Note: Still light but with a bit more feeling. Thank you so much for all your reviews and comments. They keep me writing.
"Today should be pretty easy for you, kiddo." Doug directed Gail to sit on the stool behind the counter and pushed the phone a little closer to her then set a walkie-talkie down next to it. "Sit here, talk to anyone who enters, answer the phone, and call me on the radio if you need anything. Channel 3."
Gail nodded before pulling her phone from out of her pocket and opening Angry Birds. Doug laughed and patted her on the back.
"Thanks for sticking around, Gail. I know you've had kind of a rough time." Before heading out the front door, Doug turned back around to address her so she was sure to look up from the screen to give him her attention. "Really though, if you need anything at all just call me on the radio. Unless it's medical. Holly's right night door."
He left with a wink and Gail couldn't help but smirk. After all the attention she had gotten from the doctor the previous night she figured she was good until lunch. Then a good dose of kisses were probably in order. Realizing what she just thought Gail groaned. Holly was making her soft. All doughy and sweet and using the word "kisses" while talking to herself. At least she hadn't used "smooches." She'd probably die of shame.
"Gross," muttered Gail.
"What's gross?" Chloe bounded through the door and up to the counter, smiling widely at Gail.
"Your excitement concerning life," scowled Gail.
"Oh, whatever, grumpy. I've seen you around Holly." Chloe leaned over the counter and made kissy faces. "You're just as excited about life as me. You just like being a little raincloud on everyone else's parades."
"What do you want, Price?" Gail huffed and crossed her arms. The only person Gail didn't mind calling her out on her shit was Holly, not Bubbles McHappypants.
"Oooo. Last name. I must have touched a nerve. A Holly shaped nerve…" Chloe was wiggling her eyebrows now. This had to stop.
"Price! Focus. What do you want?" All Gail had to dull the pain in her arm was anti-inflammatories and Tylenol; dealing with Chloe was not top of her list of things to do at the moment. Over the past two weeks, Gail had grown to somewhat like the bubbly redhead but now was not the time to test that budding friendship.
"Oh. Um. I was sent to give you a present," said Chloe who started digging around in the bag she always had around her shoulder. "Well, I mean it's not really a present. It's more like a card that we all signed and colored all over. Dov added the glitter and was hoping to blame it on me. Emily made her own for you that she wants to give to you at lunch. Oops. That was probably supposed to be a surprise. Sorry. Um. Act surprised okay? She worked really hard on it with Tim."
Chloe handed Gail a card made from thick construction paper. It was covered in drawings and stickers and said "Feel Better Soon" in big letters across the front. The blonde's heart skipped as she ran her fingers along the little doodles and letters before opening it and grinning at the names of all the kids in Emily's group, along with Morgan, April, Andy, Chloe, and Dov. She quickly wiped away the tears stinging her eyes and shoved the card closed on the counter.
"Thanks." Gail mumbled her appreciation hoping that Chloe hadn't noticed the tears. She had but she didn't say a word.
"No problem, Gail." Chloe reached across the counter and ruffled the blonde's hair. "See you at lunch."
Gail glared after the woman as she fixed her hair and picked up her phone. She had seen Holly not even an hour ago when she had dropped Gail off at the front office, but she already wanted to text her. It was reminding her of those love-struck teenagers in those pathetic high school romance movies you'd see on the channels directed at people under 18. Everything with Holly was different for her. She'd never felt like this before. This all had been making Gail wonder if she ever even liked guys to begin with or if there was just something about this nerd that was flipping her entire world upside down in just a couple of weeks.
Between the things Holly made Gail feel and the things she did to Gail the previous night, there was no doubt in her mind that she was definitely digging both the emotional and physical aspects of the whole woman-loving business. It got her thinking though. What did that mean about Nick or any of the guys before? Mostly Nick though. She was adult enough to admit the others didn't mean much beyond status and obligation. She had actually loved Nick. Hadn't she? So, how come whenever she thought about how she felt when she was actually with him, it felt more like the way she was with Dov?
"Ugh. It is way too early for thinking." Gail groaned and rested her chin on the counter. She held her phone out in front of her looking at Holly's contact info then let her eyes wander down to the card in between her and the screen.
Gail: Those dorks made me a card. Pfft. All I did was stupidly cut my arm open. Now I'm stuck being bored in a room all by my lonesome. They should have brought me snacks. And alcohol.
Holly: You poor thing. Having people care about you must be so hard. I can come over and keep you company if you'd like.
Gail: Nah. I wouldn't want to interrupt the slow assimilation of your text books.
Holly: Well, that just wouldn't work out for me. If I absorb them for nutrients, how can I read them again?
