Camp Where The Hell Are We? | ✓

16

It was right when they finally pulled into the mall parking lot that Marley realized she's never been out in public with Aiden. Not at a casual outing like this.

The tension in the car was on the edge of being weird. Not quite there, considering that Leo was always talking, and the girls filled the rest of the silence in the back. Marley felt like crap, Aiden was quiet, and Tristan was almost too loud.

It was sweet relief feeling the concrete beneath the soles of her shoes and the fresh air breezing along her skin. The mall was impressive; it looked to be maybe three floors high and was buzzing with activity. Even on a Wednesday afternoon, but that wasn't surprising.

Malls are always, always busy.

"Nails first," Bree announced while Aiden paid the driver.

"But that's stupid. Why not last?" Sarah argued.

"Because I looked it up. The place closes at six and we don't know how long it will take. We're all getting shellac anyway, right?" Bree looked around the circle and all the girls seemed to understand what she meant perfectly, nodding their heads.

Marley and Gabby shared a nervous glance. They've never gotten their nails done before, both of them more practical with their short, trimmed, and plain nails. Even when they were kids, they preferred looking at bugs with Gabby's bug catching kit than playing with purses and nail polish.

To each their own. They weren't going to judge, and since they agreed to come along they'd join in on what the girls were doing.

When Aiden came back, Marley quickly strode over to him, "How much do I owe you?" she asked while reaching for her wallet.

"Yeah man, how much was it? We can like, divide it or something. Gabby you can calculate it right?" Leo asked in the background, causing Marley to roll her eyes.

"Marley put it away. It's on me," Aiden said in a smooth but demanding tone.

She kind of figured he'd say that, but she wasn't going to let him pay for her. It was a half hour ride, and with that car, it couldn't have been cheap.

"Well, it's going to be on me, too. How much?"

She opened her wallet and figured twenty would be enough.

His hands were covering her own, "Marley. Put that away. It's on me."'

She met his gaze head on and knew there was zero chance of her winning this one. In his eyes was a resolve of pure steel, and she wasn't about to try and test it in front of their friends waiting to go shopping.

She'd find a way to pay him back.

When he lifted his hands away, Marley felt like she could breathe again. They were rough on the inside, but they were big and warm, engulfing her own hands entirely.

"Hey, I'm not complaining. Thanks, man," Leo patted Aiden's back, but the tone he said it in was enough for Aiden to punch him in the arm.

Marley prepared herself for walking through the front door area because she knew there'd be smokers. Marley's had to avoid some teens smoking in secluded areas to not get caught back at camp, but that was easy to do since they stayed away from the main trails. One of the camp rules was no smoking on the property, or you're kicked out and facing disciplinary action from the school board. That was enough to keep the smokers in hiding.

Aiden hasn't smoked once since the night they met — that she knows of, anyway.

It was refreshing to inhale deeply once they got in the doors. Aiden was walking beside her, and she could feel he was assessing her carefully. He didn't say anything about it, though, but he knew. He's incredibly observant, even if he doesn't show it.