"Camp Out"
Maurae was in the guest room at Adam's house again, packing her remaining things back into the suitcase. She paused when she came to the numerous small packages she'd received from her teammates.
Sitting down, she drew the first into her lap and carefully unwrapped it. From Les and Greg, it was a book of jokes and a small box of sour fruit jelly beans (her favorite candy). She smiled fondly and packed both into her carry-on. Next came a brightly wrapped package from Julie and Connie. It was a clear box filled with different make-up, with a note taped to the top: For your fabulous appreciation of color. She put it in her suitcase. From Dean and Fulton she received a CD: Evanescence. She raised an eyebrow, but packed it with her CD player in her carry-on. Luis and Ken had wrapped their individual presents and tied them together with the present from Jesse and Guy. Luis had given her a hockey stick charm for her charm bracelet; Ken had given her an address book decorated with stickers from pro hockey teams, making all the others write down their contact information in it before wrapping it. Jesse had given her a new journal, decorated with his hockey card duplicates on the front and back covers (laminated, too). Guy had pasted a photo of the team on the inside of the cover and drawn a duck in hockey equipment on the first page. She packed all three of these in her carry-on, attaching the charm to the bracelet first. Dwayne had told her she was the hardest for him to shop for. He'd handed her the beautifully wrapped box, hugged her, and practically run away. She pulled the small box onto her lap and immediately guessed (as she had with Luis') that it was a jewelry box. Sure enough, once she'd pulled the paper off, the black velvet of the necklace box became visible. She swallowed and opened it, gasping in astonishment. Not a necklace at all, it was a locket bracelet. In each of the seven locket links were two pictures, save in the last one, where there was one, and another note: Pictures last forever.
She immediately clasped it around her wrist, opposite her charm bracelet. She wiped her suspiciously wet eyes and reached for the final package. It was from Charlie and Adam and Jesse, her best friends. She opened it, carefully trying not to tear the paper. Inside lay a beautifully framed photograph of she and the three boys, from their victory celebration after the playoffs game three weeks before. The whole team had changed back to street clothes and pulled on their new Ducks jerseys on over shirts. Maurae stood grinning, her arms around Adam and Jesse's waists, their arms around her shoulders, with Charlie kneeling at their feet, holding the trophy. All four were grinning blissfully.
No longer suspiciously wet, her eyes now released a flood worthy of Niagara Falls. She pulled her legs up and buried her face in the picture on her legs, sobbing. The bed sank next to her and Adam hugged her tightly.
"We'll keep in touch. I'll come out and visit you, and we'll stay friends. Come on, Ro, don't cry."
"I can't help it. I feel like I'm leaving forever, like I've known you all my life. I don't know how I'll go back to being me in Colorado..." She turned and tried a smile. "You're my best friend, Ads."
"And you mine. We didn't give you that picture to cry over, you know. We gave it so you'd always remember the happy moments."
"I know. Thank you. I'll hang it up as soon as I get home."
"Hold off on those plans, princess. Bombay wants us all on the porch," Charlie said, following Jesse into the room. She shook her head and smiled weakly.
"Coming." She put the picture on top of the carry-on and let them lead her out of the room. Philip and Kelly Banks had decided to have a barbeque to celebrate the Ducks' win, and to say goodbye to their houseguest. Newly thirteen years old, Maurae was supposed to be flying back to Denver in a few days. She sat cross-legged on a chair and the three boys sat down on the bench next to her.
"Good, now that we're all here, I have something I would like to tell you. I have the plane tickets for those of you who are shipping out soon. That is number one. Number two is this: We are going on a victory camp-out tomorrow night." He waited out the sudden chatter. "And number three. You fourteen will be going to high school in two years, and Eden Hall Academy, my alma mater, is offering you full-ride athletic scholarships for the four years you are in high school."
Maurae sat stunned. She almost didn't believe what she was hearing. A full-ride to a school that even she had heard of? Her parents might not jump at the opportunity, but they would certainly push her towards it.
