ConSeQuences

by themoonwriters

A consequence is a result or conclusion. Most actions have a consequence that follows as a result. Will Edward be able to withstand the repercussions of his actions? Has he pushed Bella one too many times?

10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. No copyright infringement is intended. ©2021

Thank you to my fabulous pre-readers, my co-writer and BohemianRituals!

It's been while since I've updated but I had to step back and do some self-care. You can get so caught up in taking care of everything and everybody else, you forget about you.

I have more to say but I'll save the rest for the bottom…

Chapter 10: All In

Bella

The week went by in a blur, as summer camp was winding down for the kids. While the kids were looking forward to their two-week break of doing nothing before school started in mid-August, some of the parents wished summer camp extended closer to when school started.

Usually, the kids went on outings once a week but this year, for the last week, we decided to take them out every day.

Each age group opted to do something different in their final week. The older group, twelve- and thirteen-year olds, wanted to go to Six Flags Great America, bowling at Lucky Strike, miniature golfing at Haunted Trails, K1-Speed for go kart racing and ending their week at Humboldt Park Beach.

Monday, we took our group to Chicago History Museum, where they climbed the very first 'L' train car and rode high-wheels bikes.

Tuesday was SafeHouse Chicago, where they got a chance to play undercover spies for the day, with a world of interactive espionage.

Wednesday we found ourselves skating and playing mini golf at Maggie Daley Park.

Thursday was scavenger hunt day at Urban Adventure Quest, where the kids competed against each other solving clues, all while learning local history.

Friday held the grand finale, indoor skydiving.

Grayson had mentioned the place to me some weeks ago but didn't want to say anything until he knew for certain he could secure iFly, at an affordable price.

They say it's a wonderful thing when you know people in high places… well this isn't necessarily high, but it worked out because the manager, Owen, at iFly and Grayson went to high school together and were still pretty close friends.

When Owen found out that Grayson wanted to bring the kids, he reserved some private rooms for flight class, gearing up and then for the actual flight time for four hours.

After everyone exited the bus in their green and white Chicago State University t-shirts, we were greeted by some of the iFly staff helping us to get checked in and secured wristbands on everyone, before they separated our group of sixty into three different groups, to the classrooms.

Much to my sassy group of girls liking, Grayson and his group of boys were in the same classroom as we were.

"Welcome." The young gentleman smiled, as we walked in. After all the kids were seated, he continued. "My name is George and I'll be your trainer today for the first-time flyer training." He paused briefly. "I always enjoy teaching the kiddos and look forward to learning your names, but may I have your names first?" He looked at the adults standing in the back of the room.

"Sure." Grayson nodded. "I'm Grayson."

I held my hand up. "I'm Bella."

"I'm Jodie." My assistant said.

"And I'm Cameron." Grayson's assistant smiled.

"Perfect." George clapped his hands together. "Now, let's start from this side of the room and work our way over." He pointed.

For the next few minutes each child gave him their first name and that was followed with orientation, showing the basics of indoor skydiving and he opened the floor for any questions.

Thirty minutes later George took us to another room so everyone could warm-up with stretches.

Shortly after, other staff entered the room with little red and blue wind tunnel jumpsuits and helmets, standing in the back of the room.

"Oooo, I can't wait." Janie squealed.

"Me too." Ruthie chimed in.

"I've been looking forward to this since Grayson told us about it." Corey said from across the room.

Grayson looked at me smiling.

The kids had the reaction he had hoped they would.

I don't know who was more excited, him or the kids.

One of the female staff members spoke up. "Ladies if you'll follow me so you can get changed." She turned to walk away but quickly turned back. "My name is Michele, by the way."

"Hi Michele." Some of the girls waved.

"Alright little ladies, let's follow her." Jodie said.

The girls fell in a single line behind Jodie, following the staff member, with me in the back.

As I was leaving the room, I heard a guy directing Grayson's group to another room, as well.

We followed the staff member down the hall and turned right, following her into a locker room.

"Alright." She smiled. "May I recommend you ladies use the restroom first…" She paused, pointing in the direction of the stalls on the other side of the room. "…before you put your gear on. I'll be standing right outside. Once you're ready just come out so I can escort you to your flight room."

"Thank you." I nodded. "We'll be out shortly."

"Um, Bella, do we have to take off our clothes?" Iris asked.

"No, honey." I chuckled. "The suit should fit over your clothes just fine."

"Okay." She shook her head and started untying her shoes.

"But before you do that, will all of you please go use the restroom? Then you can take your shoes off to slide the suit on." Jodie said.

Five of the girls ran towards the stalls while the other five waited for them to come out.

Gracie plopped down next to me on the bench. "Bella, I'm gonna miss you."

I bit my lip to hide my laughter, as Gracie folded her arms pouting.

I loved my job and I loved all of my girls. They each had their own little personalities and were not afraid to be themselves. That was just one of the many things I liked about my group.

Even though I was looking forward to going back to school because of my drama filled summer, I was going to miss my girls.

"Aww, I'm going to miss you too, sweetie." I threw my arm around her and pulled her closer to me. "We'll find a way to stay in touch."

"Really?" Gracie beamed. "Can I call or email you?"

"As long as your parents say it's okay, yeah." I smiled.

"They will." Her smile was wide. "We can ask when Mommy picks me up."

I nodded agreeing.

"Ask what?" Mia said as she walked up.

"I'm gonna ask my mom if I can call and email Bella after camp is over."

"Ooh, can I call and email you too?" Mia bounced on her toes.

"Sure, but we have to ask your mom first."

"Me too!" Janie said wiping her hands with paper towel.

That started a domino effect of the whole group asking.

"Okay, ladies, I'll give all of you my phone number and email address but first we have to clear it with your parents."

"Yay!" Cora giggled.

"Now, since that's settled, let's get our suits on." Jodie pointed towards the door. "Michele has been waiting on us."

Everyone slid their suits on with ease.

Several minutes later we stepped outside of the dressing room to find a waiting Michele.

"All right, ladies." She gently clapped her hands together. "We're going to split you up into two groups." Michele looked at me. "Can you stay with one group and Jodie goes with the other group?"

"Sure." I said.

"Perfect." Michele started to count. "Okay, I need the first ten go with Bella to room nine." She pointed down the hall. "The ten with Jodie, I need you all to go next door to room ten."

"Aww, we have to separate?" Janie pouted.

"Yes, sweetie." Michele chuckled. "Your group is kinda big, so we have to separate you all to make sure everyone gets their turn."

"Oh, okay." Janie smiled.

This was a tight-knit group this year, unlike last summer. Most of the girls in the group this year went to the same school or lived in the same neighborhood. So, I wasn't surprised they didn't want to be separated.

Before I lead my group down the hall, they all hugged as if they weren't going to see each other and each lunch together after their flying time.

Jodie caught my eye, as we both shook our heads, snorting.

"Are you ladies good now?" I chuckled.

"Yes." They sang in unison.

When we headed down the hall to our designated room, I opened the door to a tall guy with sandy brown hair, chestnut brown eyes, with a warm smile. "Hello and welcome." He greeted. "My name is Jaxon and I'll be your flying instructor today.

The little ladies were swooning already. "Hi." They all giggled.

I had to give it to them, they had pretty good taste in guys. Jaxon was nice to look at with his one deep dimple on his right cheek and I could tell he worked out, even with his jumpsuit on.

"Hi." I extended my hand. "I'm Bella. Nice to meet you Jaxon."

"The pleasure is mine." He said as we shook hands, quickly.

"Are there any questions before we get started?" Jaxon asked.

"No." I said, as the girls shook their heads.

"Great! Let's get started." He smiled.

Jaxon walked to the other side of the room, flipping a switch and moments later I heard fans and felt a lot of wind, while standing next to the chamber.

"Since you all are already standing in a line, we'll start with…" He paused to read her name tag. "…Mackenzie."

One by one he took each girl in the flight chamber allowing them about five minutes, when the normal time is usually ninety seconds.

I stood outside taking pictures, which I knew their parents would love, as they made funny faces and tried different crazy moves.

We enjoyed ourselves so much, the next two hours flew by quickly, as the group took several turns.

Jaxon asked me to come in and give it a whirl a few times, but I declined. I wanted the girls to have as much times as they could.

We were only a matter of hours away from leaving for our camping trip in Makanda.

Gray had stopped mouthing off about beating me at paintball and I hadn't brought it up anymore either but Tanya and I had been brushing up on our skills with her father.

He was going down!

Gracie was the last one flying while the rest of us waited outside for her and Jaxon to finish up.

He looked down at his watch, while Gracie plopped down by the rest of the group. "Finished up right on time." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'd be willing to give you a minute to fly before you all head to lunch, if you'd like."

Was he flirting?

I glanced back at the girls who were intently watching us.

"Thank you, but I'm good." I thumbed behind me. "I'm sure they're hungry. Plus, they need to get changed so they can eat."