Turning the screen off on her phone with a smile, Gail got up and rummaged through the drawers until she found the remote to the television hanging in the corner on the wall near the door. Tonya had told her when she got there that they only had old VHS's to watch on it, no cable but at this point Gail just wanted to ignore the silence in the room. Silence meant she'd be alone with her own thoughts and she really didn't want that. As she knelt on her stool, which she had pulled over to get to the TV, in order to get the tape into the slot on the television she felt two familiar warm hands grip her hips. Letting Holly help her balance she got the tape in and hopped down, triumphantly.
"How do you do that?" Gail eyed the brunette suspiciously as she dragged her stool back behind the counter.
"Do what?"
"Sneak up on me all the time?" Holly shrugged as Gail pulled a chair over to the counter for her.
"I'm not trying. Maybe you're just oblivious," said Holly with a grin. She plopped down in the chair, propped her feet up on Gail's stool, and pulled the text book she'd put on the counter into her lap. Gail watched her read for a few minutes before turning to the TV and pressing play on the remote.
"What if someone skins a knee while you're in here?" Abbott and Costello started playing on the screen. Gail had actually been really excited to see that Doug and Tonya had so many old Abbot and Costello tapes. They were a favorite comedic act of hers since she had watched them with her dad when she was little and had to stay home with the chickenpox.
"I put a note on the door that says I'm in here." Holly was doing that thing she did when they first met where she kept reading even though she was talking to Gail. It hadn't been that long ago yet it felt like an entire lifetime. "The doors are a few feet apart. I think we're okay."
"And I'm not going to distract you from your studies?" Gail nudged Holly's foot as she stretched her arms out over the counter.
"I'm not studying. Just reading."
"You read text books for fun?" Holly smiled up at her with a raised eyebrow and Gail rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to Abbott and Costello. "Never mind. Of course you do. Nerd."
"Yours." Gail's heart skipped as she glanced over at Holly's goofy grin and found herself mirroring it. Then she quickly buried her face in her outstretched arms to hide her flushing skin.
"Mine," confirmed Gail, muttering into the sleeves of the cardigan she'd stolen from Holly's closet that morning. The brunette just laughed. "You're making me soft, Stewart."
With Holly hanging out with her the morning seemed to go by much faster even if there were times where they didn't even talk. Gail would just laugh at Abbott and Costello and their ridiculous shenanigans while Holly read through almost all of another text book. A little after lunch started, Doug and Tonya strolled in with their own lunches and relieved the two women of their positions so they could go see everyone. The other counselors were very interested in seeing how Gail was doing.
When they sat down at the usual table near the front door, Dov slapped a hand on Gail's back while Andy and Chloe shoved bags of chips across the table at her, Morgan smiled, and April added some cookies to her snack pile.
"I'm going to just cut my arm open like once a month, okay?" joked Gail as she handed Holly the cookies so she could open them for her and quickly devoured one. They were freshly baked chocolate chip, the best kind. "I expect these gifts or better, preferably better, from each of you."
Holly pinched Gail's leg under the table.
"Not funny," warned Holly, shooting Gail a stern look.
"A little funny," replied Gail with a smirk. Holly narrowed her eyes but the corners of her mouth gave her away.
"So, how bad does it hurt?" asked Dov. He was inspecting her bandaged arm like maybe he'd see something through the wrappings. "And on a scale of 1 to 10 how laid is the scar going to get you?"
Dov glanced up to find both Gail and Holly giving him their own bemused look. Gail had to work hard not to laugh her ass off at the look on his face. It also took every ounce of restraint to not make a joke about having already gotten laid and it not even being healed yet. If Gail had to grade Holly on her bedside manner, it was definitely an A+. It was also something she wasn't willing to share.
"Okay. How laid would the scar get me?" laughed Dov.
"Totally a 10," said Chloe from across the table, beaming at him. He timidly smiled and went back to his food with a smile.
"You don't even know what the cut looks like, Chloe." Gail kicked her under the table. "At least try to hide your boner for Epstein."
Everyone smiled or laughed, especially Chloe, while Dov elbowed Gail in the ribs, being sure to miss her arm. Then they all focused on eating their food as quickly as they could without choking. They wanted to be finished eating before the campers so that the kids who ate faster couldn't sneak out.
Holly had packed Gail a lunch that morning, along with her own, and was helping her eat by opening the bags for her. Since Gail wasn't on any painkillers it actually was incredibly painful to move her hand so the blonde graciously accepted any help from Holly. Dov tried to open her soda for her and she slugged him, saying he wasn't her girlfriend so it wasn't cute when he did it. Her best friend then proceeded to tease her for calling Holly cute in public which earned him a quick jab to the thigh that had him doubled over in pain for a few moments. Chloe just laughed and told him he deserved it. Gail knew there was a reason she had started to like Price.
"Did you guys hear about the storm headed up tomorrow?" Morgan was the first to finish eating.
