Unlikely Allies

I was still fuming when I reached the refrigerator where Amy was pulling out several different beverages.

“Whoa, who got your panties in a bunch?” she asked, taking in my anger.

“Mason,” I said, dragging out his name with disgust. “I don’t know what the frick his problem is.” I complained, grabbing the pitcher of milk in one hand and the orange juice with the other.

“I know, right? I totally picked up on his AMS last night. What was the deal with that?”

“AMS?” I asked.

“Arrogant Male Syndrome,” she answered seriously, like it was a legitimate diagnosis.

I couldn’t help laughing. “That’s classic, and fits him to a T.”

“Either he has serious issues sharing daddy with you, or he’s holding back some repressed hormones. Because let’s face it, shy of pulling your hair or sticking a frog down your shirt, he seems to be crushing on you or something,” she whispered as we approached the table.

I snorted in the most unladylike fashion. “It’d have to be option number one,” I said out of the corner of my mouth.

“Oh sure, because you’re not attractive or anything,” she mouthed between giggles as she started loading up her plate.

The other occupants at the table looked at us curiously, but I shrugged my shoulders like I didn’t have a clue.

As I sat eating, I observed the dynamics of the group much like I had the night before. Everyone was nice enough to include me in their conversations, but I still couldn't help feeling like the odd man out. The majority of them had been coming to camp Allies for years. They all seemed to have a million stories of previous years and escapades they had witnessed. I was tempted to clear out my ears when they implied that Mason was the biggest prankster the camp had ever seen. It seemed hard to believe that Mr. Permanent Scowl, who seemed to have a problem with my very existence, had a fun side to him.

Once breakfast was over, Louise shooed us out so she could clean the kitchen and we could start our training. I groaned at the thought. I’d always loved swimming and going to the beach, but I’ve never taken any kind of CPR class. The idea of giving mouth-to-mouth to a stranger always kind of grossed me out. I knew that sounded selfish, considering it was crucial to saving someone’s life, but I’d always been a firm believer that the only mouth-to-mouth I wanted to do was in the form of kissing.

Rick led our group out to the clearing between all the cabins and the mess hall. I sat on a bench by the fire pit with Amy while Mason and Travis unloaded the CPR gear. I was relieved when I saw them pull out the lifelike CPR dummy.

At least we wouldn’t have to practice on each other.

“All right, I know all of you with the exception of Kimberly have taken CPR before. The state requires you take a refresher course every two years. I require that you take it every year. Saving a life is no joking matter. We’ve been lucky over the years, but that does not mean an accident can’t happen,” Rick said, placing the dummy on one of the benches. “I’m going to go over the basic moves and then all of you will pair up and go through the maneuvers.”

My stomach dropped at his words. I looked around horrified, expecting everyone to share my dismay, but no one else seemed surprised. Great, I was the only prude in the whole group.

“Okay, the important thing to remember is that any CPR is better than no CPR. There has always been a required regiment cycle that they felt needed to be mastered, but over the years they’ve also realized that any help is better than nothing. So, the first thing you do when you see someone laying unconscious is to see if they’re breathing. You shake them and ask if they are all right. If you get no response and are not alone, you tell the other person to call 911, while you tilt the victims head back like this,” he said, using his finger to tilt the head back of the practice dummy. “Once their head is tilted back, you rest your hands on this soft spot right below the ribs. Place your hands over each other, linking your fingers like this,” he said, holding up his linked hands so we could see. “It’s three pushes down and then a breath. When you’re doing the breath, you pinch the victim’s nose closed like this, and blow into their mouth once, and then do three more pushes on their stomach. You repeat these steps until help arrives. If you run out of steam and are not alone, switch off so that you can provide the best care possible. Does anyone have any questions?” he asked, looking directly at me.

I shook my head. I was surprised it was so simple.

“All right. Mason, why don’t we let you give an example?” Rick asked.

“Sure thing,” Mason answered, sauntering over to where Rick stood.

“Kimberly, why don’t you come up and help him,” Rick said, jotting something down on his clipboard.

Mason looked at me sardonically as I sat there for a second, trying to figure out the most tactful way to protest, other than to just shout out, “hell no!” I would rather crawl through a pile of broken glass than play doctor with that jerk, but Rick stood there, staring at me with a hopeful look on his face, so I had to suck it up. Besides, when our eyes met, I could see that Mason expected me to chicken out and I definitely wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction.

Every swear word I knew ran through my head as I reluctantly stood up. This was no big deal. I’d been kissed before. I could get through this and prove to Mason who was the adult here, and who was the creep.

“Okay, good,” Rick said, thankfully. “Kimmie, we'll have you be the victim first so you can see Mason go through the motions, and then you can go next,” Rick added like it was no big deal.

“Fine,” I said, glaring at Mason as he smirked at me.

As I lay there on the rough bench, wishing more than ever that I were back home at the beach, I could feel everyone’s eyes on focused on me.

“It might be hard to pretend you can’t breathe with all the air in your head,” Mason quietly mocked for my ears only as he leaned over me.

I fought the urge to smack him in his nose. I figured it wouldn’t win me any brownie points to bloody Rick’s star pupil’s nose in front of everyone.

“Enjoy the moment, pretty boy. I’m sure this is the most action you’ve gotten in a while,” I added, lacing my voice with sweetness.

His eyes narrowed and I couldn’t help smiling in satisfaction.

Everything changed when he moved into position over me. My smile quickly disappeared and I felt a tingle as my body reacted to being so close to him. I was expecting to be disgusted, considering he blatantly thought so little of me, but I found myself lost in his blue eyes as they focused on mine. I continued my gaze down his face and settled on his lips, anticipating how they would feel on mine. I could hear Rick going over the procedures again, but his voice seemed to trail off in the distance as Mason placed his hands between my ribs. My pulse quickened at his touch and my confusion-laced eyes met his. What was happening here? I hated him and yet, I wanted the heat of his hands to never leave me. Using the techniques Rick had given us, he pushed on my torso three times before moving up to pinch my nose closed. I was surprised at his gentle touch and couldn’t stop my body from tensing as his lips moved closer to mine. I nervously moistened my lips with my tongue and watched as his eyes followed, focusing on my mouth. He was a breath away and I parted my lips, ready to know if his were as soft as they looked. He paused above my mouth, blowing out slightly before abruptly moving away from my face. Confused, I felt him place his hands on my torso again and push down three more times before lightly pinching my nose and blowing on my face again.

I waited for Rick to criticize him for cheating on the breathing step, but it slowly became obvious to me that I was the only one dumb enough to think Mason was actually going to place his lips on mine.