Yes, I'm back!!! I don't know for how long but since this story is about summer, let's get the show on the road!

Chapter Five

Gordo fidgeted with his hands in his pocket as he was trying to figure out his next move. "So," he whispered, "Would you like to go for a little walk?"

Lizzie nodded, "Sure. Where are we going?"

"Down by the lake."

"Okay, but I really don't want to get wet."

"We won't get in the lake. We'll just walk around it."

Lizzie nodded, "Okay. Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?"

"Of course we won't. Come on, let's go," he said and he started walking toward the lake. Lizzie followed. The lake was around a quarter of a mile away from the cabin.

As soon as they were away from all the cabins, Gordo spoke a little louder, "So, how was the first day?"

"Um," Lizzie said, crossing her arms and looking toward him and smiling, "It was okay. There are a few people in the cabin that I might want to poison by the end of this session, but I guess it's only two weeks."

"Yeah, I guess that's how it goes," he said, "How's cooking?"

"Ahh," she said, "Oatmeal cookies and chocolate covered strawberries have never seemed so unappealing. How was kayaking?"

Gordo nodded his head and seemed like he was at a loss for words, "It was fine, I guess. Those guys think they are so cool and think they know everything. In fact, I was so relieved to be able to escape to take James to you, that I don't know what I would have done. Larry sure knows a lot about it."

Lizzie smiled as she looked ahead. They could see the lake now as the moon shone down upon it and Lizzie was looking at that. It looked so serene and Lizzie loved serenity.

"So," Gordo said, starting to fidget again, "What's been going on in your life this year?"

Lizzie shook off the gaze and looked at him, "Oh, right," she said, trying to process what he said, "well, let's see, my best friend back home is going to Australia this summer, My brother is doing summer school, and someone else I know is going to New York for some political thing."

"That's cool, but what about your life?"

"My life? Nothing really is happening in my life. I'm here. I just completed sophomore year of high school."

"Oh, come on, something interesting must be happening in your life."

Lizzie thought about this. She didn't really want to talk about boyfriends, but she knew that was probably what he was getting to eventually. "I got my license six months ago. But you already knew that because we talked online."

"Do you have a car?"

Lizzie's eyes brightened up, "Actually, yes I do. I brought it up here, too."

"Cool. What kind of car is it?"

"It's a 1998 blue Jetta."

"Oooh," Gordo said.

"Do you have a car yet?"

"Not yet. I'm saving up for a good car."

"Cool."

Moments later, after talking more about things going on in their lives, they reached the lake and the conversation stopped. "Here we are," he announced, as if Lizzie didn't already know.

"Wow," she said, "This lake is so cool."

"Damn right it is. It was freezing this morning."

Lizzie smiled and rolled her eyes and Gordo saw her and rolled his eyes, too, "Sorry, I couldn't resist."

"It's okay," she said.

"So," he said, heading toward a bench close to them, "shall we sit?"

"Yes, we shall," Lizzie said, walking closer to him and then they went to the bench together and sat down.

"So," Gordo said, taking his hands out of his pockets and placing them in his lap, "Here's to the next eight weeks?"

Lizzie smiled and nodded her head, "I think it will be a pretty good eight weeks."

"Yeah," Gordo said, looking down at his hands. That's not all he wanted to say, though, "Uh, Lizzie," he said, rather nervously, there's actually something I want to ask you before we go back to the cabins."

Lizzie swallowed; having a feeling she knew what he was going to ask, "Hmm?"

"Uh," he said, "I had a lot of fun with you last year, Lizzie. Do you think..." he was interrupted when Lizzie placed her hand over his hand. He looked down and then back up and they made eye contact.

"Gordo, I think at this point, anything is possible," and with that, she leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Gordo grinned and turned his hand so they were holding hands, "I'm glad to hear you say that."

"Well, I'm glad that we are on the same page. I wasn't sure what was going to happen after last year."

"Neither was I. That's why I wanted to talk to you," he said and he looked down at their hands linked together. He couldn't help but grin, thinking this would be the most awesome summer ever.

Lizzie leaned her head down on his shoulders and they sat there for a few more minutes silently. After those few minutes, Lizzie gave one more kiss to Gordo on the cheek and announced that she thought it was time to get back. Gordo agreed and they headed back.