He smiled and nodded. "Sure."

I turned around facing them. "Okay, girly's let's get changed."

After everyone changed, we met the rest of the group in our reserved room.

Once we entered the room, we all immediately stopped, noticing the huge spread of food that covered the table.

There was a variety of sandwiches, roll ups, chips, pasta salads, cookies, cakes, along with selections of drinks.

Some were already enjoying themselves, including Jodie and her group, talking and laughing in their own conversations, while others were fixing their plates.

"Wow, that's a lot of food." Gracie looked with wide eyes.

"Yeah, a whole lot." Ruthie agreed.

"Come on." Ava waved at us from the table. "Whatcha waiting for. Grab your food and come sit down."

At the beginning of camp, Ava started out shy and reserved, as she was one of the few girls that didn't live in the neighborhood or go to school with the rest of the girls in the group. But as time passed, she became more comfortable with everyone and her sweet personality came out even more.

"Go ahead, dig in girls." I waved my hand towards the table.

The girls quickly walked to the table and began to fix their plates.

Grayson and the other assistants were already seated when he waved me over.

I grabbed a turkey and swiss sandwich, with some chips, fruit and peach tea.

I sat next to Jodie, across from Grayson. "Hey Bee." Grayson smiled. "How did you like it?"

"Hey, Gray." I smiled back. "I didn't go. The girls were so excited I decided to take some pics for their parents."

He nodded, smiling. "I didn't go either but not because I was taking pictures. I've been here so much I decided to let the kids enjoy, especially since it was their first time."

"Well, I took my turn." Jodie laughed. "Does that sound bad?" She scrunched her nose.

We all laughed at the funny look on her face.

"Girl no." I bumped her elbow with mine.

We sat and talked about the week of outings we had with the kids and what we liked the most for the next hour. I passed my phone around so they could see some pictures of the crazy faces the girls made during their flying time.

Before we left, Owen came in to meet the kids and to make sure they enjoyed themselves, giving them free iFly t-shirts.

"I wanted to thank you again, Owen, for setting everything up for the kids, I think this was their favorite trip for the week." I said.

"I'm glad I could help." We smiled genuinely. "We usually sponsor a few groups during the summer, so when Grayson called and asked about bringing the group in, I reserved the rooms and the caters."

"I'll have to keep that in mind for next year then."

"Sure. Just let me know and I'll set it for you." Owen nodded.

Grayson walked up. "Can't thank you enough Dude." Grayson held his fist out to Owen for a pound.

"You know I got you."

"All right little dudes and dudetts, time to head out." Cameron said to the group.

"Make sure you don't forget your t-shirts, guys." I added.

Moments later everyone boarded the bus, sitting comfortably in their seats.

The kids talked about the week of field trips and what their favorite moments were as the bus headed back to campus.

"You ready for your beat down this weekend?" Grayson smirked, as he bumped my leg with his.

"So not happening." I snorted.

"Accept defeat Swan."

"I know no defeat in paintball, Walsh."

"You're about to learn."

"I doubt that."

"Ah, so there is some doubt then." Grayson chuckled.

"None what's so ever." I said matter-of-factly.

The conversation ended with him laughing shaking his head, as the bus pulled in next to the grassy area.

Jodie stood at the front of the bus. "All right, I want you all to form a single-file line in the aisle…" She pointed. "…with no pushing or rushing to get off of the bus." She paused looking at the children, intently. "Do you understand?"

"Yes." The kids sang in unison.

"Perfect!" She smiled. "Line up."

I watched as they did exactly what Jodie asked, walking off of the bus. She along with the other assistant exited the bus following behind the children, walking them to the locker room area to make sure they had all of their belongs.

Grayson stood up first, with his hand extended to me. "Well, Bee, we made it. Some days were rougher than other, but we made it through without any broken bones or major injuries."

I put my hand in his, standing up, laughing. "We should celebrate."

"And celebrate we will." He laughed with me.

"But first we have to get the kids squared away before their parents pick them up."

"Lead the way." Grayson gestured with his hand as I stepped into the aisle walking off of the bus.

Before we walked in different directions, Grayson got my attention. "Okay, so Leo and Graham should be here soon, then we'll meet you and the group at your house, right?"

"Yeah, that's the plan." I slowly started walking backwards.

"Cool." He walked in the other direction. "See ya later."

"See ya."

For the next thirty-minutes, Jodie and I made sure the girls' lockers were cleaned out before we sat on the grass near the parent pick-up spot, as we ate our last summer camp snack together.

"Bella, I'm going to miss you so much." Gracie said with her face buried in my armpit.

"I'm going to miss you too." I smiled. "I'm going to miss all of my little ladies." I titled my head, making eye contact with each girl.

"If I ask my mommy to let me come back next summer, will you be my counselor?" Ava asked.

"I'm not sure." I shrugged. "It depends upon what age group they put me with."

"Oh." Ava didn't like my answer.

"Well, maybe you can call us and let us know." Janie spoke up.

"I can do that." I nodded.

"Yes!" Gracie fisted pumped.

"But…" I paused, meeting their expectant eyes. "…we have to get your parent's permission first, remember?"

I hated repeating myself sometimes, but they were kids, that comes with the territory.

They all nodded.

"We remember." Mia said.

One by one the girls asked they're parents if we could exchange phone numbers and email addresses so we could keep in touch and of course they consented.

"I wanna get one last hug from Bella, Mommy." Ava released her mother's hand crashing into my legs hugging them tight.

I leaned down to hug her back. "Aww, Sweetie."

Her mom stood back smiling. "Come on Ava, we have to meet your dad and brothers."

"Go on." I gently removed strands of hair out of her face. "We'll talk soon."

She squeezed my leg one last time before running towards her mother's extended hand.

Ava was the last pick up.

I didn't realize how much I would miss my little ladies until it hit me that I wouldn't see them Monday.

Today was the last day of summer camp.

Each one of my girls held a special place in my heart.

I would definitely be keeping up with them.

CCCCCCCCC

"So, is that everything." Grayson asked as he put my duffle bag in the back of Mr. M's, Tanya's father, SUV.

"Yeah." I nodded. "That's it."

"Cool." Graham clapped his hands together once. "We need to be on the road within the next thirty-minutes, so we get there before check-in ends."

"What time is that?" Garrett asked.

"If we get there at 8:00 or after, we'll have to call to make sure it's okay to check-in today."

Leo looked down at his watch. "I think we can make it before then, the ride is only a little over two hours."

"True, but we don't know what type of traffic we may run into either." Tanya spoke up.

"Good point." Grayson closed the truck. "Let's g—"

"Bella, sweetheart." My mother called from the porch.

I turned around, walking towards her. "Yes."

She walked down the stairs and met me halfway. "Here." She gently placed something in my hand. "This is just in case there's an emergency."

My mother wasn't the overbearing type but whenever I went out of town, especially when neither one of them were going, she'd always give me one of the credit cards with a ridiculously high limit.

"Thanks, Mom." I smiled and hugged her.

"You're welcome." She pulled back, searching my eyes. "I want you to have a good time."

After all the drama with Edward, Mom had been a little more watchful of me.

"I'm sure I will."

"Good." She squeezed my arm. "I won't keep you since I know you all need to go."

I leaned in giving her a quick kiss on the check. "I'll call you when we get there."

"Thanks sweetheart." She turned and waved at everyone. "Bye and it was nice meeting you all."

Mom knew of Grayson, but she'd never met him before today.

"The pleasure was mine." Grayson waved back.

"Yeah, thanks again for the road snacks." Leo said.

"You're welcome." Mom smiled before walking back in the house.

"Everybody ready?" Grayson asked the group.

"Let's hit it." Graham said.

"I'll follow you guys." Garrett said.

"Cool." Graham responded, as he opened the door.

Moments later Garrett pulled off following behind Graham.

Tanya turned around, facing me, from the front passenger seat. "I've been looking forward to this trip since you brought it up." She smirked. "I'm really looking forward to kicking some ass with paintball."

"Me too!" I laughed.

Garrett snorted a laugh. "Go easy on'em girls."

"Nope!" I popped my lips. "Gray has been talking smack the whole time. He's going down."

"That's right, Bee." She scoffed. "No mercy."

Tanya was just as competitive as me when it came to paintball.

After all, it was her father that taught the both of us.

Garrett shook his head and continued to laugh.

He found out the hard way one Saturday when him and a guy we went to high school with, Max, challenged us. All week the two of them talked about how they'd teach us a thing or two and they would go easy on us.

Ha!

Long story short, Max's clothes were full of pellets in less than ten minutes and the only reason Garrett lasted as long as he did is because we enjoyed taunting him.

All is fair in love and paintball.

As the conversation moved away from paintball, we talked about trivial stuff, as music played in the background.

"Did Samantha call back to let you know if she was coming or not?" Tanya asked.

"She texted me a couple of days ago and said she was still coming regardless of Jeff faking out."