She rose up to the campgrounds in a giant van, squished between Dean and a window. First in, last out, so she waited patiently while the others untangled their gear and got out, heading for the campground. Maurae was just glad to get out of the van. Dean had been getting heavier as the bumps in the road increased.
She was last out and stood under the massive trees, just looking around before she joined the throng to collect her stuff from the van. She shouldered her backpack and grabbed her sleeping bag and followed the leader through the trees.
"Hey, Les?" she called up to Averman, two people ahead of her. He turned around to walk backwards.
"Yeah?"
"You have any good ghost stories?" she asked.
"Of course."
"Good. Keep them to yourself tonight!" Several people laughed, including Averman, who turned his face forward again, just in time to trip over a tree root. That made everyone laugh, including him.
"That will teach me to walk backwards through the woods," he groused, mock- petulant. The short hike resumed after Dwayne and Goldberg had hauled him to his feet. Dwayne dropped back to walk with her at the end of the line.
"I can't believe we're all going home next week," she said softly, trying not to look at him. He smiled slightly. "It just seems like it's all been some sort of a dream, you know? Or maybe a nightmare, what with Adam's sprained wrist, and all the exhaustion and brutality from the Vikings."
"Winning was fun, though, admit it," he said. "Even after we'd assured ourselves it didn't matter."
"Winning was sweet. But the friends I made...that was really the only part that mattered. I'll always remember that." She held up her wrist, the one that bore the locket bracelet he'd given her. "After all, pictures are forever." He pulled her hand through the crook of his arm and grinned.
"Yup, pictures last a thousand years and more. I wanted you to remember us. That was before I found out we'd be coming back here for high school. Another four years together."
"Yeah," she said, subdued, not knowing how her family would react to the announcement. Besides, it was still a year and a half away. She decided not to worry about it just then. "So, camping. I haven't been camping since Brownies," she declared, pushing her sobering thoughts to the back of her mind.
"Me neither. Though not the Brownies stuff. I like to sleep out sometimes, but never actual camping."
"Good, then I'm not alone."
"Oh, I doubt any of us city kids have been camping very recently either, Ro," Jesse said, swinging his arm up over her shoulders. Dwayne shot him a momentary glare before fixing his smile back in place. People may have thought of him as some dumb hick, but he was smart. He hated big words; they confused him. And for some reason, since he was always cheerful, no matter his real mood, people took it for granted that he was stupid. Maurae didn't, obviously. But everyone else thought he was something like the village idiot, seeing as he was a Texan. A proud Texan, too.
"Good. I won't feel like such an idiot," she said, handing him her sleeping bag and using her newly freed hand to peel her best friend's from her shoulders. "Now, mind respecting my space?"
"Is somebody in a bad mood again?" Jesse teased.
"No, somebody is very happy today, so long as somebody else doesn't ruin said happiness. Besides, you're such a big strong man, surely carrying my sleeping bag won't be too much trouble for you," she teased right back. Jesse glanced at Dwayne, then at Maurae and shook his head.
"No trouble. I wouldn't want you to strain your pretty little self, carrying this big, heavy sleeping bag."
"Good. Thanks for carrying it. Don't drop it." She grinned and blew him a kiss. Jesse smiled and left, trotting to catch back up to Charlie and Adam, near the front of the pack.
Maurae yawned and Goldberg threw a marshmallow at her, which, naturally, started a marshmallow war. Fortunately, they got themselves under control before they'd ruined too many marshmallows.
Then Dwayne, on her left, started to strum a tune familiar to them all, and Averman started singing. On the chorus, they all joined in, doing a particular kind of sit-down dance routine. Lots of stomping feet and swaying. Maurae laughed along with the others, but she sang as loud and danced as fast as her friends.
It was almost eleven when the caffeine-deprived adults decided to retire to the camper trailered to the back of Bombay's van. The kids eagerly sat in a closer circle around the fire. "Ghost stories?" Maurae asked, shooting Averman a look.
"Better," Portman said, smirking. "Truth or Dare?"
Maurae buried her crimson face in her hands, muttering something no one caught. Then she looked up. "Well, you've been evil since I met you. Why would our last night together be any different?" she asked rhetorically. "All right. Bring it on." Portman rubbed his hands together eagerly.
