Sam's POV

My eyes widen and I sit there, not knowing what to do. Then she pulls away, her hand still tightly gripping my shirt.

I look at her, my lips parted in shock. She just stares back, shock also plastered all over her face. She lets go of my shirt, but I drop my gaze to her mouth, something in me heating up as I'm suddenly engulfed with a strong need to feel her lips on mine again.

I lean forward and my mouth finds hers. My hand finds her back to keep her there, and I let the other fall to her waist. She gently holds the sides of my face.

Then her hands leave my face and she draws back. I fidget with my hands in my lap, her eyes glued to the floor as she fidgets with her hands.

"Um," She says. This was a mistake. "That was . . . so uncalled for. I'm sorr-"

"I liked it." I blurt out.

She looks at me. "What?"

Why did I say that? 

"I mean, you don't have to apologize, I'm not mad," I clarify quickly.

I force myself to look at her, and her face is a deep red. She bites her bottom lip. "Are-are you sure?"

I take a deep breath. "Yes, Victoria."

"Okay."

⚢

Victoria's POV

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God. God, God. I say the word so many times in my head that it starts to sound like it's not a real word anymore.

"I gotta go," I say, standing up. I don't wait for an answer and step outside.

"Vic! Where were you? We have huge news!" Carson jogs up to me outside of the cabin.

"What?"

"The campers are back!" He grabs my hand and runs in the direction of the lake.

Wait, what? "What do you mean 'back' ?"

"As in, they have re-arrived."

"How could th- Why?"

Then I see them. There are about six boats at the shore, all of them no bigger than a queen-sized bed. They each have about three people, and Kim, along with two other camp counselors, is in the middle.

Kim hops out when she sees us, looking worried.

"Kids!" She says. "I was so worried! I had a surprise trip planned, but something came up and we had to leave earlier than expected, and I thought we had everybody."

"Our boat broke down right before we left, so we had to borrow these small ones from the other island. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay . . . " I say, not knowing what to do as she just about breaks down crying in front of us.

"What happened to your leg?" She says, indicating to the small bandage still on my thigh. My leg is almost fully healed, though, I just hadn't noticed it was still there.

Maybe because of Sam. I shake the invasive thought out of my head.

The rest of the campers come out of the boats and congregate around us, some of the guys clapping Deavon and Gunnar on the back and congratulating them for being able to keep all of us alive as if it was all them.

I roll my eyes and glance at Chlo, but she looks away.

⚢

When we get back to camp, Kim has some of the kids and counselors move the picnic tables to the open space in the middle of the campground and get ready for dinner. I take a long shower and change into a ruffled white mini-skirt and grayish-blue sweatshirt with a neckline that leaves one of my shoulders exposed.

About half the camp is already outside, scattered around at the tables. On the far side, a long table stretching almost fifteen feet, topped with trays and trays of delicious looking food. The sun is just beginning to set and I find myself shivering when a cool breeze blows across my skin. I spot Carson talking to a girl I don't recognize, and I approach them. She sees me coming, and quickly turns around and walks away.

"What was that about?" I say when I reach him.

"I don't know." He says, scratching his head. "I think she was hitting on me. She asked if you and I were dating."

I laugh.

"What's so funny?" He says.

"Nothing. Just picturing you as my boyfriend."

"And that's hilarious?" He says, raising his eyebrows.

"A little," I say, still giggling and he frowns. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'd be perfect for Chlo."

Mentioning her name makes me kind of sad, considering she won't talk to me anymore.

"I'm not . . . I don't like her like that." Carson says.

I look at him, sitting down at the table. "You don't? Then what was all that flirting I saw last night?"

"We weren't flirting, at least I wasn't. I just don't have my eye on any girls right now, you know? Not looking for love . . . " He trails off, staring into the distance.

"It's Gunnar, isn't it?"

His head snaps back toward me. "What?"

"You like Gunnar, don't you?"

His face is red, like dark red, as he scans my face. "What makes you think that?"

Kim stands on one of the tables towards the front with a megaphone as the rest of the camp trickles in. We all turn to look at her as the feedback from the megaphone shrieks loudly.

"I'm sure you're all aware of the . . . adventures we've all had recently, so I'd like to treat you all to a nice dinner." No one says anything, and she sighs. "You all can eat now."

People cheer, and a line begins to form at the food tables.

Carson and I finally reach the front of the line and I pile my plate with delicious-looking pasta with parmesan, steak, a few buttered bread rolls, mashed potatoes, and freshly made french fries. We move back to our table, and my heart rate quickens when I see Sam sitting there. Gunnar, Chlo, and Deavon are there too, all talking quietly.

Carson and I exchange slightly worried glances and sit down.

Sam eyes my plate when I sit down.

"You're going to eat all of that?" Deavon says, across from me.

"Yes . . . ?" I say. "Why?"

Carson changes the subject. "Isn't it kind of surreal being here, with all of the campers back?"

"Yeah, it's almost too good to be true."

⚢

Sam's POV

"Hey, I missed you guys!" A girl says, walking up to the table. It's Mckenna. "Scooch over." She says to Gunnar at the end of the table. He does, and it becomes a little cramped on our side of the table. I can barely move, and my leg brushes up against Victoria's.

"We missed you too, Kens." I manage to say.

"How did y'all even manage to survive?" Mckenna asks, and I take a bite of the steak on my plate. We get into a slightly heated conversation about how they all thought they could have made it back to camp in less than a day.

I eat my food slowly, and it really is good, but all I can think about is how Victoria's leg is pressed to mine. Does she not notice?

"Hey Vic, can you pass the pepper?" Someone asks.

"Sure." She says, grabbing the pepper and reaching across me. As she does this, her free hand slips onto my bare leg, and I hold back a gasp.

Oh sh*t. Breathe, Sam. Now is not the time to be . . .

I attempt to steady my breathing, but her hand moves higher as she hands the pepper shaker to Carson. I choke on my own saliva and start coughing.

"You okay?" Someone next to me asks, and I nod.

A/N:

Looks like someone caught feelings...

Don't forget to vote!

<3