"Good." She put a piece of candy in her mouth. "It's not like this is a couple's event or anything. It's just friends hanging out before we go back to school."

"That's exactly what I told her. She thought she would feel like the third wheel since Tiffany and Cedrick are coming."

"They're still together?"

I nodded.

"That's good. I'm happy for Tiffany."

"Me too." I agreed. "He seems like a good guy."

And I meant it too. Just because my relationship with Edward was a mistake of monumental proportions didn't mean I was going to walk around bitter and wish that on everyone else.

Speak of the devil and the asshole shall appear…

Or should I say think of the devil…

My phone vibrated in my hand, with a text message from Edward.

Note the eye roll.

I didn't even bother to read it.

I immediately deleted it.

What was he going to say any different than what he's said in the many text messages he sends every day?

"I'm so sorry, Bella."

"Please forgive me. I'm begging you."

"I miss you."

"I love you so much, Bee."

Blah, blah, blah.

I'm tired of reading it.

You can only say sorry so much before you are sorry.

I don't think he even knows what love is. Because if he truly loved me, he would've done it.

"Who knows maybe Samantha and one of the guys will hit it off." Tanya said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Yeah, maybe. They seem nice but we don't really know them well enough to say either way though." I shrugged one shoulder.

"I'm not worried." Tanya waved her hand dismissively. "Samantha definitely knows how to handle herself."

"She sure does." Garrett laughed. "I remember how she embarrassed that one junior in high school when she was a freshman." He titled his head. "What was his name?"

"Um, Paul, Patrick?" Tanya tried to guess.

"No, it was Percy." I laughed.

"That's it." Garrett nodded. "Percy thought he was going to pull a fast one on her, talking to all those different freshman girls at one time but she busted his ass."

"She fronted his ass right in front of his boys, where he tried to smooth talk her." Tanya rolled her eyes. "I guess he didn't realize females do talk. She'd already heard about his game."

I only nodded because had I listened to the stories I'd heard; I could've avoided the whole mess.

"Oooo, Bee," Tanya briefly covered her mouth with her hand. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean anything by that." She unbuckled her seatbelt, reaching for my hand.

It stung a bit, the truth usually does, but I wasn't upset with her. First of all, I knew Tanya would never say or do anything malicious towards me and secondly, I made the choice to be with Edward.

"T, I'm okay." She searched my eyes. "I promise you, I'm okay. It's not my favorite topic but I'm good."

She exhaled. "Bee, you're my sister from another mister, you know I would never intentionally hurt you, right?"

"I know." I squeezed her hand smiling." "I don't want you to feel like you have to walk on eggshells around me, when a topic like this comes up, okay?"

She nodded with watery eyes. "Okay."

I laughed to prevent from tearing up too. "No crying, T or you're going to make me cry."

She pulled her hand out of mine, fanning her eyes. "Okay, okay, enough with the emo stuff, we're going to fuckn' enjoy ourselves." She buckled herself back in.

Garrett shook his head laughing at us, as we joined in with him.

CCCCCCCCC

"You did damn good, Garrett, keeping up with Graham's driving." Grayson said, standing next to me.

Graham gave Grayson the bird.

"You know I'm telling the truth." He laughed. "How many speeding tickets did you almost get this year?"

"Emphasis on almost." Graham smirked. "You know I can talk my way out of just about anything."

Garrett laughed at their banter. "It wasn't too bad."

"Dude, you're the first to say that." Leo added. "Most of the time we have to pull to the side so the other cars can catch up."

"Aww, I'm not that bad." Graham protested.

Leo stared at Graham blinking his eyes.

"Whatever, dude." Graham pulled his bag from the back.

"Anyway…" Grayson started, as a gray dodge charger pulled up next to Graham's truck.

"Here's the little shrimp now." Leo chuckled.

There were four teenagers that got out of the car.

The first girl I instantly knew that had to be Grayson's sister, they looked alike. She's petite with grayish-blue eyes—she's gorgeous. Then there was a little cutie with dark curly hair, with hazel eyes and bushy eyebrows. He was obviously her boyfriend, as they looked like magnets drawn to each other.

The other two, the girl was a little taller than Grayson's sister, that's not saying much since she's kinda on the short side, but she has the body of a tennis player and the tall lanky guy next to her, with his hand around her waist, looked like he ran track.

"Hey Hobbit." Graham smirked at Grayson's sister.

"I've asked you to stop calling me that, especially in front of people I don't know." Grayson's sister glared.

"All right, all right." Grayson waved his hands. "Before you all get started, let me make some introductions, okay?" He looked between Graham and his sister.

Grayson fist bumped his sister's boyfriend and gently took his sister by the hand. "I have someone I'd like for you to meet, finally."

Her smile widened once her eyes landed on me.

"Bee, this is my baby sister, Theodora, affectionally known as, Teddy. Teddy this is Bella." He smiled.

Teddy immediately released Grayson's hand and hugged me. "Bella it's so nice to finallymeet you face to face." She pulled back and looking in my eyes. "Gray talks about you all of the time." He cleared his throat and coughed. "He told me you were beautiful but wow…" She trailed off.

"Dude, she straight threw you under the bus." Leo chuckled.

I wanted to turn and ask Grayson what exactly he has been saying but now wasn't the time.

"Teddy, the pleasure is all mine. Gray has told me a lot about you, too. And that beautiful thing… it takes one to know one." I winked at her.

She bounced on her toes, as she glanced at her brother. "I like her already." Her boyfriend stood behind her. She slightly gasped. "I'm sorry, baby." Teddy turned around and gave him a quick peck. "Bella this is my boyfriend, Lennox."

Lennox stepped from behind Teddy and extended his hand towards me. "Hi, Bella. It's good to meet you." He turned around and gestured for the other two to step forward. "These are our friends, Mika and Jett."

I stepped up shaking everyone's hands, as Garrett and Tanya stood off to the side. "These are my two best friends, Tanya and Garrett."

Just as everyone was done greeting each other, a Ford, Escape pulled in.

Tanya squinted her eyes, trying to see. "I think that's Tiffany."

Moments later, Cedrick exited the driver's seat, while Tiffany and Samantha opened their doors. But Tiffany got out before Samantha did.

"Hey Bee and T." Tiffany's voice was bubbly.

"Hey Tif." Tanya and I said in unison, as we took turns hugging her.

"How you are doing Ced." Him and Garrett did some kind of handshake.

We all looked back when we heard the car door close.

"Who is that." I heard Graham ask Grayson, even though I don't think he meant for me to hear.

Grayson shrugged his shoulders.

"Hey, Girl." Tanya walked towards Samantha. "It's about time you got out."

"Sorry about that, I was trying to end a call." Her gaze flicked upward quickly. "Anyway, hey everybody, I'm Samantha." She smiled.

I hugged her and then hooked my arm through hers. "Okay, so let me introduce you to everyone."

Graham had the biggest grin on his face I'd seen since I met him, looking like a Cheshire cat.

CCCCCCCCC

I raced out of the wood cabin, with my bunk bed blankets hanging half-way off, with clothes hanging out of my duffle bag. That's not my usual behavior but none of that matter right now. I had to get outside to prepare.

My partner in crime wasn't as vested as I was, she was still taking a long hot shower, when I closed the creaky door behind me. I wasn't worried at all; I knew she would bring her A-game today.

By the time we'd gotten checked in and relaxed from the drive yesterday, it was too late to check out the campgrounds and all the best hiding spots. Plus, I didn't want Gray to know what I was doing.

I can be kinda…how should I put it… driven when it comes to sports.

Hey, don't judge me.

The weather was perfect. The sun shone brilliantly against the water, without a cloud in the sky and if I had to guess, I'd say it was about eighty degrees.

The perfect weather for paintball.

I continued to walk until I knew I'd found the spot I'm sure we'd game in.

As I trailed off into the deeper part of the forest, a familiarity came back to me. I took a moment and inhaled the aroma of nature, something I'd always loved to do, even as a child.

As I continued on my sightseeing, I noticed the tall trees, brushing the sky, while some of the older ones, drunkenly laid against one another, while others had completely fallen, offering places to hide.

I turned left and saw in the distance a row of cabins, that looked similar to ours. Suddenly, I was flooded with memories of mine and Tanya's family going to our cabins several times a year celebrating holidays or just because.

The many late-night conversations Tanya and I had, talking until the sun came up.

Sitting around campfires toasting marshmallows, trying to see who could tell the spookiest story, which Mr. M or my dad always won, scaring us so badly, we almost slept in their laps for the rest of the night.

Life seemed so much simpler then.

When did it get so complicated?

Feeling the pull to the water, I stepped closer, giving myself a moment of reprieve, forgetting the cluster fuck my life turned into.

I was calm, relaxed.

It was something about the turquoise-blue water that was tranquil, even as the waves crashed against the limestone rocks. It calmed me as the cylinders of light moved in an enthralling, rhythmatic, hypnotic dance.

