“Sorry, we’re almost done here.”
“Okay, how’s that?” she asked breathlessly. But I didn’t really see the flat move much at all.
Rick let out an exhausted breath, looking at the distance between her end and his, which was still clearly way off.
“Can I help?” I offered, taking a step toward Haley’s end. Haley frowned, but she let go of the flat and backed away. I stepped forward and embraced the wooden set piece, gripping it from top to bottom. I steadied my legs and prepared to lift.
“Okay, ready?” I warned.
“Yep,” he said settling into a stance.
I lifted the piece, putting weight on my legs, and shifted it to align with the side columns. There were two in front and two in the back. The drop was built to fit right in between the back two, which is where Rick had aligned his end.
“Perfect.” Rick stood and stretched his legs. “Thanks.”
I noticed Haley roll her eyes as she stood one step off the stage with her arms crossed.
“No problem,” I said.
Rick came from around the flat and admired it, then he looked at me and was half smiling. His eyes were bright as ever in the sunlight.
“Well, I guess our job is done here.” Haley jumped back up to the stage and reached for Rick’s hand. I glanced down instinctively, then swallowed my jealousy and glanced away. Unfortunately, Rick had caught my eyes there and held his gaze at me.
“C’mon, Rick. Let’s go get some iced coffee. It’s hot.” Haley pulled on his shirt like a child asking for ice cream.
I picked up the buffer from my basket and started sanding around the edges of the wooden flat.
I noticed Rick gently unleash himself from Haley’s grip. “Do you need help here, Amy?” Rick offered.
“Nope. I’m good. You guys go ahead.” I turned my head quickly toward my work to hide whatever irritation I felt build inside me start to show.
CHAPTER 16
Sunday morning my cell phone rang, and I debated letting it go to voicemail. But then again, I wasn’t getting many calls lately, so I figured I’d at least see who it was. I glanced at the screen and smiled.
“Hi, Em,” I greeted my best friend, Emily, the same way each time. She had a knack for telling my mood whenever I’d answer any way differently, so I convinced myself to acquire a routine greeting.
“Amy! What’s the deal? You haven’t called me in days.”
“I know. I’ve been really busy and getting so tired after camp.”
“Is it that girl Rachel? Should I be worried?” Emily joked. But she didn’t sound too upset or worried in the least. She actually sounded happy.
“What’s going on, Em?” I offered in my usual way of changing the subject to her.
“I have so much to tell you” She sighed. “Okay, you remember that guy from our Ancient Literature class?”
“The one who wouldn’t stop challenging the teacher every chance he got?” I remembered the guy. Good-looking but arrogant.
“Well, turns out, he’s working at the community center this summer, and we’ve been talking, and he’s been totally flirting with me…”
Em continued for what seemed like hours on her new romance. I was happy for her. I’d told her briefly about Chris—or, as she referred to him, “the club soda guy”—and how horribly our date had gone.
“So, do you guys have, like, a Fourth of July shindig or anything?”
“Not a club or camp official shindig, but a couple of people are throwing a party on the beach. Not sure if I’m up for going.”
“I know, it’s hard to have fun without me, right?” she asked in a manner I could only hope was a joke.