"Me first," he said. "Fulton, truth or dare?"
"No way, dude. Dare."
"All right. Strip and go jump in the lake." Fulton got up, walked down the hill to the water and started to strip. The others followed him with their flashlights. Fulton did as he'd been told and jumped in the lake. As soon as he got out, Charlie, laughing hysterically, tossed him a blanket and they left him in peace to dress. A few minutes later, he reappeared, his hair still wet with lakewater. He sat next to the fire and pulled on a sweater over his t-shirt.
"You're dead for that later, Portman," he said. "So...who's next...? Julie, truth or dare?"
"Truth," she replied promptly.
"Have you ever wanted to make out with a Bash Brother?"
"Of course. Why do you think I was kissing Portman?" she replied. It was so quiet, they could hear the waves hit the lakeshore. Maurae coughed, hiding her laughter. Julie raised an eyebrow. "All right, the next victim will be Ro, then. Truth or Dare?"
Everyone fully expected her to choose truth; she hated dares, and she normally didn't believe in them. "Dare." Open-mouthed, Julie immediately had to revise her question into a dare.
"Dare...dare...you wanted to make this difficult, didn't you?"
"Just being unpredictable," she retorted with a grin.
"Fine...kiss Charlie. We'll make it easy."
"That just complicates it. What kind of kiss would be appropriate to fulfill my dare?" Maurae retorted. Julie smiled wickedly.
"What do you think?" Maurae's eyes widened, Dwayne snapped a stick in half and Charlie's jaw dropped. Then Maurae gave her friend a nod and a smile, acknowledging the challenge in Julie's voice that only she or Connie would have recognized.
"You're good, Jules. I'll give you that much." Maurae got up and deposited herself in Charlie's lap. "This isn't going to hurt, Spazway," she said affectionately before pressing her lips to his. Not knowing what to do with his hands, exactly, he wrapped his arms around her back and returned the kiss. Maurae pulled back, her face a deeper crimson than any of them had ever seen. She got up and returned to her former place, still flushed. "Luis, truth or dare?"
"Hold on, chica. Just give me a minute to wrap my mind around what I just saw..."
"Aw, I'm bored of this anyway," Adam said. "Let's do something else."
"Flashlight tag," Russ said. There was a round of agreement, and Maurae shook her head, amused. She got up, dusting off her jeans and turned on her flashlight.
"Luis is it," she said.
"Why me?"
"You managed to squirrel out of Truth or Dare, dude," Portman pointed out. Luis nodded reluctantly and grinned, sitting down again. Fulton dropped the slightly damp blanket over his head and the team split in fourteen different directions. Maurae had her flashlight on low power so no one would be able to track her. She walked a while aimlessly, letting her feet run on automatic. She finally found a tree behind which three or four of them could hide and grinned, switching off her light. She could still see the glow of the campfire, so she knew she wasn't too far from them. She sat with her back against the tree bole, half-listening to the sounds her friends were making. The other half of her attention, or rather, most of her attention, was focused on what had just happened.
Kissing Charlie, she'd felt nothing. It was like kissing her brothers goodnight, or kissing Adam goodnight, which she'd done. Those two, and Jesse, were her dearest friends, but they were her brothers. She couldn't have any romantic feelings for them. She sighed softly and shrugged.
Someone shone a flashlight in her face briefly. "Mind if I join you?" asked Dwayne's soft Texas drawl.
"Of course. There's plenty of room." Despite that statement, he sat down right next to her. They sat there in silence that was somehow awkward. "Dwayne, are you all right? You seem...tense, or something."
"You..." He took a deep breath. "It's not important."
"What did I do?"
"You kissed Charlie."
"Oh." It was slowly dawning on her. Her friend liked her. More than a friend liked her. He was jealous! "Dwayne, truth or dare?"
"Does it matter?" he asked.
"Truth, then. Dwayne, do you like me?"
"Of course. You're my teammate." She could tell he was edging away from the topic.
"Dwayne...as more than a friend?"