Five minutes later, they were back at the cabins. Lizzie noticed Miranda's shadow in their cabin near the window and discreetly pointed it out to Gordo and they smiled as they held hands and parted ways, not giving Miranda the satisfaction of seeing them kiss. Lizzie went straight to her bed and took off her shoes and fell into a nice slumber.

The next few days came and went as the girls continued with the cooking classes and Gordo and Larry taught kayaking. Things were running pretty smoothly at Camp Grovepike and it didn't seem like anything would change that until around the middle of the week, when a new counselor appeared. Her name was Kate and Lizzie could have sworn she looked familiar but couldn't but her finger on why. Kate came with her blonde hair, pretty face, and her attitude. She made it very clear that she was supposed to be on a modeling tour in Europe before her parents got the Visa bill and she "maybe went a little overboard at the mall a few times" as she put it and as her punishment, she was sent to "this outdoor prison."

Luckily, she was sent to a different cabin than Lizzie and Miranda and was dealing with an age group older, but she still found time to get on Lizzie's nerves. The worst part was that Gordo didn't see anything wrong with her.

"Oh, come on, Lizzie, she isn't that bad," he said when she was complaining about her while everyone was swimming, "She's just not used to everything yet. She'll change." A week had passed since summer camp began. They were in the counselor's lodge.

"It's not just that, Gordo. I feel like I know her from somewhere. I know we don't go to the same school, but I know her."

"Let me guess. This is going to bother you until you find out why you know her."

Just then, Kate walked in and she was brought in by another, older male counselor. She smiled at him and thanked him and he left. She sighed and noticed Lizzie and Gordo and decided to invite herself to join them, "You guys never told me about this place. Here I was, in my cabin bored to tears. Finally, today, Claire comes in to get something and she asks me why I'm there and I'm completely confused until she tells me about this place. So, here I am. Um, do they serve Evian?"

Gordo pinched Lizzie before she could say anything and spoke up, "Actually Kate, you serve yourself. That table in the corner has everything from sodas to water and there's food over there, too. Counselors are allowed to have one soda a day as well as limit on some of the candy over there too."

"Hmm," Kate said, somewhat angrily, "I told my mother this was a prison. They make us work and they give us rations," she said and she left to go to the table in the corner.

Lizzie poked Gordo, "I told you," she murmured.

"Okay," he said, "So maybe she's a little spoiled, but that's okay."

Kate came back with a bottle of water and a package of Skittles as she sat down across from Gordo and Lizzie, "So," she said, "where are you guys from?"

"I'm from San Diego," Gordo said.

"Hill Ridge."

"Where's that?"

"It's outside of Los Angeles."

Kate's eyes widened, "Get out! I knew you looked familiar."

Lizzie looked at Kate, "You live in LA?"

"No, actually I live in Beverly Hills, but that's besides the point. Do you ever shop on Rodeo or Sunset?"

Gordo pinched Lizzie again, "No, actually I don't really go to Beverly Hills. I actually pretty much stay in Hill Ridge."

"Okay," she said, but she didn't really care about what Lizzie just said, "I know I know you from somewhere. Where do you go to school?"

"Hill Ridge High,"

Kate's mouth dropped, "Oh, my God. Now that you mention it, I know someone who goes there. Do you know a Josh Martin? He's, like, in the grade above you and, like, has dark hair and is kind of tall? Actually, he's really cute."

Lizzie grew uneasy. Suddenly, she knew why Kate looked so familiar and wished she didn't look familiar, "Yeah, I do. I dated him for about four months this year," Lizzie said. Kate was talking about the one and only Josh Martin, star basketball player who finally asked her out last October and dumped her right before Valentine's Day.

Kate was taken aback, "That was you he dated before me?" Suddenly, Kate grew uneasy as well, "Well, if it makes you feel any better, we only dated for a month before I broke things off."

Yeah, Lizzie had had about enough with talking to Kate. Instead of saying anything to help the conversation, she stood up, "Yeah, well I should be going. I have to write a few letters."

"Would you like me to come with you?" Gordo asked. He could tell that she wasn't happy, and particularly as the current boyfriend, didn't know what to do.

"No, thanks."

"I'll see you at dinner."

"Yeah," Lizzie said and she walked off, leaving Gordo with Kate.

"Gee, do you think it was something I said?" Kate asked.