Title: Dirty Little Secret
Author: Juana
Rating: M
It had been a few days since Ruthie had talked to Martin and it was killing her, but it was for the best she told herself, and besides she was still angry with him for kissing her when he had a girlfriend.
A few cabins away Martin knew his mind should be on the meeting he was in, but he couldn't help it, his thoughts kept wandering back to Ruthie and the hell she had been putting him through since the kiss at her cabin.
Stupidly he had thought the kiss would put her in her place and keep her away from the love-struck Spencer. He had no idea how that one amazing moment had all blown up in his face so completely.
Walking into the meeting hall that night he had been subjected to a very coupled Ruthie and Spencer
And it had just gotten worse from there, everywhere he turned the next few days they were there, practically attached at the hip.
Martin knew in his heart that Ruthie was using Spencer to get back at him but it still stung none the less to see her with him, hugging him, laughing with him and worst of all was the kissing.
Martin realized he couldn't stand the thought of any other guys' lips on Ruthie's.
Ruthie for her part hadn't really intended to keep hanging out with Spencer, but watching Martin trying so hard not to react to them together had motivated her to keep playing a part, the part of a girl who was actually into Spencer.
The reality though was worlds different. Ruthie was much more interested in seeing Martin suffer for his deception and if being with Spencer was the way to accomplish that then "so be it."
But after a few days of "operation payback" Ruthie realized she couldn't keep this up much longer, she had no real chemistry with Spencer and kissing him was for lack of a better word "bland" and something she did not look forward to.
Just another reason to hate Martin, she thought. He had ruined the casual art of kissing for her, now she needed the fireworks and the kisses that curled her toes and made her insides feel like hot, melted butter.
It was because of this realization that Ruthie decided she was ready to give up the farce, and she probably would have if not for Megan, bubbly, annoying, cute as a button Megan.
Megan thought Martin was "hot" and so had sweet talked him into walking her back to her cabin one night.
As they had started up the hill Megan had spotted Ruthie and Spencer saying their good-byes in the campfire area and had quickly acknowledged them to Martin in hopes he might be "inspired."
"Isn't young love great?" Megan sighed wistfully.
Martin followed Megan's gaze to see what she was talking about.
"Yeah, great." Martin said, less than enthusiastically, trying his best to tear his eyes away from watching Spencer slobbering all over Ruthie.
Sure the timing was right; Megan looked over at Martin giving him her best come hither look.
Sensing Megan looking at him Martin turned towards her and smiled, for him it was just a friendly gesture, for her it was all the invitation she needed.
Purposefully Megan put her arm around the back of Martin's neck to pull him closer he instinctively started to pull away, but he wasn't quick enough and she had him in a lip-lock before he had the chance to protest.
It was just his luck, he realized that Megan's timing couldn't have been worse, as he pulled away from her and saw Ruthie and Spencer standing there.
Spencer's was giving Martin the thumbs up sign, but Martin could tell by the look on Ruthie's face that she was livid at what she had just witnessed.
Her mind reeling, Ruthie walked quickly past Martin with her head held high, determined not to give him the satisfaction of knowing that it still mattered to her what he did or who he was doing it with.
Spencer had to practically run to catch up to Ruthie's fast retreating figure.
As soon as Ruthie was out of sight Martin turned on Megan.
"Why did you do that?" He asked bewildered.
"Martin…I'm sorry." said a somewhat embarrassed Megan…"I guess I misinterpreted the signals." "Let's just say...no harm done and we move on as friends?"
"No harm done? Martin knew that statement was anything but true at this point. Ruthie was already mad at him, why he wasn't exactly sure, but now the kiss with Megan was sure to keep her avoiding him for the rest of her time at Foothill.
Martin tossed and turned that whole night in bed trying to figure out how he could heal the rift between him and Ruthie and in the morning hours, after little or no sleep, he realized what he had to do.
In the Camden home Eric was sitting in his study reading over his sermon for the next morning when the phone began to ring, quickly he picked it up.