Another heavy sigh. "Yes," he said in a small voice. She sat back against the tree again. How did she feel about that?
Well, if the floating feeling in her stomach was any indication, she returned those feelings. 'I do believe I am experiencing my first crush,' she thought to herself. She smiled, an idea taking shape. She rested her hand on the arm of his jean jacket, lightly. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Oh," she repeated softly. "I thought you might." In the very scant light from the moon, Dwayne turned to look at her.
"Well, I do."
"Good. Now kiss me, please." He grinned and obeyed, holding her face gently between his hands. Now he had that floating feeling in his own stomach.
"Found them!" Jesse's voice shouted, and a flashlight was shone in their faces. "Oh. Um, NEVER MIND! Continue, please. Just pretend I was never here," he stammered, spinning away and crashing through the underbrush. Maurae laughed and looked down slightly. Dwayne grinned and shook his head. He touched his lips to hers again, gently, once.
"We've been caught. Come on, let's go back." He got up and lifted her to her feet, holding her hand as he led her back to the campfire.
"So, who's it this time?" Maurae asked, her face red, as she and Dwayne broke through the tree cover. The rest of the team was crowded around the campfire. "Man, word travels fast around here," she remarked softly to Dwayne.
"Are you two...I mean..."
"I should have dared her to kiss Dwayne," Julie said, smiling.
"Charlie and I are just friends," Maurae said, shrugging again. Adam opened his mouth to add himself to the list. "So is Adam, and Jess, and...well, take a roll call," she added, beating Adam to it. She squeezed Dwayne's hand then, to let him know he was exempt from that roll call.
"Well..." was all Portman could manage. They all laughed and settled around the campfire for Averman's ghost stories. Maurae and Dwayne held hands until they went to bed.
A/N: Thanks soooooo much to antiIRONY for her wonderful ideas for "party games." You're the awesomest! Your wish is granted. The romance is given, and I hope it's accepted.
The next chapter is going to be the airport/departure for the out-of-state Ducks. I hope you guys like it. It MIGHT be possible, however remotely, that I won't update for a while; finals are next week.
Maurae was in the guest room at Adam's house again, packing her remaining things back into the suitcase. She paused when she came to the numerous small packages she'd received from her teammates.
Sitting down, she drew the first into her lap and carefully unwrapped it. From Les and Greg, it was a book of jokes and a small box of sour fruit jelly beans (her favorite candy). She smiled fondly and packed both into her carry-on. Next came a brightly wrapped package from Julie and Connie. It was a clear box filled with different make-up, with a note taped to the top: For your fabulous appreciation of color. She put it in her suitcase. From Dean and Fulton she received a CD: Evanescence. She raised an eyebrow, but packed it with her CD player in her carry-on. Luis and Ken had wrapped their individual presents and tied them together with the present from Jesse and Guy. Luis had given her a hockey stick charm for her charm bracelet; Ken had given her an address book decorated with stickers from pro hockey teams, making all the others write down their contact information in it before wrapping it. Jesse had given her a new journal, decorated with his hockey card duplicates on the front and back covers (laminated, too). Guy had pasted a photo of the team on the inside of the cover and drawn a duck in hockey equipment on the first page. She packed all three of these in her carry-on, attaching the charm to the bracelet first. Dwayne had told her she was the hardest for him to shop for. He'd handed her the beautifully wrapped box, hugged her, and practically run away. She pulled the small box onto her lap and immediately guessed (as she had with Luis') that it was a jewelry box. Sure enough, once she'd pulled the paper off, the black velvet of the necklace box became visible. She swallowed and opened it, gasping in astonishment. Not a necklace at all, it was a locket bracelet. In each of the seven locket links were two pictures, save in the last one, where there was one, and another note: Pictures last forever.
She immediately clasped it around her wrist, opposite her charm bracelet. She wiped her suspiciously wet eyes and reached for the final package. It was from Charlie and Adam and Jesse, her best friends. She opened it, carefully trying not to tear the paper. Inside lay a beautifully framed photograph of she and the three boys, from their victory celebration after the playoffs game three weeks before. The whole team had changed back to street clothes and pulled on their new Ducks jerseys on over shirts. Maurae stood grinning, her arms around Adam and Jesse's waists, their arms around her shoulders, with Charlie kneeling at their feet, holding the trophy. All four were grinning blissfully.
