Chapter 40 Camp nightmare: Day two

I continued looking out on the lake and ignored the person standing behind me. I heard their footsteps growing closer. "You just don't give up, do you?" I asked without turning around. "I'm not here to fight." Dylan answered. "You've learned your lesson now?" I looked at him for the first time and tried to hide my smile when I saw the bruise around his left eye and his upper-lip.

"Or you just didn't bet on getting your ass kicked." He actually smiled. "No, I didn't and I was part of every joke at school." He informed me.

"Did we bruise your ego?" He bit back a smile. "You pretty did." He agreed. "But I deserved it." He then admitted. "Bet your ass on it." I replied. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. "Football camp. You?"

"Hockey camp." He nodded. "I saw you out on the track with the girls. The instructor pushed you guys pretty hard." I pulled up my shoulders. "The girls are betting that he is a military veteran." He wanted to reply but Casey interrupted him when she called me. "Hey, Sasha! The coach is looking for you. We are going on some kind of night walk."

"Night walk? Now?" She nodded with a shrug of her shoulders. "What happened to dinner?" I asked. "No clue. The girls are more worried about being eaten alive out there in the bushes than to worry about food." I couldn't help but laugh. "I better get going and go see if the girls are alright."

"Are you their captain?" Dylan asked. "Nah, I'm just their tough teammate who isn't afraid of bugs and cannibals." I walked off with Casey towards the girls. "So, I hear we are going on a nature walk in the dark?" Briana's face was priceless. "Can you believe this? I mean who goes nature walking in the dark?" She exclaimed making me laugh.

"Apparently we do." I answered. "What if there are cannibals out there in the bushes?" Nicole asked walking up to me and handing me a bag of marshmallows, biscuits, and a flashlight. "We have Mr. Military here with us. Don't worry about it. I'm sure he will protect us."

The walk wasn't that bad, a little bit rocky but it seems like it was used often. The girls started to calm down when we neared a campsite. It looked pretty nice, the fireplace was surrounded by multiple tree stumps for people to sit on. We all gathered around the campfire and watched as Mr. Military light the wood. We had to remind Briana to wipe off her mouth a few times when we caught her looking at him.

"I think you are starting to turn into a cannibal." Casey ackwnowlegdeg. Briana just pulled up her shoulders. "Why don't you just go talk to the guy?" Casey said to her. "I might as well make a fool of myself. I'm never seeing him again after this weekend anyway." She said standing up. We watched her make her way over to where he was seated. "This is going to be interesting" Casey said sitting down next to me.

The guy actually smiled when Braina walked up to him and introduced herself. Casey opened her bag of marshmallows and grilled herself one on the fire in front of us. "I'm so going to regret this by tomorrow." She said pulling the marshmallow from the stick and placing it between the biscuits before slipping into her mouth.

"Why have you only started playing hockey recently again?" She asked after she finished chewing. "Again?" I asked. "Yeah, the coach told me all about you and how you used to be a hockey player."

"I had family problems." I answered. "My mom passed away a few years ago and it was hard moving on without her." I admitted. "You do realize that you are super talented, right?" I pulled up my shoulders. "I'm thinking about stepping down as captain." I looked at her as if I was seeing a double image of her. "You doing what?"

"My mother wants me to follow in her footsteps and obviously I'm not good at it. I don't think this is what I want." She admitted. "What made you realize that?"

"This camp. Watching you lead the girls on the track and obstacles. You kept on cheering them on and basically got them through it." I wanted to look anywhere but her and found Briana laughing with the Military man. They looked pretty comfortable.

"So, just like that? You don't even want to try?" I asked returning my attention back to her.

"I did and look at what I've given them. Absolutely nothing. No College wants to come and scout them due to my lack of skills."

"I can't believe that I'm hearing this." I muttered.

"Why, you have been thinking about it the moment you met me."

"I just thought that you were selfish." I corrected her.

"I was. And we can both agree that you aren't." This was nuts. It's like she just wanted to hand the captaincy over to me without involving the team or the coach.

We headed out to our cabins after our fun night at the campfire. "So, what happened between you and Mr. Military?" Casey asked Briana once we were all in our beds and the lights were out. "His name is Tyler McCain."

"Ah, we got a name." Nicole joked.

"Is he single?" I asked her. "Yup." Briana answered while Casey snorted. "Not for long." We all snickered at her comment.

The next morning we were wakened up with a loud alarm, it was definitely something that was unfamiliar to us. "What the heck was that?" Casey asked from her bed. "I think that was our alarm." I muttered into my pillow. Everyone jerked in their beds when there was a knock on our door. "Good morning, ladies! Be ready in 15 minutes!"

"Briana, why don't you tell your future boyfriend to go away?" Nicole asked. Briana threw her with a pillow.

Fifteen minutes later all of us were dressed and standing outside in the sun while we just wanted to crawl back into our beds. "This morning we are first going to go for a jog and some activities before breakfast." He's gotta be joking, right? We can't go out there without food in our bodies, does he want us to die?

He gave us no choice, he and his buddies joined us on the track. They kept their distance from us, stayed behind us at all times, and never once tried to overtake us. They waited patiently for all of us to get over the wall and tried to help us when we were stuck. We got through the course and our prize was a big breakfast buffet with all sorts of varieties of food.

After our exciting morning, we headed to our cabins to pack our bags and get ready to leave. On our way over to the bus, Dylan someway caught up with me and walked with me to the bus. "You guys leaving today?" He asked. "Yup, we are leaving in a few minutes." I replied. He helped me load my bags onto the bus. "So, I was wondering when we go back home if you want to meet me for a coffee?" He asked looking incredibly uncomfortable.

"Dylan." I started. "You have a boyfriend." He finished. "No. I'm in love with a guy and you and I already had a chance and it didn't go too well." I explained.

"It's Brandon isn't it." I nodded. "Lucky guy." He muttered. "No, I'm lucky to have him."

"But as friends, we can go grab a cup of coffee." I offered. "Sounds like a plan." He agreed. I looked to my side when I heard the coach calling us to the bus. "Well, I have to go now. Take care, Dylan." He nodded before he too said goodbye. I got on the bus with the rest of the girls and sat down next to Briana. "She got his number." Nicole said holding up a piece of paper with a number scribbled on it.

"Did you at least gave him a goodbye kiss?" I asked her. Her cheeks turned a shade of red that gave me an indication that she did. "Is he at least a good kisser?" She nodded bringing her hand up to her face to cover her mouth probably to hide her smile. "Well done, girl." I said dropping my head back against the headrest and closing my eyes.

In a few hours, I'll be home and I will see his face again. Maybe this time I'll get the chance to tell him that I love him.