Snapshot (16 page)

Marti looked at the guys and back at Adam. She rushed from his side and out of the room without another word, disappearing into the night.

Adam banged his head against the piano lid and swore.

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The next day, Marti continued to avoid Adam. She couldn’t believe how easily she’d let her guard down, but then the other guys showed up, and she pictured Adam bragging about kissing her. On the other hand, she enjoyed hearing him talk about the sacrifices he made. He seemed more human. But, it would be best to keep her distance.

Today, her friends still obsessed in protecting Adam’s identity. They didn’t seem to notice she hung back. And because they all wanted a little of Adam’s celebrity gold to rub off on them, they stuck to his side, which annoyed her. Adam never got a chance to approach her. Not that she wanted him to, but it would have been interesting to see if he did.

The afternoon turned cooler and a strong breeze kicked up. During free time, a bunch of kids went to play Ping-Pong in the rec hall. Marti zipped on a fleece jacket, slipped her camera strap over her head and followed a new trail that headed off behind the main lodge.
 

She desperately needed to escape all the Adam drama. The woods provided a huge canopy across the wide forest path. After a few minutes, the path led her into a low valley where a stone labyrinth wound in a peaceful, mazy circle. She thought about walking the maze, but decided to leave it for another time. Instead, she climbed the hill on the other side and trekked down a narrow path.

As she hiked deeper into the forest, thoughts of Adam still pursued her. Whenever she thought about him, her emotions jumbled into a big tangled mess. He wasn’t a bad person. Not really. But his life would inevitably change him someday, and she hated that thought.

The path curved and led her around the perimeter of the lake. The sky was a bright blue with big, white, puffy clouds sailing fast. The trees helped block the brisk breeze. Still, she zipped her fleece higher. She discovered patches of wild trillium and paused to take a few pictures.
 

A while later, she came across some sort of lookout tower. She had walked so far, she wondered if she’d left camp property. She knew there was national forest land nearby; perhaps she was now on it. The tower’s wooden ladder was aged with rusty nails. She shook it; it appeared secure. She carefully climbed the ten rungs and ended up in a lovely, six-by-six foot look-out station. Or maybe it was a deer hunter’s stand. The sides were constructed with wooden slats, like on a deck.
 

Looking out from all angles, she could see for miles. In one direction, she saw rolling hills of green forest. An occasional tree burst out in spurts of orange, as if it needed to remind everyone that autumn was near. Soon she’d be back at school starting her junior year, and Grandma, newly retired, would have more time on her hands to work on her quilt projects.
 

This morning, she received a box in the mail; a tin of Grandma’s homemade chocolate chip cookies. Marti felt a twinge of guilt. She still hadn’t sent her an email. She’d been having so much fun and then been so distracted by Adam that she forgot all about it. She would do it later today; or maybe tomorrow at the latest.
 

In another direction, storm clouds gathered and moved toward her. It would make for some awesome pictures.

Stepping carefully over the faded boards, she could see across the lake to the beachfront of Camp Hiawatha. The boats were pulled on shore. She removed her camera from its case and snapped a few pictures.
 

She didn’t spot anyone on the beach as the wind created small waves on the water. One look at the canoes, and she thought of Adam and how he’d flipped the canoe to get his sandal. She smiled. In hindsight, it was pretty funny. The way he looked with beads of green algae clinging to his short hair, his determination to get the boat flipped right, and how he pulled her into the boat on top of him.

That reminded her of their kiss last night, as if she needed reminding. She couldn’t push it from her mind, it was so unexpected and perfect. For a guy who had never kissed before, he sure knew what he was doing. She shivered and touched her lips.
 

Marti needed to refocus her thoughts, because thinking about his kisses made her want him. She aimed her camera at the oncoming storm and clicked off a few more shots of rolling clouds. She sighed, wishing that Ryan and Kyle hadn’t ruined last night’s moment by taking pictures. It reminded her of her dad and the paparazzi. His image still popped up on gossip magazines every six months or so when he did some lame ass thing. She cleared her head of those ugly thoughts of her dad and returned to the dreamy memory of Adam kissing her, first behind the tree on the first night and then again last night. She sighed, lowering her gaze.
 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw movement. Thirty feet away, she spied Adam lowering his camera. He’d been watching her and taking pictures. She immediately blushed and felt infuriated by his eavesdropping, but a part of her leapt with excitement. She was a freakin’ yo yo when it came to him.

“You keep showing up, like mold in the basement,” she called to him.

He grinned his irresistible smile as if expecting her to say exactly that. “Room for one more in your tree fort?”

She pretended to think it over, but knew she couldn’t stay away from him. “Sure, why not.”
 

Adam approached and climbed the ladder. “Awesome view. Whoa! Get a look at those clouds. We’re gonna get nailed!”

“I thought I’d get pictures of it coming in.”

“Great idea. Mind if I join you?”

“No, it’s fine.”
 

Poor Adam, he acted so careful and polite, like he feared she’d get mad at him any second. Not that that was a surprise. She’d been all over the place with him, now she felt a little bad that he felt so unsure of her reactions, but she kind of liked having the upper hand with Mister Super Confident Rock Star. Bringing him down to size was something she could never do with her dad.

Adam held his camera on the railing of the stand, adjusted his settings and took a couple shots. Marti did the same.

The ominous clouds grew larger and darker as the front edge of the storm approached. They clicked off another shot about every 15 seconds.

“Do you think we need to worry about lightning?” Marti eyed the rolling clouds.

