Page 63 of The Perfect Deal

As we continued to kiss, I couldn’t help thinking about the fact that camp was almost over. Soon enough, we’d be back home, back to the real world.

Back to where Landon would be constantly monitoring our every move. I hoped he was sincere in his statement that he wanted us to date one another, but if he wasn’t, things were about to get super messy.

38

LIBERTY

“Ican’t believe this camp session is almost over,” Tara lamented from her bunk just a few feet from my bed. Sitting with my knees up, my laptop open and propped where I could use my editing tools, I listened to the girls talking.

“This one flew by,” Rhiannon agreed. “I wish we could stay here longer.”

“School will be starting soon,” Monique reminded them. The girls groaned, and Elizabeth hit her with a pillow. “Don’t shoot the messenger,” Monique whined.

I stifled a laugh, but I totally got what they were saying. This session had seemed to go by a lot more quickly than the first one. Once again, I thought about how nice it would be if I could take photographs for a living. My parents had enough money to support me if I wanted to try it again, but I didn’t want to be dependent upon them or anyone else. I wanted to be able to afford to start my own business by myself.

Besides, part of the joy of working at the camp had been working with the kids. I just loved the girls I’d gotten to know here, and I would miss them. They’d all promised to follow me on Instagram when they got home, so at least I’d be able to keep track of them through social media.

My mind went to Joshua as well. Being out here at camp with him, away from the distractions of our crazy families and everything else going on around us, was just what we’d needed in order to see what life could be like. We made an amazing team, and I love spending time with him. Seeing his passions made me even more excited about what the future could hold—if Landon was serious about letting us give this life a try.

“Miss Liberty, are you sad that camp’s almost over?” Tara asked. “Are you going to miss us?”

I looked over at her for a moment and saw the sadness in her eyes. I felt it in my heart. “Of course, I’ll miss you,” I told her. I put my laptop aside and patted my bed.

A bunch of the girls flocked over, as many as could fit on my bed finding a spot. Karrie’s bed was right next to mine, and she scooted over so that they could sit there as well. It was difficult to fit twelve girls and two grown women on the beds, but we managed.

“What’s your favorite part been?” Elizabeth asked, leaning her head on my shoulder.

“You guys,” I told them, looking around from one face to another. “I’ve loved getting to know all of you. I’m excited about what the upcoming school year holds for all of you. Not just that, but the future in general. You are all going to be amazing young women one day soon, out there conquering the world. It’ll be great to watch you do it.”

“What about you?” Monique asked. “Are you going to go back to your other job, or are you going to keep working for Coach Joshua?”

I swallowed hard, not exactly sure how to answer that question. I wondered if the girls had noticed anything going on between Joshua and me. We’d tried to keep it as off the radar as possible, but I was pretty sure anyone with a discerning eye could tell. But then, Landon hadn’t noticed for all of these years, so maybe Joshua and I were more covert than we realized.

“I would love to be a photographer full-time,” I told them. “What that might look like, I’m not sure.”

“It seems odd to me that grownups tell us we can be whatever we want to be, but then, they so seldom have their dream jobs,” Tara said in a thoughtful tone.

“I have my dream job,” Karrie chimed in, her voice much too chipper for the somber conversation we had been having about missing one another. “I get to work for a great company with lots of great people. And I have an amazing boss.”

Some of the girls giggled under their breath at Karrie’s last comment, which threw me off. What were they laughing about exactly?

“I bet she enjoys working for that boss,” one of the girls whispered to the girl next to her and they both laughed. What was I missing?

“Do you still have a crush on Coach Joshua?” Monique asked, point blank.

My mouth fell open as I started to ask her how she knew, but then I realized she wasn’t looking at me.

She wasn’t talking to me.

“Oh, definitely,” Karrie said, her face lighting up. She gave her hair a shake and brushed some loose strands over her shoulders. “As a matter of fact, can I tell you all a secret?”

My stomach twisted into a knot. Karrie had a crush on Joshua? For how long? Was he aware of this? Why hadn’t he ever mentioned it to me?

“Sure, Miss Karrie. Your secret is safe with us,” Elizabeth assured her.

Karrie cleared her throat and paused, possibly for dramatic effect, before she said, “We’re going on a date.”

“What?” Monique asked as the other girls squealed and covered their faces, a few of them bouncing up and down on the bed. “You’re going on a date with Coach Joshua?”