“Actually, that’s what I’m here for,” I replied, turning her in my arms so she was flush against me. “I’m stealing you away for lunch.”
“Oh, really?” Zoey asked, her eyes twinkling.
“Yup, let’s go.”
She laughed as I pulled her away. The campers and counselors started going into the dining hall for lunch, while I led Zoey back to my cabin. It felt fun and silly, as if we were doing something we shouldn’t be doing, so that by the time we hit the path to my cabin, we were almost jogging.
It was nice to feel this way, almost like we were the teenagers at camp, instead of the adults.
When we reached the stairs, I pulled her to me once more, waiting until her face was tipped up and her eyes were on mine before admitting, “I missed you last night.”
Her face warmed and she replied, “I missed you, too. I just felt like I needed to chaperone Chris and Grace’s late-night lake excursion.”
“You could have come over after.”
“It was late, and I was tired. I figured after the last few days, you’d be pretty wiped too.”
I nodded, bent to kiss her cheek, and said softly in her ear, “Just putting it out there, but it’s never too late for you to stop by. I would have loved to feel you slip into bed with me and hold you throughout the night, but I understand if you were tired and needed some space.”
“Thanks,” Zoey replied, then breathed, “God, are you real?”
I chuckled and assured her, “One-hundred percent.” Then I squeezed her hand gently and asked, “Hungry?”
She nodded, so I took her up and into my cabin, laughing when she saw the pizza and wine picnic I had waiting in the center of the bed and started clapping as she did a little jig.
“Pizza? Yay!”
“I had a craving, and was hoping you’d feel the same.”
“Mmmm, I do, but how did you get it?”
“I have my ways.”
“Well,” she said moving toward the bed. “I don’t care how you did it, just that you did … and invited me.”
“Don’t tell Reardon, he’ll kill me,” I joked as I watched her sit cross-legged on the bed and get comfortable.
Zoey looked at me, eyes wide.
“Should we save him a piece?”
“Hell, no,” I replied
. “Dig in.”
She needed no further invitation, grabbing a slice and taking a bite. The moan that escaped her lips as the spicy sauce and gooey cheese hit her tongue was enough to have me grabbing my wine and taking a healthy sip.
I needed to keep my wits about me. We still had half a day of activities. Plus planning for tomorrow’s game, barbecue, and bonfire, then Saturday’s ropes course, not to mention Sunday’s closing ceremonies and banquet. It was hard to believe that the first week was almost over, but when you held a camp in the summer that brought in new kids each week and was packed with activities, the time tended to fly by.
It just sucked that the end of this week would mean the end of this time with Zoey for the next seven weeks. I didn’t know how I’d handle the long distance, when I’d gotten so used to being able to see her whenever I wanted.
Rather than dwell on the inevitable, I joined her and grabbed my first slice.
“I don’t know if it’s just been a while, or if this pizza was fired by the gods, but this tastes like heaven.”
I savored my bite before answering, “Actually, one of the cooks here makes them. She used to own a pizza shop, but passed it down to her kids when she retired. She liked to work with us in the summer, just to stay busy and be around her friends, and the kids. She’ll make more for the banquet.”
“She’s a genius,” Zoey said on another moan.