate.”
But then a circle is formed, and the questions begin whether we like it or not.
Upon request, Ryan eats a burnt marshmallow with zero hesitation. Fernanda dares Logan to sing a show tune at full volume, which he does with insane skill. Greg reveals he cried during the end of Toy Story 3, earning a round of supportive nods and one fist bump from me.
“Romilly,” Dev says, her voice sing-song. “Truth or dare?”
She shakes her head. “Truth.”
Dev’s grin turns villainous. “Who’s the last person you thought about kissing?”
Her face flames. Across the fire, Logan raises an eyebrow like he’s daring her to say it.
“Pass,” Romilly says. “And let’s avoid questions like that. Keep it innocent, girls.”
Dev snickers. “Fine.”
“She totally was going to say Bash,” Cami whispers to Heidi.
“I was not!”
I stretch my arms back behind me. “I mean, I wouldn’t blame her.”
She kicks dirt in my direction with her good leg.
“Go on, Romilly,” says Logan. “You have to tell us.”
“You’re setting a terrible example right now, Logan.”
“I’m following the rules. You are not.” Logan shoots me a smile, like we’re on the same team.
“Your turn,” she says sweetly to Dev. “Truth or dare?”
“Dare.”
She smirks. “I dare you to serenade the group with a dramatic rendition of ‘I Will Always Love You.’ Bonus points if you use a stick as a microphone.”
Without missing a beat, Dev stands and picks up a marshmallow skewer. She stares directly at her and launches into a loud and breathy performance. By the end, the kids are doubled over, and Romilly is crying into my jacket from laughter.
The game eventually winds down, and the fire fades. There’s an ache in my stomach from laughing so hard. It’s not something I’m used to but I like it. A lot.
I stand to get another marshmallow, and Logan meets me at the table. “It seems like you two are getting more cozy.” Logan’s eyebrows dance suggestively, but he thankfully keeps his voice low enough so it’s barely audible over the crackling fire.
I sigh. “Be honest with me, mate. Do you have a thing for her?”
Logan’s goofy expression slips away instantly. “For Romilly ?”
I nod.
“Nah. She’s like my sister. I mean, she’s beautiful and all, and I’d do anything for her. But it’s not like that between us.”
“Right.”
His eyes sparkle with mischief. “But I’m guessing it is that way between you two?”
I rub a hand down the back of my neck, and my gaze finds Romilly without my permission. “It’s like that for me, but not her.”
He laughs. “Believe me, I doubt that.”
“Thanks for the vote.”
“Hey, I could be wrong.” He nudges me with his shoulder. “And if she doesn’t feel the same, don’t let it get to you.”
He walks back to the fire pit.
“Too late,” I mutter.
I walk Romilly back to her cabin early so she can rest her ankle.
She drops onto her bunk with a dramatic sigh. “Finally. Peace, quiet, and no giggling girls whispering about our chemistry.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but they’ll be back soon.” I shove my hands into my pockets and flash a grin.“You tired?”
“Exhausted. And mildly traumatized by the fact that Greg dared Logan to lick a tree.”
I smirk. “Don’t forget how you dared Cami to let you do her eyebrows blindfolded.”
“She looked amazing.”
“She looked like she’d been attacked by a feral brow marker.”
Romilly giggles. “You’re just jealous no one asked you to do their eyebrows.”
I lean against the wall across from her. “That must be it. My deepest regret in life, right there.”
A twitch of a smile graces her lips. “You play too much.”
“I’m a delight,” I correct.
“Annoying.”
“Charming.” I push off the wall and step closer. “And you think so, too. Otherwise, you would have never refused to admit who you last thought about kissing.”
“Admitting anything would have been inappropriate.”
“Fair enough.” I lean down until our faces are level. “But if you want me to kiss you, all you need to do is say the word.”
She stares at my mouth, making her cheeks flush. She sits up straighter on the bunk. “We can’t do this, Bash. I told you that back at the farm.”
Frustration boils inside me. “So just to be clear, all of this—” I motion between us. “—this tension is just my imagination?”
She crosses her arms. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.”
“Romilly…if I stayed in Meadow Hills, would you want to be with me?”
She closes her eyes. Exhales. When she opens them again, it’s like she’s taking off a mask. Her gaze sweeps over me with clear, unfiltered desire.
It sets my entire body on fire.
“I can’t answer that. You have to make that choice regardless of what I want.” It’s nothing more than a mumble, but it’s laced with all the same things I’m feeling and trying to fight.
But I don’t have a chance to process her words because the campers begin filtering in.
Romilly jerks her gaze away from mine like she just woke up from a trance.
I rise from the bed, swallowing the ache in my throat.
“Ohhh, it’s warm in here,” Angelina says, tossing her sweater onto the nearest bunk. “Things always seem to heat up between you two.”
“Actually,” I mutter, heading for the door, “they feel pretty cold to me, at the moment.”
Romilly shoots me a sharp look. I shoot her one right back.
Somehow, the teens don’t notice. Cami is already recounting a dramatic retelling of her truth-or-dare moment like she’s auditioning for a play, and Dev passes out stickers she’s been collecting for the other girls to see.
As I head back to Cabin A, I can’t stop thinking about what Romilly said.
You have to make that choice regardless of what I want.
Yeah, I do. And if I had my way, I’d stay right here and never leave her. But if she doesn’t want me back, the last thing I want to do is stay in a town so small, I’ll be forced to watch her be with someone else right in my face.
But at the same time, I almost don’t care how much of her I get. As long as I get her.