"Careful!"
Careful. It seemed to be the only thing Santana said – or shouted, anymore. The young boy about to jump off the dock looked down and noticed the girl surfacing near his intended jump spot. As she swam away he shot Santana a sheepish look, waiting for her to give him the OK. She nodded at him and he proceeded to jump in.
Santana sat back in her chair, placing the whistle between her teeth. Careful. Once the campers had arrived, the word made a home in her vocal chords, never going too far. Even with the other two lifeguards on duty with her, her head was on a swivel, catching and preventing accidents like the one that could have just occurred.
With a different group of campers hitting the water on a constant rotation throughout the day, Santana rarely had a free moment. She chatted with her friends at lunch, but even then the conversations were rushed as they had to get back to their bunks' tables. After the campers went to sleep, everyone was too wiped to hang out. Even the usually energetic and sociable Dan stopped trying to get people to hang out after hours. Waking up early and crashing late was taking its toll on everyone.
One thing Santana was thankful for was the lack of a roommate. Sometimes she missed being able to gossip and talk about the day as she fell asleep, but for the most part she enjoyed not having to interact with someone so closely, especially when she came back from a long day on the water and just needed to lie down and close her eyes.
"How's the lake been?"
Santana picked her head up from where it had been resting on her arms on a table in the dining hall. She yawned and poured herself a glass of water as Jen and Samantha sat down across from her. At dinner the counselors were allowed a freer reign with where they chose to sit, leading Samantha, Jen, Brittany, and Santana to sit together.
"Tiring"
"You look great though," Jen commented. "You're so tan!" She continued, noting Santana's confused face.
"Jen, you're paler than a piece of paper, of course I look tan," Santana teased.
"She can't be paler than I am," Brittany held out an arm as she sat down next to Santana.
"But your freckles are so cute, Britt!" Jen laughed as she pushed Brittany's arm away.
"Yeah, Dan thinks so too," Samantha smirked.
Santana watched Brittany turn a deep shade of red. Well that was fast, she thought to herself as she bit into the sandwich she was holding. She couldn't say she had been flirting with Dan, but she almost felt offended that the boy turned to pursue someone else after only a week and a half.
"Guys, we're just friends" Brittany insisted. "He asked me for dance lessons"
"Oh, that's what it's called nowadays?" Santana smirked, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.
Jen and Samantha laughed while Brittany's blush only deepened. As if on cue, Dan sat down next to Brittany.
"What's up, ladies?"
Brittany buried her head in her arms as the other three burst into fresh peals of laughter. Dan watched on, wondering what about his appearance could be so hysterical.
The first full week of camp moved pretty quickly. Friday rolled around and Santana woke up to the sound of rain beating down on her window. She sighed, partially with relief and partially with annoyance. Santana actually enjoyed her job and was bummed the lake would be closed, but was also relieved to have a relatively free day.
She had a leisurely breakfast and cleaned up her room, which, without the presence of another person to be mindful of, had deteriorated into a mess. Deciding she needed to move around, she slipped into boots and a rain coat and headed over to the multipurpose building where activities were moved to in case of inclement weather. The building contained an indoor basketball court with a stage at one end where play practice was held. Surrounding the court were small classrooms and a few administrative offices.
Santana poked her head into the gym and found Dan leading some basketball drills. She stood in the doorway and watched as he showed a boy no taller than his waist how to dribble. There was something undeniably charming about watching him help the boy, and Santana couldn't help but smile at the sight. Careful, she warned herself, hesitant to become mushy due to the scene before her.
Dan saw Santana in the doorway and grinned, waving quickly before moving on to the next camper. Santana watched for a few more moments before leaving, not wanting to give Dan the satisfaction of an audience. She passed a few classrooms and did a double take past one in particular.
The door was closed but Santana peered into the room through a narrow window in the door. She watched as about 20 girls imitated, or attempted to imitate, their dance instructor. Brittany had her hair in a loose ponytail and wore a fitted t-shirt with baggy sweats and a pair of worn sneakers. Her cheeks were red but she smiled on as she encouraged the girls in front of her with some tricky moves.
Santana watched the blonde closely as she restarted the music, which was faint through the door, and proceeded to go through the entire routine with the campers observing her. The Latina found her eyebrows raise in surprised admiration at some of the moves Brittany made. She could see the girl was truly a dancer in the way the music guided her, every motion crisp yet also blending together into one fluid rhythm. After a minute or two Brittany stopped the music and looked towards the back of the room at what Santana assumed was a clock on the wall. The blonde's eyes flitted to the door, catching Santana's.
The darker girl blushed and took a step back as Brittany dismissed the campers and they poured out of the room. She stood awkwardly in the hall, not knowing if she should leave or step into the classroom, and not knowing why she felt so awkward.
"Santana! Come in," Brittany called out, making the decision for her. Santana stepped in and closed the door behind her. Brittany took a long swig from her water bottle and sat on a bench to the side of the room. Santana sat next to her, observing the slight sheen of sweat that covered her forehead.
"You can really fucking move," Santana commented, still wondering why she felt so intimidated by the blonde.
Brittany's face lit up. "Thanks! I've been dancing forever, so, you know. No big deal but…" She gave a little shrug as she trailed off, smirking as Santana realized her cockiness wasn't serious. Santana chuckled.
"Well, it shows"
Suddenly shy, Brittany blushed and tucked some loose hairs behind her ear. "I'm really not that good," she replied.
"Oh please, I look like I'm having a seizure when I try to dance," Santana said, even though up until recently she had considered herself a decent dancer.
"I could teach you! I mean, I'm sure you're a great dancer, I didn't mean to imply that you aren't, but if you wanted to practice or…" Brittany rambled on.
Santana chuckled again. "You mean you want to give me dance lessons like Dan's dance lessons?"
The blonde's cheeks reddened even more but she quickly regained her composure. "Well first of all, Dan is not getting "dance lessons", and second of all, Santana, I usually prefer my women red-headed. Call it a secret turn on of mine." She shrugged again, smiling as she watched Santana try to figure out if she was serious.
The Latina decided she was being serious and it made her shift slightly in her seat, suddenly very aware of the fact that they were alone in a classroom with the door closed. She guessed this observation didn't really mean anything and shook her head slightly. Santana realized Brittany was watching her with that curious look she'd seen before and she stood up.
"Can I get a rain check on those dance lessons?" She asked as she smoothed out her shirt.
Brittany stood too and moved to the center of the room where she started stretching. Santana watched as the blonde slowly dropped into a split and couldn't help but wonder if she was doing it on purpose.
"Of course," Brittany answered from the floor.
"Cool" Santana smiled and quickly left the room, leaving Brittany to stretch in silence.
The rain cleared up in the afternoon so Santana headed down to the lake and got a few more bunks in the water. The day went on like any regular day, except it was cooler after the rain – not that Santana minded. It was a nice break from the typically scorching summer days.
As she lay in bed that night she remembered tomorrow was her day off. She turned off her alarm, excited to sleep late in the morning. That night a blurred blonde figure danced through the dreams she would not remember.