Twelve: The Transition From Inexperienced to Slut

To top off my absolutely awful morning, Jenny had to announce that today was the day of the hiking trip.

            If you didn’t know this about me... I’m not a big fan of walking. Or jogging. Or any form of exercise at all, really. If I’m honest, I’d rather spend an afternoon curled up on the couch watching reruns of 90210.

            Because, let’s face it, Matt Lanter’s incredible six pack is way more appealing than some boring woodland.

            “Looking forward to it, Bailey?”

            I turn around to see Savannah’s amused grin. Needless to say, she is aware of my dislike of anything that involves physical effort. However, she actually looks kind of excited by the activity. She’s all kitted out with her backpack and walking boots, and is leading a pack of six innocent looking girls that belong to her cabin.

            Seeing them only reminds me that I pulled the short straw in this place.

            In response to my best friend’s question, a grimace crosses my face. “If by ‘looking forward to it’, you mean ‘absolutely dreading it’, then yeah. I’m looking forward to it.”

            “Oh, come on. It won’t be that bad.” She smiles at me, moving forwards to link my arm with hers. Then, she lowers her voice to a murmur. “I even heard that your little friend is coming along. You know, the nurse...”

            Immediately, I shove her away from me. “You’re as bad as Tom with the lesbian jokes.”

            Savannah laughs, pushing a piece of stray brown hair behind her ears. “I’m sorry. But they are pretty funny.”

            Our conversation suddenly makes me realize that we haven’t actually spent that much time together since we arrived at camp. This is probably because most of my time has been occupied with coming up with plans to get Blake to notice me, or focusing on how to not embarrass myself in front of him (both of which haven’t really worked). As the activity supervisors finish conducting roll call and start walking, I fall into step beside her.

            “Savannah...” I start, my voice barely louder than a whisper. I know it’s probably almost inaudible, but I’m paranoid of someone overhearing what I’m about to announce. Not that I’m ashamed (more like proud, actually). I just don’t want the entirety of camp to know my personal business. “I have to tell you something.”

            The seriousness of my tone captures her attention immediately, just like I knew it would. Her head snaps in my direction and she gives me a prompting look. “Yeah?”

            “Well, yesterday... I kind of... I mean, we kind of...”

            “Spit it out.”

            I move closer to her ear in order to minimize the distance the sound of my voice has to travel. “Blake kissed me.”

            Savannah’s face instantly displays complete shock. Well, I don’t blame her. If I hadn’t have been there to witness the situation first hand (i.e. being on the receiving end of the slightly heated kiss), I probably wouldn’t have believed it myself. Because, come on... Blake, the utterly perfect God of camp and Bailey, the less than average and slightly nerdy other counselor...

            Not exactly a match made in heaven, I’ll say that.

            “Oh my God!” she screeches, way louder than I would’ve preferred. “He kissed you?!”

            “Shut up!” I hiss, clasping my hand over her mouth in a desperate attempt to stop her announcing my news to the rest of the group (which, I think, has probably already happened). “Not so loud!”

            “Sorry!” An apologetic smile is sent in my direction, and a sigh escapes my lips.

            “It’s fine. Just... shh a bit.”

            “Oh my God,” she murmurs, shaking her head lightly. “I can’t believe it. You had your first kiss with Blake Hudson...”

            Of course, pretty, perfect Savannah had her first kiss two years ago in middle school. And ever since she’s never had any trouble getting guys to be interested in her. However, the interest just doesn’t seem to be mutual, which sucks for the guys of our school. But (and I know this is incredibly selfish, but I can’t help thinking it), it doesn’t suck so much for me, since I don’t look so much of a loner without a boyfriend.

            Especially in a high school where everyone’s primary interest is who they’re having sex with.

            “I’m having a little trouble getting my head round it too,” I admit. “Especially since he’s taken to completely blanking me this morning and showing a lot more interest in Cindy’s boobs...”

            “Well, she was practically shoving them in his face...” Savannah murmurs, quickly checking behind her to scan for Cindy’s presence, which is thankfully absent.

            Cindy’s never been a bitch directly to me, but I’m pretty sure she’d be able to pack quite a punch if she heard me talking about her slutty mannerisms.

            Or, failing that, she’d probably be willing to claw out my eyeball with one of her manicured nails.

            “He’s probably just... scared,” Savannah concludes, after a moment of concentrated thought.

            “Scared? Of what, my unruly eyebrows?” I joke, although my eyebrows do have a tendency to develop a mind of their own, which can only be cured by an intense plucking session.

            “Of commitment.”

            “He just kissed me, Savannah. We’re not engaged.”

            “He’s scared of getting serious,” she tells me solemnly. “So he’s blanking you. And by messing around with Cindy... he’s getting into something less serious.”

            “Like her cleavage,” I mumble.

            “Exactly.”