“Doesn’t look like a lightning storm. So far it’s just a storm front with high winds and rain. We had one like this before a big concert at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado earlier this summer. It was the coolest thing, but this is so much better, being right in it!”

A huge blast of air gusted, blowing Marti’s hair straight back. Her fleece became useless against the cold, gale force winds.

“Hang on!” Adam yelled, leaning his body into the storm. Marti’s heart pounded as the powerful storm loomed near. The black clouds rolled toward them with straight line winds. She clicked off pictures faster.

The winds howled.

“This is wild!” she yelled, gripping her camera and the railing.

The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Electricity hummed through the air as a jolt of lightning struck the tree Adam had stood near earlier. A crack of thunder exploded like a cannon. Marti dropped and flattened herself to the splintered boards of their precarious fort. With her face near the edge, she watched the devastation.

The tree lit up in a fiery blaze, and the dry ground around it started on fire as well.

“Holy crap!” Adam yelled.

Marti aimed her camera between the slats and took more pictures. The wind blew and spread the fire to adjoining trees.

She looked at Adam and saw her fear mirrored in his eyes.

“This could turn into a forest fire!” she yelled even though his face was inches from hers. He wrapped a protective arm around her; the other held his camera as he snapped pictures.

The pine needles sparked into flames and spread fast. Now she understood the saying, “spread like wildfire!”

“We better get out of here before this stand catches fire!” Adam said.

She couldn’t agree more. As they started to move, huge raindrops plopped, and two seconds later, the heavens let loose a deluge of rain.

They pulled their cameras under their bodies to protect them from the onslaught. Thunder boomed and lightning crackled as the storm raged. Rain pounded down on them.

The wind howled, causing a tree near them to snap and crash into another. Marti ducked her head. Adam climbed over her body, using his to shield her from the violent attack of nature.

“Look at that, the rain is putting the fire out.” Adam’s voice sounded in her ear as rain pelted. The drops that got past Adam’s human barrier stung her bare legs. Despite the danger, she relaxed as his warm body lay tight to hers, protecting her from the elements.

Sure enough, the downpour doused the flames on the forest floor and eventually killed the tree fire. The winds passed, as did the lightning and thunder, but the cold, heavy rain continued on, soaking them to the skin.

Marti fumbled with her camera case, positioning it under her body to get the camera back into relative safety. The rain ran down her face, plastering her hair to the side of her head. A waterfall poured off her nose. She looked at Adam and laughed. His infectious grin brought sunshine to the rain-drenched day.
 

She couldn’t believe they kept finding themselves in trouble like this. Raindrops clung to his dark eyelashes and dribbled into his mouth. He kept spitting water like a fountain. She had to admit she enjoyed getting stuck with him in these crazy situations.

If only he weren’t a rocker.

Chapter 9

Shivering, they broke out of the woods and arrived back at camp. Rain dripped off the trees as the wind blew through.
 

“I’m freezing.” Marti’s teeth chattered. She didn’t look forward to the long trek back to their cabins at the far end of camp.

“Let’s see if there’s a fire going in the lodge.” Goose bumps covered Adam’s bare arms. He shivered but didn’t complain.

“Good idea.” She hugged herself tighter, and they hurried their pace.

Once inside, Marti bee-lined to the crackling fire in the stone fireplace. Adam followed, his sandals squishing on the tile floor. They stood together on a large braided rug holding their hands closer to the fire.

“Oh my god, where were you guys?” Kayla left a nearby table where she played a board game with some guy and joined them.

“I thought it would be fun to get pictures of the incoming storm. I didn’t think about the cold rain and wind.” Marti turned to let her backside feel the fire. She sighed as the heat hit her bare legs.

“What a great idea. I wish I would have thought of it.” Kayla sat on the stone hearth.

 
“Great idea until I got frostbite in August.” Marti took off her rain-soaked fleece.

“You guys should go warm up in the sauna,” Kayla said.

Adam dropped his hands and faced her. “There’s a sauna here? Are you joking? Because if you are, I might hurt you.”

“No, it’s totally true. It’s in the same building as the laundry room,” she said.

He grinned at Marti. “Let’s go!”

“Kayla, will you hold on to my camera?” Marti held it out.

“Sure. AJ, I can take yours too.”

“Thanks.” He handed it over and they headed for the sauna.

Adam opened the heavy wooden door and a blast of hot steamy air escaped. Marti sat on the slated wooden bench and sighed, so happy to feel warmth again. The air smelled moist and like cedar. “This is heaven,” she said.

Adam took a seat beside her and leaned back. His body relaxed in the hot air. Marti leaned back and closed her eyes. She let the heat seep into her pores.

“Sure is,” he agreed.

Marti opened one eye and found Adam watching her, a content smile on his face. She couldn’t ignore the zing that shot through her. He kept pushing against her defenses, peeling back the layers to get to her. “You know you are really annoying.”

He grinned, and his whole face lit up, making him even more difficult to resist. “I’ve heard that a time or two before.” He scooted closer, his arm touching hers.

She looked at where their arms touched and arched her brow. “You’re starting to push your luck.”

“I’m just warming up. Drawing off your body heat.”

“Is that so?” She bit back her smile. Adam never quit trying to get back in her good graces. She had to admit she really liked it.

“If I were pushing my luck, I’d do something like this.” He leaned over and captured her mouth with his.

Damn
. Every time he kissed her, a jolt of some powerful drug flowed through her veins. She parted her lips and let his tongue mingle with hers. She lifted her hand to touch him, but then hesitated, unsure of what she wanted. Adam decided for her. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and cozied her in closer.