"This is Reverend Camden" he answered.
Martin knew that in order for his plan to work he was going to need Reverend Camden on his side, and that was going to require telling him about his girlfriend Lily.
"I'm sorry to bother you so early Reverend, its Martin."
"Martin, son, how are you?" "Is everything okay with Ruthie?" Reverend Camden said now a little concerned; this was Martin's second call in just a few short days after all.
"Ruthie is fine." Martin said.
"So then the purpose of this phone call is just to check in?" inquired Rev. Camden.
"Not exactly." answered Martin.
Reverend Camden listened intently as Martin confessed his feelings for Ruthie to him.
"I have to say Martin it's very uplifting to hear a young man so passionate about his love and commitment to a woman, and well, to know that passion and commitment are for Ruthie…it makes me proud son. Annie and I could not ask for a better match for Ruthie, you are already like family." Finished Rev. Camden.
At that moment, Martin could not have felt more like a dirt-bag loser as he realized, maybe he should have started with the obstacles in the way of him and Ruthie being together first and then followed up with how he felt about her.
"I screwed up Rev. Camden." Martin said more than a hint of remorse in his tone.
"You have my attention." Reverend Camden said.
Martin swallowed over the lump forming in his throat, as he prepared to tell the Reverend something he knew could very well change his view on him being a perfect match for Ruthie.
"I have a girlfriend…a long term, live-in girlfriend…her name is Lily" Martin finally confessed.
The dead silence on the phone made Martin more than a little nervous, finally the Reverend spoke.
"We've spoken practically every week for the past two years, you never mentioned a girlfriend." Said a surprised Rev. Camden. "
Martin could hear the disappointment in Rev. Camden's voice and it made him feel about two feet tall.
"I can only assume it is because of the stance you know Annie and I have on this particular subject that you chose to keep Lily a secret. That said…I have to apologize for sending Ruthie there under the circumstances."
Martin couldn't believe his ears; Rev. Camden was apologizing to him?
"I shouldn't have presumed so much regarding you and Ruthie." The reverend finished his remorse evident.
Martin couldn't hold back anymore, the Reverend was being way too nice.
"I kissed Ruthie." Martin blurted out.
Again dead silence from the Reverend's end.
When the Rev. finally spoke again his tone was a little less understanding but it was also evident that he was still trying to be compassionate towards someone he regarded as family.
"Let's just call it a one time kiss among friends, in time Ruthie will understand." The Reverend offered.
Martin figured if the reverend was going to help him he needed to know the whole truth so reluctantly he confessed his last dirty little secret.
"It was several kisses…and there was nothing friend-like about it." Martin interjected now truly embarrassed.
I should have prayed for only sons thought the Reverend, girls needed to be protected and watched like a hawk at all times.
"Can I assume at this point that Ruthie knows about your girlfriend?" inquired the Reverend hoping beyond hope to hear the right answer.
"You could, but it would be a wrong assumption." Martin said, less than happy about having to admit this.
"I think you know what you need to do Martin, tell Ruthie the truth and then maybe back away a few feet just in case, she has Annie's temper." Reverend Camden added.
Martin was pretty sure that was as good as it was going to get for now, so he said his goodbyes to the Reverend and prepared to end the phone call.
"One last thing son…remember that Ruthie will act tougher than she really is and try to be gentle where her feelings are involved." Implored Reverend Camden.
"I will." Promised Martin.
After his phone call with the Reverend, Martin felt a little more equipped to handle things with Ruthie, his mission clear, to tell her the truth.
Ruthie and Spencer were already seated at Martin's table when he walked into the dining hall for breakfast and for the first time that week he was glad to see her there.
Knowing he was going to handle things and then the over eager Spencer would be history made Martin feel like a weight had been lifted off of him.
As Martin sat down at the table Ruthie purposefully turned away from him to talk to Spencer.
Fine, let her shut him out he thought, soon enough she would have no choice but to talk to him.