No longer suspiciously wet, her eyes now released a flood worthy of Niagara Falls. She pulled her legs up and buried her face in the picture on her legs, sobbing. The bed sank next to her and Adam hugged her tightly.
"We'll keep in touch. I'll come out and visit you, and we'll stay friends. Come on, Ro, don't cry."
"I can't help it. I feel like I'm leaving forever, like I've known you all my life. I don't know how I'll go back to being me in Colorado..." She turned and tried a smile. "You're my best friend, Ads."
"And you mine. We didn't give you that picture to cry over, you know. We gave it so you'd always remember the happy moments."
"I know. Thank you. I'll hang it up as soon as I get home."
"Hold off on those plans, princess. Bombay wants us all on the porch," Charlie said, following Jesse into the room. She shook her head and smiled weakly.
"Coming." She put the picture on top of the carry-on and let them lead her out of the room. Philip and Kelly Banks had decided to have a barbeque to celebrate the Ducks' win, and to say goodbye to their houseguest. Newly thirteen years old, Maurae was supposed to be flying back to Denver in a few days. She sat cross-legged on a chair and the three boys sat down on the bench next to her.
"Good, now that we're all here, I have something I would like to tell you. I have the plane tickets for those of you who are shipping out soon. That is number one. Number two is this: We are going on a victory camp-out tomorrow night." He waited out the sudden chatter. "And number three. You fourteen will be going to high school in two years, and Eden Hall Academy, my alma mater, is offering you full-ride athletic scholarships for the four years you are in high school."
Maurae sat stunned. She almost didn't believe what she was hearing. A full-ride to a school that even she had heard of? Her parents might not jump at the opportunity, but they would certainly push her towards it.
She rose up to the campgrounds in a giant van, squished between Dean and a window. First in, last out, so she waited patiently while the others untangled their gear and got out, heading for the campground. Maurae was just glad to get out of the van. Dean had been getting heavier as the bumps in the road increased.
She was last out and stood under the massive trees, just looking around before she joined the throng to collect her stuff from the van. She shouldered her backpack and grabbed her sleeping bag and followed the leader through the trees.
"Hey, Les?" she called up to Averman, two people ahead of her. He turned around to walk backwards.
"Yeah?"
"You have any good ghost stories?" she asked.
"Of course."
"Good. Keep them to yourself tonight!" Several people laughed, including Averman, who turned his face forward again, just in time to trip over a tree root. That made everyone laugh, including him.
"That will teach me to walk backwards through the woods," he groused, mock- petulant. The short hike resumed after Dwayne and Goldberg had hauled him to his feet. Dwayne dropped back to walk with her at the end of the line.
"I can't believe we're all going home next week," she said softly, trying not to look at him. He smiled slightly. "It just seems like it's all been some sort of a dream, you know? Or maybe a nightmare, what with Adam's sprained wrist, and all the exhaustion and brutality from the Vikings."
"Winning was fun, though, admit it," he said. "Even after we'd assured ourselves it didn't matter."
"Winning was sweet. But the friends I made...that was really the only part that mattered. I'll always remember that." She held up her wrist, the one that bore the locket bracelet he'd given her. "After all, pictures are forever." He pulled her hand through the crook of his arm and grinned.
"Yup, pictures last a thousand years and more. I wanted you to remember us. That was before I found out we'd be coming back here for high school. Another four years together."
"Yeah," she said, subdued, not knowing how her family would react to the announcement. Besides, it was still a year and a half away. She decided not to worry about it just then. "So, camping. I haven't been camping since Brownies," she declared, pushing her sobering thoughts to the back of her mind.
"Me neither. Though not the Brownies stuff. I like to sleep out sometimes, but never actual camping."
"Good, then I'm not alone."
