Lighting the Flames (30 page)

But
he
’
d
taken another in the dining hall on the final night of Winter Camp.
He was looking into the camera, wearing that smile that belonged to
her. It was the way he looked at her when he was proud of her, when
they
’
d pulled off something tremendous, or when she made him
laugh too hard and he
’
d finally gotten control of himself.

Well, he had said
he
’
d
been too distracted to add up the color war scores.
He
’
d
been busy.

He
’
d replied to her
message that,
“
Dude yes
,
”
she should come over that night, and that
he
’
d
be home after six. It was nearly seven now.

Maybe
he
’
d
gotten stuck at work.

Then his voice came from the speaker near the
doorbells.

“
Hello?
”

“
Hi,
Jeremy. It
’
s me. Can you come down?
”

“
You
don
’
t want to come up? I can buzz you in.
”

“
No,
I
…
I
need you to come down.
”

“
On
my way,
”
he replied. His voice sounded distorted, like
he
’
d
moved too close to the microphone. A few moments later, she heard a
door close, and then he appeared, jogging down the
stairs.

She nearly fell over.
He was wearing a suit. An actual suit, dark gray with pinstripes,
and a tie. And cuff links. He had gold cuff links. She knew she was
staring, but she couldn
’
t help herself.
Jeremy in a suit was
…
well, it was epic.

“
Greetings, Genevieve.
”
Was his voice saying her name always
going to make her feel like fireflies had collected in the middle
of her chest?

“
Evening, sir. Package delivery.
”

“
Dude. That box is huge. What is that?
”

“
Well, in the traditional way of our people, and of most
people, I think, you open it to find out what
’
s
inside.
”

Lifting the carton
between them, they maneuvered it up the stairs and around the
corner into his apartment. It wasn
’
t heavy, but it was
awkward and unevenly weighted, and Gen couldn
’
t manage it up a
flight of stairs alone, though she felt guilty about possibly
dirtying his suit.

She
’
d backed into his
apartment, and after they put the carton down, Jeremy moved to
stand in front of her.

“
Hey,
”
he said softly, pushing a piece of her hair away from
her face. She wasn
’
t sure what to do next, whether she should kiss
him or ask about his day. His suit was disorienting her, and she
didn
’
t know what to say.

Then she turned, saw his apartment, and forgot
everything else.

When she pictured Jeremy, it was usually in old
T-shirts and soft, worn clothing, slouched on a couch at camp. But
his home had real furniture that coordinated with the rug, and
lamps that all matched one another. It was unexpectedly adult. It
matched the Jeremy in front of her, wearing a suit.

Or part of a suit.
He
’
d
removed his jacket.

But then Gen noticed
the walls. Pictures of Meira
—
of the trees, the
lake, the empty lifeguard chairs, the horses in the stable, even a
sepia-toned picture of the bunk beds in one of the
tents
—
covered every surface. It looked like camp was peeking into
the room through a patchwork of windows.

“
Did
you take these?
”

“
A
few. You took some of them.
”

“
I
did? When?
”

“
For
the camp yearbook, mostly.
”
She felt Jeremy
’
s hands on her
shoulders and she turned her head to look up at
him.

“
Can
I take your coat, my lady?
”

She still wore what she considered camp clothes,
worn hiking pants and four shirts in varying layers of thickness.
With Jeremy wearing a tie, a loosened tie but a tie nonetheless,
she felt weirdly underdressed. And really warm. She took off one
shirt, then another. But when she pulled the second one over her
head, she caught Jeremy staring before he turned away, looking down
at the carton by the front door.

“
So,
can I ask what
’
s in this giant-ass box you wouldn
’
t let me
carry?
”

When she moved closer, she saw him glance at her
lips, then her cheeks, his gaze running over her face before
returning to her eyes.

She opened her mouth
to say yes, he could open the box, but instead, she said,
“
I miss
you.
”

“
I
know.
”

“
No,
I mean, since I last saw you. I miss you.
”

“
I
know. Me, too.
”

Then he smiled.
“
Please,
can I open the box?
”

“
After we light candles?
”

He frowned.

“
It
’
s the last night of Hanukkah.
”

“
If
you insist. Have you eaten?
”

She shook her head.