            Damn, Savannah always knows the right thing to say. She’s like the perfect best friend, especially when it comes to giving advice on a topic I am absolutely clueless about. It’s almost as if she can delve into the mind of a male and immediately retrieve what they’re thinking. She claims this is because she’s lived with a brother three years her senior for her entire life, but I’m convinced there’s something more than that.

            Maybe she’s a psychic. Or some kind of voodoo queen.

            Wait, no. Voodoo’s something completely different, isn’t it? I’m pretty sure Savannah’s reassuring and sensible advice has nothing to do with sticking pins in a doll.

            Hey, you never know. I’m just going to go with it, anyway.

            “What do you think about Danny?” she asks suddenly, pulling me from my strange thoughts. When I glance over at her, her eyes have glazed over in that dreamy way of hers.

            “Danny?” I ponder for a moment, bringing the image of the black-haired guy to my mind. “He seems nice, yeah. Why do you ask?” When I realize, a smile slips onto my face. “Oh my God, you totally like him!”

            “What? No,” Savannah denies, laughing nervously. “Why would you think that?”

            “Because you’re acting strangely.”

            “I’m not.”

            “You’re doing it right now.”

            Savannah sighs and I smile triumphantly. “Fine. I kind of like him.”

            “Aw!” I exclaim, forgetting for a moment to keep my voice down to a reasonable volume. When Savannah shoots me a warning look, I smile sheepishly back. “That’s so cute. You two would go so well together.”

            “That’s if he likes me back,” she says. “Which I don’t think is likely. He’s always so quiet when I try and strike up a conversation.”

            “Maybe... he’s just nervous.”

            I need to work on my own advice giving skills. Maybe I should consult voodoo or whatever Savannah uses. It’s alright when she’s the one giving it, but when she’s asking me, I have no clue.

            “Go catch up with him now,” I say, nodding towards Danny, who is walking a few paces in front of us.

            “You think I should?” Savannah questions. I nod vigorously in response. “Okay. Wish me luck.”

            She increases her pace, scarpering off in Danny’s direction. As I watch her smile and greet him, my own smile can’t help but appear on my face. Those two really would be cute together. It could be her and Danny, and me and Blake (if he cuts his interest in Cindy’s cleavage). That just leaves Tom. Hmm...

            “Hey, Bailey!”

            Speak of the devil. “Hey, Tom.”

            “You look lonely.”

            “Oh, no. Savannah just...” My voice trails off when it dawns on me that it would probably be a bad idea to reveal my best friend’s crush on Danny. I’m not that much of an idiot.

            “Right.” The sarcasm is evident in his tone of voice.

            “Stop making it sound like you don’t believe me.”

            “What?” Tom feigns an innocent look. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

            “Never mind.”

            “So...” Tom says, letting an amused smirk creep onto his face. When I see this, I become immediately wary. I have a feeling what he’s about to say next is either going to annoy or embarrass me. Probably the latter. “Have you recovered from your... beating?”

            I sigh. I should’ve known it was only a matter of time before that is brought up. “Yes, I have...”

            Tom grins. “It was pretty funny, though.”

            “I’m sure it was. Thanks for helping me, by the way,” I add, my voice practically dripping with sarcasm. “You’re a really great friend.”

            “Sorry,” he says, despite not looking the slightest bit apologetic. “It was just too funny. Plus, I wasn’t going to get involved. That Jake kid was packing quite a punch – wouldn’t have wanted him to start on myself.”

            “The way you dedicate your time to helping others is just so admirable.” I stop when it suddenly occurs to me that we have been separated from the rest of the group. I look around me quickly, to check for their presence. However, it doesn’t magically appear and it dawns on me that we now do not have a clue where we are. “Uh... Tom...?”

            His walking ceases too, bringing him to a stop beside me. “Oh...”

            “How the hell did we lose them?” I say incredulously, trying my best to keep the panicking feeling at bay. “We’ve only been walking for like ten minutes!”

            “More like five,” Tom mumbles.

            A warning look in his direction shuts him up. “Not helping.”

            Okay... now is probably the time to start freaking out. It could be worse (I could be lost in here with Cindy), but there also a whole lot more situations where it could be better (i.e. not being lost in a wood).

            See, this is the precise reason why watching 90210 is so much better than exercise.

            “We’ll find them,” he says reassuringly. “You don’t need to panic. I know where we’re hiking too, anyway, so we can just take a shortcut.”

            “And do you actually know a shortcut?”

            Tom just smirks. It amazes me how he can find the humor in such a dangerous situation (who knows what kinds of viperous creatures could be lurking between the trees?). “We’ll figure something out.”

            “I’d much prefer this if you actually knew what you were doing.”

            Forgive me for being paranoid, but I’d rather not end up being ripped apart by grizzly bears (or whatever human eating animals happen to reside here). Cindy, I wouldn’t mind so much, but I actually do like living. Some of the time. In those rare and joyous moments when my life doesn’t actually completely suck.