After several minutes of standing there, with only the sounds of nature, it dawned on me that I had slowly lost pieces of myself while being so immersed in this relationship. I put up with bullshit I normally wouldn't allow.

How the hell did I get here?

I was brought out of my inner musing.

"Hey." Grayson called gently.

I turned around, facing him. "Hey."

He searched my eyes, moving closer. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, clearing my throat. "Yeah."

"You sure?" His brows furrowed.

"I'm sure." I smiled, deciding to let it go for now.

"Okay." He titled his head to the side. "But if you need to talk, you know I'm here, even if you need me to just listen."

Why the hell not?

Maybe I needed to hear things from a male perspective.

A male that wasn't Edward.

"I think I'll take you up on that." I looked up into his hazel eyes. "Can we talk later today?"

"Sure, anything for you, Bee." He raised one eyebrow and smirked. "You mind telling me what you're doing out here so early?"

He took the conversation from serious to fun, understanding we'd reserve that for later.

"I could ask you the same thing?" I smirked back.

"I plead the fifth."

"That's exactly what you'll be doing later, pleading." I smiled.

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

"So, you were out here trying to find the best spots." Grayson accused."

"I have no idea what you're talking about." I faked innocence, laying my hand on my chest.

"Yeah, right." He snorted. "You're already at a disadvantage because this is my turf." He pointed his finger down to the ground. "We've been coming up here for years, so I know every corner of this place." He waved his hand around. "You're gonna lose, Swan."

I stepped closer to him, putting my hand on his chest. "Not gonna happen, Walsh."

I walked away with a little more swing in my hips. I didn't have to turn around to see if he was watching, I felt his eyes on me.

CCCCCCCCC

"Okay, so this is how it's going to go." Graham paused looking around the circle. "Everyone must wear their masks at all times." He looked pointedly at Grayson. Grayson scoffed. "No blind firing and if someone wants to surrender, you have to allow them to."

He pointed past a set of trees. "That over there is the dead zone. So, no shooting over there. Also-"

Graham was cut off by Leo. "Dude it'll be dark before we can play." He sighed heavily. "Who needs to hear this?"

Samantha, Tiffany and Cedrick held their hands up.

"Damn." Leo muttered.

"Anyway…" Graham smiled smugly. "As I was saying, if you're hit with a solid nickel-sized mark anywhere on your body, you're out. If you think you've been hit on the back or anywhere but you're not sure, shout "paint check" and the closest player on your team will come check you out. To start the game again, yell "game on." He held up one finger. "Lastly, when you're hit, raise your gun over your head letting us know your hit, then go to the dead zone. Whatever team has the most players left, wins. Good luck." His eyes dance between me and Tanya.

"Thanks, but we don't need luck, we have skill." Tanya jutted her chin.

"Baby, you do realize some of your team members have never played paintball, right?" Garrett raised his brows. "That's why we let you all have an extra person."

I sucked my teeth. "I'll make sure you're the first one out, Garrett."

"Oooo, I'm shaking in my boots." He teased, gyrating his body.

I merely shook my head, deciding to show him better than I could tell him.

"I'm setting a two-minute timer…" Grayson looked down at his watch. "…for teams to huddle before we begin. Alpha Squad follow me, please."

Grayson and I volunteered to be the team captains but as for making up the teams, we put the team names in a hat, and everyone drew a name. But since it was thirteen people, Grayson's team graciously decided to let Samantha be on our team. He said we'd need all the help we could get.

I can't wait until we to bury their asses.

"All right Exterminators." I waved everyone in a small circle. "You remember what we discussed earlier, right?"

"Yeah, I remember but I'm not sure if I can do it." Samantha bounced from foot to foot.

"Don't worry, we got you." Tanya winked. "Plus, we have our secret weapon, Teddy over here knows all of Grayson's little tricks and hiding spots."

Teddy nodded, slowly, with a smug grin.

"And I know Graham's." Leo smiled.

"If we have our way, Samantha, we'll take them out before they can get close enough to you." I gently squeezed her arm and met her gaze. "I know Grayson and I have been talking a lot of smack all morning, but more than anything, have fun."

"Thanks, Bella." Samantha exhaled.

"That goes for you all too." I looked at Cedrick and Jet too.

"I've played once or twice so I know a little something about the game so hopefully I can hit somebody because Grayson's team has been talking junk since we got out here." Cedrick rolled his eyes.

"No worries, Ced, they don't even know what's about to hit them." I assured him.

"Time!" Grayson called out. "Don't forget, one team member will yell out "game on" when you're ready." He was staring at me, I felt him. When I finally decided to meet his gaze, he smirked, winked and walked away.

"Cocky ass." I muttered.

He heard me because he started laughing, as he disappeared in the trees.

"Okay, get to your spots." Tanya said.

I watched everyone run to their places and then I turned and darted to my spot.

I was able to find a hiding spot that was slightly elevated when you could see someone coming. With Grayson coming here often, I'd be surprised if he didn't know about it. But I took the chance of hiding there anyway.

"Game on!" Graham yelled out.

"Game on!" Tanya confirmed.

Seconds later I hear sounds of the guns going off. I slightly peeked around the tree and saw Tiffany running across.

That's my girl but not right now.

I quietly aimed and shot twice, hitting her on the shoulder and arm.

"Damn it!" She hissed out.

She raised her gun over her head, walking in the opposite direction of where I was hidden. "I'm hit."

One down, five to go.

The first one out was from Grayson's team.

Ha!

"Tat, tat, tat." I heard a gun not too far from me, but I couldn't figure out where it came from.

"Okay, okay, you got me. I'm out." Jet sighed heavy.

At least we were still one up on them. Six to their five.

I decided it was time for me to move out of my spot and go after Garrett. I wanted him first.

I gingerly stepped closer, moving from tree to tree, looking around to make sure no one could surprise me from behind.

I hide behind a wide, tall tree just in time to see Mika running for cover. I put the gun to my eye to focus my shot.

"Tat." Sounded from my gun, then I heard a few more shots go off. "Tat, tat."

Mika was hit three times. One on the arm and two on the back.

"Shit." She popped her lips. "I'm hit." She held her gun up.

Moments later shots fired behind me. I turned just in time for the pellet to miss me, hitting the tree.

Fuck, I've gotta move.

I ran not sure who it was shooting at me, then it went silent.

One or two things was happening. Either whoever that was, was reloading or as soon as I stepped out, I would be hit.

I internally counted for twenty second. I ran and slide down behind four trees mingled together at the root.

Garrett and Lennox both ran from behind a stack of cut down branches, shooting at me.

I couldn't hit both of them so of course I went for Garrett.

"Tat, tat, tat, tat, tat." I fired five times, none of the shots missing.

"Damnit, Bee!" He turned, his eyes scanning for me in the trees. "You didn't have to shoot that many times."

Retribution was sweet as hell.

And just for good measure, I shot his back three more times.

"What the fuck, Bella!"

Yeah, I was being a bitch but that'll teach him not to run his mouth.

Before I could refocus to hit Lennox at least once, Leo came from of nowhere, hitting Lennox three time. "Tat, tat, tat."

Leo gave me a smug smile before running off.

"I'm hit." Lennox called out.

"Me too." Garrett grumbled.

They both walked towards the dead zone.

Four down two left.

But from what Leo told me earlier, Grayson and Graham were the best two left.

"I hate you." I heard Teddy say behind four shots.

"I'm hit." Teddy hollered out.

I was starting to get low, so I opened my hopper and loaded more paintballs before I moved again.

"Tat, tat, tat, tat." Four quick shots rang out behind a dilapidated shed.

Cedrick stood up with his hands held up in surrender.

"We're closing in on you, Exterminators." Graham teased.

"Not by my count, douche." Leo replied. "Most of your team is in the dead zone."

"It's only a matter of minutes before you join them dickhead." Grayson laughed.

I guess Samantha felt daring as she scurried across shooting towards the tree Graham thought he was hiding behind. Him being a better shot than her, orange splattered across her mask, arm and leg.

"That's it for me." Samantha said, taking her mask off examining it.

"Ha!" Came from some trees in the distance. "And now there's tree. Leo, you're next." Graham mocked.

He had moved from his other hiding spot that quick.

I grew tired of Graham and Grayson taunting us, so before I knew it, back-to-back shots were fired at Graham.

"Whoa! That shit almost got me." Graham hollered.

I smirked to myself as I just so happened turned my head and saw Tanya dart across, closer to where Graham was hiding.

"Tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat, tat." More than one gun was being shot.

I didn't know where Leo was and none of the shots were aimed at me, for the moment.

"You're hit, asshole." Leo laughed.

"Nope, paint fuckn' check." Graham protested.

"Okay, everybody hold up." Grayson stood up from behind some logs.

Tanya, Leo and Graham walked towards Grayson, as I left my hiding place.

