Best Laid Plans: A Summer Camp Swingers Novel

Chapter 14

I took a shower in my restored bathroom and smiled at the traces of potting soil that washed down the drain. Afterward I wrapped a towel around my waist and headed to the kitchen, where I fixed a snack. I’d gotten in the habit of eating something before bedtime, although it was usually healthier than Oreos and milk. Still, I enjoyed every last bite. Then I dusted off my hands and dialed Brooke’s number.

“O’Neill residence,” Christy answered.

“Hello, sunshine.”

“Hey! I was hoping you’d call. I’ve been sitting by the phone.”

“You could’ve called me,” I said, although I was glad she hadn’t, especially while I’d been otherwise occupied.

“Nuh-uh! You’re the man. It’s your job to call me. It’s in the Man Handbook.”

“Oh? What page?”

“Um… two or three. I don’t remember.”

“Right,” I chuckled. “So, how’re you?”

“Good. Better now. You?”

“Pretty good. Tired, though. Been a long day. Hey, wait… Something’s missing. I don’t hear Brooke in the background.”

“No. She’s at a study session for an exam on Tuesday. This evening was the only time she and the others could do it.”

“Ah, okay. So, what’re you up to?”

“Drawing you.”

“All of me?”

“No, not all of you,” she laughed. “But it isn’t what you’re thinking. From the chest up.”

“So, am I happy? Sad? Horny?”

“You’re always horny,” she said with an audible grin. “But here you’re relaxed. Happy, too. And maybe a little tired. You know, how you get when we’ve been skiing all day and your soaking in the tub afterward.”

“That’s me all right,” I said.

“Mmm hmm. I’ll show you when you get here. I’ve been sketching Brooke too. She asked if I’m going to show them to you. She really likes you.”

“I think she likes the effect I have on you,” I said.

“That makes two of us.”

“Three, if you count me.”

“So you think it’s that easy,” she teased, “to have a threesome with Brooke and me?”

“Ha! Not easy, but I’m hoping…”

“Mmm, that’d be fun. She’s starting to act like her old self again. I didn’t realize how much she’d changed since she started dating Fletcher. I liked him last summer, but I always got the feeling he was looking for the chance to put the moves on me. I should’ve said something at the time, but…” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Let’s talk about something else. What’ve you been up to? How’re your parents? How’s Erin? Did you have a chance to see Leah?”

“Whoa, slow down,” I laughed. “What’ve I been up to? Doing yard work and helping around the house. My parents’re fine. Erin’s in Florida. And no, I haven’t seen Leah, ’cause she’s in Florida too.”

“Okay,” Christy laughed, “that was easy. Hold on, why’s Erin in Florida? I thought she was staying home.”

“She was, but our parents paid for spring break after all. She and Leah went to Destin with friends.”

“Oh. So it was just you and your parents?”

“Sort of. Dad had a trip, so he was gone till this evening. It was just Mom and me, hence the yard work and things around the house, cleaning up and organizing and… um… other stuff.”

On the spur of the moment, I decided to tell her what had really happened, but not over the phone, not while she was thousands of miles away, where I couldn’t explain if she got upset and hung up.

She brought me back to the present. “Is your mom like you, all neat and tidy?”

“Actually, no. My dad’s the neat freak. You should see the garage and his workshop. Spotless, and every tool in its place. I used to drive him crazy when I was a kid, when I wouldn’t put things back where they belonged.” I chuckled at a memory. “I learned my lesson, though. One time, I had to change the battery in my Jeep, and…”

We talked for a while longer, but she could tell that I was tired.

“I should let you go,” she said. “I’ve had a pretty relaxing day, so I’m still fresh.” She laughed. “I didn’t get up till almost ten thirty. I missed my wakeup call from a certain special someone and his owner.”

“Yeah, I’ve missed our mornings together too.”

“I can’t wait to see you,” she said. She repeated my flight number and arrival time. Then she laughed. “Brooke wrote it on my hand in magic marker last night, so I wouldn’t forget.”

“Ha! Good for her.”

“Yeah, she’s really good for me. Not as good as you, but I needed this as much as she did.”

“I was thinking the same thing.”

“You know me so well.”

“I do.”

“Not till the wedding,” she teased.

“Nope.” I stifled another yawn.

“I’d better let you go. Brooke should be home soon anyway. We’re supposed to go to a party on the beach, but I think I’ll talk her into a quiet evening at home.”

“Good luck with that. She sounds like Wren, a force of nature.”

“Oh, no. She’s nothing like her. Well, she is, in some ways, but not the big ones. She isn’t so pushy. And she doesn’t try to run my life. Anyway, you’ll see when you meet her. But I’d better say goodnight before you fall asleep.”

“Yeah, sorry,” I agreed. “I’ve had a long day.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. See you tomorrow.”

“I can’t wait.”

We said goodbye and hung up. I felt a little guilty for the half-truths and evasions, but I’d tell her everything eventually. In the meantime, I had a bed with my name on it.