Unlikely Allies

"Ahhh, I see. Here, give it to me so I can dump it so you have it for next time," I said, trying not to laugh as he flushed bright red this time.

"This f…ing leg is seriously screwing up my coolness factor," he said, reluctantly handing the bottle to me.

I laughed at how uncomfortable he looked and headed outside to dump it and relieve my own bladder. "This definitely pushes our relationship to a whole new level," I mumbled to myself, still smirking at how uncomfortable he had looked. It was nice for the shoe to be on the other foot for once.

Chapter 12

Mason still looked grumpy when I returned and I worked to hide my smirk. I tore open a second wipe and cleaned the angry looking skin surrounding his wound. His language took on a whole new colorful level, and I couldn't help laughing as he strung them together into phrases.

"Sorry," I said, shooting him a sheepish look. "It's just kind fu

"It's a gift," he said with his eyes closed, but I saw his mouth pull up slightly into a smile.

While he was still smiling, I lifted his leg and placed it on my lap. I draped the clean side of the raincoat over his leg and used the rest of that gauze tape to wrap around it to hold it lightly into place. I set his leg back down when I was done and let out a wheezing cough I had been holding in.

"Wow, just in the nick of time. I'm sure you would have appreciated my germs on you," I joked, crawling up beside him.

"Yeah, because you're not helping me at all," he said sarcastically, making me smile.

"So, what do you and Rick do when camp's not in session?" I asked, deciding a change in subject was in order.

"We have a house in Golden and I go to Red Rocks Community College while Rick schmoozes rich people for funding for the camp."

"How does he get income to live on?" I asked curiously.

"He has some trust his grandfather set up for him. Over the years, I've gathered through things he's said, that his family wasn't happy he didn't follow in the family footsteps of being a lawyer. They pretty much disowned him when he told him his idea for a summer camp, but they couldn't touch the trust fund his grandfather set up."

"Rick, as a lawyer?" I said snorting. "Have they met Rick?"

"I know, right? The ironic thing is I Googled the family once and they're loaded, but they won't give Rick a dime for the camp."

"I guess that whole 'blood is thicker than water' analogy doesn't apply to them," I said, disgusted with the blood relatives I had never met.

"To each their own, I guess," Mason said, pulling me snugly up against his body.

His sudden move distracted me and I momentarily lost my train of thought as the heat of his body warmed mine.

"So, um, what are you studying?" I asked, pulling my thoughts away from how good he felt.

"An assortment. I haven't picked a major yet, so I'm taking classes that interest me, mostly biology and science classes. I'm happy working at the camp and Rick has been grooming me on fundraising, so it's all good. What about you?"

"Well, I haven't really decided either. I know I want to do something in art. For years, I figured I'd open up a small studio in one of the beach communities near me, but I've been rethinking that plan lately."

"Really?"

"Yeah, as much as I rejected the idea of teaching this summer, I actually like it better than I ever thought I would. Sure, some of the kids are complete smartasses, but the ones that get art are complete sponges. I can't think of anything better than helping them discover their passion."

"That's great, Kimberly. Your dad would be happy to hear that."

"You think so? I feel like I've been nothing but a big disappointment to him this summer," I said, letting some of my insecurities creep in.

"Disappointment?" he asked incredulously. "You couldn't be further from the truth, beach bu

"Did you really hate me when I first got here?" I asked bravely.

He didn't reply right away and I started to squirm uncomfortably, wishing I hadn't brought it up. After several seconds had passed, he finally answered. "No, I never hated you. You scared the shit out of me though."

"I did? Why?"

"Because you came crashing into the nice safe bachelor lifestyle I had pla

"Are you saying you love me?" I asked incredulously.

"No, I'm saying I'm in serious like with you," he teased.

I pinched his arm, showing my a

"Kidding, I'm sure some people would say it's too early for love, but I know I can't stop thinking about you," he said, tucking my head under his chin.

His words made me warm from head to toe and I couldn't help raising up so I could nip lightly on his chin.

"I think I'm in like with you too," I teased.

He mock-growled at me and then kissed me on the forehead.

I tilted my head up and captured his lips with mine. After a moment, I pulled back.

"If this isn't what love feels like, than I'll keep this instead," I said, ru

"Agreed," he said, dropping a more passionate kiss on my lips.

We continued kissing for several more minutes, but stopped when things got too heavy and his leg became a hindrance.

Instead, we continued to shoot questions back and forth. Many subjects we felt the same about, but his views on the CW shows made my blood boil and I had to lay into him about the fact that towns with all pretty people did exist. He mocked me openly when he found out I was a diehard vampire fan. We moved on from TV shows to all-time favorite movies and I was surprised that his taste ran with the Marvel variety while mine was all about the horror flicks.

"If you could live anywhere, where would it be?" I asked once we exhausted TV and film.

"I wouldn't mind seeing the ocean, but I want to live here. I've been trying to talk Rick into building us a couple of cabins up here for years."

"I'm surprised he won't. It's obvious he loves this land."

"He feels it's not convenient. I keep telling him I could stay up here and he could take care of things in town."

"What would you do all by yourself up here?" I asked intrigued.

"I think we should open up the camp for skiing. There's plenty of land. All we would have to do is bring in the gear."

"What about the chairlift thingies?" I asked.

"It would be a cross-country skiing camp, so a chairlift wouldn't be necessary. It'd be cool for the kids since most of them have never had an opportunity like that."