"Gray, check me because I don't trust his ass. Am I really hit?" He looked appalled.

Grayson twirled his finger, gesturing for Graham to turn around.

Sure enough, when he turned around, there was gray paint on his back, both thighs and his backpack.

That was Tanya's paint color.

"Shit." Grayson sighed. "Dude you're hit."

"Fuck!" Graham growled.

I bit my lower lip trying to hold me laugh in, but Leo and Tanya decided they wouldn't.

Leo cackled, hard, pointing at Graham.

Graham rolled his eyes but then his eyes widened. "While you're over there laughing it up, you were hit too, jackass." He pointed at Leo's lower right leg.

Leo looked down and his mouth fell open when he realized he'd been hit, too.

"Nah, fucker." Graham's grin was wide. "I got you. I'm the only one out where with that gold color. So, we're both out."

"Lucky shot, jerk." Leo sighed annoyed.

Graham squinted with a hard smile.

"Wait a second, I don't recognize that paintball color." Grayson looked between Tanya and me. "So, which one of you hit Graham?"

Tanya smiled, raising her hand.

"Damn, hit by a girl." Graham said.

"Excuse me." Tanya stepped towards him.

"That came out wrong. I didn't mean it the way you're thinking." He held his hands up in surrender. "I… I don't get it but when I finally do, it's by a female." Graham shrugged.

Tanya cocked her head to the side. "First time for everything, huh?" She gloated.

"I want a rematch." Graham challenged.

"Not happening today." I jerked my chin. "Now, get to the dead zone."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." He turned to Leo. "You too, let's go."

Grayson chuckled, shaking his head at his friends.

"You know you're about to join the rest of your team, right?" I sucked my teeth.

"I've never lost." He jutted his chin.

Oh yeah, Mr. Undefeated.

"Looks like you and Graham will both experience some firsts today." Tanya rocked on her heels.

"Whatever you say, Tanya." His tone dismissive.

I was tired of the chit chat.

I was ready for him to lose the bet.

"Your outfit is waiting for you back in my cabin." I thumbed behind me.

"I won't need it, but your t-shirt is waiting for ya." Grayson smiled.

"Hold on, wait a minute." Tanya held her hand up. "What are you all talking about?"

Grayson remained quiet so I started. "Gray said he's been playing since he was ten and he was undefeated. Then he started talking a bunch of junk, saying he would do me a favor and go easy on me by saving me for last so I could at least have some time to play."

Tanya held her stomach and began to laugh.

"Then I said let's make it interesting by wagering a bet. When we win, he's going to have to wear a mankini for the rest of the day. And the t-shirt he wasted his money on buying for me says, 'Grayson Balled Me' I'd have to wear that for the rest of the day."

"Ah, hell. It's going to be fun as hell taking you down." Tanya laughed walking to me for a high-five. "Can't wait to see you in your mankini."

"It's neon hot pink." I added with a devious smile.

"Ha, ha, very funny ladies." He rolled his eyes. "Are you done?"

"Nope!" I popped the p. "And there will be pictures too."

Tanya started laughing harder and I joined in.

Grayson exhaled and his shoulder sagged.

"Okay, okay." I caught my breath. "Come on, T, let's start."

"Yes, let's." I saw Grayson scowl through his mask.

"All right, all right." Tanya agreed catching her breath.

Before Tanya and I walked away, we gave each other a knowing look.

His ass was going down.

Before I knew it, Grayson had put some distance between us.

Tanya went left, and I went right.

It was two to one, but I wasn't going to be naïve even to think he couldn't take one of us out. I had to admit him, Graham and Leo were good, but we were better, and they were going to learn that today.

"Game on." Grayson yelled out.

"Game." Tanya replied back.

We walked slowly, cautiously in the direction he went.

It seemed he'd hidden himself well because we couldn't find him for almost ten minutes.

Just because he was outnumbered, didn't mean he was going to make it easy.

He didn't know we knew how to be patient, waiting for the slightest move and then we'd bounce.

I squatted behind a pile of dead branches looking through my scope, hoping to find him but I came up with nothing.

Just as I was about to look away from my scope, I saw movement. He was on his belly, hiding under a cluster of branches and leaves.

A slow smile spread across my face.

Putting my scope back on my eye, I measured the distance of my shot. Could I get him from here or would I need to move in closer?

He had his gun pointed and ready to shoot.

Deciding I didn't want to risk missing him and revealing my position, I discreetly moved closer, hiding behind old burned up steel drums.

I checked my shot again, not wanting to draw this out any longer before he discovered me, I shot. "Tat, tat, tat, tat." Suddenly Tanya rushed in, opposite of me, with her gun aimed, shooting another five shots.

Grayson didn't have a chance, between the two of us.

He held his hands up. "You got me."

When he stood to his height, there were teal and gray blotches on his mask, shoulders and arms.

I raised my fist in triumph.

"Wahoo!" Tanya yelped, removing her mask.

I knew it was just a game, but my point was proven.

I immediately removed my mask, looking directly into his eyes. I wanted him to clearly see the sweet satisfaction on my face.

He removed his mask, with a sheepish look.

"Okay, you won." His hands flopped to his sides.

"The paint all over you proves that." I smiled a toothy grin.

"You don't have to rub it in." He rolled his eyes.

"Why not, you would have, had you won." Tanya interjected.

"True." He nodded.

We started walking towards the dead zone.

"Damn, Graham and Leo aren't going to let me live this shit down." Grayson shoved his hands in his pockets.

"And to make matters worse, you have to wear your mankini." I added.

"You really expect me to wear that?" His eyebrows raised.

"Yep." I giggled.

"For real, Bee." He abruptly stopped walking.

"Yes." I looked at him over my shoulder. "No reneging on the bet, Walsh."

"Oh, no, Grayson. You're not getting any sympathy here." Tanya shook her head. "Had we lost you'd expect Bee to wear that damn t-shirt of yours."

"Exactly. Chop-chop." I looked back at him, still standing in the same place. "You can take you a nice hot shower first, but your ensemble will be laid across your bed."

"And to commemorate the occasion, I'll make sure I get plenty of pictures." Tanya chortled.

"You and me both." I winked at Grayson.

He groaned, starting to walk behind us.

At first, I wasn't going to hold him to the bet but when the rules were being explained, both Graham and Grayson were smug, talking a lot of smack, so now he had to pay the consequences.

"Damn!" Leo said, dragging the word out. "They got you good, Gray." He laughed, holding his sides.

That alerted everyone else who were in their own conversations.

Teddy ran towards us with her hand held up for a high-five. "I'm in love."

"Teddy." Grayson warned.

"Teddy, nothing." She waved him off. "Do you know how many times I've had to listen to your arrogant ass when you win a paintball game?" The question was rhetorical because she didn't wait for him to answer. "I'm relishing in this."

Cedrick walked up to Tanya and I giving both of us fist bumps.

"What the fuck, dude!" Graham snorted. "You know I'm riding your ass about this one, right?"

"Says the one who was taken out before me." Grayson objected.

"Both of you need to shut it because both of you lost." Teddy joked.

Graham and Grayson tried to look angry but failed, as the sides of their mouths twisted.

"Hold on, Teddy, that's not the best part, though." Tanya boomed. "There's a bet involved." Grayson stiffened. "If Bella lost, she would've had to wear some crazy t-shirt but since Grayson lost, he has to wear a neon pink mankini."

The whole group exchanged looks and laughed, hard.

Grayson chuckled, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Gray, why did you agree to that?" Garrett asked.

"Didn't think I'd lose." He rubbed his forehead.

"You play dirty, Bee." Garrett snorted.

"How am I dirty?" I blinked at Garrett. "He agreed to it and if he would've been so full of himself before the game, I would've let it go but…" I trailed off.

"I wouldn't necessarily say I was full of myself, I was confident." He replied.

"Yeah, but look where that gotcha." Tanya smiled.

You could hear snap after snap from Graham's phone. "This is part one of my blackmail pictures. These will be used when you're being a cocky ass and you need to be brought down a peg or two."

Leo snickered standing beside Graham.

Grayson gave them the bird before walking away.

I felt bad for him…

A little bit…

CCCCCCCCC

"Wahoo!" Graham whooped, as soon as the door swung open. "Lookey there." He pointed his phone camera at Grayson walking in the recreation center.

Everyone abandoned their conversations, as Grayson walked in.

"Hot damn!" Teddy snapped several pictures seconds apart, with a wide grin, standing from her chair.

I paused trying not to be in the pictures, clamping my lips together.

Garrett bucked his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief.

I had to admit, it was fitting a little tighter than it should have but the view was nice.

Once I made it across the room where everyone was sitting, all the girls fist bumped me.

Teddy playfully bowed in front of me.

Samantha chuckled watching Grayson get laughed at by the guys. "I can count the times I've been camping but when I did go, it was never as much fun as this."

"Bee, how did you get him to put that thing on?" Tiffany laughed out. "Half of his ass is hanging out."