As Ruthie sat talking to Spencer the camp director came to the front of the dining hall and rang the bell that signaled morning announcements.
"Morning campers. It is a beautiful day and also the beginning of the Foothill games!" said the director his excitement showing. If everyone will kindly take a look under their trays you will find your team color written there in marker."
All across the dining hall you could hear the sound of trays being picked up and people high -fiving each other as they found their teammates.
Martin watched as Ruthie and Spencer turned over their trays.
"Red team" Ruthie said.
"Purple team" Spencer said his disappointment obvious.
Martin said a silent prayer of thanks that Ruthie and Spencer would at least be separated during the day while the games were being played.
As the noise in the dining hall began to wind down the director once again rang the bell signaling for everyone to please turn their attention to him again.
"All right campers now that we all have our team assignments, I feel it necessary to add that switching is not an option, A lot of work went into creating these teams to keep everything fair and evenly matched."
"I should have known something was up when they made you take a different color tray then me "Spencer said complaining.
He knew he should probably feel a little bad for the guy, but man Martin was enjoying this, now Ruthie would have no guy to dangle in front of him to torture him, he didn't see how this day could get any better.
And then the bell rang again and the director stepped up once again to the mike.
"And now if you'll turn your attention to the white board behind me campers you will be able to see who your team captains are." He said.
With a dramatic flourish the director turned the white board over and Martin instantly saw how this day could get better, he was Ruthie's team captain.
Ruthie could not believe this…Martin was her team captain?!
As Ruthie turned around from the looking at the white board she stared directly at Martin, she knew somehow he was responsible for this and she wanted nothing more than to wipe the smug look off of his face.
Martin could tell that Ruthie was not happy, but he didn't care because he saw this opportunity for what it was, a chance for him to get Ruthie talking to him again.
Back at her cabin Ruthie paced the floor trying to come up with a way or a reason not to have to play these stupid games.
The option of changing teams had been all but eliminated, as not one person had been allowed to leave their table until a counselor had verified and written down their team color.
She was Martin's and there was nothing she could do about it now.
The teams were already gathering at the field when Ruthie and Christine walked up in search of the Red team. Thankfully Christine and Ruthie had at least ended up together so she felt like she would have at least one ally.
Christine spotted Martin first and turned quickly to Ruthie.
"Cheater boy ahead." Teased Christine.
Ruthie knew Christine was just trying to lighten the mood but the truth of those words just dinged Ruthie's heart.
Martin watched as Ruthie and one of the girls from her cabin began walking his way and he did his best to remain cool.
"Welcome to the red team ladies" said Martin as he handed them each a team shirt.
"I can't wear this." complained Ruthie tossing the shirt back to Martin.
"Why not?" asked Martin.
"Let's just say Red is not my color, if you switch me to another team however I'll gladly wear their shirt. " Ruthie said trying to annoy Martin enough to let her go.
"Nice try, but I'm pretty sure you heard the rules just like everyone else…no switching" Martin said as he tossed the shirt back at her.
"And I'm pretty sure since you made the rules, you can bend them" Ruthie countered.
"Made the rules?" Martin understood Ruthie's implication all too well and decided to set her straight.
"I didn't ask for you to be on my team if that's where you're going with this. This was as big a surprise to me as it was to you."
Martin knew he was being a little mean but it was just killing him that Ruthie obviously wanted zero to do with him.
Strike one, Martin obviously wasn't going to allow a switch, but as far as Ruthie was concerned that was a decision he would soon be regretting.
Martin's first thought was that he could easily arrange so that he and Ruthie were not partnered on any of the games, and then he wouldn't have to deal with her hostility, but the realization that that was exactly what she wanted made him harden his resolve to show her that she had no idea who she was dealing with.
As the afternoon was winding down Ruthie came to the realization that she didn't know what to do anymore, the harder she tried to push Martin away the more determined he became to be right there beside her.
Instead of staying away from her which she'd been pushing for he had picked her as his partner when he had paired up the boy/girl couples.