"Oh, I doubt any of us city kids have been camping very recently either, Ro," Jesse said, swinging his arm up over her shoulders. Dwayne shot him a momentary glare before fixing his smile back in place. People may have thought of him as some dumb hick, but he was smart. He hated big words; they confused him. And for some reason, since he was always cheerful, no matter his real mood, people took it for granted that he was stupid. Maurae didn't, obviously. But everyone else thought he was something like the village idiot, seeing as he was a Texan. A proud Texan, too.
"Good. I won't feel like such an idiot," she said, handing him her sleeping bag and using her newly freed hand to peel her best friend's from her shoulders. "Now, mind respecting my space?"
"Is somebody in a bad mood again?" Jesse teased.
"No, somebody is very happy today, so long as somebody else doesn't ruin said happiness. Besides, you're such a big strong man, surely carrying my sleeping bag won't be too much trouble for you," she teased right back. Jesse glanced at Dwayne, then at Maurae and shook his head.
"No trouble. I wouldn't want you to strain your pretty little self, carrying this big, heavy sleeping bag."
"Good. Thanks for carrying it. Don't drop it." She grinned and blew him a kiss. Jesse smiled and left, trotting to catch back up to Charlie and Adam, near the front of the pack.
Maurae yawned and Goldberg threw a marshmallow at her, which, naturally, started a marshmallow war. Fortunately, they got themselves under control before they'd ruined too many marshmallows.
Then Dwayne, on her left, started to strum a tune familiar to them all, and Averman started singing. On the chorus, they all joined in, doing a particular kind of sit-down dance routine. Lots of stomping feet and swaying. Maurae laughed along with the others, but she sang as loud and danced as fast as her friends.
It was almost eleven when the caffeine-deprived adults decided to retire to the camper trailered to the back of Bombay's van. The kids eagerly sat in a closer circle around the fire. "Ghost stories?" Maurae asked, shooting Averman a look.
"Better," Portman said, smirking. "Truth or Dare?"
Maurae buried her crimson face in her hands, muttering something no one caught. Then she looked up. "Well, you've been evil since I met you. Why would our last night together be any different?" she asked rhetorically. "All right. Bring it on." Portman rubbed his hands together eagerly.
"Me first," he said. "Fulton, truth or dare?"
"No way, dude. Dare."
"All right. Strip and go jump in the lake." Fulton got up, walked down the hill to the water and started to strip. The others followed him with their flashlights. Fulton did as he'd been told and jumped in the lake. As soon as he got out, Charlie, laughing hysterically, tossed him a blanket and they left him in peace to dress. A few minutes later, he reappeared, his hair still wet with lakewater. He sat next to the fire and pulled on a sweater over his t-shirt.
"You're dead for that later, Portman," he said. "So...who's next...? Julie, truth or dare?"
"Truth," she replied promptly.
"Have you ever wanted to make out with a Bash Brother?"
"Of course. Why do you think I was kissing Portman?" she replied. It was so quiet, they could hear the waves hit the lakeshore. Maurae coughed, hiding her laughter. Julie raised an eyebrow. "All right, the next victim will be Ro, then. Truth or Dare?"
Everyone fully expected her to choose truth; she hated dares, and she normally didn't believe in them. "Dare." Open-mouthed, Julie immediately had to revise her question into a dare.
"Dare...dare...you wanted to make this difficult, didn't you?"
"Just being unpredictable," she retorted with a grin.
"Fine...kiss Charlie. We'll make it easy."
"That just complicates it. What kind of kiss would be appropriate to fulfill my dare?" Maurae retorted. Julie smiled wickedly.
"What do you think?" Maurae's eyes widened, Dwayne snapped a stick in half and Charlie's jaw dropped. Then Maurae gave her friend a nod and a smile, acknowledging the challenge in Julie's voice that only she or Connie would have recognized.
"You're good, Jules. I'll give you that much." Maurae got up and deposited herself in Charlie's lap. "This isn't going to hurt, Spazway," she said affectionately before pressing her lips to his. Not knowing what to do with his hands, exactly, he wrapped his arms around her back and returned the kiss. Maurae pulled back, her face a deeper crimson than any of them had ever seen. She got up and returned to her former place, still flushed. "Luis, truth or dare?"