That made all of us laugh harder.

Albeit, he was in a hot pink mankini, Grayson still looked good.

I mean it's not like I hadn't seen him during summer camp in swimming trunks, but I was distracted with making sure none of the kids got hurt.

"I've got mad respect for you dude because there is no way in hell, I would've done it, not in public at least." Lennox goaded.

"What he said." Cedrick jerked his chin towards Lennox.

Graham walked up with Leo standing next to him, with his phone in his hand, talking in a dramatic tone. "Breaking news." Graham cleared his throat. "We're coming to you live from Eagle News, Saturday, the third of August, in Shabbona, IL, where Grayson Walsh got his ass handed to him in paintball by Bella Swan." He flipped his phone around towards Grayson. "He's dressed in this sexy attire…" He blew a kiss at Grayson. "…because he lost a bet." Graham walked around Grayson getting different angles. "Hey, Gray, strike a few poses for your fans."

Grayson sighed heavily, looking towards the ceiling. "I hate you so much right now."

"Awww." He pouted his lips. "Are we a little grumpy because our outfit is too tight?" Graham wriggled his eyebrows and Leo let out a high-pitched laugh, which caused a chain reaction, making everyone laugh.

Teddy was doubled over a chair, holding on to it, laughing so hard she was crying.

Tanya and Garrett clutched on to each other for support, cracking up.

Cedrick and Tiffany turned in the other direction bursting out in laughter, while Lennox, and Samantha staggered around the room howling.

Grayson crossed his arm and narrowed his eyes, scanning the room, trying to look annoyed, but he failed miserably when he bit his lip trying to hide his smile.

"Hardy har, har. Laugh it up guys." Grayson said.

"We're planning on it, for a long time." Graham sniggered, holding his phone up.

Once we finally settled down from laughing and joking with Grayson, Jet and Mika returned with pizza and wings.

After playing paintball, we decided to order something instead of cooking.

After several slices of pizza and wings were eaten, everyone paired off into their own conversations.

"You know I still can't believe you went through with this." Grayson bumped his shoulder with mine, sitting next to me.

"You were so sure of yourself winning." I snorted. "I had to prove a point."

"Well, I learned the hard way, never to bet against you, especially in paintball." He laughed softly.

Grayson was a good guy. Not many guys would've come out in public in what he had on and then he was a good sport about, in spite of all the jokes, pictures and recording.

He could have flaked on the bet or had an attitude, but he didn't.

"Consider the bet paid." I nudged his arm. "Go put some clothes on."

"Seriously?" He lifted his eyebrows.

"Seriously." I winked.

"You don't have to tell me twice." He pushed away from the table quickly, grabbing his discarded plate, throwing it away.

Just before he opened the door to leave, he turned around, getting my attention. "Hey, Bee, take a walk with me in about twenty minutes?"

"Okay." I agreed.

I watched him as he walked out and then I faintly chuckled, trying not to draw any attention to myself.

Damn, Gray looked good going and coming.

Grayson

Wearing a tight pink piece of material, in front of the last three people on earth I wanted to see that… Graham, Leo and Teddy…

To have pictures and a recording as a constant reminder of being taken down by Bella and Tanya in paintball…

Definitely not my best moment.

But all of that pales in comparison to being able to spend time with her.

To make her smile.

To see the warmth of her eyes, return, it was like bathing in rich milk chocolate.

I would have done just about anything she asked me to.

From the moment I saw her, I've been attracted to her.

I'll never forget that day, it was Friday, March 15th. Of course, it was cold as hell outside, we're talking about Chicago. She rushed in the room like a whirlwind, getting the attention of everyone who were already seated.

It wasn't my usual turn away after looking up to see who entered the room. I couldn't look away when my eyes landed on her. She captivated me without even knowing it. Her long, thick tress laid on her burgundy suede coat, with small snowflakes accenting her hair like diamonds. Her skin was slightly red, more than likely from the infamous windy city wind fighting against her as she trekked from the parking to the building in the middle of the campus.

Since I couldn't take my eyes off of her as she moved across the room, to the only vacant seat, she caught me staring. But instead of her scowling at me for the creeper I was, she smiled at me.

Her smile was like a sudden beam of sunlight illuminating the entire room.

I felt a lightness in my chest.

All cools points went straight out the window, instead of just smiling back, me being the dork of the century, I waved back with a toothy grin.

Hell, I almost giggled.

Good thing Leo and Graham weren't around, they'd tease me until we were old and gray, walking with canes.

Reese, the director over the summer camp, seemed to drone on and on or maybe it felt like that because I wanted to meet the beautiful girl that took my breath away.

Half paying attention to Reese, I thought to myself, I was glad I didn't go to the FBI Honor's Internship Program, that's usually ten weeks, working side-by-side with the FBI agents, in the investigative division.

I'd gone to New Orleans every summer since my freshman year in college, while taking some summer classes online. I worked my ass off with all my classes in the accelerated program, gaining my bachelor and master's degree in Crime and Justice studies, minoring in Spanish and Chinese.

But my last summer before I graduated, I wanted to do something different, a little bit less stressful, fun.

After what seemed like hours, finally, the time came for everyone to introduce themselves.

The girl that had been trying to get my attention since I walked in the room, made a beeline straight to me, bumping into other people, telling me her name, Lauren.

I promise you I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes in front of her.

I'm no boy scout, I've had my share of one-night stands but that was when I was younger and dumber. Plus, me and those females knew what we were getting into back then, no strings attached.

I was beyond tired of that shit, it got old.

I wanted something more, something meaningful.

I wanted something like what my parents had.

A real relationship.

Females like Lauren were a dime a dozen.

And from the way she threw her fake tits in my face, she fit the bill, using her body to get what she wanted.

I wasn't impressed.

After I reluctantly, politely as possible, introduced myself to her, I used being thirsty, excusing myself to the other side of the room.

Thankfully, she didn't follow me.

The girl with the smooth pale skin, that looked like priceless silk, was engaged in a conversation with another guy, who's name I didn't know yet.

I watched from across the room, her easy, carefree laughter, it sounded like a sweet melody to my ears.

I continued to get cup after cup of water, trying not to be too obvious but I was determined I was not leaving without finding out her name and having a conversation with her.

I busied myself by introducing myself to some of the other counselors getting to know some of the people I would work with in a matter of months.

When I turned around, she was gone.

I scanned the room from corner to corner.

My stomach churched.

Fuck!

Maybe I could ask the guy she was talking to where she went.

Nah, that could come off as desperate, pathetic.

I was pissed with myself for missing the opportunity to meet her.

All of a sudden, my throat was dry.

I was thirsty for real.

I added more water to my cup and flopped down in a chair in the back of the room, trying to temporarily avoid conversation, while I berated myself.

I heard the door behind swing open, but I didn't look up to see who walked in.

Lavender invaded my senses.

Then I heard someone clear their throat, stepping in front of me.

I saw suede burgundy high-heel boots standing in front of me that made me look up, immediately.

I exhaled in relief, with a slow smile spreading across my face.

Flashback

"Hi." She smiled. "I've been trying to get over to you to introduce myself for the last twenty minutes." She playfully rolled her eyes. "Felix seemed very talkative today. Anyway, my name is Bella."

How befitting, she is beautiful.

Even more so than I initially thought, now that she was closer to me.

Trying to redeem myself from the goofy smile I gave her earlier, I stood up to properly introduce myself.

"Hi, Bella, nice to meet you." I extended my hand to her, hoping for the opportunity to touch her hand. "Grayson, but Gray is fine." I smiled.

That was rare for me to volunteer that information. No one calls me that except family and close friends, much less, I tell a girl I just met my nickname. But for some reason unknown to me, I wanted her to know.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Gray." She returned my smile, shaking my hand.

Her hand was small and warm and just like I thought, it was soft.

I didn't want to let it go.

I wanted to take her to the cozy coffee shop down the street, grab a secluded couch in the back, with some coffee while we got a chance to get know each other.

She pulled me out of my brief daydream. "You're new here, right?"

"Yes, that's right, this is my first year. I usually do an internship somewhere else, but I didn't want to this year."

I silently thank whoever was out there for following my first thought.

"Their loss our gain, huh?" Bella's lips turned up.

"You could say that."

If I have my way, it would be my gain.

"Well, we're definitely glad to have you. We've needed more male counselors for a few years now." She turned slightly. "As you can see, it's mostly females in here."

"Why is that?"

"Most of the males counselors graduated from college and moved on to their jobs." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh." I nodded. "So, how many years have you been doing this?"

"I started the summer I graduated from high school, so this year makes my fourth year."

"Cool." I shook my head. "Are you majoring in education?"

"No. Actually, I'm a science major now but I'm going for my doctorate in physical therapy."

Beautiful and smart.

"Wow! I've heard that program can be rigorous."