And now at the end of day one they were the lead couple not only on the red team but in the whole competition.
"So I guess we make a pretty good team" Martin said his meaning a double edged one.
"I guess" Ruthie admitted reluctantly.
Martin look at Ruthie longingly, he just couldn't communicate with her any more and he didn't know why.
But tomorrow during free period he was going to find out why…he had a plan.
That night Ruthie sat staring at her cell phone, she wanted the truth and she knew if anyone besides Martin could give it to her it was his best friend Mac so reluctantly she dialed.
It rang once, twice, three times and was finally picked up on the fifth ring just when Ruthie was about to give up.
"Hello?" answered an out of breath Margaret.
Ruthie was surprised to hear Margaret's voice on Mac's phone, but he was Margaret's boyfriend after all so yeah that's one of those things couples do decided Ruthie.
"Hey Margaret, it's me Ruthie"
"Ruthie…wow…great to hear from you. How is camp?" asked Margaret.
"Fine…its fine. Is uh…is Mac there?" Ruthie asked trying to cut to the chase.
"Sure he's actually in the other room I'll go get him for you." Margaret offered.
As Ruthie sat patiently waiting on the phone Margaret stood freaking out in the other room.
"What are you going to say to her Mac?" asked a clearly flustered Margaret.
"The truth if I have to, I told Martin if she called here I wouldn't be able to lie to her." Mac headed to pick up his cell. Martin was his buddy but this dance between him and Ruthie was wearing him thin.
Mac picked up the phone with a cheery disposition; he couldn't lie to Ruthie so he could only hope he could dance around the issue of Martin and Lily long enough to not have to be the one to break poor Ruthie's heart.
"Hey Ruthie what's up princess?" Mac teased.
No greeting, no warning, just straight to the heart of the matter, that was Ruthie's plan how Mac had managed to get her off the phone without ratting Martin out she wasn't sure, but he had.
Ruthie was now more confused than ever, Martin was definitely hiding something, Mac's song and dance with her on the phone told her that.
Day two of the games was exhausting and Ruthie couldn't wait for free period. She and Martin were still in the lead but simply put she had had more physical contact with him today and yesterday than in the span of their entire friendship and it was unnerving.
The congratulatory back pats and hugs, the games that required holding on to each other, the brushing of limbs as they worked together to complete a challenge were all breaking him down. Martin had wanted Ruthie close to him, but now that he had her there he was a wreck.
Martin loved Ruthie's competitive spirit and how much it matched his, but if he didn't get some kind of resolution today he wasn't sure how he was going to keep up this façade of being just her teammate.
As the bell rang for free period Ruthie started to head for her cabin…she just needed a nap and then she would be better equipped to have Martin so close to her practically 24-7.
As Ruthie started up the hill to her cabin an announcement came over the loud speaker that she had a call waiting for her in the phone room.
She couldn't imagine who would be calling her there except possibly her dad, he had an embarrassing habit of keeping tabs on her so when she had renewed to a new cell number she had refused to give it to him to teach him a lesson. So yeah…he would have to call the camp directly to get a hold of her.
Bone weary Ruthie started back down the hill and headed into the main building towards the phone room, a small cubicle size booth that the camp had equipped for the campers to make a weekly call or to receive incoming phone calls.
As she approached the phone room she saw the door was open so she stepped inside and went to pick up the phone that lay off the hook, suddenly the door closed behind her and she turned around to see, well actually practically step on, Martin.
The phone room was cozy with one person in it, two was definitely close quarters, especially when one of those two was a 6 foot, muscular guy.
Unable to contain her surprise at seeing Martin "What are you doing here?"
"I'm here to talk to you" Martin stated in a matter of fact.
"I don't want to talk to you. Can't you take a hint?" pleaded Ruthie.
"We've been friends too long to keep going round and round in circles like this." Martin said frustrated.
Ruthie looked at the phone lying off the hook and turned back to Martin.
"There's no phone call is there."It wasn't so much a question as a statement.