"I read something about it on my phone this morning," said Holly as she opened one of the bags of chips the girls had given Gail and held it open for her. Gail remembered how Holly had talked about her exes dumping her and just couldn't believe such idiots existed in the world. The brunette didn't even look put out by helping her. "They said it should hit tomorrow afternoon and supposedly last a day or two."
"What are we going to be doing with a bunch of cooped up hormonal beasts?" Gail found it hard to believe they'd be able to curb the rampant grope fests that would break out if they couldn't get the teenagers' energy out with sports. "Maybe we can stick the horniest ones out in the rain."
"Come now, Gail. I'm sure you and Dov wouldn't appreciate being left out in the cold like that for any amount of time," teased April, finishing off the last of her tray.
Gail glanced over at Holly and raised an eyebrow. The brunette's cheeks flushed and she decided to focus on the last of her salad. Apparently April was not aware of how much of a horn-dog her little sister was and thought it was all Gail. She smirked and hooked one of her legs under Holly's. The brunette smiled at her salad and refused to look up until her cheeks weren't so red.
"Doug was telling me that he has a bunch of indoor stuff planned," said Andy. "And that he's got giant umbrellas and spare rain boots for everyone to share for getting around. Apparently this isn't the first summer a storm has hit during camp."
"Yeah! And we're going to do a giant camp out here in the cafeteria. How cool is that!?" Chloe was practically jumping in her seat. "We're going to eat junk food and watch movies on a projector. It will be great. Especially since this weekend is going to be the tent party before the last week of camp."
Gail tried to smile while Chloe and Andy continued talking about the activities Doug told them about but hearing about camp ending sort of brought Gail down a peg. She'd been so busy being happy she'd actually forgotten to be her usual ball of anxiety and worry about what came next. One week and camp would end. What would that mean for her and Holly? Would that end? Would Holly just skip back off to medical school without her and just remember her when she told stories about that summer she turned a straight girl? Although Gail really doubted she had even been straight at that point. Too many touchy-feely sleepovers and uncomfortable moments spent in the high school locker room had been coming back to her over the span of the past week for her to think she was ever straight.
One of Holly's fingers prodded her in a ticklish spot on Gail's side to get her attention. The blonde quickly snapped her attention to the woman next to her and she was greeted by warm brown eyes and that lopsided grin she loved so much. She could feel her pulse jump. There was no way that her sweet, adorable, and nerdy Holly would do any of that to her. Right? Women like Gail broke hearts like Holly's. Not the other way around. So what did that mean?
"Hey, space-case. I asked if you wanted the other half." Holly held up a half-eaten candy bar and Gail gently took it from her, nodding slightly. As Holly pulled the wrapper down the bar for her, she looked over Gail's face and her brow furrowed. "You okay?"
"My arm hurts," said Gail. It just sounded weird and clingy to be worried about their relationship a week in so she didn't want to say anything. Not to mention the fact that her arm really did hurt. So, she actually found herself thankful for her stitched together arm. It was like a get out of jail free card that hurt like hell.
Holly nodded and carefully pulled Gail's injured arm between them. Gail watched her pull the ice pack out of her lunchbox and wrap it in a couple napkins before placing it over the exact spot of the cut. While the cold stung, it was also an almost instant relief from the painful burning that had been itching at her skin all morning. Her eyes fluttered half closed and she rested her head on Holly's shoulder, the relief being greater than any embarrassment at the small public display of affection.
"Hey, so Doug just texted me," said Dov. "Tonya said we should hold a vote among the kids to see what movie to watch and even if it doesn't storm we'll still get all set up in here to do the camp-out and watch a movie."
"Awesome!" Gail watched Chloe and Andy high five out of the corner of her eye.
"What are the options?" asked Andy.
"Uh. A bunch of Disney stuff." Dov looked at his phone and rattled off a bunch of Disney films from the past couple of years.
"Holes," said Gail. She sat back up, leaving her arm in Holly's hands, and looked around at all of them. "I want Holes to win. You all better vote for Holes or I'm disowning you. Especially Dov."
"What if I vote for Holes and they don't?" asked Dov. He actually looked offended at the idea of Gail disowning him.
"Still disowned," teased Gail. "You better work that out with the rest of them, huh?"
"Ooo. That sucks, Dov because I think I'm voting for 'The Incredibles'," laughed Andy.
"Same here," chimed in Chloe.
"Things aren't looking good for you, Dov Epstein. I guess I'm going to have to print out those disowning papers," said Gail, turning her nose up away from her friend like she was already done with him.
"Oh, come on guys."
"Dov, do we even get a vote?" April was laughing but she was clearly thinking about this more clearly than the rest of them. Dov looked down at his phone.
"We don't." Dov sounded very relieved. "Just the campers."