"You heard right." Bella chuckled. "I usually carry fifteen hours every semester and take a few classes in the summer, but I don't think that's happening this summer, I'm tired."

Well, that's one thing we have in common.

"You sound like me. I've done the same thing since my freshmen year in college."

"Really?" Her eyebrows lifted.

"Yeah. I'm in the accelerated program for both my bachelors and master's degree. It's hectic as hell not leaving time for much else, but it's worth it. I'll graduate next year."

"I agree." She sighed. "Some people do it and I believe you have to do what works best for you but I'm not taking five years to get my bachelor's degree. I have too much school ahead of me to play around." She shrugged one shoulder. "Who cares if I had to miss some parties or hanging out because I had to study or take an extra class."

Focused and dedicated.

She knew what she wanted.

The longer I stood and talked with Bella the more I liked her.

"I missed out on a lot of parties, too, but I have no regrets." I took a sip of water. "What school do you go to?"

"I'm at U of I downstate. You?"

"Loyola." I responded.

Her eyes widened.

"Do you know a guy name Ed—" She was cut off by her cell ringing.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket, looking at the screen, holding her index finger up.

"I'm sorry, I need to take this. I'll be right back."

As she walked out of the room, I watched the way her hips swayed from side to side. But it wasn't the type of walk where she was trying to do it to get attention, it was natural.

After she walked out, it was then I realized most of the people had left. I was so engulfed with talking to her I didn't realize it was only a five of us left in the room.

Reese noticed me and walked over to me. "Grayson, do you have any questions or concerns that I didn't go over earlier, during my presentation?"

"No, not at this time. I think you covered everything."

"Great." She smiled. "I noticed you and Bella have been talking for a while. She's a veteran at this, she's been with us for a while. If you have any questions, I'm sure she can help you out too."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

"All right, I'm about go but I wanted to make sure I personally spoke to everyone in the room. I appreciate you taking the time out, especially in this cold weather, for the meet and greet."

"It was no problem at all."

Reese looked down at her watch. "The room is reserved for the next two hours, so you all are welcome to stay."

I could easily do that with Bella.

"Okay, thank you. You be safe out there."

"Will do." She said zipping her coat up, as Bella walked back in the room, walking over to us.

"You gone Reese?" Bella said.

"Yes. But I wanted to know if you had any questions."

Bella shook her head. "No. You know I know this like the back of my hand."

"I figured as much but I still wanted to ask." Reese smiled.

Bella leaned into hug with Reese. "Be careful out there. Text me to let me know you got home okay."

"Yes, mother." She teased Bella.

Reese pulled back from the hug, looking Bella in the face. "Did you drive up from Champaign?"

"Nah, Edward picked me up and dropped me off here."

Edward?

Who the hell is that?

Chill Gray, that could be her brother.

"Oh, good because I heard the weather was worse down that way."

"It was, that's why he picked me up because he didn't want me driving through that."

"How much longer are you staying?"

"He's on his way now. I just hung up with him." She glanced at her phone.

"He should be here any minute."

Damn I was hoping I could talk to her a little longer.

"Okay, let me go because I have another stop to make before I go home. I'll talk to you later." Reese waved walking towards the door before she turned around again. "Oh, Bee give Grayson my phone number just in case he has questions later."

"Will do." Bella said before Reese closed the door behind her.

"Sorry about that. But let me give you Reese's phone number before I forget."

I pulled my phone out of my pocket, wishing it was her number I was about to get.

Bella extended her hand, taking my phone typing Reese's number in.

She handed my phone back, smiling. "Grayson I've enjoyed meeting and talking to you. I look forward to working with you this summer."

Heat radiated through my chest.

Why couldn't summer be tomorrow?

I hummed in agreement. "I wish we could talk a little longer."

"I wish we could, but my boyfriend is on his way."

I swallowed hard, willing myself to breathe.

Goddamnit!

So, Edward is her boyfriend.

My shoulder sagged slightly but trying not to let her see that, I smiled or at least I tried to but I'm sure it came out as a tight-lipped grimace.

I watched her speechless as she walked across the room putting her coat on.

"Gray, you want to walk out with me or were you staying?" Bella asked swinging her bag over her shoulder.

Once I found my voice, I responded. "Um, yeah, I'll walk out with you."

I walked over to the chair where my coat was with my backpack, feeling a little deflated.

The first girl I'd shown some interest in, in months had a fuckn boyfriend.

"Are you okay?" Bella asked with a wrinkled forehead, standing by the door, getting the attention of the other two people left in the room.

I cleared my throat. "I'm okay." My own voice didn't sound right to me.

The other people went back to their private conversation, but Bella stared at me seemingly unconvinced with my answer.

Once I put my backpack on my back and slipped my gloves and beanie on, I met Bella at the door.

"Ready?" I finally met Bella's gaze.

She nodded and opened the door. "See you later." She waved to the people's names I couldn't remember.

They smiled, returning her wave.

We walked side-by-side down the quiet, dimly lit hallway.

I wanted to say something else, but it felt forced, awkward.

But Bella beat me to it. "Wanna take a raincheck on the coffee when I come back next week for Spring break?"

My stomach fluttered

"I'd like that." I took a deep, calming breath.

My ego was bruised a little bit but that didn't mean we couldn't be friends.

"Good." She smiled widely.

Reaching the door, we tightened our scarves around our necks, before stepping out.

The wind whipped around Bella's hair blowing it into her face.

Before I realized what I was doing, I reached across, gently placing it behind her ear.

"Thank you." She sighed. "Rushing out I forgot to grab my hat."

"No worries." I stopped, unzipping my bag to give her the extra beanie I had, handing it to her.

"Awww, thank you, Gray. You don't have to."

"It's okay, I want to. By the way, that's new." I pointed

"Now I really feel bad. You're giving me your brand-new hat and we just met."

"It's no big deal." I smirked. "Besides, I have a feeling we're going to become good friends, anyway."

"For some reason, I believe we will too." She said, finally slipping it on. "I'll make sure to give it back to you when we meet."

We turned the corner, slowly getting closer to the nearest parking lot.

"Keep it." I turned to look down at her, our eyes meeting.

I wanted her to have something of mine.

Friends give each other stuff, right?

Could I really say we're friends since we just met?

Take it down a notch Gray, you're overanalyzing.

"How about lunch with coffee then?" Bella said pulling me out of my introspection.

"We can do that." I couldn't contain my smile, not that I necessarily wanted to anyway.

"I'll text you when I'm in town, so we can set up a time and place."

"How? We didn't exchange numbers."

"I have your number, I texted myself when I put my number in your phone."

"Oh." I didn't know.

She abruptly stopped walking and so did I. "I didn't overstep, did I? I don't want to cause any trouble between you and your girlfriend or significant other or…" She trailed off.

I cut her off. "No. Not at all."

She briefly closed her eyes, exhaling. "You sure?"

"I'm positive."

A slow smiled spread across her face. "Good."

We started to walk again and that's when I noticed a black car, with tinted windows sitting there, with music blasting, the bass was loud.

"This is me." Bella pointed to the car. "Thank you for walking with me. I really don't like walking on campus when it's dark."

And she shouldn't be walking by herself on any campus, especially when it's dark outside.

Too much shit can happen to students, women on these huge college campuses.

Doesn't he know 26.4 percent of females and 6.8 percent of males' experience rape or sexual assault on college campuses?

No, why would the average college student know that, Gray?

You know that because of the classes you take.

You couldn't just go with me on that one, huh?

No. You're being petty and jealous.

Couldn't argue with that one.

But still, he couldn't have gotten out of his warm, cozy car to meet her in the building and walk back with her.

How did he know if someone would walk with her?

"It's no problem at all, Bella. I wanted to make sure you got to your car safely."

"I appreciate it." She turned to me before opening the car door. "I'll talk to you next week."

"Okay." I waved.

When she opened the door, the music blared louder, with the bass shaking the ground.

She waved quickly before getting in closing the door behind herself.

He sped off, tires screeching, the back slightly fishtailing.

I chuckled, shaking my head.

He didn't even get out to open the door for her.

Greet her with a hug or kiss, nothing.

I knew his kind.

I'd seen how they treated the nicest girls that deserved better.

I'm no angel but I'm respectful.

And based upon what I witnessed, I decided I'd be a friend to her.

Flashback ended

I showered and put on my khaki cargo shorts with a t-shirt on as quickly as I could.

I knew one of Bella's favorite snacks was frozen grapes, so I pulled some red ones out of the freezer, along with some sliced melons, putting them in a snack bag.

I picked up my phone and cabin key from the counter and left.

My steps were quick, heading back to the recreation center, not wanting to keep Bella waiting long.

When I walked in, everything was cleared off the tables and Bella was the only sitting there, on her phone.

"Hey." I greeted her.

"Hey." She smiled up at me.

"Did I keep you waiting long?"

"No, it's been about twenty-minutes. Everybody was ready to go back and relax for the evening.