            “If we go this way,” Tom gestures towards the left, “we should be able to catch up with them somewhere nearer the end.”

            His solution doesn’t seem like the most reliable in the world, but he’s already beginning to head off in that direction. This, in turn, forces me to make my decision: follow him, or wait here alone until someone realizes I’m missing and attempts to find me (if I haven’t been eaten by vicious predators by then, that is).

            Tough decision.

            After a whole two seconds thought, I make my informed selection and hasten after Tom.

            “So... who kissed you?”

            Immediately, I freeze. “What?”

            Tom rolls his eyes at me. “Oh, come on. You and Savannah couldn’t have been talking about it any louder. I was only walking a few steps behind you, but I didn’t quite catch who you were talking about.”

            “You were eavesdropping?”

            “I wouldn’t call it that,” he says. “It was kind of hard not to hear you. But anyway, spill. I want to know. Who kissed you?”

            “No one.” To be honest, I don’t even know why I’m bothering to deny it. I should’ve known telling Savannah in a public place was a bad idea. Still, just because Tom overheard one part of our conversation, doesn’t mean to say he has to fill the gaps in his knowledge.

            “If you don’t tell me, I’ll just start guessing. And it’ll be easy to tell when I’m right. You’ll just start blushing.”

            “What? No, I won’t.”

            I will.

            “Hmm, let’s see...” Tom smirks evilly. I can tell that he’s going to enjoy this. “One of the kids? I didn’t think you’d get a smooch from Jake, but you never know...” he studies my expression, “maybe not. Danny...?”

            “No.”

            It’s so obvious that he knows who it really is, but he’s purposely dragging it out just to prolong my discomfort. Tom pretends to stroke his chin, as if thoroughly puzzled. “Who could it be? Oh, what about... Blake?”

            As much as I try to hold it back, as soon as the name leaves his lips color rises to my cheeks. God, could I make it any more obvious? I try to turn away so Tom can’t see my embarrassed expression, but his hand lands on my shoulder to prevent me from doing so.

            “So that’s where you two disappeared off to yesterday,” he says, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “Wow, Bailey, I didn’t know you were like that...”

            “Shut up!” I raise my arm, threatening to hit him.

            “Kidding!” he says quickly.

            “Well, it doesn’t matter now, anyway,” I murmur, tilting my head towards the floor as the pissed off feeling begins to set in once more. “Because he’s obviously more interested in slutty Cindy than me.”

            “Blake’s not really a commitment kind of guy.”

            “That’s exactly what Savannah said. Only now I’m like completely paranoid that I’m a bad kisser or something. Or that I drooled on him.” A sigh escapes my lips. Wow, I feel pathetic. I finally get my first kiss (with an actual hot guy, I’ll add), and yet the guy in question completely loses interest within twelve hours.

            “Show me,” Tom says suddenly, his pace suddenly coming to a halt.

            “What?”

            “Show me how you kissed him.”

            I raise my eyebrows and look at him, expecting to see the amused smirk on his face. However, it seems to be mysteriously absent, being replaced by an expression that radiates seriousness. I laugh. “Yeah. Right.”

            “I’m not kidding.”

            A strange look is sent in his direction. “You want me to show you how I kissed Blake?”

            “Yeah. Why not?”

            “Uh, because it’s weird...?” I say incredulously. How can he think kissing him just to demonstrate something is completely normal? Maybe in the crazy town he comes from, but not mine.

            “It doesn’t have to be weird.”

            Uh, in what world is that not weird? This guy is totally strange. I don’t even have a rational answer, so my disbelieving expression serves as my response.

            “Come on. Just show me.”

            I sigh. “Okay, fine. It’s still going to be weird, though.”

            Tom smirks and gestures for me to move closer. I do so, mentally preparing myself for the most awkward kiss of my life. Should I close my eyes or not? I don’t want to get too into it... and whilst trying to get over the weirdness of the situation, I’ve also got to try and focus on remembering my technique from yesterday. Which, I will add, is a freaking impossible task.

            Because, let’s face it, when you’re (almost) making out with the hottest guy you’ve ever seen, you’re not exactly concentrating on memorizing your kissing technique.

            “I’m here, you know.”

            Immediately, I am startled by the sound of Tom’s voice. I realize that I have frozen whilst trying to lean in, and my face is now hanging awkwardly about three inches away from his.

            “Right.”

            And before I can even think about it, our lips are pressed together and I’m trying frantically to remember the task in hand. Oh my God, I’m kissing Tom.

            This is beyond weird.

            Twenty four hours ago, my lips were still virginal. Now I’ve already kissed two different guys. I think I may just have become a slut.

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Ah, I'm excited for you to read this chapter! Leave me a comment on what you think! Blake or Tom? :D :D :D Remember to vote and make me very very happy! And happy new year!