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Ava thought this was kind of strange. The one thing to notice on someone and it was their feet? She went into the bathroom to remove her wet clothing. She didn’t remember to take any dry clothing in with her, and the only thing she had to change into was her terry cloth robe. When she came out Tim had taken off his t-shirt, sneakers, and socks and had them near the small heater.
“Sorry, I was trying to get them dry before I catch a cold.”
She looked away from his bare chest. He was lean and muscular. He was cute in a nerdy sort of way, but he wasn’t her type. She had only one type, and that was Xander.
They both sat down on the only place to sit, and that was on the bed, she at the top, and he at the foot. She curled her legs under her and pulled the robe tightly together near her chest. She was naked underneath the robe, a fact she didn’t want to be revealed to Tim. The rain continued to pound on the roof and slap against the window. They talked about their lives during their time away. A flash of lightning tore through the sky and they heard a loud crack followed by a big thud.
Tim ran to the cabin door to look out and noticed a small tree was still burning not far from the cabin’s front door.
“What is it?” Ava said.
“There is a tree that got hit. It’s about fifty feet from the cabin, but it looks like the flame is going out.”
He ducked back in the cabin. Ava stood up and moved around trying to find a signal on her phone. She wanted to check the weather radar to see how long this storm would last. When she found a weak one in the corner of the room, she pressed the icon for the weather channel. It appeared, and the radar showed the storm was right over them.
Probably another couple of hours until it would end. She was looked nervously at Tim who was flipping his socks over near the heater. Stop acting like a teenager. He is not going to jump on top of you. You’re a grown woman for heaven’s sake. She may have thought that, but she wasn’t so sure. She sat back down on the bed, and dozed off while talking with Tim. When she woke, he was standing over her and placing a blanket on her. In her sleepy haze, she thought it was Xander.
She reached out to touch his hand, and he took it as a sign. Tim leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. His cologne was strong in her nose; the same type Xander had worn. She kissed him passionately. His hands caressed her breasts. She reached up to run her hands through his hair but something was not right. She opened her eyes, and in the dim light of the cabin, she realized this was not Xander. She quickly turned her head to break the kiss and pushed Tim’s hands away from her breasts. He was startled by her abruptness.
“No, Tim. I’m sorry.”
He sat up, looking at her. In his deep brown eyes, she saw something she had seen before in Xander, lust.
“I just can’t.”
“Ava, it’s been four years. Two years ago, you told me that you needed to move past him, but when will you?”
She started to pick at her nails. “I don’t know. Have you moved on? Are you dating?”
“Yes, I am. I was dating a woman for a few months this past school year. You have to get past it already. If he wanted to be with you, he would have done it already. If you were my girlfriend, I would never leave you expecting that you wait for me.”
He rose from the bed and started to gather his clothing. His shirt was almost dry, and he slipped it over his head. The rain had eased up a little. He slipped on his sneakers and balled his socks up in his hand. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Think about what I said.”
After he had left, Ava locked the door and slipped under the sheets. Tim was right about Xander not coming back. But why had he drawn the rose for her in the art lodge if he didn’t still love her? She buried her head in her pillow and cried. “Xander, why did you leave me?” Her voice echoed in the silent room.
The next day, the children arrived at noon. Ava was thankful because it kept her mind off Xander and what had happened with Tim, who hopefully had realized that Ava was never going to be available. He did, as he left her alone. He didn’t talk to her the rest of the time that she was there, but she had a great time with the kids and other counselors for the two weeks of camp.
On her last day as an instructor after the children had left, she went to the art lodge. She snapped several pictures of the lavender rose that Xander had painted for her. She said her goodbyes to the rest of the staff and made her way to the SUV. She was going to miss the children, but she needed to get back to the city. There was plenty of studying to do; she was sure that Victoria would pile the work on her even though she was still part time. The week after that she would be flying to Georgia for her niece and nephew’s birthday party.
