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“Who do you think had more fun?” Colin muttered out of the corner of his mouth, watching the campers run around the field, screaming like wild animals. June felt herself flush a deep red, knew that Kevin caught the way her lips quirked and Colin’s hand twitched toward June.
“I don’t know, that game of tag looked pretty intense,” June replied, unable to stop herself from flirting, from playing along with this secret conversation surrounded by students and coworkers. “A lot of kids were really tired from the sprints they did, too.”
“Hmm,” Colin said, the noise deep in his throat. June felt herself wobble a bit, felt her nipples perk to life underneath layers of clothing. “At least we know with our race, we both reached the finish line.”
“And it’s not necessarily about who wins the race,” June replied. “I think it’s important that all competitors have fun and feel their race was well run and had a strong finish.”
“Is that what we are?” Colin pried. “Competitors?” June felt a hole open up in the pit of her stomach, some of the contentment from the last hour slipped through the opening. She knew Colin wanted to have this conversation - this was the second time he had brought it up in the last hour. Ten years of teaching social emotional learning, working with students in the first throes of puberty, and dealing with their exhausted families, had provided June with a decent ability of reading people. She had seen it in the way that Colin would look at her with a wistful gaze and then open his mouth as if to start a conversation, then think better of it when she pointedly looked away.
"We're friends," June replied. "We're friends and we're something more for this week." She looked away, unable to stand looking at Colin.
"Okay, June," Colin said, the playfulness gone from his voice. "Okay, June."
"What do you want to do tonight?" she asked, attempting to shift the conversation again.
"Have you ever gone on a night hike here?" Colin suggested. "We could go? The overlook is rad in the evening."
"That'd be fun," June said honestly. "Dress warm again? Spoiler: I only brought the one fleece, so that's what you're going to see."
"I like that fleece," he said, and June smiled like a teenager. "I work dinner tonight, so we can just leave afterwards?"
"Can I..." June thought for a second, then went with it. "Can I pack some beers with us to take on the hike? If it's not allowed, I get that."
"That'd be awesome," he said, and June wanted to pump her fist into the air. "There's still a liquor store in town, yeah?" Colin nodded, and June devised a plan. She'd work on her applications for a bit, then run into town, then get ready, maybe even put on makeup. Yes, she was going to do this.
June took a three hour nap instead.
Waking up swearing, she rubbed her eyes and checked the time, then frantically grabbed the school van keys and rushed to get into town and back before dinner started. Thank god this tiny liquor store keeps their beer cold, June thought as she searched the fridge for her favorite Vanberg brewery, Mountain Friend. Selecting her favorite Red IPA, Fishing Rod, she paid as quickly as she could, navigating the winding mountain roads in the school's old Caravan, which she threw into park when she pulled into the camp parking lot. June took the bag with the beer from the passenger seat, hoping she didn't encounter a student on her short walk to the teacher's cabin.
Dress warm, she reminded herself, changing out of her thin leggings and into sweatpants. She slipped on heavy socks, layered a long sleeve tee under her fleece, then grabbed her headband. She packed her bag - water bottle, snacks, beer - and power walked to the dining hall, figuring that running would shake up the beer too much. June was walking into dinner just as students had started cleaning up, and she audibly groaned. She needed food, especially before drinking.
Colin saw her from across the dining hall, where he was directing students what to throw away in the trash versus what to put in the compost. He beamed at her and indicated she should come over to that side of the dining hall with a shake of his head. June headed over, with a quick stop to say hello to Kevin, though he shooed her away quickly.
"Evening," Colin said, taking a plate from a student and gingerly picking a banana peel from the plate and tossing it into the compost. "I didn't see you at dinner."
"I accidentally took a mega nap," June said, embarrassed. "I've been running around, getting things ready, and my timing was off."
"All good," Colin said. "Maybe you just needed to rest. Anyway, I wanted to make sure you ate, so I put together a plate and saved it for you." June's heart thumped so loudly she was sure that every kid in the dining hall would have been able to hear it.
"Thank you," June said, barely able to hear her own voice over her pulse. Again, she was struck by the unassuming way that Colin demonstrated his care for her. Colin told her who to ask in the kitchen, and within a few seconds, June had a warm plate of ham and mashed potatoes in her hands. She ate quickly while Colin directed the students in the rest of their cleaning process, watching the way that his eyes sparkled as he talked to different students. He knew a lot of them by name already, was able to joke with them. Again, June felt an unnamed feeling flare in her stomach, simmering as she ate.
"Ready?" Colin said to June after the final student had left the dining hall.
"Yes, and thank you for dinner," she said quickly. "Food is good here."
"Our kitchen staff are absolute gems, but make sure you're eating a salad or two. This food is heavy," Colin cautioned. June waved away his concern with a flap of her hand.
"I'll be fine," she said, picking up her backpack. "I brought my headlamp, I'm not sure how dark it's going to get up there?"
"Great minds think alike," Colin said, reaching into his own pack and pulling out his headlamp. He tugged his beanie on his head, placed the headlamp around his forehead. He was every inch an outdoor dork, June though, and she loved the entire look.
No. Rephrase. She liked the entire look. That other word was a dangerous one to be tossing around in her brain.
Colin, much to his protest, did know his way around the trails on camp, and guided June up to Peek Point in about half the time it took her and Kevin on Monday. That feels like a lifetime ago, June thought. So much had happened during that time, and most of it had to do with the man in front of her, his bun bobbing in front of her, the reflections on his headlamp band glinting from June's light.
“We’re here!” he said, plopping down on a bench and shrugging off his backpack. “I think that’s record time for me, so please give me a beer.” June laughed and flopped down, equally tired from following his long legs up switchbacks. She opened her own can and looked up at the night sky, and hadn't realized how dark it had gotten.
“The stargazing out here must be insane,” she said.
