Page 20 of Give Me a Sign
“The rules?” I ask. It didn’t dawn on me that there’d be any, like, no dating between junior and senior staff. I am still technically stuck in that in-between area. Always caught in the middle. Or is it that going out is discouraged in general while we’re working here? There’s no way they can possibly uphold that.
“Sorry, Lilah. That also means you can’t date me, either,” Bobby says.
“Shh,” I say. “That’s not—”
Simone narrates her reaction this time for Bobby’s sake. “I’m rolling my eyes. Just so you’re not missing out on my reaction here.”
“There can’t be a rule against dating,” I say. “ ’Cause, like, you two are...”
The silence could be cut with a knife. Both are suddenly very interested in their dinners.
“Oh?” I scramble to rectify this.
“We were last summer,” Simone answers. “But I wasn’t sure if I’d be back.”
“So not this summer?” I ask.
“That remains to be seen,” Bobby says.
There’s clearly history here that I’m not aware of, so I better extract myself from this conversation quickly. Luckily, Simone beats me to it and changes the topic.
“Let’s not talk about us.” She leans in closer and lowers her voice. I’m glad she keeps her mouth visible, rather than leaning into my ear. “This conversation is clearly about Isaac.”
“Shh,” I say again, flustered. “Is it that obvious?”
“Why did it take you so long to get to the trampoline last night?” Bobby asks, dragging his words out slowly. “Youwerethe last ones.”
“Careful, Bobby, she’s practically melting into her chair.” Simone takes a drink of water. I do the same, hoping measured sips will slow the blood flow to my cheeks. “There does reach a point in the summer where people like to pair off.”
“My money’s on you two,” Bobby says, slapping the table for good measure, drawing several eyes toward us.
“Once again, I’m begging you to stop,” I say, now that others, namely Isaac, are watching us curiously.
“Hey, I just wanna talk about love,” Bobby says, but fortunately he doesn’t add anything else incriminating, until he says, “Don’t forget to invite me to your wedding.”
“Okay, now you’re really getting ahead of yourself,” I say.
“When counselors hook up, it’s either for, like, seven weeks or seventy years.” He casually takes another bite of his sandwich. “Simone, when is it that Amy and Brandon are getting married?”
“They’re together?” I actually remember them. Amy was so enthusiastic, and Brandon was... a little creepy, admittedly.
“September,” Simone says, ignoring my question.
“Hey, plus-one, wanna carpool?” Bobby asks Simone.
“I did get my own invitation,” she says.
“I mean, hopefully I don’t have to find a new date before the wedding...”
“All right, fine,” I say. “Enjoy your wedding drama. Now really, can we talk about anything else, please,” I add, after once again accidentally making eye contact with Isaac. I’m relieved when he smiles back, so I try for some small talk.
“Long day,” I sign across the table. “Finally dinnertime.”
“Finally.” His mouth makes the “pah!” shape as his eyes twinkle. “I’m very hungry.” He does the sign slowly, and I know he’s 100 percent teasing me. Must’ve left a good first impression there.
I’m positive Simone and Bobby were exaggerating Gray Wolf’s rules on relationships. If anything, it might be discouraged, rather than flat-out banned. Like, it’s probably about keeping it after hours rather than putting it on display in front of the kids.ThatI can understand, but it also means the amount of time I’ll have to interact with Isaac is about to be sharply cut down when campers arrive.
Chapter Eight