"Well, now I'm disowning you for sounding happy that I get no say in the movie choice." Gail stuck out her tongue and turned to face Holly, leaving her back for Dov to stare at blankly. Holly tried to hold back her smile but the grin on Gail's face was making it really hard.
"What? But? Gail…"
Gail jokingly ignored Dov for the rest of lunch. She would ask anyone who talked to him why they were talking to thin air and then pretend not to notice him and elbowed him in the cheek when Holly helped her up. They all went their separate ways as the campers began to head out to their next station or activity and Gail could already feel her phone going off in her pocket with texts from Dov.
"How long are you going to ignore him?" asked Holly.
"Probably until dinner. This isn't the first time I've done this." Gail smiled at Holly who grinned and shook her head.
"You're insane."
"You like it." Gail laced their fingers together as they headed back to the admin building to resume their dutiful watch of the front counter.
"That I do."
Once they were situated again in their respective positions, Gail on her stool and Holly reading from her chair, the blonde flipped the old comedy stand up back on and resumed bubbling out. Or at least she was trying to. Try as she might she couldn't get the thought of not seeing Holly again after a week out of her head. Were these feelings the ones that made other people so obnoxious when they were in relationships?
"You know, you've gotten me drunk twice now and I don't think I've ever told you about Nick and me," said Gail. Obviously sensing a change in conversation, Holly closed her book and set it on the counter.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't…"
"But I want to tell you." Gail paused the VHS and folded her good arm on the counter before resting her head on it. Wanting to tell Holly about Nick and being able to look at her while she did it were two different things. She knew Holly was looking at her though, watching her face. "It's not even like it's that big of a story. Girl meets boy. Girl's family hates boy. Girl sees that as a plus and dates boy. Girl stupidly agrees to go to Vegas with boy where they decide to get married. Girl wakes up alone with an apologetic note and a hangover."
"Do you regret it?" asked Holly. Her voice seemed kind of distant and Gail tilted her head on her arm so she was looking at her. Holly's head was turned down and she was staring at her feet propped up on the stool in front of her.
"Depends on what you mean by it?" Holly slowly looked up to meet her eyes. Gail chewed on her bottom lip for a second. "Going to Vegas with him? No. But I also don't regret not marrying him. Not now."
"Not after meeting you," was what Gail hoped her tone said because she choked on the actual words. The grin on Holly's face told her she got it. Holly stood up and moved closer, pushing the short blonde strands of hair out of Gail's face and lightly kissing her forehead.
"Your arm isn't the only thing bothering you, is it?" asked Holly as she nuzzled Gail's ear, planting another kiss along her jaw. Gail sighed and picked at the cardigan sleeve rolled up to her elbow on the injured arm. When Holly wrapped her arms around Gail's neck the blonde reached up with her good hand and squeezed the warm shoulder near her face. "Hey, no hurry. Talk me when you're ready. I'm not going anywhere."
"If you ever do go somewhere…" started Gail but she choked on her words.
"I would never leave you with just a note and hangover." Gail nodded and turned her head to look at Holly. Their foreheads met and Holly leaned in for quick kiss before pulling away. The blonde wiped her face on her sleeve and ran her fingers through her hair.
"Sorry, I don't know why I'm being so emotional today. It's stupid. We've been dating what? A week and a few days now? God, I probably seem crazy."
"Not in the slightest." Holly pushed her chair back to the desk Gail had grabbed it from and pulled an extra stool over. Then she left the room for a moment only to come back with an icepack wrapped in a towel and Holly set herself up on the side of Gail with her injured arm and applied the cold pack. "And you could have told me earlier that your arm was hurting. At dinner I can give you one of your Percocet. Just remind me because as much as I like you I might forget."
Gail nodded.
"Are you sure I don't seem crazy? I'm not freaking you out?" asked Gail. Holly smiled and shook her head before poking Gail on the nose with her index finger that was still cold form the icepack.
"That's the thing about painkillers, they're a little hardcore and tend to mess with your emotions, even the next day." Holly leaned in and kissed Gail's cheek and then moved to plant a softer kiss in the space next to her ear. "At least that's what I'm going to tell you so you can use it as a scapegoat if you want to."
A huge smile wound its way onto Gail's lips and she lightly nudged Holly with her elbow. A strange warm feeling spread through her body, originating in her chest and sweeping through every inch of her. How very rude of her wonderful girlfriend, assuming she needed a scapegoat to escape her feelings. Very rude and so very accurate. So accurate in fact that Gail couldn't have been happier with Holly in that moment. No one had ever given her an out before. A way to back up and get her own control back over the situation.
"Thank you," said Gail.
"Anytime." Holly kissed the side of the blonde's head. Then she rested her head on Gail's shoulder and turned up the volume on the television so they could finish watching Abbott and Costello together.
Note: Going to the beach tomorrow until Sunday. Will try to get an update out but no promises.