"No." admitted Martin.
"I can't believe you . Are you really that desperate to talk to me?" said Ruthie in disbelief.
"Yeah…I guess I am." Martin admitted.
"Why?" asked Ruthie. "Wouldn't it be easier to keep the truth from me if we just stopped doing this?"
Martin knew from Mac that Ruthie suspected something was up with him, but Mac swore he had not told Ruthie about Lily. But without a doubt she knew Martin could see it in her eyes.
"You already know about Lily don't you?" Martin knew the answer to that question even before he asked.
"Lily…is that her name?" questioned Ruthie.
Martin felt sick to his stomach, it all made sense now; somehow Ruthie had found out about Lily and had been waiting for him to come clean.
"Ruthie…I was going to tell you." "Things just got so complicated" complained Martin.
This was not the way Ruthie had wanted to confront Martin, in a space so small she could barely move without brushing up against him and feeling the warmth of his body.
But he had it coming and if it had to happen here then it would.
"You kissed me…you kissed me knowing you had a girlfriend back at your apartment waiting for you!" Ruthie said raising her voice.
Ruthie didn't know what she had expected from Martin, but backing down was not it.
"I did…and I'm sorry." Martin said the sincerity obvious in his voice.
"Well I hate you…I truly hate you for doing this to me again."Ruthie said wearily as she tried to move past Martin to get to the door, but he stood there an immovable object.
As far as Martin was concerned they were far from being done here.
"You aren't seriously planning on keeping me prisoner in here are you?" asked Ruthie just a touch nervous at that prospect.
Martin reached out to touch Ruthie's face and the second he made contact he regretted it as her tears started to flow.
"I have missed you Ruthie, and I'm not just talking about up here while you've been giving me the silent treatment." Stated Martin.
"I've spent the last two years missing you." Martin confessed.
Ruthie could tell Martin was about to really open up to her and it just wasn't something she wanted to hear, not anymore.
"Please don't do this Martin…don't make me listen to how good we could have been together, because it didn't happen that way.
"I just need you to know that I have my regrets" explained Martin.
Ruthie looked at Martin, a sad look crossing her tear stained face.
"You know what I regret?" started Ruthie
"I regret that after picking a fight with me, you left in the middle of the night without even saying good bye…because that's our reality." Ruthie reminded him her patience starting to wear thin.
"I know that was our reality Ruthie…I know I made mistakes." Admitted Martin.
"But this is reality now too…and we need to figure it out." he finished.
"What is there to figure out?" "You have a girlfriend and I have a boyfriend and for whatever reason we tried to pretend like we didn't." Ruthie said her voice tinged with guilt now.
Martin didn't understand why Ruthie was making this so difficult and why she refused to listen to reason.
"I didn't kiss you to be self-serving Ruthie, I kissed you because every time I look into your eyes I see my future." Martin said opening his heart to her.
Ruthie couldn't believe what she was hearing, and it caught her completely off guard.
"What?" said Ruthie unable to process.
"I love you Ruthie. Two years ago I thought I lost my chance with you, so I tried to move on." Admitted Martin.
He wanted her to tell him that she loved him too, but he knew she wasn't there because of the trust issues they had yet to work through.
Ruthie's mind was reeling she wanted to give Martin a chance but a part of her still felt betrayed.
After all he had made promises before, promises that had broken her heart when he was unable to keep them.
"I'm not going to keep you here if you don't want to be." Martin said as he stepped away from the door so she could leave.
When Ruthie didn't immediately move Martin made an impulsive decision and pulled her into his arms to give her a hug.
As she stood in his arms head on his chest he knew that she would figure this all out and she would be back…he was certain of it.
And when she finally tilted her head to look at him the kiss between them came naturally, her lips soft and inviting pulling him in.
As the kiss deepened Martin tasted the salt of her tears and it filled him with regret for all the pain he had caused her, but his promise to her was this time he would get it right.
No more girlfriends, no more unplanned pregnancies…just Ruthie, him and Ruthie.