Not even close

I woke up to sunlight.

Not the gray kind that slipped through curtains and let you pretend you still had time. This was full daylight. Hard daylight. The kind that hit the room like a slap.

For one disoriented second I just lay there, staring at the ceiling of the pool house, trying to remember where I was. Then it hit me. I had overslept. My head snapped toward the window. The sun was already high enough to turn the lake silver.

I swore under my breath and sat up too fast, immediately regretting it. No time to think about the sexy blonde in bed next to me. No time to say goodbye.

I yanked on my jeans, shoved my feet into my shoes, grabbed my shirt, and bolted out the door.

Three miles back to camp in jeans is a special kind of punishment. The road curved along the lake, then cut back through a stretch of pines where the air was already thick with heat. Every step felt heavier than the last. Denim clung to my legs. My shirt stuck to my back.

My lungs burned almost immediately, and by the time I hit the first long incline I was breathing like I’d been underwater too long. I kept going anyway. There wasn’t another option. Camp didn’t care if you were tired. Camp didn’t care if you’d made a stupid decision the night before. Camp just kept moving. So did I.

I was halfway through the worst stretch of road when I saw another runner coming toward me. At first she was just a shape in the heat. Then the shape sharpened.

Brunette ponytail. Tiny runner’s shorts. A sports bra.

Amanda.

She slowed when she saw me. I slowed too, mostly because my legs were threatening mutiny.

She stopped in the middle of the road and looked me over. “What are you doing out?”

I bent forward with my hands on my knees, trying to look casual while gasping for air “Jogging.”

Amanda’s eyes flicked down to my jeans, then back up. “Uh-huh.”

I straightened a little, wiping sweat off my forehead. “It’s a new training method. Emphasizes the chaffing.”

That almost got a smile out of her. Almost.

Instead she folded her arms beneath those gorgeous glistening tits and gave me the kind of look that made me feel twelve years old. “You didn’t check in for curfew last night.”

My stomach dropped.

“That’s a fireable offense.”

I swallowed. “Amanda—”

“No, seriously. Do you have any idea how many rules you broke in one night?”

I opened my mouth, then shut it again. There wasn’t a good answer. There wasn’t even a bad one. I looked anywhere but at her face. Her shiny cleavage. Her sweaty abs. Her toned legs.

She waited. The road was quiet except for the distant hum of insects and the sound of both of us breathing.

Finally I said, “I can explain.”

“Can you?”

“No.”

That got the smallest laugh out of her.It was brief, but it changed the air between us.

I took a breath and tried again. “Please don’t send me home.”

Amanda didn’t answer right away. She looked past me toward camp, then back again. “You know I shouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

“I know.”

“You know what happens when staff disappear overnight.”

“I know.”

“And you still did it.”

“I know.”

The words came out rough.

“I screwed up.”

For a second neither of us said anything.

Amanda studied me like she was deciding whether I was worth the trouble. Finally she said, “I might be able to pull some strings.”

Hope hit me so hard I almost forgot to breathe.“Really?”

“Don’t make me regret saying that.”

I shook my head immediately.

“I won’t.”

She held my gaze a moment longer. Then her mouth curved just slightly. Not a smile. Something sharper.

“I’m in your debt,” I said quickly. “Whatever you need, I’ll do it.”

Amanda’s eyebrows lifted. “Anything?”

I nodded before I could think better of it. “Anything.”

She let that hang there for a second, then glanced up the road into the distance. “I have a task for you.”

I straightened a little. “What kind of task?”

“The kind that’s going to take you all day.”

I stared at her, still trying to catch my breath.

Amanda seemed to enjoy the silence. She wasn’t going to tell me now. “I’ll let you know after breakfast. You better beat me back to camp.”

She took off. Her ponytail bouncing. I stared at her ass. Someone that old shouldn’t look that good.

I started back to camp. Hope in my step. At least I wouldn’t get fired if I completed whatever miserable task Amanda had planned for me.