"I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYBODY so excited to ride a bus before."
Audrey Graham gave a little bounce on the vinyl—covered bench seat, strangely delighted with the squeak of springs. "I've never been on one. I mean, not a school bus. Just the public transit kind."
Beside her, Samantha Ferguson, her partner in this adventure, chuckled and grabbed hold of the seat in front of them for balance as the bus lurched through a pothole. "Whatever floats your boat, sugar."
"If you're looking for an authentic school bus ride, I can always start a spitball fight." This came from the guy who'd twisted around from the next seat up. The mop of sandy hair and smattering of freckles across his cheeks made him look several years younger than he probably was. He stuck out a hand. "Charlie."
Was this what camp was like? All first names all the time? It was so different from the formality and pretentiousness of academia.
"Audrey. And this is Sam." They all shook hands.
"Where are you from?" Charlie asked.
"Little bitty town in northeast Tennessee called Eden's Ridge," Sam replied. "Though most recently Chattanooga. I teach at a small, private college there. So does Audrey."
For now. "I'm originally from Kansas City, though."
"Long Island. I work in Manhattan these days."
"Yeah? What do you do?" Audrey asked, unable to imagine this golden retriever of a man amid the stiff suits and stuffed shirts.
"I'm an assistant editor at Macmillan."
Sam brightened. "Yeah? What genre?"
"Don't laugh. Romance."
"Now you've done it," Audrey warned. "The book monster has awoken. Sam's an English Lit professor and romance aficionado."
"Really? I'd have thought you'd turn your nose up at romance."
"No way. I love it. I even teach a class on the development of the genre and its relation to feminist theory."
Audrey hid a smile as the two launched into an animated discussion of favorite authors. She had no idea if there were any prospective sparks there, but at least Sam had found a kindred spirit.
"Are you two returning campers to Camp Firefly Falls?" Charlie's question pulled her attention back to the conversation.
"First timers," Sam told him. "Audrey here is a summer camp virgin."
Audrey felt her cheeks heat with a blush and had no idea why. It wasn't like she was that kind of virgin.
Not exactly far off… her brain reminded her.
Shut up.
"No shit? Well, the Retro Session is definitely the way to go to get the experience," Charlie said. "I came here every summer, when I was a kid. Got super pumped when I found out it'd been turned into a camp for grown—ups."
"Me too I'm tackling some entries on my bucket list lately, and when I heard about Camp Firefly Falls, it seemed like an opportunity to knock a few out in one fell swoop." Which was the most understated way Audrey could possibly explain her reasons for being here. But spilling her guts to a complete stranger on the camp bus as they drove up from New York was not one of those bucket list items.
"So you've never been to camp, and you went to camp somewhere else?" Charlie asked, looking from Audrey to Sam.
"Hale River Camp and Farm, in North Alabama," Sam replied.
"That's a long way from the Berkshires. How'd you hear about Camp Firefly Falls?"
The flash of phantom pain in her legs kept Audrey from answering immediately. Riding the wave, she forced a smile. "Oh, someone I met once mentioned coming here as a kid. I guess the name stuck in my head."
"I'm just along for the ride and to get my nostalgia on," Sam put in. "I loved camp. Went every year, from the time I was seven—camper through counselor."
She and Charlie fell back into easy conversation, and Audrey let them, focusing instead on breathing through the ache. The novelty of the bus ride was wearing thin. She'd been sitting too long and her legs were beginning to cramp up. A walk would be in order as soon as they got their stuff dumped at the cabin. Maybe a stroll along Lake Waawaatesi. It had looked so picturesque in the promo photos online.
