Short Story Chapter 1

Jake nudged me. “You have to set the tent on the ground, ladies.” The brunette with the wavy hair and thick hips leaned the pole against a tree and seemed to be looking right at me. “A little help?” The temptation felt like oil. It soaked my body, leaving it slick and desperate. I started walking. My steps turned faster. My feet zigzagged, tangling, until I reached their site and tripped over a camping chair. I caught myself before my nose smashed into the ground. My wrists throbbed. The tent bag was still around my arm and I could feel the stakes and poles pressing against my side. As my face hovered above the dirt, the tiny pine needles and pebbles, I realized the sad truth of it all. The earth wasn't mine anymore. I didn’t know how …show more content…

Everything looked perfect. And I felt better. Jake had given me a pep talk back at our campsite. He told me my fall was cute. It would probably work to my advantage. “Which one of you was a Boy Scout?” I said now, opening my first beer and looking at Erin. She stood in front of the fire with a Bud Light in her hand. Her hair was piled on top of her head, golden strands falling around her face. She and Hannah no longer seemed like twins. Her eyes were blue, her nose small and pointed. Hannah had the same dark eyes as Jake’s and round cheeks as if she hadn’t lost all of her baby fat. Erin brushed the strands of hair away from her face and glared at me. “Why Boy Scouts? Women aren't capable of building fires?” “Aw,” Jake said. “Tommy’s just impressed.” I chose a chair by Hannah and ignored Erin. “What should we play? Truth or Dare?” The girls stared at me. “Aren't you a little old for that game?” Erin said. “What are you guys, like thirty?” “Not yet,” Jake said and set his hand on my shoulder as he walked past me. “But I don’t think people play that anymore. Sorry, Tommy.” He sat beside Erin and cracked his beer open. I shrugged. I wondered how old the girls were and remembered them standing in the sunlight before. Their tank tops were tight. Their breasts the perfect shape from where we stood on the path. I had tried not to stare when we got closer, after I had tripped. Now they wore big sweatshirts and tight blue jeans. They seemed off limits but looked