"Hold on, chica. Just give me a minute to wrap my mind around what I just saw..."
"Aw, I'm bored of this anyway," Adam said. "Let's do something else."
"Flashlight tag," Russ said. There was a round of agreement, and Maurae shook her head, amused. She got up, dusting off her jeans and turned on her flashlight.
"Luis is it," she said.
"Why me?"
"You managed to squirrel out of Truth or Dare, dude," Portman pointed out. Luis nodded reluctantly and grinned, sitting down again. Fulton dropped the slightly damp blanket over his head and the team split in fourteen different directions. Maurae had her flashlight on low power so no one would be able to track her. She walked a while aimlessly, letting her feet run on automatic. She finally found a tree behind which three or four of them could hide and grinned, switching off her light. She could still see the glow of the campfire, so she knew she wasn't too far from them. She sat with her back against the tree bole, half-listening to the sounds her friends were making. The other half of her attention, or rather, most of her attention, was focused on what had just happened.
Kissing Charlie, she'd felt nothing. It was like kissing her brothers goodnight, or kissing Adam goodnight, which she'd done. Those two, and Jesse, were her dearest friends, but they were her brothers. She couldn't have any romantic feelings for them. She sighed softly and shrugged.
Someone shone a flashlight in her face briefly. "Mind if I join you?" asked Dwayne's soft Texas drawl.
"Of course. There's plenty of room." Despite that statement, he sat down right next to her. They sat there in silence that was somehow awkward. "Dwayne, are you all right? You seem...tense, or something."
"You..." He took a deep breath. "It's not important."
"What did I do?"
"You kissed Charlie."
"Oh." It was slowly dawning on her. Her friend liked her. More than a friend liked her. He was jealous! "Dwayne, truth or dare?"
"Does it matter?" he asked.
"Truth, then. Dwayne, do you like me?"
"Of course. You're my teammate." She could tell he was edging away from the topic.
"Dwayne...as more than a friend?"
Another heavy sigh. "Yes," he said in a small voice. She sat back against the tree again. How did she feel about that?
Well, if the floating feeling in her stomach was any indication, she returned those feelings. 'I do believe I am experiencing my first crush,' she thought to herself. She smiled, an idea taking shape. She rested her hand on the arm of his jean jacket, lightly. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
"Oh," she repeated softly. "I thought you might." In the very scant light from the moon, Dwayne turned to look at her.
"Well, I do."
"Good. Now kiss me, please." He grinned and obeyed, holding her face gently between his hands. Now he had that floating feeling in his own stomach.
"Found them!" Jesse's voice shouted, and a flashlight was shone in their faces. "Oh. Um, NEVER MIND! Continue, please. Just pretend I was never here," he stammered, spinning away and crashing through the underbrush. Maurae laughed and looked down slightly. Dwayne grinned and shook his head. He touched his lips to hers again, gently, once.
"We've been caught. Come on, let's go back." He got up and lifted her to her feet, holding her hand as he led her back to the campfire.
"So, who's it this time?" Maurae asked, her face red, as she and Dwayne broke through the tree cover. The rest of the team was crowded around the campfire. "Man, word travels fast around here," she remarked softly to Dwayne.
"Are you two...I mean..."
"I should have dared her to kiss Dwayne," Julie said, smiling.
"Charlie and I are just friends," Maurae said, shrugging again. Adam opened his mouth to add himself to the list. "So is Adam, and Jess, and...well, take a roll call," she added, beating Adam to it. She squeezed Dwayne's hand then, to let him know he was exempt from that roll call.
"Well..." was all Portman could manage. They all laughed and settled around the campfire for Averman's ghost stories. Maurae and Dwayne held hands until they went to bed.
A/N: Thanks soooooo much to antiIRONY for her wonderful ideas for "party games." You're the awesomest! Your wish is granted. The romance is given, and I hope it's accepted.
The next chapter is going to be the airport/departure for the out-of-state Ducks. I hope you guys like it. It MIGHT be possible, however remotely, that I won't update for a while; finals are next week.