“
Perfect. I
’
m ordering pizza. It won
’
t be
Nadine
’
s, but I
’
ll live.
”
He spun toward the kitchen, rubbing
his hand over the top of his head, ruffling his hair into familiar
disarray.
“
I think I have some wine, too. Want some?
”

“
Can
I stay?
”

He froze.
“
Of course.
But we don
’
t have to have wine if you don
’
t want. I know you
don
’
t like to drive after
…”

“
No,
I mean, even without wine.
”
She swallowed, then took a
breath.
“
I brought a bag. Thought if you weren
’
t getting up too
early, maybe I could stay.
”

He moved closer to
her, sliding his hands around her waist. He
’
d unbuttoned the
collar of his shirt, and beneath it, she could see an old, faded
red Camp Meira T-shirt, one he
’
d worn every summer
that she could remember. She reached up and touched the collar,
soft and ragged.

“
Even if I had to get up in an hour, which I
don
’
t, I would still want you to stay. I always want you to
stay.
”

“
Okay,
”
she said softly.

But he
didn
’
t kiss her. He stepped back slowly and nodded toward the
kitchen wall.
“
If you order the food, I
’
ll go
change.
”

She opened her mouth
to tell him to wait, that she wanted to unbutton him, unwrap him to
see if more of camp hid beneath the suited exterior, but if she
stayed the night, she
’
d have another chance. Maybe
she
’
d stay with him a few days. She had her laptop. She could
work anywhere, and classes didn
’
t start until
January.

She placed the order, and a few moments later,
Jeremy came down the hall wearing flannel pants and the old shirt
that had been hidden beneath his suit. He looked like himself, and
she still wanted to unwrap him.

“
How
long for delivery?
”
he asked, getting two wineglasses down from a
cabinet.

“
Thirty minutes.
”

“
That long? I have to wait that long to open this giant
box?
”
Jeremy looked horrified.

She took the glasses from his hands and pushed him
toward the door.

“
Fine, since you have no self-control. You can open
it.
”

“
I
have excellent self-control.
”
The scorching look he gave her over
his shoulder made her mouth drop open.

Then he sighed with great windy drama and sat down
in front of the carton. Inside were about sixteen million Styrofoam
peanuts.

“
Dude. You suck.
”

Gen laughed and gestured for him to dig in.

He pawed through the
pile of peanuts, which interfered by sticking to his arms and his
hair as the static electricity spread.
“
Seriously, Gen.
You
’
re evil.
”

“
Keep digging,
”
she said, standing behind him. He
kept shoving piles of peanuts to one side, then the other, and
finding nothing but more peanuts.

“
What did you do, put a needle in here?
”

“
Keep going, you big whiner.
”

Then his hand caught
on the edge of what was hidden beneath the mountain of packing
Styrofoam, and he was so surprised he jerked backward and nearly
knocked her over. He reached in, found the other edges, and lifted
out a large flat metal sign that read,
Jiffy Latrine
.

“
Oh,
my God,
”
he said, his voice hushed.
“
Genevieve. You stole
the man
’
s sign.
”

“
No.
I painted him a better one, and traded him for this one. But
don
’
t keep this one outside or the marker will start to
fade.
”

“
I
will never let it out of my sight. I will get wallet-sized pictures
of it to carry with me everywhere I go.
”

“
Happy Hanukkah, Jeremy.
”
Genevieve leaned down and put her
arms around him.

He balanced the sign across the edges of the box,
turned, and pulled her into his lap the way he had on the first
afternoon of Winter Camp. Then he slid his hands into her hair,
looked into her eyes for a long, quiet moment, then kissed her.

“
You
are the awesomest wench ever.
”

“
I
know.
”

“
Please, please stay,
”
he said softly, his lips moving over
hers as he spoke.

“
I
was planning on it.
”

“
For
more than a night. As long as you want. I
…”
He stopped, looking
out the window to his right.
“
It
’
s after sunset. New
day. We can start again.
”

“
But
I don
’
t want to start over. I liked everything that happened with
you before. And this week. And now.
”

He lifted one hand between them, his fingertips
resting gently, the slightest touch, on her lips.

“
I
want more.
”
His breathing was uneven.
“
I
…
I miss
you.
”

She stared at him.

“
I
miss you a lot. I don
’
t care if we never steal another sign or build
canoe Stonehenge at the fire circle or go freeze our butts off
making color war happen. I miss you, here.
”
He gestured with his
hand at the slight amount of space between them.
“
Not just at camp.
Here, with me. The best times I
’
ve had in my life
have been with you.
”