Bella stood up, walking towards me. "Whatcha got there?" She pointed at the bag.

"You'll find out soon enough." I winked at her.

Bella laughed walking through the door I held open for her.

There was a comfortable silence as we strolled to one of the tables that was in a shaded area.

Bella slid in on one side and took the other, setting the bag on the table, sliding it towards Bella.

She smirked unzipping the bag.

The grapes were in the bottom in a Ziploc bag, so I knew she had to move the other stuff around to see them.

She squealed waving the bag. "You remembered. How did you know I wanted some?"

Everything about her interested me.

I definitely remembered.

"I didn't know but I knew they were your favorite, so I brought you some."

She opened the bag, popping one in her mouth, closing her eyes in pleasure.

I loved seeing her smile.

I pulled out the melon mix, grabbing a piece of cantaloupe before she caught me staring.

She reached across laying her hand on top of mine. Her hand felt good there. "Thank you, Gray. You've always been so thoughtful. I remember the first day we met you made sure I got to the car okay before you left. Do you remember that?"

That day has been ingrained in my memory since then.

"I'll never forget it." I ran my thumb across the back of her hand.

Although I was enjoying this moment, I wanted to know what was bothering her earlier when I found her outside.

"So, did you still want to talk?" My voice was soft.

"Yeah." She nodded, pushing the bag to the side.

She straightened up, her hand still in mine. "We've become close friends these past months, talking all the time, even while we were in school and everyday since summer camp started."

I shook my head in agreement, encouraging her to continue.

"I consider you a friend and I don't throw that word around lightly, so I'd like to ask you your honest opinion." She paused, exhaled loudly and looked away before looking at me again. "Where do you think I went wrong with him, Edward?"

I bit the inside of my cheek, calming myself before I responded. The mind games some dudes play with women, knowing damn well, they never planned on being in a committed relationship or their fucked-up perception, thinking they deserved to get as much pussy as they can, no matter how many women they hurt.

Edward Cullen… was one of them. I knew he was on some bullshit the night I walked her to the car.

At first, I thought I was knit picking, being an asshole because I was upset that she had a boyfriend, but the more Bella and I talked and she'd let somethings slip, I knew my first impression of him was right.

"Why do you think you did something wrong?"

She bit her lip. "You saw how it turned out. I'm not crazy enough to think it was all him."

I leaned in closer. "Can I be completely honest with you?"

She looked directly at me. "Please, I want you to be."

"He didn't deserve you." She blinked, staring at me. "Before I knew that's who you were dating, I used to see on campus from time to time with a different female every time." She gasped. I held my hand up, letting her know I wasn't finished. "I'm not saying he was having sex with every girl he was with, but he does kinda has a rep in some circles."

She jerked back. "A rep?"

I slowly shook my head. "Sorry but he does, mostly with females and some of the guys thinks he's a clown."

"What kind of rep?" Her nose flared.

"They say he's a good lay but that's it. He's self-absorbed, shallow. He's not relationship material. When some girls that's into the no strings attached thing, want a quick shag, Edward is one of the guys they go find."

A pained expression crossed her face.

I hated this.

And I hated him for doing this to her.

"How—" She paused, shallowing, hard. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Bee, I didn't know he was your Edward. You have to remember how big Loyola's campus is and I didn't actually see him until he came up to summer camp while we were on break. Remember?"

"Yeah." She said barely above a whisper.

"Please believe had I known, as much as it would have pained me to tell you, I still would have told you." I squeezed her hand.

"I'm sorry. I know you would have. You've been nothing but honest with me." She smiled but it was weak.

"Are you okay, Bee?" My eyebrows drew together. "I know this was a lot."

I felt like shit for laying all of this on her.

I wanted to drive back, find him and beat the hell out of him but then I wanted to comfort her.

He'd have to wait, Bella is more important.

She exhaled deeply through her nose, exhaling through her mouth. "As hard as it was to hear that, I'm okay. I can't believe I didn't know any of this. I'm more disappointed in myself for ignoring my gut."

Did she know all this was going on but ignored it?

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't have any solid proof, especially what was going on at Loyola. This is the first time I've heard this. He never took me there and now I see why. But some of the stuff I would hear around the neighborhood." She rolled her eyes. "I thought it was the typical jealous shit from all his previous flings and you know how messy some females can be."

"Damn, it seems like drama follows him." I chuckled.

"He's the cause of it, though."

I steadied myself because I didn't want to come off as an insensitive asshole.

"Okay, Bella, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but I have to ask. I understand you saying you didn't have solid proof with some things but what you did know about, what made you stay with him?"

She tilted her head from side-to-side, struggling to find the words, until she finally spoke. "I don't know." She softly shook her head. "That's what bothers me the most. I've been asking myself that same question all summer and I still don't know." The fingers of her other hand tapped on the tabletop.

I wasn't about to judge.

I've made choices I knew was going to bite me in the ass later, but I still did it.

This wasn't about trying to make her feel worse than she already did, but sometimes when you talk things out, you come up with your 'why.'

"Bee don't beat yourself up over it. Give yourself the time to heal and the grace to learn from it."

Her eyes were bright and glossy. "Gray, how is it you always know what to say to make me feel better?" She placed her other hand over mine, gently rubbing circles on it.

Goosebumps traveled along the back of my neck.

I forgot to blink.

My gaze was fixed on her, as hers was on me.

I remained still, not wanting to interrupt this surreal moment.

It was like something shifted… in a good way.

I've wanted more with her months ago, but I wasn't that guy. I put what I wanted to the side and respected that fact that she was in a relationship with someone else and I was happy to be her friend.

I didn't have any ill or underline motives when we hung out, either.

But now… I'd be a fool not to be honest with her, not tell her.

Even she shot me down, at least I tried.

I'd know where I stood.

I took both of her hands in mine, as she watched me curiously.

"Bella, I want to be honest with you about something else, if that's okay with you."

She nodded, shifting in her seat, adjusting for what I was about to say.

"Almost six months ago when you walked in that room, I wanted to get to know you. I'd never seen a woman as beautiful as you but then you came over and started talking to me. The longer we talked the more attracted I was to you."

Her lips slowly parted.

I didn't know how this was going to end but I was laying all my cards out on the table.

"But then I found out you were dating already. I have to admit, it wounded my ego a little bit." She chuckled. "But because of the respect I have for you, I was content with us building a friendship. We've talked just about every day since we've met, so I felt lucky to have that with you."

I continued. "When you came home for Spring break and we met for coffee, it felt like we were old friends reconnecting. I've been comfortable with you from day one, which has never happened, by the way."

"So, does that include the two-year relationship you were in with Paisley?" Bella said.

In one of the many conversations, we had I shared with her the only real relationship I had after I graduated from high school.

"Including Paisley." I nodded. "It took time for that to happen but as you already know that didn't work out anyway."

"What a pair we are with relationships, huh?" She joked.

I reached across, lifting her head, making sure she had direct eye contact with me. "I'm glad it didn't work out because I want to be with you."

Her breath hitched.

"I like you a lot, but you set the pace. We can continue to be friends, nothing will change until you tell me you're ready, if you'll ever be ready." I rubbed my thumb across her jaw.

"Grayson." She whispered, searching my eyes.

"Bella, sweetheart, there's no pressure, okay?" I licked my lips. "Your friendship means too much to me to lose it because I tried to push you into something, you're not ready for."

I got up and sat next to her, intertwining her fingers with mine. "Please give yourself time to process everything and when you're ready to talk, I'm here."

Her expression and smile were soft, as she pulled me in for a hug.

I closed my eyes savoring the moment, enjoying the smell of lavender and her own Bella scent, while second-guessing myself wondering if I should've waited.

I decided to push the doubt to the side, I refused to backpedal.

I meant every word I said.

I would wait for as long as I needed to because she was worth it.

I wanted her.

I was all in.

A/N: I want to THANK YOU for the reviews, follows and favorites, even while I was on my hiatus. I also want to thank BurchGirl for the encouraging words she in boxed me and to some of the newer readers, thank you for your warm reviews.

DMBSJB18 you tickled me re-reading the chapters and reviewing again. LOL

I will complete this story. I have a lot planned for these characters.

What did you think of the ending of summer camp? You got a chance to get to know some of the characters better and met some new ones… any thoughts? How about that paintball game?

So…what do you think about Grayson finally telling Bella how he felt? Do you think he told her too soon? How do you think Bella will respond?

RECS: Deceit and Destiny, by Sukiethree, a teenage mistake compounded by a marriage built on deception. Returning from a glorious week of freedom brings revelations and consequences Bella never thought she'd have to face. But as the lies unravel and secrets are revealed, an unexpected connection brings an abiding love, and a new life emerges. This story is complete with two outtakes and an epilogue. It's a GREAT story!

I know there are more awesome stories out there to rec and now that I am getting better, I'll have more to recommend in my next chapter.

This story is not beta'd… all mistakes are mine.

See you next time!